||| FROM PEGEEN WHITE |||
This weekend I spent several hours gathering signatures for a petition to save the trees at The Longhouse, a donated apartment building for low-income seniors and the disabled. I have lived in many places in my lifetime, but I have never found a community more generous or grateful, aware of their good fortune in choosing the treasure of Orcas Island as their home. This is an uplifting community, united and willing to take care of their island and each other. And yet, it was surprisingly easy to obtain signatures for this complaint, this appeal to save the Longhouse seating area and plantings. Many residents of Orcas- and tourists! – are increasingly disturbed that our county government is at odds with the vision we have for our chosen home.
The planning commission’s subarea plan for Eastsound spoke of a “walking village,” spoke of preserving the rural character and rural quality of life, and spoke specifically of preserving the mature trees in town, the trees that help to visually connect our gorgeous, lush island surroundings with our village. Mature trees are needed to soften our experience of the cars, people, noise, dust and heat, and disturbingly now, smoke from wildfires, that all increase in our warmer weather and tourist “season,” which actually stretches across three seasons, Spring, Summer and Fall.
San Juan County moved ahead on a plan for a DONATED building that clearly goes against the vision of the donor to provide a refuge for the most vulnerable of the community. It will destroy the only outdoor seating of the residents and a fully developed natural screen from the street.
Our beautiful public library comes to mind often these days. Here we have a heavily used building that celebrates the full serenity nature can provide us. Its parking lot is actually inviting, close to a park itself, even though its function is for parked cars. I guess my point here is that the cars of Orcas have more respect at the library than the Seniors have at the Longhouse.
Orcas, and Eastsound residents have repeatedly voted for and donated to the expansion of programs that demonstrate special care and sensitivity to its citizens and its environment. I read, in one of the too-rare news stories on the Prune Alley Project, a county employee declare that “Everyone is in favor of this project!” This was not at all what I was hearing around town; the most I ever heard was a very reluctant acceptance of a project people felt was somehow inevitable, but they did not feel they knew enough about to properly assess. Both residents and business owners are told it is a “done deal,” and when we have specific questions, we are referred to the county website and asked to download 200 pages of technical drawings and documents. How is this a respectful response for a hardworking breadwinner, or a person without a laptop or internet, or a senior who may not be internet savvy? The callousness of this approach by public employees is deeply concerning. Is the county intentionally obscuring activities that are supposed to be on behalf of the public?
Another deflection presented by the county is that the Prune Alley property owners were properly notified and allowed to give feedback on the project. Eastsound is the island’s hub, every aspect of this town is the business of every resident of this island and of every tourist. It was so easy to obtain signatures against one small part of the project because what is being done at the Longhouse is a violation of what Islanders repeatedly vote for and demonstrate: respect and deep concern for the threats to the people, creatures and unique environmental features of our Island. They like rural; they like funky; they don’t want our town to turn into a replica of Friday Harbor.
We continue to deal with a pandemic that has taught us anew the joy of gathering in the open air. A plan for Eastsound should be increasing these opportunities for people, not decreasing them. (Of course, pushing through this plan at this time, with businesses and people! attempting to recover, also was a rigid and uncreative response to the realities of the pandemic.)
I have an additional concern regarding the trees marked for removal at the Island Market. I was told by the county that a plan will save those trees, but there was no place found as yet where they will be held and cared for while awaiting replanting. Has this issue been resolved?
I hear repeatedly from discouraged people that “progress is inevitable.” Is it time to redefine what progress is? In these times, supporting the balance and harmony of nature is true progress. Orcas could be a model for the world. And while the Longhouse trees are still in the ground, they may be saved.
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This is a really good and heartfelt letter. Thank you.
I sent the petitions as placeholders to the Influencers, until I could get darker scans; will work on that this weekend and send better replacements.
Under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, birds, eggs, and nestlings are protected until after all the babies have fledged – usually mid Sept to Oct. – unless there are raptors like owls or other endangered raptors. I would like the community to be aware of the Act, which prevents taking or killing of these birds and their young – including the felling of trees and shrubs where the birds live. This type of mass cutting only hastens their extinction; plus it is illegal.
Please, community members, if you care about helping Longhouse residents have voice and advocate for themselves, write a letter to council – Cindy specifically – and the two engineers at Public Works with the power to do something different. They need to hear from us.
“our county government is at odds with the vision we have for our chosen home.”
Back in the days of the Old Republic government was the servant of the people and the peoples vision. Elected officials represented the peoples vision, not staff convenience nor bureaucratic “recommendations”. If they didn’t we’d throw the rascals out !
Alas no more, put on a mask, keep your distance and spread no more misinformation/disinformation — The administrative state triumphant ! ! !
Petitions are a really archaic way to make a point, I realized, but also heartening and surprising when that person looks you in the eyes and says, “Of course. Of course, I am wholeheartedly in favor of putting trees first. I understand how important they are to our well-being.” But you attempt to contact the county reps, and their email addresses don’t work if you send them from your own email. You have to go the county and find each person separately and email them. Then, nothing. It just disappears and leaves you with no record that you even wrote it. They provide you no copy, nor do they let you know if it arrived at its destination. And of course, no one ever replies to you. I have had much greater success praying to the Moon and Stars.
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Thank you, Phil and Sadie, for your comments. I have been thinking that hiring a reporter to cover all the county meetings, do extensive research and ask the tough questions might be the most economical way to understand all the forces at work against keeping Orcas healthy long into the future and gaining strength for the movement for sustainability on Orcas. It’s a full time job and then some, but without it, we will be looking at a very different island in 10 years time, while “market forces” keep a lot of big, noisy machinery in use destroying the world treasure that is Orcas.