Letter to the Editor: Land Bank Renewal Now Explained

To The Editor:

We were disheartened and dismayed to see our local papers Editorials and the Guest Editorials concerning the Land Bank renewal.  In reading them, about three-quarters of the editorials are PRAISING the efforts of the Land Band and pointing out the important acquisitions the Land Bank has secured for the islands.

Then the “Boogey Man” word is used….”TAXES”.  The Land Bank is not taxing us unless we purchase property and that is a 1 percent tax.  Many of us have property acquired long before the Land Bank was in existence.  The editorials and letters unfairly use the scare tactics of the struggling economic times that the county is facing “by cutting programs, etc.” when in effect, the Land Bank has nothing to do with this.  Much of the land acquired was already in a reduced tax classification.  If all the land the LB owns were put back on the tax rolls the decrease in taxes on a $500.000 parcel would be around $10.00.

I remember seeing one writer at the Turtleback Celebration and Auction a few years back.  It seems to me that now that we have our “CAKE” we are asking the voters to withhold any more “CAKE” to the residents and to future generations.

The LB needs us to vote now to be able to complete projects that are in the works which will take longer than 2014 to complete including another possible and important shoreline acquisition for Orcas Island.  The county is made up of 111,870 acres.  The Land Bank has acquired for the good of the people 3,180 acres, half of this being Turtleback Mountain.

These are the facts.  The Land Bank is not gobbling up land and taking it out of the tax rolls.  The LB contributes to the economy by preserving the island and rural character that tourists come here to enjoy. Educate yourselves and don’t fall for scare tactics.  Visit www.renewourlandbank.org. and please vote a heartfelt YES to renew the Land Bank.

Sincerely,

Patty Pirnack-Hamilton

Jim Hamilton