— by Margie Doyle —
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- “It’s a tough trade-off.” Dan Vekved, Eastsound Planning Review Committee (EPRC) outgoing member.
- “The proposal is to provide a sidewalk for safe passage of pedestrians in response to current and proposed housing developments on Madrona Point. The proposal is not about parking on the roadway which exists today because traffic regulations are not actively enforced.” Colin Huntemer, County Engineer
- “The proposed Ordinance is our first effort to design appropriate standards for street
improvements for the various neighborhoods beyond the village commercial core…
let’s get it right, as it will have implications for the remaining areas. Fred Klein, officer of Mt. Constitution (Orcas) Odd Fellows and former EPRC member.
The EPRC has long discussed with county engineers the implications of applying consistent standards within the Eastound Subarea, in part prompted by the desire to implement the Streetscape plans for Prune Alley.
Implementations of the standards has ramifications for all developers within the Subarea, including OPAL as if moves forward on the April’s Grove project.
However, the current construction on Haven Road has triggered implementation of standards that would directly affect Madrona Point streets:
- Haven Road,
- Urner Street,
- Westervelt Avenue
- Harrison Point Lane
The impact of that ordinance on those who travel Haven road to the Odd Fellows Hall and Madrona Point brought out the public which filled the EPRC meeting on May 3.
Residents of Haven Road and members of the Odd Fellows, whose “home” has been on the west (water) side of Haven Road since 1891, spoke of their objections to a pedestrian walkway on the east side of the road.
County documents state clearly that the proposed ordinance, which is the subject of a public hearing at the County Council May 8 meeting on Orcas, “will not alter existing regulations for the Eastsound Subarea regarding the requirement (if any) of developers to construct improvements to County roads.”
However, “The proposed Ordinance will alter specifically what improvements will be constructed when they are so required by the existing regulations for the Eastsound Subarea.”
County Engineer Colin Huntemer and County Councilman Rick Hughes attended the May 3 EPRC county advisory meeting to discuss the ordinance, which had its beginnings in 1996 when it ruled: “Curbs, gutters, sidewalks, power conduits, power pods, and street trees are required for streets within the village commercial and village institutional districts…” Ordinance 4-1996 (et al.) (SJCC 16.55.130). Standards include:
- “Curbs, gutters, sidewalks and street trees are required for streets within the village…”
- “Village, means the area of Eastsound designated on the official Eastsound Plan map as within the village commercial district”
After Hughes said that there would be no parking taken away on Haven Road, as there’s no legally delineated parking spots on Haven Road (people park their vehicles on the roadway if they can find space), Huntemer clarified, “All we’re proposing is that we create a sidewalk beyond the roadway.”
- The road does not change
- People park in the road, not changing the available width of the roadway
- No one’s asking for enforcement, that condition isn’t changed at all
Public Comments:
Didier Gincig, an Odd Fellow, said, “It is vital we not lose parking, we have weddings for months and months. Even though houses are providing their own parking, there will be parking on the street. I would propose a time limit to parking, such as 72 hours. Where I live in Bonnie Brae, cars tend to park and stay.”
Mike Hurwicz spoke as an Odd Fellow, “I would like it to stay the way it is right now.” He urged the County to “find another direction, another way for them to walk.”
Leith Templin, a resident on Haven Road said, “My concern is the entrance to Haven Road, the entrance to a residential community as well as the Odd Fellows Hall. I feel that Haven is an exception as well, it distresses me to think that trees will be removed and sidewalks will be there.” After expressing her concerns for stormwater drainage and removal of trees, Templin said, “I think in the future when something is happening on someone’s street where you’re a property owner that the county should contact you.”
Fred Klein, an officer of the Orcas Lodge of Odd Fellows, read from written remarks:
“I’m here today to urge you to reconsider your recommendation for a five-foot wide concrete sidewalk along the length of Haven Road. Almost 30 years ago, I served on EPRC and was part of the group of local professionals who authored the adopted standards and collaborated with San Juan County Department of Public Works to create the design for Main Street and North Beach Road while meeting the multiple challenges of narrow right-of-ways and public acceptance of the first curbs and sidewalks in the village.”
