List of Activities (long list)
For short list, click here
Marianne is the “brushfire coordinator” who takes the calls reporting damage going on (or about to begin), who reads the legal notices in the papers, the county commissioners’ agendas, and “forest practice” applications. To the extent possible we then evaluate the potential for damage, study the proposal, and respond accordingly. Here are some, but by no means all, of the brushfires we’ve dealt with in the last year:
What we’ve done in the last year, please Click on the item for more details:
- North Whidbey storage stopped.
- Anderson/Welcome cut & flip.
- stopped Rhododendron Park logging, several times.
- invalidated road split parcel subdivisions.
- stopped motor home storage at hwy 525 & Mutiny Bay Rd.
- intervened in Aitonean appeal.
- intervened in Selestial Initiates appeal.
- Stuart Young’s Fox Spit proposal.
- prevented upscale retreat center in ancient forest at Camp Casey.
- worked with Coupeville residents to prevent new overwater buildings.
- failed to prevent construction of 54k sq ft assisted living facility.
- continue to object to Freeland UGA designation.
- leaving Nichols Bros to Friends of Holmes Harbor.
- continue to work with Langley citizens to condition or stop 20 house development on Edgecliff.
- continue to work with Langley citizens to prevent bluff face development.
- continue to work with Langley citizens to review and revise the city’s comprehensive plan.
- worked with Save the Trees to secure 7 acre addition to South Whidbey State Park.
- worked to publicize and object to cutting of trees at Deception Pass.
- continue to track tidal turbines in Deception Pass and elsewhere in Admiralty Inlet.
- Monitored FPAs, warned neighbors.
- Analyzing and responding to new proposed wetlands ordinance.
- Taking critical areas protection to Superior Court.
- Appeal of Oak Harbor UGA expansion.
- Continue restoration work at Schoolhouse Prairie.
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- Freeland storage reduced. A Mr Palmer, from Anacortes, proposes to build a huge mini-stoage facility across from Landshapers on the hill above Honeymoon Bay Road. He proposed to short-plat the 10 acres into 2 5 acre parcels to increase the number of buildings. WEAN challenged the wetland delineation, the buffers, and the area of impervious surface being proposed. Mr Palmer has revised the application to limit development to what is allowed on a single parcel. The claim is that he will be able to meet the conditional use standard of being invisible from the highway. Given that his buildings will be 35’ tall, we’re wondering how he intends to hide them.
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- north Whidbey storage stopped. Mr Curtis Pierce wanted to do a similar development near Rolling Hills, overlooking Ebey’s Landing National Historic Reserve. This one would have been on flat ground right next to the highway. He proposed to subdivide 16.16 acres into 4 5 acre parcels. Having a little trouble with the math? So did we. Mr Pierce offered to reduce the number of parcels from 4 to 3 if WEAN would endorse the project. Sorry. The Planning Dept rejected the proposal. Mr Pierce is appealing.
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- Anderson/Welcome cut & flip. Donna Anderson and business partner Bud Welcome are in the habit of buying property, logging it visciously, and then turning it over for development. There’s a problem with this, because the logging permits they get say that the property will not be developed for 6 years. They get around that by the simple expedient of telling different agencies different things. At the same time they were telling Island County they intended to develop 2 house sites they were telling DNR that they did not intend to develop. Some people might call that lying. Anderson/Welcome logged a parcel on Ewing Road last year - and this year they’re back, looking for a clearing/grading permit to develop 2 house sites.
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- prevented Pazooki’s mall. Mr Paul Pazooki, from Bremerton, thought the farmland south of Oak Harbor was the perfect place for a big box mall. He tried to convince the city planners that they should annex the farmland and rezone it. For the first time, people came out of the woodwork, and WEAN was able to help them channel their outrage. In the end, even the Oak Harbor planning advisory committee voted unanimously to reject the proposal. Oak Harborites, possibly for the first time, realized they were not alone in their dreams of a livable community.
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- stopped Rhododendron Park logging, several times. In 2006 the county Parks directory decided that the trees in Rhododendron Park were sick, and that cutting one out of every three would cure them. WEAN organized citizens to speak to the commissioners and the proposal was dropped. Then the storms of November hit, and this time the trees are being cut for safety reasons. WEAN has stopped them again, and has insisted that the site be visited by a vegetation ecologist who can evaluate the forest. That visit will be happening soon. See our comments to the Board of Island County Commissioners.
