— from Tony Ayer —
Sometimes far out suggestions evoke new ways to envision an issue that may divide a community or even a family unit.
With great credit to those who are trying to evolve a new vision for Eastsound, Fred Klein, Gretchen Krampf, and Jared Lovejoy, and many others – thank you!
What I am going to suggest will probably run the risk of my being “tarred and feathered” or “run out of town on a rail”; but it is a different view that may stimulate some fresh ideas.
The village of Eastsound can only expand to the west and still be a “walking village”. To preserve a walking village and still allow for moderate growth which provides for increased entrepreneurial opportunity for our young people, more jobs, more shopping opportunities for our growing tourism base, we need to expand. I know this will horrify the “no-growth group” but in the next 20 years we will need new boutiques, eateries, entertainment opportunities, land for new community services, all within the village core of Main Street and North Beach Road.
So, here comes the trouble. I am well aware that wetlands are a sacred issue to many; but then I am the guy who drained a 3 acre swamp, helped recharge the surrounding aquifer that supplies many wells in the area, found a 14,000 year old Bison fossil, gifted to our local museum, and created a beautiful lake that now hosts a vast population of wildlife from eagles, herons, osprey, to fish, ducks, snails and newts.
Yes, wetlands serve an important function in any balanced, ecologically sound ecosystem. But in Eastsound that wetland of perhaps 5 to 10 acres right in the middle of town needs a new life and a new vision. From the airport, south to the New Leaf and Outlook Inn this strip of land divides our village and prevents necessary expansion to the west.
Our “walking village” will need parking, new streets, expansion of the town infrastructure for water, sewer, street lighting, new shops, restaurants, offices, and all those things that will supply the needs of not only our residents but our visitors. We cannot deny the need for future growth, but we can plan thoughtfully so our village will survive with a healthy infrastructure and vibrant economy. Let’s look at the wetland with new eyes.
Striking a balance between sound planning and ecological preservations, I envision a new street running north from New Leaf, parallel to North Beach Road, west of the gym and Post Office, culminating at the airport. Lateral streets connecting by the parking lot behind Mia’s and also west from the Post Office creating small village blocks with provisions for parks, parking and walking paths as well as new retail entrepreneurial opportunities.
How can we accomplish these growth demands and marry this to a need to re-envision the ecological beauty of the wetland? This I leave to others.
Now, bring on the “tar and feathers”!
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Are you CRAZY!! This would require a real shift of thought… next you will want World Peace!!
All kidding aside, I agree that every stone should be turned when it comes to and about intelligent design and the potential outcome of such, while not getting too emotional in the discussion of such pondering.
Thanks for thinking out of the box!! Not to take away from ANY ecosystems but rather enhance them. Which I will say, we as a community can still improve on.
Clyde Duke.
Tony, your ideas are mine, but bolder. My vision has been to create access to parking through use of that “avenue” between Outlook Inn & Pawki’s. Rework those wetlands while maintaining the drainage-to-the-sea that’s necessary. If parking is provided in that back area, ( accessible from Main St. and from behind the athletic build.,with short walking access to the back of the retail shops on the west side of North Beach Rd., then North Beach Rd could be closed off from Main St. to A St., creating a real “Center”. The Fern St. ROW. would remain mostly pedestrian, with the part ending in Prune Ally (How DO you spell it?) becoming a wide indentation for perpendicular or angle parking.
If the “westward expansion” were planned to include Tony’s vision, the most necessary elements could be accomplished first: PARKIN, with path access to shops..
Most of us were not here when Enchanted Forest Rd was put in across the low point. I’m sure the same discussions came up in the planning of that.
I think tar is illegal in the San Juans… Feathers alone would be silly and honey just doesn’t have the same impact…
I’m sure we’ll think of something tho. Don’t stand still too long.
If you destroy Eastsound Swale, you destroy Fisherman’s Bay! How will That impact Tourism? Tourists come here to enjoy the fairly clean, undisturbed Peace of Nature in general. Most tourists come to the Islands to Be In Nature, not to shop; they can do that at home!
