By Amber Borner
The current public works site surrounding the community building no longer meets the needs of Public Works. The main difference between current and past practices is that Public Works needs space to permanently dispose of material pulled from road shoulders and ditches — they will no longer pass it along to residents and it is not feasible to truck it off island (time, cost, labor constraints).
If Public Works continues to only use the Blind Bay property, they will permanently fence off the parking lot around the community building and Shaw will lose access to:
All parking (except one handicapped spot).
Recycling facility.
Access to the Graham Preserve north trailhead.
Ability to maneuver fire trucks.
It is not possible to temporarily fence the property during road projects, as the lot will be permanently filled with material pulled from the ditches and the shoulders. This material will accumulate over time; thus, this property has a limited lifespan (“20-ish years”) due to restrictions in possible layouts (dictated by locations of the community well, maintenance building, access points).
Public works is requesting an Essential Public Facility Designation for the Site B (5-acre lot located at 1427 Neck Point Rd property). If they are granted the designation, they plan to ask for a change in land use from the current Rural Farm Forest (RFF) to Rural Industrial (RI) with a Conditional Use Permit for a Construction Yard.
In addition to these conditional uses, the only other land uses that are permitted outright on Rural Industrial lands are:
Home occupation (also allowed on RFF).
Emergency services.
Recycling collection.
Public streets (also allowed on RFF).
Public trails (also allowed on RFF).
Category “A” joint use wireless facility (also allowed on RFF).
Agricultural activities (also allowed on RFF).
Forest practices (also allowed on RFF).
Portable lumber mills (also allowed on RFF).
Nurseries (also allowed on RFF).
Small-scale slaughterhouses.
All other uses are either not permitted or require additional permitting (such as heavy industrial and concrete batch plants). This is not blanket “A to Z” permission for any and all uses listed in the land use table for Rural Industrial lands. Public Works is not asking to change the land-use designation on Site C (11.9-acre lot located south of Site B at 1427 Neck Point Road) and it would remain Rural Farm Forest.
As public works states in their request for an Essential Public Facility, they anticipate using the property for:
Material disposal.
Burning woody debris.
Outdoor storage yard.
Maintenance facility.
Home occupation.
Public Works would have to apply for additional Provisional or Conditional Use Permits for any uses above and beyond these uses. A public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, May 20, before the County Council at 9 a.m. (check the agenda for when they expect to begin the hearing).
How to participate:
Written comments may be submitted in advance of the hearing by mail, email or at the hearing, or by delivery in person. Mail can be sent to 350 Court St. #1, Friday Harbor, WA 98250; email to councilpc@sanjuancountywa.gov.
Attend the Council meeting in person. Sign-ups will be available in the room for those wishing to speak in person. You can also call in to make a comment. To call in and sign up for public comment, visit: https://www.sanjuancountywa.gov/1879/Public-Comment-Signup. After signing up, call in at 9 a.m. to join the meeting via telephone: +1 360-726-3293, phone conference ID: 630 068 600#.
If you are watching or listening to the Council livestream, please turn it off when calling in for public comment.
Livestream at https://sanjuancowa.portal.civicclerk.com/.
Questions about the public hearing? Reach out to Clerk to the Council, Sally Rogers at sallyr@sanjuancountywa.gov.
For more information, please contact Mackenzie Sims, capital programs manager, at mackenzies@sanjuancountywa.gov.
Helpful links:
https://www.sanjuancountywa.gov/278/Current-Projects.
https://apps.ecology.wa.gov/separ/Main/SEPA/Record.aspx?SEPANumber=202501744
