Friends of the San Juans: You Tube & Orcas Complaint

From Friends of the San Juans

A recent video that was posted on you tube and has spread throughout our community. This memo provides background information about why Friends of the San Juans got involved over two years ago.

Background

Friends of the San Juan receives 10-20 calls from concerned islanders annually with questions about environmental violations.  Often these citizens have no experience with County government or the process to file a code enforcement complaint. Some of these calls result in filing formal code complaints with the San Juan County Code Enforcement Officer who is the only person in the county charged with the task of investigating land use violations. On Thursday, January 21, 2010 Stephanie Buffum Field, Executive Director of the Friends, filed a land use complaint with the San Juan County Code Enforcement Officer, Allen Shayo  for tax parcel 273522005000, a 3.9964 acre parcel owned by Charles Dalton.

This complaint was filed after calls were made complaining about the construction of a fresh-water well in a stream, muddy water entering into the bay in East Sound, concerns regarding road construction over a stream, and the building of three structures.

Why Did Friends Ask the County to Enforce Its Code Against Unpermitted Development in Wetlands on Orcas Island?
1. For Fairness. We believe that all property owners should play by the same rules with the same expectations.

2. To Protect Property, Clean Water and Wetland habitat for Island Neighbors, Fish and Wildlife. Wetlands provide many benefits to society such as fish and wildlife habitats, natural water quality improvement, flood storage, shoreline erosion protection, opportunities for recreation and aesthetic appreciation, and natural products for our use at little or no cost. Protecting wetlands can, in turn, protect our health and safety by reducing flood damage and preserving water quality.

The stream in question continues on to other properties. Activities that happen upstream, including diverting water or changing sediment patterns, can cause harmful impacts to neighbors and critters downstream. The Wild Fish Conservancy found fish downstream on the adjacent property.

3. To Support Building in the Right Place, With Proper Review. After the County contacted the landowners about the unpermitted buildings, the landowners initially hired a local wetland expert to help determine if there were any wetlands on the property. The local consultant found that a building had been constructed within both a wetland buffer and a stream zone. The consultant proposed some after-the-fact compensatory mitigation. The landowners later hired a consultant from off island who reached different conclusions than the initial consultant. These reports were contradictory so the county, in the absence of in house expertise, requested the Department of Ecology (DOE) to evaluate both reports. The DOE wetland experts did not agree with the findings from the second wetlands report. (Last October, the Whidbey News-Times wrote an article about other wetland work by the second consultant:  whidbeynewstimes.com/news/131552948.)

What this is NOT about: This is not about farming. You can review Friends’ newsletters and read about our actions to preserve farmland. For example, in 2010, Friends challenged a County ordinance that would have exempted most County development from protecting agricultural lands. FRIENDS was the only organization to stand up in defense of agriculture lands.

Friends believes that we can protect the environment and support local farming. We are working with farmers to make this a reality. Charles Dalton’s restaurant supports local producers and his business practices are to be commended. But this is not about any of that…this is about following the rules and obtaining construction permits before developing houses, studios and barns on a four-acre parcel with a wetland and a stream.

One of the primary people interviewed in this video works for the Freedom Foundation – an Olympia based organization with 24 staff and a mission “To advance individual liberty, free enterprise, and limited, accountable government.”

About Friends of the San Juans.Since 1979, Friends has been providing science, education, law and citizen action to preserve the land, water, sea and livability of the San Juans.  Based in Friday Harbor, Friends is comprised of an Executive Director, Office Manager, Staff Attorney, Science Director, a Grants Manager and a volunteer board. A majority of Friends staff time is devoted to science, research, restoration programs, education, land use policy and planning. For more information on all of our work, please visit  www.sanjuans.org.