Meetings Planned for Water and Land Use Elements of the County Comp Plan

By Stan Matthews
County Communications Program Manager

San Juan County will conduct a series of meetings from September 14th to September 30^th to gather public input on proposed amendments to the County’s Comprehensive plan. The Comprehensive Plan document does not contain rules or regulations, but sets out principles with which legislative and regulatory actions by the County Council and administrative agencies must comply.

Under State Law, the County’s Comprehensive Plan must be reviewed and updated regularly, but changes can only be adopted once a year. The elements of the plan that will be updated this year include elements concerned with water and land use policy. The proposed changes include minor updates to bring the County into compliance with state law as well as a few significant changes that will shape County policy for years to come.

Among the revisions proposed for the land use element:

• The creation of a land use “overlay” area which would encourage a greater range of activities to take place at the Fair Grounds on San Juan Island.
• The transfer of the Wireless Communications Service Facilities Plan to the County’s Development Code, where modifications could be made more easily.
• An amendment to the urban growth area policy accommodating 50% of new population growth within Urban Areas.
• A proposed County Corner Local Area of More intense Rural Development (LAMIRD) on Orcas Island.
• Changes in the Critical Areas section of the plan, laying out principles for protecting upland areas that are “important to the healthy function of natural ecosystems, as well as areas that can be hazardous to people and their property.”

Proposed new elements of the water element of the Comprehensive Plan include:

• A goal to “ensure that property owners can prepare and implement their own stormwater management plans on low risk sites and low risk projects.”
• A proposed policy to limit the export of groundwater from Agricultural Resource lands.

Full copies of the draft land use and water elements are available on-line at:  https://www.sanjuanco.com/cdp/default.aspx?dept=CDP&listname=Docket2008

The Orcas Island meeting for the water element will be on Monday, Sept. 14 from 4:45 to 6:45 p.m. at the Eastsound Fire Hall.

The Orcas meeting for the land use element will be Monday, Sept. 28 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Eastsound Fire Hall.

Written comments, suggestions and alternate policies can also be submitted to:

Shireene Hale, Senior Planner San Juan County
PO Box 947
Friday Harbor, WA 98250
shireeneh@co.san-juan.wa.us, 360-370-7569

In addition to these opportunities for the public to provide comments and input, the San Juan County Planning Commission and County Council will each hold public hearings and deliberations before final action is taken on changes to the Comprehensive plan.