This was originally posted to: Guemes Island Planning Advisory Committee

Guemes Subarea Plan and Skagit County Planning Commission: Update

                                                                                            May 14, 2016

On April 19, 2016, the Skagit County Planning Commission considered eight changes GIPAC had recommended to the 2016 Update to the Shoreline Master Plan (SMP).  The Planning Commission accepted only one of the changes. 

This was disappointing because several months ago, the County's Planning Staff had told GIPAC to prioritize our SMP issues and that the County would consider several of them as part of the 2016 Update process.  At the April 19 meeting, however, the County Planning staff only recommended the Planning Commission consider two of our recommendations, and only one of these was approved.

What was even more disappointing is that a majority of the Planning Commissioners expressed complete ignorance of the legal and historical background of the Guemes Subarea Plan, and apparently had not read our memos which laid out that legal and historical justification for our requests.  Further, the majority of Commissioners appear to reject the entire basis of a subarea plan, and, along with the county staffer, don't want to allow any special treatment of an area like Guemes Island. 

You can see GIPAC's recommended changes in pages 3-4 here: http://www.skagitcounty.net/PlanningAndPermit/Documents/SMP/Supplemental%20Staff%20Report%204-15-2016.pdf

You can read a transcript of the April 19 meeting here. Planning Commissioners' comments on Guemes are in pages 17- 34:    http://www.skagitcounty.net/PlanningCommission/Documents/PCminutes/20160419.pdf

In the aftermath of the April 19 meeting, several members of GIPAC met, individually, with the three County Commissioners (we cannot meet with more than one Commissioner at a time because of the Open Public Meetings Act).  When dealing with legislative matters like the Shoreline Master Plan or the Comprehensive Plan, the Commissioners are referred to as the Board of Commissioners (BoC).  Overall these were good, worthwhile meetings.   

Here is the briefing paper we provided each of the commissioners.  In our briefings, we tried to emphasize how long Guemes has been working on a subarea plan, how many times the County Commissioners have endorsed GIPAC and our planning efforts, and our frustration at having planning staff and the Planning Commission repeatedly thwart our efforts toward plan implementation.

 ·    Commissioner (and BoC Chairperson) Lisa Janicki listened attentively, asked good questions, and clearly understood the situation.  She said she would talk to her own appointees to the Planning Commission to make sure they better understood the subarea planning process and the history of our efforts.

·     Commissioner Ron Wesen expressed some interest but was basically non-committal. 

 ·    Commissioner Ken Dahlstedt was probably the best informed, as he has been on the Board of Commissioners the longest.  He expressed support for our planning efforts, but noted that the Planning Commission as well as the Board of Commissioners has changed over time, so County positions about the Guemes Plan may also change.  He said he would not speak with his appointees to the Planning Commission because he doesn't believe in interfering with their work.

Deputy Planning Director Ryan Walters attended these meetings, which was helpful.  He said he will do more to help educate the Planning Commission about our subarea plan going forward, as the Commission takes up our Comp Plan recommendations.

All the commissioners emphasized that they were not bound by what the Planning Commission recommends.  However, it was clear that the Planning Department wants to limit the number of recommendations they make in conflict with the Planning Commission, and the BoC doesn’t want to stray far from the Planning Commission recommendations either.

Your next opportunity to see the Planning Commission in action dealing with Guemes issues will be on May 24, at 6 PM, in the County Commissioners' Hearing Room, 1800 Continental Place, Mt. Vernon.  The Commissioners will be considering GIPAC's recommendations—based on the Guemes Subarea Plan—for changes to the Comp Plan.  The Planning Commission normally deals with Guemes issues early on in their meeting so that islanders can catch the ferry home before service stops. 

Hope to see you there.

 

 

 

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