— by LIn McNulty, Managing Editor —
Inter-Island Propane 30,000-gallon fuel storage tank in Friday Harbor
Ruling that the “Conclusions Based on Findings” by San Juan County Hearings Examiner Sharon A. Rice are defective both procedurally and substantively, Island County Superior Court Judge Alan R. Hancock issued a ruling on April 30, 2018, that reverses the decision to prohibit Inter-Island Propane from installing a propane tank near the Orcas Airport and the Seaview residential community.
Inter Island, which provides propane delivery service in the San Juan Islands, requested a conditional use permit to install a 30,000-gallon propane storage tank along with required fencing, and a 20-foot natural vegetation buffer, at 27 Aeroview Lane, designated as a Service and Light Industrial area by the Eastsound Subarea Plan. The requested storage tank and slab on which it would sit would cover no more than one-third of the lot, the tank specifications exceed industry standards for storage of liquid propane gas (LPG) as set by the National Fire Protection Agency, and there would be no other facilities sited on the property. The propane would be filled about once every two weeks and accessed about twice a day.
On October 2, 2017, the Hearings Examiners based her denial of the permit based on (1) inadequate fire protection, (2) failure to identify an emergency evacuation route and incompatibility with the Orcas Airport, and an inadequate water supply for fire suppression, and (3) inadequate fire flow and emergency-agency approved evacuation route.
Following that denial, the Petitioner, Inter-Island Propane, appealed the Hearings Examiner ruling on October 24, 2017. And because the Petitioner also objected to San Juan County Judge Kathryn Loring, the case was moved to Judge Hancock’s court, although the ruling is still considered a San Juan County Superior Court ruling, according to San Juan County Prosecutor Randy Gaylord.
Any decision to appeal the ruling would be made by the San Juan County Council. As of press time, no decision has been reached.
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Once again it would appear that the desires of the individual
has been replaced by the money of the corporation. There is
no reason why the original ruling should have been reversed
when so many people who live in this neighborhood signed a
petition against this storage tank. The potential problems still exist and a fence is not going to protect against an
explosion. I hope that a catastrophe doesn’t prove that the
judge made a bad decision.
Why a reversal, not a remand?
Is the County appealing?
Who will be buying propane from this company?
Bill, why no mention of the law? Your argument is based on preference. If the majority doesn’t wants African-Americans, Jews, or Hispanics living nearby, should they get their desire simply because they are the majority? How about respect for the legal process which allows for appeals to higher courts? I think we call that Democracy. And Peg is very correct, if no one buys propane from this vendor, they will go away.
Another good reason Randy Gaylord need to GO!!!
Over here in Friday Harbor we love watching the self-absorbed gyrations of the Orcas community. Always amazed when school levies fail there. Or people get up in arms about sidewalks. Or when a local company that provides an essential service wants to build infrastructure in an appropriately zoned part of the island and there’s an outcry. At the end of the day, the Orcas community comes across as self interested and highly resistant to change. I understand that leads to a certain degree of “charm” but if Orcas took a close look at itself it would see how it stands in the way of itself on a regular basis.
The “essential service” is a giant propane tank in a street full of residential properties. It’s not essential as we already have a propane supplier. You seem not to know much about Orcas island.
Actually, Bill’s argument is not based on preference. There are several reasons why the court decision is wrong. Not the least of which is that the tank is located in a residential neighborhood full of young families that already experienced evacuation when the last propane supplier (down the road further) experienced a leak.
With all due considerations to all sides of this argument (including the outside view from Friday Harbor) this issue should not be looked at as a “Propane Tank” problem.
What Orcas Island has is a zoning and use problem. In the vision of the growth-planners, the location of this property as an industrial site was not only allowed, it was preferred. We can trace this entire problem back to a land use philosophy that sought to squeeze every last bit of growth into tiny pockets of space (sub-areas), resulting in non compatible land uses being forced together (often onto the same parcel) with unanticipated consequences.
The reason this seems to show it’s ugly face on Orcas more so than San Juan Island is that the areas artificially created for growth on Orcas are far more restricted than on San Juan. San Juan Island (Friday Harbor particularly), simply has a better footprint for industrial and commercial growth. GMA mandates set forth by the planners resulted in a flawed theory from large metropolitan planning that puts more emphasis on reducing urban sprawl than on potential hazards like we are seeing here. Because we adopted these ridiculous standards, we are now living in a situation where a business, such as this is forced away from more desirable and safer properties outside of town in order to meet the counties desires for them to loacate in the minimal allowed industrial area.
