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06/02/2006: "FH PC Recommends Approval Of 68 Homes"

(Standing room only at joint FH Town Council & Planning Commission Hearing)
In a double header hearing Thursday night, the Friday Harbor Planning Commission recommended approval of two land use applications intended to provide new housing in Friday Harbor. Both applicants told the combined Town Council and the Planning Commission members hearing the applications that their proposals would provide affordable housing in the -projected- 300 to 400 thousand dollar price range. The first application was proposing a traditional residential subdivision called Country Village, and according to the developer, Bobby Ross, there will be very restrictive and tight controls on the type, and style, of homes that can be constructed. The second proposal was for a planned residential development of clustered housing near the beginning of the FH Labs property north of Friday Harbor.



County Village
The first application was a subdivision application & a SEPA checklist submitted by Country Village LLC (Bobby Ross) to create 25 single family residential lots on a parcel of land next to Lampard road, and this in itself resulted in a standing room only crowd at the hearing. Due to the controversial purchase of land in the same area by the County Council for a future County Public Works facility, and a garbage transfer station, Lampard Road has been in the news this past year. The neighbors have rallied in opposition against the plan in general, and in particular have expressed their concerns of what the impacts may be on Lampard road, a narrow dead end road often used as a walking area by local island residents.

This new proposal had some of the Lampard neighbors concerned that Lampard road would either not be able to handle the new traffic loads unless it was widen and improved, and on the other hand, were concerned that improvements would increase it's use and decrease its attractiveness as a walking area.

When all was said and done, the Planning Commission agreed that the subdivision should be allowed to go forward, since in the words of Town Attorney Don Eaton, "If you find the proposal meets the requirements of the Town, then you should approve it, if you think it does not, then you need to say why not". In recommending approval, the Commissioners took note of the public's concerns about Lampard road, and while noting that whatever the problems may be, they are the Town's problems, and recommended the Town Council review and address the issues raised by the public.

Friday Cove
While the first hearing had generated a standing room crowd, the next hearing empted the room. The Friday Cove Planned Residential Development (PRD) by an off-island developer was to create a residential subdivision containing 43 clustered single family residents on a portion of the property, and create two additional lots, one of which will be donated to the Land Bank, and the other held for possible future development. After expressing some concerns about landscaping buffers, the application was recommended to the Town Council for approval, with a requirement that a tree/vegetation buffer be protected from removal in the event of the future development of the adjoining lot. As in the previous application, this one also plans to sell their units in the 300 to 400 thousand price range.

While the Planning Commission recommended approval to the Town Council, the process is far from over. The next step will be for the Town Council to review the recommendations and findings by the Planning Commission, then there will be a appeal period, and once that has passed, the property owners will have to submit additional permit applications prior to any actual construction, or alterations of the land.