LAMIRD plan proceeds for Country Corner

A sparse gathering turned out for the latest public hearing on the proposed Country Corner LAMIRD on Aug. 17. A LAMIRD is a “Limited Area of More Intense Rural Development,” and a commercial LAMIRD of 6 lots, totally some 16-plus acres has been proposed for the Country Corner surroundings. That area is outside the established Urban Growth Area (UGA) of Eastsound, but within the Eastsound Sub-Area Plan.

At the meeting, Country Corner area resident Chris Butler questioned the standards for setbacks and screening. Butler suggested that the setback standards be the same as the existing setback distance for the American Legion Post and the Country Corner retail store and gas station, now within the proposed LAMIRD boundaries. “Now [in the current standards] you could have storage units less than 20 feet from the road,” said Butler.

Colin Maycock, Senior Planner for the County Development and Planning Department, said that he would research whether such a restriction would be “equitable to what’s been required elsewhere.”

Maycock also addressed questions about whether the Eastsound Sewer and Water District (ESWD) could compel property owners to hook up to the sewer system, saying that he had conferred with the County’s Land Use attorney, and learned that the County’s position regarding County-Sewer District mandates is:

1)      The County has “policy in place saying it won’t allow extension of sewer district lines outside the UGA;”

2)      If a citizen has an issue with the ESWD, they are advised to talk to the Sewer District, not the County.

ESWD Commissioner Ed Sutton re-iterated his [intlink id=”eprc-explores-lamirds-county-sewer-district-conundrum-at-country-corner” type=”post”]Aug. 6 statements to the Eastsound Plannning Review Committee[/intlink], that although the sewer district has no current plans to extend sewer lines beyond the UGA, it is “inevitable” that the lines will be extended, given the district’s responsibility to maintain health standards, the likely expansion of the UGA and the likely incorporation of Eastsound as a municipality.

“It’s not going to happen in the short term,” Sutton said.

Chris Butler asked, “Then all of this is an exercise in futility?” to which Sutton and Maycock nodded.

Maycock said that the staff report on the latest draft establishing the LAMIRD will be posted on the county website, www.sanjuanco.com, next week.

The first public hearing on the establishment of the Country Corner LAMIRD is scheduled for Sept. 18 on Orcas Island. Planned to be an “all-day event,” according to Maycock, the time and place have yet to be decided. He expects that the matter will proceed to the County Council later this fall.