“In 2012, I led EPRC’s efforts with the blessings of Public Works to create a unified streetscape for Prune Alley by working with individual property owners In 2013, Public Works hired me to work with the property owners of “A” Street to design the streetscape and offer alternative schemes for dealing with its dead end. In 2015, in collaboration with our County Engineer, Colin Huntemer, we designed the new driveway entry to the Village Green.
“I have some familiarity with our Eastsound streetscapes…
“We’re all agreed that the Eastsound Street Standards are inappropriate for the portion of the village south of Main Street; indeed, it is acknowledged that Ordinance 21-2015 which extended those Standards beyond the commercial core of the village was a mistake which resulted in unintended consequences. The proposed Ordinance is our first effort to design appropriate standards for street improvements for the various neighborhoods beyond the village commercial core… let’s get it right, as it will have implications for the remaining areas.”
Klein concluded “I urge you to reconsider your recommendation to county council to include the 5 ft wide concrete sidewalk down Haven Road.”
Jay Kimball: Odd Fellows Hall Manager, began his comments saying, “I want to thank Rick [Hughes] and Colin [Huntemer] who’ve met with a variety of us not one hour ago.” He then read from his prepared remarks, which follow:
“The hall has been a community gathering place for 127 years, since 1891.
“We need your help. Parking on Haven Road is essential to the wellbeing of our historic hall and the community it serves. The hall is host to over 30 events per week, including 14 different classes; and hosts the community Thanksgiving dinner, Artisans Faire, senior dinner and prom, Halloween dances, fundraisers, memorial services, the farmers market in the fall, movie nights, birthday parties, and so much more. Access to convenient parking is essential to the many hundreds of islanders who visit the hall each week.
“We are a non-profit, and keep our local rates affordable by offering weddings on weekends in the spring, summer and fall. Weddings help subsidize the rent for locals and pay for the upkeep of our historic old hall. In the past 15 years, the hall has hosted 386 weddings, which collectively have brought in an estimated $32 million in beneficial side-effect revenue to the local economy – for lodging, dining, entertainment, catering, flowers, hair styling, shopping, etc. That works out to be a bit over $2 million per year.
“As you can imagine, it all depends on good convenient parking.
“As you consider the Ordinance on Street Standards in the Eastsound Subarea Plan, we hope you will maintain the natural charm and convenient plentiful parking all along Haven Road, to help the local economy and the Odd Fellows Hall.
“I want to thank Rick Hughes for his assurance that the County is not considering eliminating any parking on Haven Road. The Odd Fellows and the hundreds of islanders who have signed a petition in support of that goal, request the county make best efforts to retain the natural informal character of Haven Road, as you have done with streets that branch off it.”
Maggie Langley echoed the desire to keep Haven Road “just the way it is. We’re on Orcas because we don’t want to be as fancy as San Juan. We want to live in a world that’s magical. See the road through the eyes of my children and grandchildren and keep this enchanted, lovely lane.”
Joe Symons: said, “I know this is the official public process [but] it’s really not the kind of public process that something like this deserves.” Symons suggested the possibility of a sidewalk without a curb. He spoke of the San Juan County Vision Statement and said “We have flexibility plus a vision statement to design something that may be perfect in Mt. Vernon but not a little street south of Haven Road.”
Rick Hughes said that after talking to about 24 people in phone and in person, “I thought we’d had conversations and were coming to an agreement, that was my mistake, that we haven’t had enough dialogue open to community.”
Barry Neville: said that he had gone to a lot of [Eastsound] businesses; “I don’t think that there’s one person in businesses that support [the ordinance]. We have a petition online with 175 [signers].” Neville advised against going “to the council in a rush.”
EPRC Discussion
The EPRC advisory committee began its discussion of the impending street standards ordinance with co-chair Paul Kamin reiterating that the committee’s purpose is to provide recommendations to the council as a group.While the EPRC often “operates on a conversational level, that it not how advisory committees are designed,” he said.
EPRC Co-chair Margaret Payne then opened the debate saying, “I get the feelings you have about the beautiful quality of that road and the emotional and economic importance of Odd Fellows Hall
“I’m also very concerned about pedestrian safety. The leading paragraph of the Eastsound subarea plan describes Eastsound as a walking village. Is it safe to walk to Odd Fellows Hall?
