Dear Neighbors,

San Juan County’s natural beauty and rural character exist because generations demanded strong land-use decisions, environmental review, and public accountability. Those protections are now being tested.

A proposed nearly 13,000-sq-ft, four-bay aircraft hangar in a Rural Farm Forest residential neighborhood would require clearcutting a forested lot and converting roughly 50% of the parcel into impervious surface. This is not a minor impact. It would fundamentally alter hydrology, wildlife habitat, and downstream conditions well beyond the property line. The structure would span nearly lot-line to lot-line and rise roughly 35 feet as a sheer metal wall.

This proposal has history. In 2022, neighbors appealed the project under SEPA. The County Hearing Examiner ruled in their favor, finding deficiencies in the environmental review and stating that unless the proposal was substantially modified, it would require a more rigorous review through an MDNS or DS. That ruling was explicit.

Yet today, the County has issued a Determination of Non-Significance (DNS) despite no material changes to the project. The same clearcutting, scale, and impervious coverage remain, while key issues—wetlands, stormwater, hydrology, and cumulative impacts—remain unresolved or inconsistently addressed, in some cases relying on outdated standards.

This is not anti-development; it is pro-process. Allowing a project of this scale to bypass meaningful SEPA review sets a dangerous precedent that threatens rural character countywide.

Community members can still submit public comment by emailing the San Juan County Department of Community Development at DCD@sanjuancountywa.gov and referencing LANDUSE21-0172.

Residents still have a voice—but only if we use it.

On behalf of concerned neighbors,

Caitlin Ness Hardy,

San Juan Island