Related Pages

List of stories about Growth Management Act in San Juan County

Resource and rural
land densities debated

By Sharon Kivisto

posted 05/31/00
Change the designation of resource land in the top-ranked open space comp plan list to conservancy lands. Owners of those properties would need to use still-to-be-developed conservation design standards when building. The 1979 densities in those areas would not change. Those ideas were developed during the BOCC's May 30 morning deliberations on the county's response to the Western Washington Hearings Board order.

"You don't want to change the 1979 densities. You want to use them as leverage to get people to use conservation rather than subdivision. And you want to use landscape units to channel the discussion," County Planning Director said as she recapped the direction the board was headed.

As for densities of the shorelines. County Commissioner Darcie Nielsen said on Friday, "Our shorelines have had enough. She urged the board to put an end to land division of shoreline parcels.

Evans expressed doubts about whether such a move would hold up in court.

The three commissioners moved on to rural land densities. They are not making final decisions along the way. But they are giving the planning department staff directions to pursue as the BOCC works its way through the steps necessary to comply with the hearings board's order.

They all agreed with the need to downzone the rural lands which are currently under five acres to the minimum 5-acre size required to be GMA compliant.

Commissioner Darcie Nielsen wanted to go ahead and make further changes. While the county was changing the density on those parcels, she thought it made sense to consider downzoning them even more if there was a need.

She suggested the county downzone Turn Point/Pear Point to one unit per ten acres. That move would be justified by concerns about aquifer recharge areas and transportation.

Commissioner John Evans didn't consider it fair to examine only certain areas for downzoning past the 5-acre minimum. "That's a whole separate discussion."

Commissioner Rhea Miller was interested in looking at the whole county and watershed overlays.

Arnold said, "If we look at watersheds, it should be county-wide."

Evans said, "The five acres is not ugly or horrible. Let's get everything to five and see where we are." Nielsen agreed with him.

The planning staff will report back with quantitative data on what a minimum five-acre parcel size in rural lands would mean.

Nielsen reiterated her original objections to the Growth Management Hearings Board decision. "We're still trying to maintain the integrity of 1979 densities. There is still planning work to be done. I hate to say it but we might look at extending the moratorium beyond the GMA growth order -- to give us time to reevaluate and do community planning."

The commissioners will discuss AMIRDs (areas of more intense rural development) and Activity Centers when talks resume tomorrow.

Nielsen suggests ban on shoreline land division

By Sharon Kivisto

posted 05/30/00
"Our shorelines have had enough," said County Commissioner Darcie Nielsen. She told her fellow commissioners she would be calling for an end to land division of shoreline parcels when deliberations resume today.

The BOCC discussed resource lands during their deliberations Friday, May 26. They plan to finish up that discussion today and move on to rural lands.

Recommendations put forth at Friday's meeting included one by Nielsen to change Resource land designations to conservancy designations in the parcels that top the list of important open spaces.

County Prosecutor Randy Gaylord cautioned,"Regulations call for a process to go through before they can be changed. We need to follow a very specific process."

Nielsen's proposal called for no reduction in density for the redesignated parcels as long as they met conservation design standards.

"You're missing the mark," Gaylord said. "We need to change those maps." The Growth Management Hearings Board has ordered the county to address the issue of density.

No final decisions have been made. The BOCC will deliberate (see meeting schedule on this page) through June 5, 2000 and then present a proposal to the public in a series of public hearings.