“I’m also concerned about the need to describe for developers what they need to do for streetscape
She summarized the matters before them in considering the ordinance as:
1) ambience and history of Madron Point
2) safety of pedestrians
3) clarity of people who are developing
“It disturbs me a lot that the car is still king; it’s worth looking at other solutions. Part of the conversation needs to be alternatives to individuals driving in cars and our streets lined with cars which is not attractive.”
Jeff Otis said, “I have a difficult time with hardscape [concrete]; to me it doesn’t fit on that road. I would prefer to see something more like a rustic gravel path, maybe raised a little bit,” Otis agreed with previous commenters that the road “feels safe — a living street.”
Yonatan Aldort: said, “I’m not persuaded as to the necessity of this… Odd Fellows accounts for 80-90% of traffic on road; why does [construction of ]a few houses make such a difference?” He also said, “I’m bothered that nobody can explain to me how [we’re governed by ] an ordinance that nobody likes that was cast years ago.”
Rick Hughes responded that some perspective was needed: “We’re doubling the housing on this road. One development is 14 homes, six more are planned.”
Bob Maynard: said, “We have witnessed a marvelous dissertation on the enemy — it’s the automobile.” Maynard cited other areas where tourism is a major factor in the local economy and a shuttle system was installed. “Think about what Orcas could be if the automobile was reduced 50 percent.
“This is a good demonstration of talking about the wrong thing. People would want to come here if they could go to a place where they don’t need their cars.”
New EPRC member Charles Toxey also spoke to the composition of a pedestrian walkway. “If we’re going to make this a pedestrian facility it has to be firm, stable and slip-resistant.”
Huntemer compared the conditions of the trail along Enchanted Forest Road trail to the Haven Road proposal: “It [Enchanted Forest path] is firm, stable and slip-resistant… because we have the natural conditions for it. We can do walking surfaces that are not concrete, but the curb presents a problem.”
Dan Vekved said, “I’ll be the voice, maybe not of reason, but I applaud what Colin and public works have done, not just because I’m a engineer. In the context of sensitive design, taking the requirement by code and what improvements are required, and what are they going to look like, Colin and public works have come up to with commendable steps to lead us to a walkable village and provide accommodations for all forms of transportation not just cars. I agree with Bob Maynard 100 percent.
“If we’re going to provide pedestrian facilities, an ADA public path near the semi-urban core ,it should be concrete. We can think of different ways to do concrete, I’m a proponent of a higher level of designs for Haven sidewalk.”
Vekved urged the meeting attendees “Look at the pins and flagging and pavement out there. Just walk around and look and imagine what it would look like with a walking surface on the other side.
“I acknowledge there’s emotional attachment to those trees. It’s a tough tradeoff and there’s disagreement about it, but we need to include all users of the road — pedestrians, the disabled.”
Paul Kamin then said, “We as a community have a history of not thinking ahead, resulting in some pretty egregious streetscapes. We need to start thinking further ahead as to what will be the street needs of this community as we move forward.
“There are 18 homes [currently]; 22 new homes permitted or under construction now. Buildout includes 77 homes. We adopted and chose that. This plan is anticipating those changes coming forward. Hundreds of people were involved in the Vision Plan for Eastsound: Orcas supports diverse modes of transportation; wel establish distinct routes for pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles.
“I’m in support of developing Haven Road in a way that supports this particular vision. I would love to see an alternative to concrete that meets the same functions of accessibility for all. The County must accommodate mobility-impaired people. I’m open to concrete because it allows the facility to be functional for more than a year or so. When we entertain alternatives,they should include a funding plan to maintain trails, because they quickly become less accessible.
“I recognize the contributions of the Odd Fellows but I’m reluctant to accept the premise that the County should provide parking for a private entity. So I support pedestrian access on Haven Road for present and future development and for pedestrian safety. This is a reasonable design compromise that provide two lanes of pedestrian traffic.”
