— by Margie Doyle —
The County Planning Commission will continue its deliberations on the Eastsound Subarea Plan update next Tuesday, Aug. 25 at the Eastsound Fire Hall. The commissioners, from Lopez and San Juan Islands as well as Orcas Island’s Bob Gamble, Brian Ehrmantraut and Tim Blanchard, agreed to catch early ferries, before 7 a.m., in order to extend their time to work on the update on Tuesday.
They also agreed to continue their deliberations to Friday, Aug. 28 if necessary, in Friday Harbor.
Today, they held a Public Hearing for the Eastsound Subarea Plan Update: “Repealing San Juan County Code Chapter 16.55, Amending the Comprehensive Plan Official Map, Adding Eastsound Develompent Regulations to San Juan County Doce Title 18, and adding an Eastsound Subarea Plan Appendix to San Juan County Comprehensive Plan.”
The Planning Commission, chaired by Barbara Thomas, and including Tom Starr, Michael Plunkett, and Karin Agosta in addition to the Orcas members, heard from County Planning and Development Director Sam Gibboney, staff Linda Guernsey and Senior Planner Colin Maycock beginning at 10 a.m. this morning. They then took public testimony at the American Legion Hall today, until 12 noon, and then continued to hear public testimony in the afternoon before adjourning at 3:30 p.m.
In summarizing the plan and the proposed changes, Maycock said, “The odd thing about the Eastsound Subarea Plan (ESAP) is that, unlike other County codes, with its table of allowed uses, the ESAP lists allowed and prohibited uses and then everything else is conditional use, which creates a wide category of conditional uses. So it’s unfair to the applicants because they don’t know if their use will be allowed until it goes before the hearing examiner.
“As community representatives, the Eastsound Planning Review Committee (EPRC) has striven to create a land use table that has taken a number of years to complete, as part of a public process, with a lot of input.”
The Planning Commission met regarding the ESAP update last summer, and their work was delayed until all county property owners could be notified by last month’s mailing of the proposed changes to the Subarea Plan and today’s hearing.
Those giving public testimony were John Campbell, Ed Sutton, Erroll Speed, Sadie Bailey, Gulliver Rankin, Tony Simpson, Fred Klein, and Jim Jonassen.
The Commission expressed dismay that they are requested to give their findings and recommendations to the County Council by Sept. 2, but agreed to do their best to fulfill that mandate. In agreeing to meet next week, they also concurred that they would bring lunches and only take a half-hour break at lunch. Vice-Chair Michael Plunkett will preside at the Friday meeting if it is continued, as Chair Barbara Thomas has another meeting scheduled for that day, when all the Orcas Island Planning Commissioners could attend the meeting in Friday Harbor.
All ESAP documents — draft plan, map, exhibits, allowed and prohibited land uses, and errata were made available to the public and can be found at https://www.sanjuanco.com/cdp/esap/ESAP_Documents.aspx?dept=ESAP&listname=ESAPStaffDoc
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people of Eastsound – please go to these further meetings and testify – ask a lot of questions! Say what is important to you about quality of life in Eastsound ! Do you want maximum development and destroyed Critical areas, or a quiet peaceful valley with a small downtown core of retail and a walking Village, with open space and residential areas just outside of the core village, as the existing lays out in its goals and visions? This new draft changes all that. There is so much more to say…
OOPS. My bad – you won’t be allowed to testify because the Public testimony is done, but you will be able to witness deliberations, take notes, and then send your questions, comments, and concerns to Council.