— by John M. Campbell —
As the currently revised Eastsound Subarea Plan works its way thru the adoption process, a neighborhood rezoning has been added to the agenda without any notice or explanation to the residents and property owners directly affected. The rezoning is a small sideshow to the major issue- reframing and clarifying the Eastsound Plan into the County format that separates the PLAN (vision, Goals and Policies and Zoning Map) and Regulations ( rules for development, permitted uses, etc.).There are two issues to this proposed rezoning:
- The effects and merits of the rezoning, i.e. is it a good idea for the neighborhood residents, property owners and Eastsound community, and;
- Notification of those residents and owners whose community and property values are to be affected.
Why the secrecy, is it deliberate or merely bureaucratic inept community relations? Ask CD&P, it is their initiative. Why has EPRC, our local representatives, not notified their neighbors? The CD&P point man for Orcas, Colin Maycock, advises me that State and County regulations require any direct notification to affected property owners to be sent to every Orcas Island property owner, a tiresome expense.
The law on public notice of impending Comprehensive Plan changes, with all the paraphernalia of Growth Management, is not simple. It requires different levels of notification for different types of rezoning. Public notification and involvement, however, is a cornerstone of Growth Management and indeed good planning practice. Nowhere is local government constrained from informing citizens of proposed or pending changes to their land use regulations. Everywhere in planning theory and practice, public information, notification and engagement is always of paramount importance.
While the merits of the proposed rezoning are interesting, it is community notice and discussion that is the subject here. In my experience, when it is proposed to rezone a community or neighborhood, the sooner the residents and owners are informed and made a part of the conversation the sooner and more happily will the issue be resolved and the better the subsequent trust and relations of all concerned.
In this case, early notification has not been done. No notice in the mail, no notices posted in the neighborhood, no visible or coherent notice in the local news media alerting people that their property values are being tinkered with.
What exactly is the affected neighborhood? West of the airport,
- The east side of Blanchard Street to the OPAL property;
- Both sides of Mt. View;
- Both sides of Seaview Street to Aviator Drive.
The issues involved in the pending rezoning are modest for most, but not all, concerned. The issue of public notice or rather failure of public notice and engagement in local re-zoning is more serious.
John Campbell is an architect and serves on the Eastsound Design Review Committee.
BRAVO!, John Campbell
Why didn’t I think of that? This is an excellent observation by Mr.Campbell that clarifies what has seemed to me a murky process. At least if notification were made, I would not feel my property were so vulnerable to zoning changes without my opportunity for due process. I believe I have noticed at least one additional zoning change in the current subarea plan proposal.
And another thing, I went to the subarea plan review meeting as long-advertised for 11/21. It was not in session; nor was an explanation posted.
(Editor’s note: the Meeting originally scheduled for Nov. 21 was for the County Planning Commission to consider the subarea plan update. It has been re-scheduled to a later date, as yet unannounced.)
Thanks John! As a resident who lives squarely in the affected area it would be nice to know that the rules by which my ownership is governed we’re being altered. While I don’t think I am radically affected, a heads up sure would have been nice!
The wonderful part of all this is that if the county has not made ample notice to property owners it will end up in another law suit. I think that even if, as John says, the county finds notification onerous it is a bit less trouble than a short note to property owners. If this is a tack that will raise awareness, the EPRC should hang their heads.
Linda
Spot-on, John Campbell!
Eastsound SubArea Plan is being revised in a way that will affect us all long term, without active participation from those most affected – Eastsounders. As an Eastsound resident affected already by urban sprawl, it is beyond disheartening to see that the whole aim of these changes is to develop every single parcel, protect none of the things specified in the Comp Plan, go against the vision of the Comp Plan, and develop commercial business that will deplete the downtown commercial core even more – and we already have plenty of empty spaces in buildings. And now with all of the above property affected,where do you think all that stormwater runoff is going to go when they cut down the last remaining trees up on your hill? Eastsound Basin watershed.
PA – good luck reading the new draft, since there are no strike-throughs of old language or tables, followed by the language which replaces them – which is the usual way to write a new draft when changing policy and zoning. There is no way to compare the existing SubArea plan with the proposed one. That is not the way to garner community involvement.
I feel beyond uneasy about this – and wonder what will be changed in the Comp Plan to match the relaxed land uses and protections.
Shame.