Few agree over Lopez Village plan

Lopez islanders don’t agree as to whether Lopez Village should be an Urban Growth Area. County commissioners don’t agree either.

Rattled by recently approved plans for a 14-unit development, Lopez islanders formed three committees this summer dealing with the question of Lopez Village’s designation as an Urban Growth Area (UGA).

One group, led by school board member Jim Smith, concluded that it should be designated rural. Another, headed by John Whetten, determined that Lopez Village should have an urban growth area, but with a smaller size than that proposed by county planners. A third group considered whether Lopez needed a UGA to meet future affordable housing needs.

And last week county commissioners added to the division. John Evans and Darcie Nielsen raised doubts about the need for any urban growth area on Lopez, while Rhea Miller voiced support for a smaller size UGA.

“They don’t need a UGA to meet affordable housing needs, as long as they do it right, said Nielsen, a former planner herself. “The best fit for Lopez Village may not be a UGA," Evans added. Nielsen and Evans urged county planners to explore all viable options, including whether to have any urban growth area.

Miller, who supports a UGA with reduced boundaries, expressed shock over her colleagues’ comments, adding that Nielsen and Evans should have kept quiet while feasibility studies about Lopez Village’s ability to absorb future growth remain in process.

Miller said affordable housing and businesses depend on the village, and urban growth allows for each. She said she was "appalled" by her colleagues' willingness to cast aside the growth area after four years of planning, comparing Lopez’s situation to that of Eastsound, where an urban growth area was recently established.

"What I'm asking is for the process to be fully-entertained on Lopez as it has been fully-entertained on Orcas," she said.

Regardless of the boundary, its size, or what's inside, Nielsen expects the commission's eventual decision to be appealed. As drawn, she doubts the county has enough evidence to support development of the village as an urban growth area.

Vicki Heater of Environmental Health said a report outlining the village’s water supply is expected by the end of the year. The report, based on a study covering 18 months of work, will provide planners with a tool but not a recommendation about whether there should be a UGA.

Heater is working with a committee of Lopez citizens that is also divided on this question. Ron Meng, one of the members, contends that there is more than enough water to meet Lopez Village’s projected future growth. Others disagree. Meanwhile, Mark Tompkins, Heater’s boss, said it’s best to let the study take its course, and not make any predictions as to what it will show.

John Whetten, a member of a Lopez committee dealing with boundaries, criticized the committee process, saying it has been political and unnecessarily divisive.

"Having to identify with one camp or another tends to polarize people," he said, adding committee members would benefit with more time to find common ground. "It's easy for us to imagine a vision for the village, but it's very hard to put that in the legal structure given to us under the GMA."

Whetten's committee supports a trimmed-down version of the county's growth area. It eliminated the area south of the county public works site based on conclusions of an affordable housing committee, which suggested that area is poorly situated for affordable development, he said.

Members of another committee formed this summer, the rural village committee, share Nielsen's doubts. They argue lack of water, utilities and infrastructure prohibit designation of the village for urban growth under GMA. According to that committee, the village and surrounding area should be classified a rural village, known as a limited area of more intense rural development (LAMIRD).

Michele Smith, a member of that committee, said planning under GMA calls for legal interpretation of facts, not a balancing of community preferences. Though opinions matter and community input is crucial for planning, designations are ultimately based on rules and mandates, Smith said.

"It's not a thing like I like chocolate and you like vanilla and the decision

will be based on who has the best arguments about the merits of chocolate or vanilla," Smith said. "It's supposed to be a facts-based decision and the

village doesn't fit the criteria for urban designation under GMA."

Comment on this story.

COMMENTING RULES: We encourage an open exchange of ideas in our online community, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. In a nutshell, don't say anything you wouldn't want your mother to read.