Eastsound Planners Invite Public to Join Workgroups

— from Jeff Otis, Co-chair Eastsound Planning Review  Committee (EPRC) —

How important is the future of Eastsound to you?

What will Eastsound be like in twenty years? What role would you like to play in answering that question?

Should Eastsound evolve on its own in accordance with existing regulations and whatever market forces are brought to bear, or should it be guided by the conscious intentions of the citizens of Orcas Island?

It’s your village and your choice.

As part of the continuing series of workshops on the Vision for Eastsound, the EPRC invites you to participate in an intensive community driven process of updating the Eastsound Subarea Plan. Your help is needed to make the changes to the Eastsound Subarea Plan that will implement the community vision. To facilitate this process, subcommittee work groups of the EPRC will be formed and tasked with the responsibility of formulating recommendations to the EPRC for revising the goals, policies, and regulations of the Eastsound Subarea Plan. The subcommittees will be divided into the following categories:

• Livability: Residential density and commercial intensity inside and outside the village core, mix of uses, affordable housing, residential accessories to allowed commercial uses, and anything else influencing achievable density with the mandate to accommodate half of Orcas Island residential growth in the Urban Growth Area (UGA), including incentives and strategies.
• Character: Building design, scale, bulk, height, lot coverage, lighting, space between buildings, including incentives and strategies.
• Open Spaces: Natural and created open spaces, public areas, paths, streetscapes, wetlands, views of the mountains, water, and shoreline, and including incentives and strategies.
• Parking and Roads: On and off-site parking, on-street parking, cluster parking, parking nodes, shared parking, bike lanes, sidewalks, streetscapes, road widths, stormwater infrastructure, and incentives and strategies.
• Opportunities: Public Spaces, private possibilities looking to prioritize opportunities, Fern St., Crescent Beach Rd., “A” St., Rose St., and incentives and strategies.

Upon formation of the work groups, an introductory meeting will be held in late February or early March (date to be announced). Work groups will develop their own work plan and process with a target date for final recommendations to the EPRC by the end of April. The total time commitment will involve weekly meetings and approximately 16 to 24 hours.

Advance reading of the following background materials will be necessary; links to these materials are on the registration form below:

• The Eastsound Comprehensive Plan (goals and policies)
• Eastsound Subarea plan (regulations)
• Seeking a Vision for Eastsound and the stakeholder survey
• The comments from the recent ES vision workshops.

Your commitment to participate from start to finish is very important.

To accept this invitation please register by February 20 at doebay.net/eprc/ eprccategoricalworkshopregistration.html.

You can make a difference in the future of Eastsound. Registration forms can also be obtained at the Orcas Library. For questions or more information please contact:

Jeff Otis: jeffo@rockisland.com Fred Klein: freddythek10@gmail.com.