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GUEST COLUMN BY SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMISSIONER JOHN EVANS |
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Email this page to a friend EDITOR's NOTE: Stephanie Buffum does not have guesthouse on her 8.94 acres. Besides her home, there is a one-room structure, built in 1979, which does not have running water or a kitchen. Bahrych also does not have a guesthouse on her property. Related pagesLetters to the Editor regarding guesthouses Guest Editorial County Commissioner Darcie Nielsen Guest Editorial By Lynn Bahrych, JD, PhD Let's Try Solving the Problem, Commissioner… With Friends like these - guest column by San Juan County Commissioner John Evans PROTECT SAN JUAN RURAL LANDS! STOP SENATE BILL 6624 List of stories about Growth Management Act in San Juan County Update on legislation regarding guesthouses Letter from Friends of the San Juans to legislators Commissioners testify in Olympia Growth board: Eastsound plan not in compliance County to appeal guesthouse ruling to Court of Appeals Guesthouses count as separate dwelling units Guest house appeal transferred
Guesthouse appeal filed Prosecutor press release about Hearings Board ADU ruling Hearings board says no
to detached guesthouses
New guesthouse rules adopted December 3, 2002 BOCC agrees to minor changes in transient rentals Guest house study released
County to appeal July 27, 2001 guesthouse ruling Court rules against county in guesthouse case 07-27-01 Want to build a main house -- file papers by Feb. 9, 2001 Commissioners to appeal guest house ruling | |
With "Friends" like these…posted 02/09/04
The vast majority of the families, who currently have or hope to build a guesthouse, use the small cottage for the occasional visit of extended family and friends. Guesthouses (or "accessory dwelling units" as the State of Washington calls them) are important for citizens who need resident caregivers for age and illness related reasons. Guesthouses mean that homeowners don't need to build a large house for year round use to accommodate family and guests on occasional visits. Those who choose to rent their guest cottage often do so because they are on fixed incomes. Some of the cottages that are rented are an important source of affordable housing in a County where every available affordable rental is important. The so called "Friends" have taken a position that detached accessory dwelling units will double density while attached or internal ADU's will not.??? Inconsistency doesn't seem to bother them. Two extensive and expensive surveys the County conducted as a result of their appeals showed that fewer than 17% of our residential parcels even have a guesthouse, and of those, less than 6% are rented! This is hardly a density crisis! One would be hard pressed to drive or boat around the islands and even see a guesthouse. As mentioned, the "Friends" don't have any grief with internal or attached guest quarters. The many legislators I talked to during our recent efforts on this issue in Olympia find this puzzling to say the least. It appears the "Friends" are more concerned with additional structures on your land. Is their next initiative going to be to tell our citizens they can't build a garage, shop, studio, barn, machine shed, or greenhouse or be that the "Friends" should be a required design consultants when you build or remodel your home? My guess is that the "Friends" will be promoting their vision for how they will allow you and I to live our lives well beyond the guesthouse question if they are allowed to prevail on this issue. As a side note, it is ironic that some members of the "Friends" are proud and happy owners of their own guesthouses! In fact, at least two senior members of the organizations have guesthouses. Ms. Stephanie Buffum, the paid director of the Friends of the San Juans acquired a guesthouse when she bought her property on Shaw Island. She failed to mention this when she testified before the legislators in Olympia. Lynn Bahrych, the initiator of the appeal and a senior Friends of the San Juans member who owns a massive house camped on the shoreline of Shaw Island, along with a private dock also failed to mention her own guesthouse in her testimony! Most islanders find "do as I say not as I do" attitudes hard to swallow. How this matter will play out is unclear as I write this. Your three Commissioners, who sometimes have very different views on other subjects, are united 100% on this issue. It is the right of our citizens to enjoy the same right they have always had; a right that is enjoyed by the citizens of our surrounding counties including Island County, Skagit County, Jefferson County and many others. This right is important for the benefit and enjoyment of the homeowner. This right is also important for the added benefit it provides as one piece of the pie necessary to meet the County's affordable housing needs. It should be noted that County regulations specifically deal with guesthouses (ADUs) so that they will not have unreasonable affects on the quality of life we all enjoy. On this matter, the Friends of the San Juans are definitely not the friends of the citizens of San Juan County. Folks who contribute to this organization may wish to evaluate whether the "Friends" current direction really represents what is best for the future of our community. Thank you for listening. John B. Evans |
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