Vekved then brought up the need to have “a design workshop to take this design an kick it around and if we come up with a different result, fine.” Otis agreed , saying, “It doesn’t feel that it’s the right time to go to the county council with a decision on this”
Aldort again brought up his concerns that the county is “Bound to do this standard because of 2015 decision. The public has said we don’t like that decision.”
Rick Hughes responded that the 2015 ordinance is “Not related to this current proposal. What’s driving this is the current development on Haven Road and the requirement to upgrade the streetscape that abuts that property. It’s driven by county’s desire to be responsive and to give developers a proper vision as to what they’re responsible for. We could say that the current requirement for developing streetscapes is not appropriate and move that agenda forward, but now county is responsible for previous standards.”
Hughes clarified the more recent changes, saying, “In 2015 the EPRC recommended a plan change; prior to 2015 there was no streetscape requirements for village residential/institutional area
“We’re getting mixed messages from the community and the EPRC. We’re looking at doubling the amount of density appearing in a small rural area, and proposing an alternative to a one-way loop egressing on Harrison Road. So the compromise to our code is to have a small adjustable sidewalk on the outside edge of the pavement so people in the developing areas could walk to and from the Village core and Madrona Point.
“The County isn’t necessarily [supporting] one way or another, we just have to make a tough decision. If we don’t do anything, the developer doesn’t have to provide for the development he’s causing.”
Aldort then brought back the idea of a public forum or design charette to provide tor safety along Haven Road and “to make clear to developers what our expectations are.”
Kamin’s motion that the EPRC endorse the design put forward by SJ County works died without a second.
Aldor then offered as a motion that the EPRC, based on its role as advisors and advocates, pass a recommendation for a process for alternatives to a Haven Road pedestrian facility [sidewalk], especially addressing concrete sidewalks. Otis seconded the motion and following more discussion, the committee voted to decide on recommendations in a month, following a public process that did not appear to be defined.
Bob Maynard objected, “What happens when the density is double what it is today? We’re going to have the same problems. This is putting air back in a flat tire.”
The County Council will hold a public hearing on Orcas Island on the proposed ordinance on Tuesday May 8 at the Eastsound Fire Hall. The meeting will begin at 10 a.m.)
People use automobiles on Orcas. It’s the way it is and will always will be, given the size of the island and, particularly, the aging population here. Demonizing cars makes no sense. Is one of the commissioners going to give up his or her car to reduce cars by 50%?
Given the fact that the parking currently used by everyone is not technically legal, why isn’t the County (or the Port?) pursuing parking solutions right by the Hall?
Margaret Payne’s comment was right on…why does the car have to be king? At some point, sooner than later, a shuttle system needs to be discussed, and not just for Haven Road neighborhood. I know there are so many complexities attached to this idea…but how many tress get removed, how much earth gets paved over, to make room for more and more cars? … and more and more parking? We might as well slow down that process, now, while the community still has charm, trees and accessibility, for nature and people. This could reduce our carbon foot print at same time. No, a shuttle system on Orcas is not easy, nor cheap, but it is the future, if we want a sustainable future. Yep,those of us that can, will need to give up some convenience. Other communities and popular destinations are already making first steps in this direction. It is now our turn to start a conversation about a shuttle system.
Leaving Haven Road as it is will:
* Preserve the foliage and trees that are there. I understand that if the sidewalk is installed, some beautiful greenery would be destroyed, replaced by a concrete slab.
* Have zero carbon footprint. On the other hand, concrete used for sidewalks has a significant carbon footprint. (The concrete industry is one of two largest producers of CO2.) And the construction activity would have a carbon footprint.
* Allow the Odd Fellows Hall to continue to be used as it currently is for a variety of events. If events move elsewhere, the result may be more driving and less walking.
https://www.gopetition.com/signatures/preserve-on-street-parking-along-haven-road-in-eastsound.html
I’m with Michael Hurwicz, who gives a reasoned and sensibile case for why to do NOTHING with “Haven” Rd. What would be a haven about it if we allow all the trees to be cut down, both on the road and on the hillside?
Let’s overturn the ordinance that no one got the chance to vote for, that no one wants. While we’re at it, let’s overturn the ordinance that disallows guest houses to be built or rented year-round outside the Eastsound UGA; which could have alleviated some of our problems here.
