02/24/2006: "Visser Should Applaud The Friends"

To the Editor:

"Secrecy" is a misleading word to use to describe negotiations intended to settle pending litigation. In Mr. Visser's "Response to Friends," he misstates my comments to him. I explained that settlement negotiations intended to settle pending litigation are always done without news media present. It does not work otherwise. There are federal and state rules of evidence that protect the confidentiality of settlement negotiations. The reason is obvious, as Mr. Visser noted. He said he has negotiated many deals and understands why negotiations are confidential. All of the parties to the pending GMA appeal participated in several days of meditation, including the County, with an excellent mediator selected by our Prosecuting Attorney. The settlement negotiations were noted by the Growth Board, which gave us extra time to reach a settlement. Not only is there nothing wrong with that, but it is also the peaceful path that our judicial system encourages us to take. It's cheaper for the tax payer, too.

I called Mr. Visser in order to inform him of a few facts that he had gotten wrong. He still has one of them wrong: I did not write the vesting ordinance that is now in the public hearing process. It came to me for review along with the other parties to a separate pending lawsuit. The final version that was approved by the County Council did not originate with me or with the Friends of the San Juans. I think it will solve the problem of folks who have reasonably relied on county approval to their detriment, so I support it.

Instead of taking pot shots at the folks who are trying to resolve conflict through negotiations and settlement, Mr. Visser should be applauding this sensible path.

Another purpose of my call to Mr. Visser was to invite open and respectful communication. All of us seem to have the same goal, which is to protect the rural and natural qualities of the place we call Home. I think that respectful conversation and honest debate is the best way to get there.

Lynn Bahrych
Shaw Island, Washington 98286