Editor’s Note: please see: https://theorcasonian.com/shoreline-comments-due-today-shoreline-form-a-hoax
Dear Council Members,
I became aware last week that the deadline for submitting a review of the Shoreline Characterization Report was due on Monday April 30, 2012.
As I waded through the documents at the library and then had a disk sent to me from the community development and planning department and reviewed all 39 maps I wondered if anybody else was having as much trouble as I was. It was very frustrating to discover that the county employee in charge of this was on vacation, so there was no one to help me.
I met with around fifty people at the Orcas Fire Department last Wednesday night only to discover that none of them had any idea about this review let alone that a report was due on Monday. I shared with them on how to find their management areas and their Reach area and the importance of checking out the maps to see if they were an accurate reflection of their property. The next day I received numerous emails and phone calls asking for help.
I have not talked to one shoreline property owner that knew anything about this. Something is wrong with the communication from the county to its property owners on this important issue. I am requesting that the deadline be extended to a later and more appropriate date this summer so property owners can participate in this important issue.
Leith Templin
four trips to the library, many calls to Leith, looking for pictures at 3am etc. Without bullwings I still wouldn’t know about any of this. We need to extend the date from April 30th. Many people still don’tknow. A nyone who makes decisions for the San Juans should need to own land here,live here and vote here.
Due to the poor communication about and the complexity of the Characterization Report, an extension for comments is in order. Additionally, SJC government needs to individually communicate the impact of the Characterization Report to each shoreline property owner of record. This may be burdensome, but not any more burdensome than notifying each shoreline property owner of their assessment or of their tax liability.
Please note today’s update from the county, “Shoreline Comments Due Today; Shoreline Form a Hoax.” (It is not known yet who initiated this hoax).
Margie–this is anything BUT a hoax. The form to which the County staff is apparently referring is the one drawn up by counsel for the Common Sense Alliance–a leading land use lawyer in the state–and made available on CSA’s website.
Of course, no one has said that the form is a County form, or that it is “required” by the County. The message I heard was that the draft report paid for by the County–and the one that will either be used “to inform policy for new SMP regulations, or be used as a record of current conditions for future enforcement, depending on which day of the week it is–is full of errors. Major errors: such as calling a natural landslide “armoring.” Overlooking the presence of a house and outbuildings.
Thanks Peg, for all your efforts to clarify this matter. Since I haven’t had a retraction from the county, and since we at Orcas Issues encourage the discussion about this issue, we’ll leave the original notice from the county on the site, cross-referencing this opinion with the notice from the county.
My understanding now is that the form was not a “hoax” but a respectable effort to help people understand the many documents involved and enable them to comment. Thanks to the community for airing this matter.