When are we going to stop destroying forests in order to make more concrete jungles and wind tunnels in what used to be a beautiful natural place called Eastsound? It’s bad enough that 70 houses are slated for the hillside east of Oddfellows Hall leading all the way down to the county dock! Why does the county continue to give permits to tear down the few remaining forests in Eastsound, then wonder about why we have floods, erosion, water pollution in our bays, dangerously high winds, trees falling down because everything around them was cut down, ETC?
When are we going to have the REAL conversation about what we are doing to Eastsound, Eastsound Swale, and our waters, and STOP the madness of continuing to permit vacation rentals in what is supposed to be the UGA where 54% of our year round people were supposed to live? The only thing “haven” now is for billionaires – not for us anymore.
In just the past few months, even weeks, billionaires have bought up a substantial amount of the already overpriced real estate in Eastound: Eastsound Square, Brown Bear bldg, Orcas Gifts and Arts building, the Gudgell complex, and more every day. Does no one realize what this will mean for local rents and our local businesses? Our remaining forests? When will we stop? When is it enough money for those who profit? We are well over carrying capacity now; no one is talking about it.
Washington State Ferries has already had almost DOUBLE the summer reservations in the FIRST THREE HOURS of summer reservations compared to 2017 – and over double that of 2016! No ferries are added to help us locals deal with this; what will this mean for us? Is this alarming to no one but me?
https://tinyurl.com/y8zxv9ej
Why are we selling out the quality of life for these precious islands for the almighty buck – and what will it mean for the average working family? How many of our friends will have to leave, have already had to leave, due to unaffordability, lands being gobbled up by billionaires, and the loss of quality of life (which should include natural ecosystems, even in a “UGA”) for the majority of us?
Let’s at least tell the truth of what is happening; The UGA is NOT being used for its intended purpose; to house working people. It is being used to proliferate high end real estate and push people OUT of the downtown core so that all remaining forests are cut down~ the supposed planners have made Eastsound the sacrificial lamb, banning year-round detached guest houses outside the UGA but allowing unlimited vacation rentals and “luxury condos” to be built, pushing out the backbone of our community. This goes way beyond our “Haven” (NOT!) Road problem. This sells out our way of life to the highest bidder.
Thank You, Sadie. We all do need to speak up for Mother Earth.
It’s funny to think that people are going to buy and live in these houses built on Madrona Point. Do they not realize they will be living on an Indian burial ground? There are bones all over that place. Talk about spooky, and the ghosts are really pissed off.
I wonder if that will get disclosed to potential buyers?
I totally agree with you…ES is being ruined by “ progress”.
Please remember that a
grave was found on the property that Campbell developed. The Whole of Madrona Point is a Burial Ground! A reminder below:
“The Great Chief in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land. . . . But we will consider your offer, for we know if we do not . . . the white man may come with guns and take our lands. . . . How can you buy or sell the sky— the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us. Yet we do not own the freshness of the air or the sparkle of the water. . . . Every part of this earth is sacred to my people. . . .”
“We will ponder your proposition and when we decide we will let you know. But should we accept it, I here and now make this condition that we will not be denied the privilege without molestation of visiting at any time the tombs of our ancestors, friends, and children. Every part of this soil is sacred in the estimation of my people. Every hillside, every valley, every plain and grove, has been hallowed by some sad or happy event in days long vanished. Even the rocks, which seem to be dumb and dead as the swelter in the sun along the silent shore, thrill with memories of stirring events connected with the lives of my people, and the very dust upon which you now stand responds more lovingly to their footsteps than yours, because it is rich with the blood of our ancestors, and our bare feet are conscious of the sympathetic touch. Our departed braves, fond mothers, glad, happy hearted maidens, and even the little children who lived here and rejoiced here for a brief season, will love these somber solitudes and at eventide they greet shadowy returning spirits. And when the last Red Man shall have perished, and the memory of my tribe shall have become a myth among the White Men, these shores will swarm with the invisible dead of my tribe, and when your children’s children think themselves alone in the field, the store, the shop, upon the highway, or in the silence of the pathless woods, they will not be alone. In all the earth there is no place dedicated to solitude. At night when the streets of your cities and villages are silent and you think them deserted, they will throng with the returning hosts that once filled them and still love this beautiful land. The White Man will never be alone.