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- invalidated road split parcel subdivisions. Developers were having a field day buying up parcels split by a public right of way, dividing them, and then using boundary line adjustments to create developable parcels. Mr Stewart Young managed to divide 40 acres into 8 5 acre parcels without a single permit - and in a zone where the minimum size is 10 acres. WEAN took the matter to the Growth Managment Hearings Board and won. One more loophole stitched shut.
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- stopped motor home storage at hwy 525 & Mutiny Bay Rd. Developers are nothing if not creative. This one was a proposal to build a whole series of sheds/garages for storage of motor homes, to be sold as condominiums. The proposal was for 20 sheds on a 3 acre parcel. WEAN provided a legal brief to Island County explaining the many ways this violated county code. The application was denied.
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- intervened in Aitonean appeal. Mr Aitonean, on Camano, wants to do a short-plat. He just wants to make 5 parcels where only 4 are allowed. He claims the county owes him a 5th parcel because someday it may build a road through his property. This case is now in Superior Court.
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- intervened in Selestial Initiates appeal. Selestial Initiates Exonerare claims to be a church and as such to be above the law. They bought 5 acres NE of Oak Harbor and promptly bulldozed the wetlands. Neighbors got flooded so complained to Island County. Its been a long, bizarre road, but early this year the Hearings Examiner finally lowered the boom and ordered them to fix it NOW and not to even apply for a development permit until 3 years after it was fixed. The Initiates have taken the matter to court, claiming infringement of their religious freedom. Huh?
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- Stuart Young’s Fox Spit proposal. Mr Young, the man who divided 40 acres into 8 5 acre parcels without permits, has bought 100+ acres at Fox Spit, on the bluff above the spit. He proposes to clear to bare ground, build 12 houses, and build a 900 ft long pond on 49 acres right at the top of the bluff above the houses on the spit. There are quite a few problems with this proposal, including the fact that the land is zoned for 1 house/10 acres. We’re waiting for Mr Young’s next move.
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- Camano CARE/Platter. Mr David Platter does not understand the concept of NO. All he wants to do is build a shopping center and 4 hotels in a zone on Camano Island where hotels are not allowed. Thank goodness Camano Citizens for A Rural Environment are on the job. WEAN is working with them to deal with Mr Platter’s many applications, appeals, threats, on-the-ground work without applications, and other shenanigans.
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- prevented upscale retreat center in ancient forest at Camp Casey. Seattle Pacific University really wants to build an upscale retreat center in the 40 acres of ancient forest on its land. WEAN has consistently blocked this proposal, insisting that there are other options which would preserve the ancient forest. We’ve won some and lost some. At present SPU seems to be waiting to see where the county’s regulations settle before trying again.
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- worked with Coupeville residents to prevent new overwater buildings. Right now there are only a few places where people walking along Front Street can see the water and beyond. There are people who would like to build - over the water because there is so little land available - in those few places. State law says that over-water buildings are limited to water dependent uses. The town has been arguing, with a straight face, that a steakhouse is water dependent because diners will enjoy the view. Coupeville residents are not amused. it looks like they’re making some serious headway. See board member Anne Dannhauer's comments to the department of Ecology.
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- failed to prevent construction of 54k sq ft assisted living facility, in spite of winning in open hearings. Last year Island County tried to change the maximum allowable size of buildings in Clinton and Freeland from 14,000 sq ft (Clinton) and 27,000 sq ft (Freeland) to 50,000 sq ft, to accommodate developer Rick Almberg’s proposal for an assisted living facility in Freeland. WEAN publicized the matter and people jammed public meetings. The proposal was withdrawn. Next thing we all knew, Mr Almberg was beginning a 54,000 sq ft assisted living facility with help of a “zoning code interpretation” from Planning Director Phil Bakke. By the time we all realized what was happening, it was too late. The building is up, and its huge.
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- continue to object to Freeland UGA designation. A group of people in Freeland (although most of them seem to be from outside Freeland) has been working to turn the place into a city in the (we believe misguided) belief that they will then have more control over land use. WEAN has consistently warned these people that before Freeland can incorporate it must first become a Non-Municipal Urban Growth Area. As an NMUGA Freeland will have all the disadvantages of a city and none of the advantages. County commissioner Shelton seems determined to make this NMUGA happen, at which point the county will be able to dictate high density development in and around Freeland. WEAN continues to oppose this.
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- leaving Nichols Bros to Friends of Holmes Harbor, and waiting until December when Nichols’ master permit application is due.
