Letter to Editor | Is it time to face reality? Or is it too late?

||| FROM MICHAEL JOHNSON |||

S.C. Watson illustration paid for by MJ and friends.

Coming out of the year 2020, a year marked by the pandemic, now allows us to reflect upon where we, as a county are headed, and ask ourselves, “where do we want to end up?” As the illustration (commissioned) indicates, the previous council would not listen to the people when it came to their concerns regarding over-tourism and the over-proliferation of vacation rentals… thus costing the Orcas councilman his seat during the recent past election, and giving the people of San Juan County a more progressive voice coming out of Orcas Island.

The vacation rental moratorium (for what it’s worth) has been enacted, and our elected leaders are now delving into the complicated area of coming up with new restrictions on vacation rentals (including limits). Without stringent limits on vacation rentals our path is clear. We would be following in the footsteps of the many communities before us that did not have the foresight to act before it was too late, and we would be ignoring the warnings given by those who have been predicting over-tourism in the San Juans for many years. “If it’s predictable… it’s preventable.” Waiting until we’re suffering from the stresses of overtourism before enacting measures that are designed to prevent it, is a bit like waiting until we’ve run out of water before enacting water restrictions. The causal relationship between public policy and overtourism cannot be overstated. The current reality is, that when it comes to the question of overtourism in San Juan County, that without a change in course… it’s not a question of “if,” but of “when.”

“I urge you to voice your opinion to our county leaders letting them know that you share the same views as the 96% of the respondents from the recent past SJC Tourism Survey who stated that they did not want to see any additional tourism in SJC, and I ask that you support hard caps/limits on all types of vacation rentals.