Let him be just and deal kindly with my people, for the dead are not powerless. Dead, did I say? There is no death, only a change of worlds.”
-Chief Sealth
Thank you, Spirit Eagle. The comments should have ended here with Chief Sealth’s prophetic admonition. I always get chills and feel great sorrow upon reading it, once again being faced with how we whites have betrayed the People and all that was sacred and alive about this land, and still should be to us. The betrayal remains, and worsens, now exponentially. As Russell Means said, we’re all Indians now. Imagine how the Lummi and Samish Nations feel over this wholesale carnage of the homeland of some of THEIR ancestors. Can we, for a moment, imagine and feel it?
Change is inevitable. But the people who keep saying that, use “change” as a poor excuse to take and take (money and profit), and give nothing back. And when they ruin a place and strip it of trees and tear asunder everything that drew us to it in the first place; when they don’t tell of the history of the disgraceful things we did to the First Nations here, driving them off, sending their children to “Indian Schools” and ripping them from their familes in order to destroy their culture – these betrayals ensure the haunting.
When the “greed investors” have taken everything from the land, leaving all the problems behind for those still left, they are already on to ravaging and exploiting the next place, like a swarm of insatiable locusts, leaving ghosts everywhere. My heart hurts every day, and I wonder why people cannot, will not, allow themselves to feel this connection and the pain and rage that would ensue from realizing what we have done, and continue to allow others to do.
I feel great pain over this and know I am NOT alone. If we consider the ghosts of these Original Ancestors, how can we go along blithely thinking we have the RIGHT to do these things? That these stolen lands are “ours?” That we have the right to destroy ecosystems for our own gain? That there isn’t a class war going on against the people, and another huge land grab in the works?
Oddfellows is a Public venue that has benefitted our community and done good for many people for over a hundred years, including granting many scholarships for kids, firewood for the needy, help for the ill and elderly, ETC. How ironic that it is being called “private” and lumped into the same category as a mansion serving one couple or family. It’s unjust, and a betrayal to the Public Trust and stewardship of these lands and the ghosts that roam them to not heed the voices of hundreds of us. Would thousands of our voices change the trajectory? How many NO’s does the county need to respect our wishes and stop granting permits like they were penny candy?
If you are at all awake and aware, and walk these lands, you can feel the palpable sorrow. You can hear the ghosts speaking in their original languages. If you walk the lands that Miller/Campbell have been jackhammering for almost the past YEAR, it looks like a war zone – and it is. All the beauty and aliveness of that land was destroyed. The two (dying) madrona trees left standing – it is devastating to look at them, remembering what was there, and feel the trauma this land has endured. Will even ONE of these be a home to a working family? Where are all the creatures expected to live? We are destroying our boreal forests. This will be the destruction of life on earth if we continue to refuse to see it. We in our little microcosm had a chance to do something different. We blew it.
THIS is”progress?!” Will we continue to lie to ourselves and not call it by its true name?
Why do we not have an ordinance in place to protect madrona trees from man’s stupidity and murder of them? These trees only grow in the pacific NW and in Maine, on the coasts. They are endangered. There are SO MANY ordinances the Public had NO SAY in deciding. Start looking at all the ordinances since the 80s and probably before that, and you will need look no further for the sources of the problems we have now. Then ask yourselves which moneyed interests have helped create these ordinances behind our backs for the benefit of a few.
The permits were granted (apparently) because they satisfied the County’s laws about development in the UGA. (And given those laws and rules, I bet they cost an arm and a leg, but that’s beside the point.) The Growth Management Act dictates this. Might be time to look at that law, which talks only about WHERE to put growth. Somehow, magically, half of it is supposed to occur in the UGA. At the same time, there are hundreds of undeveloped parcels out in the rest of the island, zoned for 5 or 20 acres. Certainly, it is time to look at the guesthouse issue again. It was never decided by the courts, and it certainly has an impact on rental availability.