DEVELOPMENT IN FRIDAY HARBOR

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Land Bank Friday Harbor property for sale for $1 million

Guest column by Lynn Danaher

Historic development asks for Land Bank help

Contributed photos
The green space to the right of the red buildings (owned by Lynn Danaher) is owned by Ron Boe. The green space to the left is owned by San Juan County Land Bank.

posted 1/19/2006
Lynn Danaher and Ron Boe own eight acres of land next to the 2.5 acres the San Juan County Land Bank owns on Argyle Avenue. Danaher and Boe want to develop a "a pedestrian friendly traditional neighborhood of mixed use, residential and commercial; utilizing designs with a historically accurate flavor." They are asking the land bank to consider a trade.

The proposal, detailed in the letter below, will be discussed at the Jan. 20, 2006 land bank commission meeting in Islanders Bank Administration building. The meeting starts at 8:30 a.m. Projects will be discussed at 10:15 a.m.

The agenda includes:

9:45 a.m. Limekiln Historic Designation Presentation: Boyd Pratt and Nancy Larsen

10:15 a.m. Discussion of Projects (location/property owner)

• Lopez/ Robinson
• Orcas / Historic Artworks project
• Orcas / Deer Harbor / Perry
• Orcas / Turtleback Mountain
• Orcas / Burton Property (Stonebridge Farm)
• Orcas / Adkins
• San Juan / Churchill Square House
• San Juan/ University Road property

Jan. 16, 2006 Letter from Danaher and Boe to the Land Bank

Dear Friends,

As neighboring property owners to the approx 2.5 acres of unimproved commercial lots on the corner of Argyle and Malcolm in Friday Harbor, currently owned by the San Juan County Land Bank, we have decided to submit the following proposal. Our understanding is that the Land Bank currently has no mechanism for land sales, but does indeed have a mechanism and history of land trades.

Therefore a trade may fit exquisitely into the Land Bank's mandate of preserving the natural heritage of the San Juan Islands. Given all these considerations; we are proposing to the San Juan County Land Bank to trade the four lots on the corner of Malcolm and Argyle for the following:

1) A fully developed public park of approximately .34 acre of land near the east end of the Boe/Danaher development. We would have to demolish most of the current income producing commercial building within the boundary of the park but plan to dedicate a portion of the remaining structure for use as public restrooms. The park would preserve some very necessary green space in the center of town; it could host events like the farmers market, summer activities and act as a general gathering place for citizens of Friday Harbor.

We are considering adding a natural water feature and to emphasize native island plants. By trading these parcels, the Land Bank would have a dramatic impact in preserving green space in the heart of downtown. This is a win-win for all parties, but especially the citizens of the Town of Friday Harbor and San Juan County. It would also give the Land Bank some very high profile positive exposure to the entire County.

2) Historical Easements would be part of the trade. The cost of restoring, remodeling and/or constructing new buildings using the historical architectural guidelines generates significantly higher costs of construction and less than maximum land use. We propose to incorporate the Land Bank lots into our entire development, enabling us to design all the new structures to be compatible with each other and create a historically accurate traditional neighborhood.

3) The trading of the Land Bank lots for these considerations will enable us to be compensated indirectly for the significant additional costs that we will have to incur: develop and gift the park, build compatibly within the historic architectural guidelines, plus incur the additional cost of design and development.

Our proposal is a response to both private and official desires for the future of the Historic Argyle neighborhood. We are encouraged by the Land Bank's desire, and actions already taken, to preserve the Argyle neighborhood. We believe the Land Bank parcels at the corner of Argyle and Malcolm need to be included within the boundaries of our entire project, to insure continuity, successful preservation of green space and traditional design within this historic neighborhood. It is also imperative that we understand how that area is to be developed so as to plan our project to be compatible.

Ron Boe and Lynn Danaher own a total of eight acres in separate parcels adjacent to the Land Bank property. We have concluded that working together to develop in concert benefits us and the Town of Friday Harbor by creating continuity of our joint efforts. We are working in conjunction with B, C, & J Architecture to design a pedestrian friendly traditional neighborhood of mixed use, residential and commercial; utilizing designs with a historically accurate flavor.

We have requested the Town of Friday Harbor include all our adjoining parcels into the Historic Preservation District. As you know, Ron Boe is in the process of moving the historic Churchill House onto his lot at 470 Argyle, behind the existing house. He feels that this house is worth saving and recognizes it as a significant addition to the historic feel of the neighborhood. He is also in the process of restoring his old house at 450 Argyle. Also, Lynn Danaher has fully restored her old house at 20 Malcolm and built a lovely greenbelt in the center of Surina Business Park. They are both already in the process of historical and green space preservation.

We are attaching for your review a copy of the preliminary conceptual site plan which illustrates the advantage of planning for ingress and egress issues creating continuity of layout. Also attached is a plat map showing current land ownership, an arial view to see what improvements are currently in place, photos of the existing historic homes and the green space at Surina Business Park. We have moved into the design of phase one which includes the planned large park that will straddle the Boe and Danaher properties.

Our intent is to dedicate this park to public use in perpetuity. The cost of developing the park, taking this much land out of our entire development scheme, plus the loss of a currently income producing commercial building could be cost prohibitive. We hope for the Land Bank's participation to make this a reality. All the details would have to be discussed of course, but we are hoping that this letter generates an opening of dialogue between ourselves and the Land Bank. We also hope to evoke a response of support from the community. We believe the advantages of this trade are evident.

Please review the attached items. We look forward to further discussions and a jointly satisfactory conclusion that benefits our entire community.

Sincerely,

Ron Boe and Lynn Danaher

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