This was originally posted to: Guemes Island Planning Advisory Committee

Land Use Issues On Guemes Island

Land Use on Guemes Island

Guemes Island is a small island community across Guemes Channel from the City of Anacortes, with a year-round population of about 700 people and a total population including part-timers of 2,000 – 3,000. Its unique character in Skagit County led to development of a sub-area plan aimed at addressing Guemes Island-specific planning issues and needs. The County’s 2016 Comprehensive Plan Update, currently under development, provides an opportunity to address these island-specific needs and implement the adopted Guemes Island Sub-Area Plan.

History of Planning on Guemes Island

· A community-based planning committee began work on a sub-area plan in 1991, in response to the recently enacted Washington State Growth Management Act (GMA).

· The Skagit County Comprehensive Plan of 2000, developed under the GMA, called for Guemes Island to be a “Rural Area of More Detailed Planning.” Guemes was deemed appropriate for subarea planning because it is an island with distinct physical boundaries whose rural character is shaped by its dependence on a ferry for access and groundwater for drinking water. Issues to be considered in the plan include (among others) rural character, land use, shorelines, and natural resources.

· In 2003, the Skagit Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution endorsing the community-elected Guemes Island Planning Advisory Committee (GIPAC) as the “Community-Based Representative” for purposes of obtaining funds and initiating a sub-area plan for the island.

· Overall, the plan took nearly 20 years to develop. During this time, GIPAC conducted broad public outreach including a written survey and numerous public meetings, undertook a Visual Planning Survey, completed a Rapid Shoreline Inventory with support from People for Puget Sound and funding from the Skagit County Marine Resource Committee, and brought in the American Institute of Architects (AIA) to conduct a 3-day planning workshop and make planning recommendations. Dozens of islanders contributed to the plan’s development, and hundreds of islanders participated in the public process.

· The Skagit County Board of Commissioners adopted the Guemes Island Sub-Area Plan in January 2011. At that time, the County indicated that it would take up implementation of specific land use and shoreline recommendations as the county made updates to its various development codes and elements of the comprehensive plan.

 

Guemes Island Is Unique

Like other sub-area plans in unincorporated Skagit County, such as those for Bayview and Alger, the Guemes Island Sub-Area Plan seeks to tailor countywide plans and development regulations to meet the particular needs of this small island community. There are numerous factors that, taken together, make Guemes Island unique in Skagit County and contribute to the need for land use regulations that are locally adapted.

Island Constraints and Culture: The first consideration is obvious -- Guemes is an island surrounded by marine waters – a trait that distinguishes it from the vast majority of Skagit County. As noted in the 2000 Skagit County Comprehensive Plan: Guemes is appropriate for sub-area planning because it is an island with distinct physical boundaries whose rural character is shaped by its dependence on a small County ferry for access and groundwater for drinking water. Other limitations on public services for the island, such as the absence of a public safety presence and lack of a public sewer system, represent further constraints to development.

Sole Source Aquifer: Because almost all homes on Guemes get their water from an underground aquifer, protecting the quality of groundwater resources is a critical island concern. The island’s groundwater has been designated a “sole source aquifer” by the Environmental Protection Agency, a designation which indicates there are no reasonably available drinking water alternatives should the aquifer become polluted. Furthermore, all of Guemes Island has been designated as a Category I Aquifer Recharge Area under the Critical Areas Ordinance, indicating that the aquifer needs protection from future land uses that pose a risk to the quality or quantity of the aquifer. 

Unfortunately, Guemes’ aquifer is already degraded – with seawater intrusion at various island wells being documented by the State Department of Ecology since the 1980’s. Seawater intrusion occurs as a result of over-pumping, with more water being withdrawn from the aquifer as more homes are built and existing homes are expanded. Because its water supply is limited, Guemes cannot accommodate an unlimited amount of growth and development.

Historic Pattern of Development: Guemes Island is a rural community of mostly small-scale, 1-1/2 story homes, with many beach cottages and other homes occupied by part-time residents. Allowable building size under current zoning is significantly larger than most island homes.

Much of the land on Guemes was platted prior to the Growth Management Act, with relatively small lots particularly along the shoreline. Many lots are considerably smaller than the minimum lot sizes allowed under current zoning. The development standards for these zones do not reflect the actual size of lots on Guemes, nor the existing scale of development.

While allowing continued growth on the island and new houses that are larger than the historic scale of development, the Guemes Sub-Area Plan calls for adjusting some development standards in order to protect the rural character of the island and avoid dramatic incompatibilities in the scale of development.

Detailed local planning completed: As noted above, the Guemes community has worked together for more than two decades to survey conditions on the ground and assess its local planning needs. In partnership with the County, neighborhood volunteers have invested thousands of hours developing neighborhood-appropriate planning policies. The plan was extensively vetted with the county, and ultimately approved by the Board of County Commissioners. Localized planning has been completed; it is now time for the County to follow through with implementation.

Proposals Incorporated in 2016 Comprehensive Plan Update

The following code changes are proposed to implement the Guemes Island Sub-Area Plan. These proposals are incorporated in the scope of the 2016 update of the Skagit County Comprehensive Plan.

A. Amend 14.18.310 CaRD General Approval Provisions to state that there shall be no density bonus for CaRD developments on Guemes Island.