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- continue to work with Langley citizens to condition or stop 20 house development on Edgecliff. Developer Gary Roth just wants to build 20 houses on an 8 acre parcel between Edgecliff and Sandy Point roads. The parcel contains wetlands and is the funnel of a very small watershed, guiding water through the wetland and over the bluff. WEAN was able to demonstrate that the wetland study was seriously flawed, that the proposed sewer line through the wetland violated Langley’s own code, and that the stormwater plan was deeply flawed. All parties are now waiting for Mr Roth to come back with a revised stormwater plan.
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- continue to work with Langley citizens to prevent bluff face development. In a shocking surprise move, Mayor Neil Colburn proposed to amend Langley’s code to allow major commercial development along the face of the bluff above the marina. The council meeting was packed, and to their credit, the council voted not to allow any blocking of views from Cascade Ave.
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- continue to work with Langley citizens to review and revise the city’s comprehensive plan. There are a number of committees addressing various aspects of Langley’s comprehensive plan. The most basic of these is the land use committee, since everything happens on the land.
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- continue to work with Swan Lake Protection Group to prevent 352 houses on Fakkema farm, and to work positively toward lake restoration. Oak Harbor has proposed to annex 105 acres of the Fakkema farm into the city’s Urban Growth boundary this year and the other 272 acres next year. The Fakkemas want to build a total of 1056 houses on the farm, promising to save out 10 acres for a park. This would cut off all connection between north and central Whidbey and would most likely severely damage Swantown Lake with urban runoff, among other things. Island County has just issued a Mitigated Determination of (environmental) Non-Significance for the 105 acres. WEAN, SLWPG, and one individual have appealed. So has Oak Harbor, which doesn’t want to abide by the conditions Island County said were necessary to avoid environmental damage. Its going to be an interesting case.
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Our comments to:
Assistant Planning Director
Planning commission
- worked with Save the Trees to secure 7 acre addition to South Whidbey State Park. Part of the Wilbert Trail through the Classic U section of South Whidbey State Park was actually on private property. The owners had offered to sell it at less than market value to State Parks, but it was not considered a high priority - until the “for sale” sign went up on the trail. Whidbey Camano Land Trust did a phenomenal job of negotiating and fundraising, while WEAN and Save the Trees kept up pressure on State Parks to rearrange their priorities. Its saved now.
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- worked to publicize and object to cutting of trees at Deception Pass. State Parks’ northwest resources manager decided that the trees along the highway were blocking the view, and went back to early photos of when the bridge was built to “demonstrate” what the CCCs had in mind when they built the bridge and the turnouts on the highway. The plan is still somewhere on someone’s desk, but there appears to be little enthusiasm for it. WEAN attended the only meeting on the proposal and objected strenuously, pointing out that there were far less drastic options available.
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- continue to track tidal turbines in Deception Pass and elsewhere in Admiralty Inlet. Snohomish PUD has permits to investigate the feasibility of tidal turbines all over Puget Sound, including Deception Pass and 2 areas near Keystone. A coalition of agencies and advocacy groups has come together for a series of information meetings to find out what this is all about, what the technology is, how much power it might be able to produce, and what its impact is on the surrounding area. We’re still very early in this, but are terribly nervous about what amounts to an industrial use in the the state’s most popular park. Read more about our position on Tidal Power in Deception Pass.
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- Monitored FPAs, warned neighbors. We receive electronic copies of all Forest Practice Applications filed in Island County. Where we know neighbors, we let them know what to expect. Where we don’t, all we can do is point out inconsistencies in the applications, which are always approved anyway.
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- Analyzing and responding to new proposed wetlands ordinance. This is a huge one. It took a whole lot of people with a whole lot of expertise to create something so complicated we’re having trouble figuring out how it will work.
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- Taking critical areas protection to Superior Court. The case of wetlands and farmers is not yet over. This began in 1998 when the Growth Mangement Hearings Board ruled in favor of WEAN on most of a long list of issues. Rather than comply on the issues it lost, Island County has consistently tried to justify why it should be let off. Unfortunately, this has worked, time after time, with the Hearings Board ignoring its previous ruling to give the county more time, more leeway, or a complete pass. There was really no option but to go to court.
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- Appeal of Oak Harbor UGA expansion. As mentioned above, WEAN has appealed the MDNS on Oak Harbor’s UGA expansion. We’re at the very start of this case.
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- Continue restoration work at Schoolhouse Prairie. We’ve been at it since 1999, but we are finally seeing real progress, with native wildflowers showing up for the first time on the road bank.
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This is only a sample of what WEAN staff and board members have been up to. Obviously we could use some help. You are cordially invited to jump in.