03/20/2009: "Buck Annexation Approved"

(L to R: Carrie Lacher; Chris Wolf; Mayor David Jones; Anna Maria Marian deFreitas, Liz Illg & Carrie Brooks)

The Friday Harbor Town Council has approved the Buck property for annexation into the Town of Friday Harbor; which will allow the Home Trust to construct affordable housing units on a portion of the property.

But the process is not complete, and the Town is not protected from future costs if the state requires sewer hook-ups to the town system.

Those voting for the proposal were council members Carrie Lacher and Chris Wolf (both of whom live in affordable housing provided by the Home Trust); Anna Maria Marian deFreitas, and Liz Illg. Only council member Carrie Brooks voting against the proposal, expressing concerns the Town “does not get enough from this agreement.”

The Thursday night meeting was a continuation of the very contentious, and sometimes downright rude- public hearing held in November of last year, but this time fewer people showed up, and there was less public testimony prior to council discussion and vote.

Many of those speaking in favor of the annexation were either connected to the Home Trust, or stated they hoped to move into one of the affordable houses the Trust will build on the property, or the applicant, who will build market rate homes on the rest of the total of 47.79 project acres.

Noteworthy were the number of Town officials and employees who joined in with some of those who spoke against the proposal, and were in support of the Town staff report, that found the town “has sufficient land to meets its housing needs.”

One of the concerns expressed by those opposed to the annexation was the decision to allow an on-site sewage plant to be installed on the property, thereby avoiding having to pay hook-up fees to the Town.

The question was repeatedly asked “what happens if the system fails?” and if it does, “won’t the state make the Town hook-up to the town system?” The answer from the Town was, yes, the Town would be required to allow the hook-up, and the Town could be stuck with a multi-million dollar upgrade of the town facility.

Council member Lacher argued that the on-site system was a good thing, because it is a “model for green development…the on-site system can be a benefit” and the Town would have legal recourse if the system failed.

Town attorney Don Eaton repeatedly explained to the Council that without altering the agreement to include a bond to cover the expense of upgrading the town sewage plant, the Town would be stuck with the cost; and the Town would not have an easy time -if they could at all- collecting money in the future without a bond in place

Lacher suggested town systems can fail too, and when they do the Town fixes them. Council member deFreitas responded to Lacher that the Town collects and builds a facilities fund to make repairs, but there will be no funds or source of money coming from the Buck project for town sewage repair if the Town allows them to have an on-site system; adding “the money goes to them, not to us."

Illg asked Eaton if bonding was a good idea, and Eaton responded that it was, but to do so, the amount needs to be determined. Eaton asked "Is the projected $5 million needed to make the connections today the amount, or will it be the lager amount needed in the future? Eaton also expressed concern that it may not even be possible to find a bonding company willing to write a bond.

Illg said she was supportive of the Home Trust’s project, but was disappointed ”you want the benefit of being in the town, but without paying your share.”

This brought an angry response from Lacher who said the developers were setting a standard for the future;” and “I take exception to your statement.”

In the end the concerns about the possible future cost to the Town fell away, and the council approved the annexation without financial protection being afforded to the Town.

But the night, and the process, was not over. Even thought the Council was able to vote on the annexation, they were unable to complete the full process when at the very last moment an agent for the applicant suggested the zoning lines may have to be moved around to accommodate the infrastructure development.

After the initial shock by Town staff, it was patiently explained that if the zoning lines presented by the application are approved, then they are approved, and a new process would have to be entered into to change them. This in turn appeared to shock the applicant, and after future discussion it was decided to once again continue the meeting, this time to allow the applicant to confirm where they wished to have the lines drawn.

The Council will accept, or modify, or reject the zoning lines at the continued hearing on May 21st at 5:35 pm at the Friday Harbor Town Hall.