History of the Guemes Island Planning and Advisory Committee

May 10, 2003

The original GIPAC membership was empanelled by a vote at a public meeting of the Guemes Island Community on January 12, 1991 and charged with preparing a sub-area plan consistent with the Community’s values pursuant to the Growth Management Act. That original committee, with Community approval, finalized and submitted the Guemes Island Policy Recommendations for Comprehensive Plans as Mandated in SHB to the County on May 18, 1991. That plan was judged premature by the County.

In March of 2000, the GIPAC learned that sub-area and local community plans had been authorized by Chapter 14 of the Skagit County Comprehensive Plan. A series of public meetings followed and culminated in the election, at a public meeting, by the Guemes Island Community on March 31, 2001 of a new GIPAC to again represent the Islanders. Committee members elected were as follows; Steve Orsini, Tim Rosenhan, Vic Garcia, Joost Businger, Bob Henderson, Dick Hein, Jackie Wittman, Roz Glasser and Howard Pellett.

Subsequent to its 2001 election, GIPAC met at least monthly, in public meetings, primarily to determine a sensible means of securing GIPAC recognition by the County and also gain County approval of a process for sub-area planning for Guemes Island. The GIPAC obtained early support from Commissioner Don Munks and Senior Planner Gary Christensen during GIPAC meetings with them on July 20, 2001 and January 11, 2002. The GIPAC was advised, however, of funding shortages and that the Guemes Island sub-area plan process was scheduled to begin in 2005.

The GIPAC voted at their 3-29-02 meeting to submit a petition requesting planning authority to the Skagit County Commissioners and Planning staff according to the Skagit County Comprehensive Plan Policies, Section 14A-1.1 along with the proposition that GIPAC would seek private and public funding for the study outside the County’s budget.
On June 28, 2002, the members of GIPAC voted to submit the petition to the County.

There followed further GIPAC meetings with Don Munks and County staff on July 9, 2002; August 2, 2002 and September 3, 2002, along with numerous telephone inquiries, resulting in the Board of County Commissioners signing Resolution R20030037 on February 10, 2003 recognizing GIPAC “as the community-based representative for purposes of seeking planning funds and initiating a sub-area plan for Guemes Island”.

The above report to the Guemes Community concerning fundraising concerns, an election of a new GIPAC and a report on the sub-area scope of work was thought to be necessary before moving on to seeking planning funds and initiating and completing the Guemes Island sub-area plan.