Planning Commission mulls resource lands, clusters, urban growth

Public Calls for Vision Revision

||| BY STEVE BERNHEIM, ORCASONIAN REPORTER |||

The San Juan County Planning Commission met October 16 to receive a briefing from the County’s Community Development staff on the state of the County’s draft comprehensive plan for the period 2016-2036, this session addressing so-called “resource lands” and “rural cluster developments” and goals and policies for the county’s so-called “urban growth areas.”

“Resource lands” have agricultural, timber, or mineral commercial values and when commercially developed are eligible for tax and other benefits. Most of the resource lands now found among San Juan County’s 110,000 acres are classified for forest/timber (19,000 acres) and agricultural (14,000 acres) value. Planning staff briefed the Commission members on how resource lands might in the new comprehensive plan be re-classified – and de-classified – and re-defined to better achieve various objectives. For information, search “San Juan County comprehensive plan resource lands,” though the county dashboard for resource lands data appears to be not working as of this writing. The Commission will hear and discuss this subject further in November and welcomes public comment at compplancomments@sanjuanco.com. Include the phrase “Land Use Element: Natural Resource Lands” in your subject line and please do not send multiple copies of your comments to planning staff.

“Rural Cluster Developments” (RCDs) are clusters of up to eight residences and related structures intended to provide opportunities for affordable housing and small scale agriculture in rural areas. The Commission is considering whether to recommend increasing the maximum number of dwellings and square footage per dwelling in the new comprehensive plan. In addition to the maximum of 16 affordable homes available through the two RCDs now found in San Juan County, the Commission heard that the San Juan Land Trust, OPAL Community Land Trust and Lopez Community Land Trust provide an 130 affordable homes on San Juan Island, 185 on Orcas, and 60 on Lopez. Find more information HERE. The Commission will hear and discuss this subject further in November and welcomes public comment at compplancomments@sanjuanco.com. Include the phrase “Land Use Element: Rural Cluster Developments” in your subject line and please do not send multiple copies of your comments to planning staff.

“Urban Growth Areas,” which in San Juan County include only Lopez Village, Eastsound and Friday Harbor, under the state’s comprehensive plan guidelines are set aside for special and more intensive residential and commercial accommodation of projected growth than other areas of the county. The staff briefed the Commission on how the goals and policies for these areas could change in the new comprehensive plan. Unanswered questions included how we can protect rural character from industrial development and urban growth. Staff invited the Commission members with special concerns to offer specific written proposals.

Local residents are making an effort to revise the County’s vision statement – last revised June 2018 – in order to raise the bar for citizen climate action and social equality. Comments from the third estate presented at the meeting urged that ecological and social values of resource lands be recognized and that the Commission take up vision statement revision soon. These residents’ concrete suggestions for local action addressing plastics control, agricultural development, minorities’ inclusion, housing affordability and climate problems can be found at Newdealsanjuanislands.com. Local residents can speak their personal comments to the Planning Commission via remote connection at the beginning of every meeting.

The Planning Commission’s next meeting will be November 20 at 8:30 a.m. Meetings are available live and recorded on the County website. Find agenda and meeting information HERE. Next time’s agenda items include how the new comprehensive plan might regulate rural cluster developments, farmworker accommodations and vacation rentals.