At the January EPRC Open House: from left, Danna Kinsey, Clyde Duke, Teri Williams, Marlia Starwater and Fred Klein
Thursday, Feb. 7 at 3 p.m. in the Eastsound Fire Hall
The Eastsound Planning Committee has been looking at several developments on the Eastsound shoreline and on Prune Alley in recent months, permits regarding:
- Outlook Inn expansion
- Commercial Art studio combined with residence within the Eastsound UGA
- Development of the Bayside building
and the development of a Prune Alley Streetscape Plan. The Eastsound Sub-area Plan may be found on the county website at: sanjuanco.com/planning/docs/Subarea/EastsoundPlan.pdf that will add curbs and handicapped access at certain corners of Prune Alley.
Yet at its January meeting, County Planning and Development Department head Rene Beliveau suggested that the EPRC, a county advisory committee appointed by the Council, limit its involvement in
- “pre-reviewing” permit applications
- cooperation with CDPD in developing and sharing a checklist for permit applicants.
Beliveau said that the EPRC has “no standing” to review single family residence projects. “Go back to a more traditional [process], not single family [residence] applications. “f you choose you can ask for more,” he suggested.
Committee members pushed back, saying that past problems with communications had resulted in the development of a checklist for items to consider before permits are issued, and in the EPRC’s assistance in reviewing permit applications on an advisory basis.
Beliveau said the county is considering specific project review process for later this year. Such a review would not charge for an “office visit” and would be conducted informally. Beliveau also said that that county was “advertising for a permit technician.”
EPRC member Clyde Duke asked Beliveau for clarification. “We’ve experienced the county coming to us for help as liaison; out of that has come the expectation that EPRC will comment on permits.”
EPRC Chair Gulliver Rankin noted that often the EPRC notices permitting issues that County staff “missed because of Eastsound’s idosyncracy.”
EPRC member Teri Williams said the checklist developed by her at EPRC and Chris Law at CDPD has “been beneficial to applicants and Rene’s staff … in creating a habit to look at the [Eastsound] Sub-area plan. … [It] informs the community about what’s going on in Eastsound which [the EPRC] is supposed to know about even if we’re not ‘reviewing’ it.
Fred Klein said, “When pending projects are brought before the EPRC for review, we’re clear we’re not regulatory, but it’s a smart thing to have us aware of.
“The checklist was our attempt to make sure that your staff — which normally doesn’t have to be alert to those things — is aware.”
Williams said, “What’s keeping this conversation going is the number of faux pas in projects over the last few years, not just in permits, but in uses. We’re trying to learn from mistakes and find solutions so that anyone who applies for a permit or is about to purchase property [can be informed]. It’s important to keep the conversation solution-oriented and keep the checklist and communication going.”‘
Beliveau maintained, “If anybody has questions about the use of potential property, the best source is our department.”
Lisa Byers, OPAL Director and former EPRC member and chair put in that it has been helpful to OPAL projects to come to the EPRC. She described the county’s pre-permit hearing as not as helpful to applicants because the county staff is not as familiar with the subarea plan. She said the understanding is different “between people who are local and part of culture vs. city designers and non-local planners.”
Byers described the checklist as a way for both the “least knowledgeable” and “motivated” applicants to get good information. In addition she recommended, “I would encourage cross-training of staff, and have more than one person coming over here,. It is good for them to get out and meet the EPRC.”
Following the regular meeting, the EPRC hosted an Open House where stormwater, the Streetscape Plan, Public Works plans on Orcas Island, the Eastsound Sub-areaPlan and other development issues were displayed and discussed.
This month’s EPRC meeting, to be held on Thursday, Feb. 7 at the Eastsound Fire Hall at 3 p.m. includes on the agenda
- OPALCO Broadband presentation with Suzanne Olson
- Report from the County Council with Rick Hughes or Patty Miller
- Residential permit reviews on Crescent Beach and Sunset Avenue
- Revisions to the Eastsound Sub-barea Plan with County Planner Colin Maycock
Public comment is scheduled for 3:10 p.m.
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