Spirit Eagle
A couple of concerns I think we should think through first before we start building:
1. Is there sufficient water resources in Eastosund for further build-out?
2. If there continues to be vacant business space in Eastsound, why should we need to create more?
3. And thirdly, and most importantly: There is a reason why this wetland has legal protection .It would be a major ecological disaster to the Eastsound watershed if we let the Eastsound Swale be wiped out. Doing this would destroy the ability of this natural system to break down our pollutants that run directly into Fishermans’ Bay. Like Spirit Eagle said, “If you kill off Eastsound Swale, you will kill off Fishermans’ Bay.” It is very true.
I think it’s a very, very bad idea.
It is a crossroads between the environment and capitalism. I wish and hope that the environment would win out on Orcas Island, of all places.
I’ll bet 90% of the people on this Island don’t give a hoot about enhancing tourism. It is time someone said this, and I work in the tourism industry! People come here to live in and retire in Nature. We don’t care about tourism dollars, especially at the expense of our luxurious environment.
Am I right? Let me know.
Thank you,
-Domenic Verbano (: !
It’s hard for me to believe we can’t increase capacity for all the retail and commercial uses Tony Ayer mentioned without destroying an ecologically important green space. Where’s the pent-up demand for more retail space coming from? Are tourists visiting Orcas for shopping and indoor entertainment? Seems illogical given the natural leisure pasttimes supported by the island that we should pave more of it to create a poor imitation of a shopping Mecca. In fact, if you want to deter tourism, turn Eastsound into another suburban shopping village and gut its original charm at the same time, now there’s an idea.
As far as the laudable goal of creating more jobs for island youth, the low-skill service sector jobs created in tourism or local services only serve to keep our young people underemployed and hence underpaid, due to the low quality jobs created. Maybe it’s better for some of them to spend some time off the island, furthering their educations, diversifying their life experience, seeing a bit more of the world than our little Elysian Field.
No disrespect or tar-and-feathering meant for Tony, just voicing my hearty disagreement.
I agree with Domenic about infrastructure capacity being a major issue, particularly the water system.
Paula Treneer, Domenic Verbano, and Spirit Eagle; THANK YOU for bringing up points and questions that need addressing.
Is Tony Ayer suggesting that we “drain the swamp” of Eastsound Swale, so our village is not divided by those pesky forested wetlands, so we can have unimpeded “expansion to the west” sans wetland or trees – for more boutiques, street lights (light pollution), and restaurants?
Nobody is talking about this: The highest costs of living are in Eastsound UGA – on the backs of the working middle class and poor who live here and must pay for: water, sewer (sewer hookup is many thousands of dollars!), curbside garbage pickup and all-electric heat because that’s all that is built in town anymore. In other words, we pay for the infrastructure. The poorest people pay the most money for the privilege of being herded into a UGA, and then have no real say in anything that happens to us or our watershed.
Thinking outside the box would allow Lamirds instead of UGAs and hamlets instead of villages. It would allow attached and detached guest houses outside the UGA to house year-round workers, instead of transients-only. We would treasure our watersheds and forests, knowing what they do for ecosystems and for economics. We would preserve them, build around them, incorporate them into our visions.
Signed, Chicken Little
p.s. you can use some of my feathers (when I moult) to go with the tar. :)
The reality is, step up or shut up..
the Eastsound Swale has been the by-product of nothing being done in Eastsound for a long time. I watched the road being put thru Enchanted Forest Road way after we bought our property on Enchanted Forest road and hired Amanda Azuze to help us do the right thing and witness the universal demise of political bs as the swale succumbed to what it is today. I’m the first to say, we can all do a hell of a lot better!! And that’s a flunky roofer talking!!
I have very little patience for my neighbors who actually don’t own property, but feel they have a voice to be the voice of our community. Yes everyone has a right to comment, but I ask who is paying the taxes for this debate. Not taking away from the truths. being expressed but, own what you believe.. Peace!!
