Will Taxpayers pay for the Permitting of Private Barge Landings??

Charlie Meyer testifies while Stephanie O'Day observes

A public meeting raised some concerns about who pays for environmental studies that will benefit private land owners.

The County's decision to conduct a scoping meeting open to the public for comment on what, and how much, should be included in an EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) on the non-conforming barge landing sites in San Juan county, showed just how useful it can be to the County to include the public in its decision making process. While very few citizens showed up for the meeting, and even fewer testified, the meeting generated useful input from the public that should be helpful in to the writing of the EIS. It also raised a number of important questions that have yet to be fully responded to.

While the ongoing efforts of the BOCC to elevate existing barge landing sites to a fully legal status, and to allow the expansion of barge landings in some areas that do not now allow them is one of the stated goals of the proposed changes contemplated by the BOCC, there may be more at stake in the proposed changes to the Comprehensive. Plan and the regulations that enforce the goals and policies of the Plan, than just barge landings. The changes have the potential to place industrial type development in what are, as this date, areas deemed inappropriate for such uses.

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-new Nag and a Petersen and Evans Column posted

---By Gordy Petersen
At a Forum focusing on "Alternative Strategies" to control growth the new Commissioners examined schemes that have been unsuccessful in Aspen and Nantucket. These ideas include caps on building permits, point systems and lottery for issuing permits, impact fees, and limiting use of vehicles on island roads.
--click on the Gordy Petersen link at the right to read the full column

---By John Evans
San Juan County citizens, working to pass legislation that would allow med flight subscription "insurance" to be re-established in San Juan County, testified before the Senate Financial Institutions, Housing and Consumer Protection Committee in Olympia on Tuesday, February 15th.
--click on the John Evans link at the right to read the full column

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BOCC to conduct a Work Session for Essential Public Facilities - Again..

The BOCC recently held a Workshop on EPF (Essential Public Facilities) to receive an update and progress report from the planning staff. For many of the citizens who have been following -and questioning- the progress made by the Commissioners to allow EPF development to occur in areas that are currently off-limits, it came as no surprise that the update stressed that a "rigorous public process with input from all affected parties" will be an important part of the process to "..simplify the siting of new EPFs while assuring compliance with the County's land use code".

It was no surprise, because prior to the BOCC meeting, the PC (Planning Commission) had held their own review of a draft report from Staff, that seemed to be on a fast track toward changing close to a hundred existing barge landing sites in San Juan County from a non-conforming status to a conforming status. As outlined by Staff, the process did not require that an Environmental Review be conducted, however while the meeting was in progress, the PC became aware that an appeal of the Staff's lack of an environmental review had been filed, and as a result no action could be taken until the appeal process was complete.

The Planning Department may have seen the validly of the appeal, because it was announced that contrary to the presented staff report, it had now been decided by the department that an environmental review was necessary.

What may turn out to be the first of a number of meetings on the degree of need for environmental review, has now been scheduled to take place at the Mullis Community Senior Center in Friday Harbor. The hearing will start at 1:00 p.m. on January 26 (a Wednesday).

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The Puget Sound Action Team released State of the Sound 2004 today

The Puget Sound Action Team released State of the Sound 2004 today, which provides an overview of the health of Puget Sound's water, submerged lands, habitats, and species. It documents evidence of continuing poor health in Puget Sound. Declines in salmon, orca, marine birds, and rockfish, closures of shellfish beds, and a growing dead zone in Hood Canal are some of the warning signals that the very best of Puget Sound may be in jeopardy.

State of the Sound 2004 also describes some of the work of the Puget Sound Action Team partnership, and work being done by thousands of others, across many walks of life, to protect and restore the Sound. This work is improving water quality and protecting and restoring habitat in many areas of the Sound.

The report concludes that the efforts around to protect and restore the Sound are not yet equal to the scale of the problems. It calls for expanding the scale and scope of our efforts.
Click to view the report and a six-page overview
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New Director is On the Job

Stephen Amsbaugh is the new Director of the Permit and Planning departments, and is the first director to have an extensive background of experience in both private and public sectors. Mr. Amsbaugh stated he believed that he "had an endorsement by the County Commissioners" to review the current efficiency and structure of the department, and to make any improvements that may increase the department's efficiency within the constraints of the budget. With regard to the budget, he will also be doing a review of the current fee structure to determine if it is both "balanced and equitable."

He stated he recognized the need to reduce the time it takes to issue a building permit, and plans to review the procedures and priorities of the department to see where improvements -if any- can be made. One area that he has already noted for improvement is the department web page, which he intends to bring up to date. As for the long range planning section of his department, he stated a planning consultant was hired to assist in determining the scope of work necessary to bring the County's GMA requirements up to date, and that he will be working to see that it happens.


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