I can’t speak to the legal reasoning behind this decision, but I can say that without a doubt there will be more battles like this to come. I cannot blame the company for wanting to locate their tank where they are and I cannot blame the neighbors for being upset. In my non-professional, non-legal opinion, they are both right. I DO, however, blame our past county officials for allowing this to happen by adopting poor, incompatible growth standards for our community.
The fix for this is beyond the tank, beyond the neighborhood and beyond most of our reach. It lies in a real-world, practical look at how we allow growth to happen in the islands that is not based on “big-city” models.
I agree with Justin. What I don’t understand, however, is how current discussions about the Comp Plan will get us from where we are now (a mess) to where we need to be (a plan that is fully informed by good, publicly accessible data about growth projections – where it will be and and how land will be used). One thing seems certain to me: maintaining the status quo is not a viable option. Something’s gotta give.
With all due respect, any planner that finds a use like this compatible with existing neighboring uses has there head squarely lodged up there ass. No matter the zoning. Matters of undesirable industrial occupancies directly adjacent residential occupancies especially in clearly predominately residential neighborhoods are very well understood in planning circles to be incompatible, to severely affect property values insurance values and completly preclude opportunities for future HUD related incentives for residential investment. Those most directly affected homes are essentially being imposed with potential condemnation. Approving this permit goes absolutly against the reasoning behind the conditional use permit.
Walk the site. It will become patently obvious that the tank will be smack dab in the middle of residences on all sides. Not blocks away; they are immediately adjacent. This is quite simply a case of the law becoming so complex that the basic truth is being obscured by legalise. It’s time to rise above the technicalities and realize that a huge propane tank in the middle of family dwellings is fundamentally and morally wrong. Mired in the quagmire? Walk the site!
I love Mick Flabone’s comments since he doesn’t live on Orcas. Lala Land! The rest who have weighed in are spot on and genuinely concerned.
Safety first. Protect the families along Seaview and even the town from a potential propane leak. Yes, there is a documented history of leaks requiring quartering off Seaview. Secondly, give them a chance to safeguard their investment. Even though I do not own a property immediately adjacent to 27 Aeroview, I would hate to try and sell my property in the future with a propane tank immediately next door.
This is so fundamentally wrong it boggles my mind to see how corporate interests can override the safety of law abiding citizens who followed an apprently legal hearing process to be kicked in the teeth. The convoluted legal system notwithstanding, I question the County’s mission which should be to guarantee the safety of lives. I do not see any prediliction from them in this regard.
A propane leak is but one of the serious safety issues.. If you get a match near a leak, you have a firebomb – and if the wind is right, an explosion and/or a firebomb that would take out the entire town UGA and all of its infrastructure.
Will the County and Council appeal? Will they listen to us for once? This land use and zoning is egregious, like much of the zoning inside the “UGA” and surround.
As Justin Paulsen so eloquently reminds us, this IS a land use and zoning issue. Donna Riordan also raises a super important question that we all should be asking ourselves and the county: Do these latest discussions about the Comp Plan really effect anything? I’m inclined to believe that besides the fact that a “review” is mandated, it’s just another stall tactic until more permits can be doled out like penny candy. Who will be left to pick up the pieces of these zoning messes?
The populace doesn’t know the half of what’s been done to ensure that crappy zoning decisions like this continue. Just start reading the history of ordinances since 1996 – but it goes back much farther than that.
How could the County ever have permitted this?
For anyone who doesn’t (yet) have to contend with things like this in their own backyards, please stand with us. Don’t think you won’t be next!
I’m poor. But I’m willing to drop some money into the collection for the next appeal – and sign any petition voicing safety concerns and strong opposition.
Appeal this decision is the way to go now !
Who will step forward to fund good legal representation?
I trust the County will appeal! This violates many citizens’ rights to safety — no evacuation route from this location, no matter what its zoning. For a leak from another source in this neighborhood last time they evacuated & shut down the airport…Fire & Rescue should be speaking up for safety, so should the Port. If this violates the first sentence of the County’s vision statement, the County should vigorously appeal on behalf of the numerous citizens affected (& oh yes, if there were an explosion, the danger extends way beyond the neighborhood.)