How much to grow? -- Many express fear about Eastsound’s future; planners say future growth must be channeled here

San Juan County planners came to Orcas Island once again seeking input on a comprehensive plan for Eastsound.

What they heard was widespread fear about population growth and its potential impact on Eastsound’s water and sewer systems and roads. The majority of more than 100 islanders who were at the gathering expressed a determination to slow down growth or even stop it cold. The public meeting took place Oct. 11 at Orcas Center.

Senior Planner Pat Mann and consultant Mike Usen explained that the county needed to determine Eastsound’s future boundaries and densities, and its capability to provide water, sewer, and roads for projected future growth.

Eastsound has been identified as an Urban Growth Area in the county’s Growth Management Act planning, meaning it has been targeted as the area of the island where much of Orcas’ future growth will be channeled. The state has mandated that the county address Eastsound’s future as quickly as possible.

The draft plan submitted by the planners is based on the notion that Eastsound will grow by 2.5 to 3 percent over the next 20 years, from about 950 today to approximately 4,300 in 2020. Eastsound’s population is projected to be even higher if all affordable housing is located there.

Mann feels Eastsound is the only viable option for affordable housing, saying the Village is the only place on the island with densities sufficiently high to make it feasible. He also confirmed what the numbers show. “We expect Eastsound to more than double over the next 20 years,” he said.

But most of those who were at the gathering saw the numbers as a threat to life on Orcas Island as it exists today. Keri Rose described the draft as a formula for “massive growth.” Roberta MaGuire said it only benefited the developers, whom she equated to “the devil.”

Such labeling prompted an angry response from county Commissioner John Evans, who said the stereotype of the housing developer doesn’t apply on Orcas Island. Evans said most construction in Eastsound and elsewhere on the island consists of an individual and his or her family building a single family residence. The commissioner also noted that the biggest developer in Eastsound is the OPAL Land Trust, which has built 24 affordable homes in two locations over the past decade.

Consultant Usen told the group that their input would be taken seriously, and that the county had the authority to lower Eastsound’s densities and rein in its urban growth boundaries. But he noted that Eastsound would remain an Urban Growth Area, adding that if the growth was removed from Eastsound, it would have to be located elsewhere on the island, where it would likely bring about rural sprawl. Usen noted that such a scenario would not fit the guidelines of the Growth Management Act.

One islander commented that most of those who need affordable housing prefer to live in the rural areas. “They want to live in the woods,” he said. “They’re now living in tents, sheds, buses and guest houses.”

Regarding the matter of future water and sewer, the Eastsound Water Users Association has a long-range plan which will allow it to handle projected growth, manager Ted Wixom said. The local sewer district has similar long-range expansion plans to meet future needs, according to chairman P.C. Wilde.

What’s next?

The consultants and planners will review the public input and return with a set of recommendations they will present to the community for more comment in about a month.

Their final report will be presented to the county Planning Commission and county commissioners, probably in January. Both bodies will again hear public input prior to coming up with a final plan for Eastsound. The commissioners make all the decisions on GMA planning, but are bound by state guidelines.

The state has given San Juan County until Nov. 4 to complete its planning, but local officials have asked for a six month extension until May 4. Mann believes that the county can meet a May 4 deadline for Eastsound, but acknowledges that the Nov. 4 date is out of the question.

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