Comment: This provision has already been incorporated in SCC 14.18.310, CaRD General Approval Provisions, as well as SCC 14.24.340, Critical Areas Ordinance Aquifer Recharge Areas Mitigation. GIPAC supports maintaining these code provisions.

B. Add to SCC 14.24.310: Guemes Island is designated as a Category I Critical Recharge Area under SCC 14.24.310; therefore all applications for single-family residential building permits, including Accessory Dwelling Units and Accessory Buildings as well as residential short plats; and building permits for any other uses that require or could impact groundwater resources, shall comply with the Site Assessment Requirements as outlined in SCC 14.24.330. Amend SCC 14.24.330(1) to require that initial project review by the Skagit County Planning and Development Services Department shall include staff from the County Health Department and a County Staff Hydrogeologist to evaluate likely impacts to groundwater quality or quantity.

Comment: Groundwater impacts need to be given careful, interdepartmental review at the earliest stages of the building permit process.

C. Amend SCC 14.16.710 to prohibit Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) on Guemes Island in areas where the water source contains 25 ppm or more chlorides.

Comment: GIPAC’s concern regarding this issue is that even relatively low levels of chlorides indicate that seawater intrusion is already occurring in the area. Skagit County itself identifies 25 ppm chlorides as a key threshold in its Seawater Intrusion Policy (see table 1, draft SSC 12.48.265), defining the chloride level at which poor water quality requires lower well pumping rates. ADU’s represent more density, and therefore more or bigger “straws” into the aquifer, which can only exacerbate seawater intrusion problems in these areas.

GIPAC’s primary concern is the impact that ADU’s can have on surrounding wells and the larger aquifer, more than the risks to the individual property owner who wants to use well water for the ADU. Therefore GIPAC agrees with the County’s proposal to fold this regulation into the Critical Areas Ordinance in its draft section 12.48.265(3)(c). SCC 14.16.710 of the Zoning Code, Accessory Dwelling Units, should also be amended to include reference to this new section of the Critical Areas Ordinance.

It should be noted that, in areas of seawater intrusion, property owners would still have the option of utilizing rainwater collection or a reverse osmosis system to serve an ADU.

D. Amend SCC 14.16.320 Rural Reserve (RRv) and SCC 14.16.300 Rural Intermediate (RI): to require side-yard setbacks totaling 30 percent of the average width of the lot or 30 feet (whichever is less) for the combination of the two side-yards, with an eight-foot minimum setback on each side; and to establish a 12-foot height limit at each side-yard setback line, with one additional foot of building height allowed for each foot inside the required side- yard setback, up to the maximum height of 30 feet. Illustration follows. (Note: since this diagram was developed, proposed height limits at side yard setback have been increased from 10’ to 12”, to give property owners more flexibility.)

Comment: The proposed setbacks and building envelope are intended to keep views open, avoid tall walls close to the property line and generally reduce incompatibility between smaller existing homes and larger new homes, particularly on small lots.

E. Amend SCC 14.16 to create a new height overlay for Guemes Island, establishing a 30’ maximum height limit island-wide.

Comment: Most of Guemes Island is zoned either Rural Reserve or Rural Intermediate, with a few small areas of commercial zoning. Building heights are already limited to 30’ in throughout the Rural Reserve, but can go up to 40’ in the other zones. Few island buildings, however, are even as tall as 30’. 

A 40’ building would be vastly out of scale with the existing low scale of development on the island, and would represent a significant conflict with the island’s rural character. With many if not most existing homes being only 1-1/2 stories tall, a building of 40’ could be twice as tall as its neighbor. The fact that many Rural Intermediate lots are much smaller than the minimum lot size for this zone makes the problem even more acute. These very small Rural Intermediate lots are mainly located on the shoreline where issues of incompatible scale and other development impacts such as view blockage would be greatest. A 30’ height overlay would provide better consistency and protection for the island’s character, while still allowing significantly larger buildings than most of what exists today.

F. Revise SCC 14.18.300 to require that, on Guemes Island, any open space designated through a CaRD is permanently preserved through filing of a protective easement or covenant on the property prior to final subdivision approval.

Comment: The CaRD process confers significant benefits to a property owner, in the form of relaxed development standards. This allows the owner more options for lot configuration, often maximizing views and beach access and thereby increasing lot values. In return for this benefit, a property owner designates open space for preservation. Just as the benefits to a property owner are permanent, the open space set-aside should be permanently protected.

G. Include the following requirement in the new Guemes Island height overlay, to be established in SCC 14.16: Solid fences higher than three feet must be set back a minimum of ten feet from the street front right of way. “Solid fences” means any fence that is less than 50% open. Solid fences that are within building setbacks are limited to six feet in height.

Comment: The purpose of this requirement is to preserve views of the water and generally throughout the island. In addition, it is intended to protect sight distances at driveway entrances for pedestrian safety. This type of fence regulation is not uncommon in rural communities.

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Note: In addition to the land use recommendations above, GIPAC has submitted a number of proposed amendments to the County’s Shoreline Master Program (SMP) during the update process which has been underway since 2011. GIPAC will review the draft SMP upon its release in February 2016, to determine its consistency with the adopted Guemes Island Sub-Area Plan, and may submit further recommendations.