Tony…thank you for sticking your neck out…and I thank the commenters for their robust comments.
Or course, it’s one thing to advocate for a personal vision…and something else entirely to spend time face to face with others of your community committed to reaching a consensus-vision for addressing these many, interrelated issues.
Such a rich, respectful conversation can be full of surprises…
Lets go back 37 years when the “swale” was a ditch. Remember when Mike S. suggested boat races over the 4th of July holiday? It was on that ditch. There are aerial photographs from the late 70s early 80s that show flat land with no trees.Lack of proper maintenance from the port and the county allowed silt to be deposited throughout the north/south corridor and created a wetland where none existed before. Check the records of the Port that talk about “ditch” maintenance. That whole section is nothing but a putrid, mucky breeding ground for mosquitoes, rats and other nasty stuff. I agree with Tony that we need the space for future growth. We should be able to mitigate the water flow and allow for badly needed commercial space.
I don’t see why it can’t be a win-win for all. Marshall the water a bit better, make it a commodious park-like area with ready access both west and north. And there’s some space eastward as well–again more swales and wetlands, but they don’t need to be destroyed. There are intelligent environmentally compassionate ways to do this. Thank you everyone for your interest. I can’t be at the Saturday event, but I AM following this. Someone told me that it was about having our buildings all painted the same. On that point I’m in firm disagreement: colorful individuality are us! But let’s do the rest so that the environment and the human beings both get a fair shake. It can happen! AND WE ARE THE ONES TO DO IT!!!
Is it too late to reconsider The Grand Canal?
It’s in the “Vision…”, Brian. I don’t think they figured out the high bridge to accommodate sailboats, though!
The Grand Canal! Yes! I love it! Let’s move it over to where Eastsound Swale is, make the creek run from Fishing Bay to North Beach (some rock will need to be blasted). Lavender Hollow and Driftwood Apts can be waterfront property then, and all of us non-property-tax- paying-no-account peons can finally make it rich! I can sell gondola rides to the tourists and we can have little craft booths and tattoo parlors all along the canal! I’m all in! (the F.A.A. might take issue with some of this since N. of Enchanted Forest Superhighway is a “no fly” zone – meaning you can’t build (The Saw Shop is in this zone, so no worries; no one will enforce anything.) Bring it on!!!!
I am opposed to Clyde Duke’s suggestion, if I understood him clearly, that only property owners somehow should have some sort of priority voice in this debate, versus non-property owners. In my view, all denizens of Orcas (inhabitants) are stakeholders in this community and as such are entitled to voicing & voting their opinions. We don’t require people to own property to exercise the right to vote. Commercial property interests may also deviate from residential, should we give commercial property owners a preferred voice in the outcome? I don’t understand the rationale for trying to downplay the voices of long-term residents who perhaps can’t afford property investment, and I’m not sure the outcome would be improved by such restrictions either. My apologies if I misunderstood the comment, and I salute Clyde for his honesty in voicing what may be an unpopular point of view, as well as respect his right to hold it.
Oh My! Sounds like Land Owners are the only citizens allowed to have a say in Eastsound’s Planning! Renters Pay All taxes except Property Taxes. We Are Citizens of Eastsound as well as of Orcas Island! WE invest our Lives here, in caring for and about the Earth Herself!
I find it an egregious error to think in terms only of Ownership of property as a validation for you to determine the future of the Swale and of Eastsound for that matter.
Unlike those who live outside of Eastsound, we will be physically impacted by the complete destruction of the Wetland. Is it just a muddy, smelly waste of a possible “good real estate investment”. Eastsound, is becoming the Island’s slum. You cannot crowd people into a small space (compared to the rest of the Island) and expect it not to become a slum!
It is quite easy for people who live outside of Eastsound to play with our lives and immediate environment and not give a hoot about what it is like to live with more paved streets, Unnecessary retail shops and with fewer trees, hardly any birds for Nature to smile upon us.
I guess the only chance the Earth has here in Eastsound is the monetary crisis that seems to be coming. How very sad.
Spirit Eagle