New Westside Property Added To Preserve

The recent purchase of property on the Westside of San Juan Island has allowed the SJC Land Bank to increase it’s Westside Preserve. The Westside Preserve offers short trails, sheltered nooks for picnicking, whale watching, and arguable the best location for gazing at sunsets on San Juan Island.

The Preserve covers most of the open waterfront land near the Limestone light house, but prior to the purchase of the new parcel, there were two privately owned properties separating the south end of the preserve from the north end.

One of the properties is developed, and one has remained in an undeveloped state. When the undeveloped property came on the market the Land Bank took notice, and so did the public. Within a very short time there was an offer from a private party to purchase the land, and a feasibility study was underway by the buyer.

According to a press release from the Land Bank, there was “an unusually large response from the public when it appeared on the real estate market. The Land Bank received phone calls, letters, emails, personal comments, and a petition in support of the acquisition.”

A local Realtor said the owners were supportive of selling the land to the Land Bank. A deal was made, and the property was purchased for $875,000.00. In addition to the purchase price, there were some closing costs involved, and $75,000.00 of Land Bank money was allocated to a Stewardship Fund to cover future ownership costs, The interest generated by the stewardship money will provide management costs in perpetuity.

Through conservation easement and fee purchase, the Land Bank has protected over 38 acres and 5500 feet of shoreline between Limekiln State Park and Edward’s Point. Efforts to acquire this stretch of land began in 1993 to help preserve the unobstructed views, create public access to the property, protect and conserve rare remnant prairie, and protect the near shore environment from some of the impacts of residential development.

There are approximately 650 acres of fee owned Land Bank properties on San Juan Island and 35% of them are open to public access for low impact recreational use. The Westside Preserve offers short trails, sheltered nooks for picnicking, whale watching, and arguable the best location for gazing at sunsets on San Juan Island.




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