Rosario ordered to submit Environmental Impact Statement

Rosario Resort will have to submit an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) regarding the expansion it’s proposing in its long-range Master Plan, San Juan County Community Development and Planning Department Deputy Director Francine Shaw told members of the Eastsound Planning Review Committee Jan. 6.

Shaw said an EIS could take Rosario anywhere from six months to three years to complete. ‘It’s a huge expansion project. We want to be very cautious,” she explained, regarding a plan that calls for fractionalized (shared) ownership of homes and cottages, and a large expansion of the marina.

County Senior Planner Martin Blackman agreed that an EIS is necessary. “There are a lot of environmental things and a lot of people that can be impacted,” he said, including eagle and osprey habitat, a large stand of trees, and the homes near the resort.

But Rosario questioned the county’s decision. Consultant Mike Usen, who is overseeing work on the Master Plan, and who reports directly to Rosario ownership, believes that an EIS is not necessary, because the resort has already addressed the environmental concerns in a 112-page draft document plus even more pages of appendices that provide additional details. Usen is with the firm EDAW, Inc., of Seattle.

“Our appendices are thicker than most Environmental Impact Statements,” he said, referring to the document which he prepared and submitted to the county several months ago. The plan was prepared with input from an advisory committee of 16 people who met over a four-month period. Members included Moran State Park Ranger Dennis Flowers, Smugglers Villa Resort manager Mike Stolmeier, and representatives of the Lummi Indian tribe, the Washington State Department of Transportation, state agencies dealing with historic preservation, and The Rosario Property Owners Association (RPOA).

The last party is an organization of those who live near the resort, and who depend on the Rosario utility for water and sewer services. It includes home owner Mary Gardner, who came away from the experience impressed with Rosario’s commitment to address the residents’ concerns. “They definitely listened,” she said, adding that “a lot of the ideas (in the plan) came out of this.” Gardner also described Rosario’s concept of fractional ownership homes and cottages as “much more palatable than multi-story condos” that were in earlier versions of the plan.

A recent editorial in the association’s newsletter also indicated potential support. It states that the Master Plan “ameliorates the impact on the Rosario community while providing prospective benefits in the form of access to the club and marina facilities....”

Not only will an EIS cost Rosario a lot more money, Usen said, it will also make it more difficult for Rosario to attract investors, particularly if there is uncertainty regarding how long the study will take.

One reason why the time period could be lengthy, Usen said, is because Planning’s staff has been cut over the past few years, increasing the likelihood that the county’s ability to process Rosario’s application will be delayed. Blackman agreed that the department is understaffed, but he insisted that it would “not necessarily” slow things down.

Usen describes the long-range plan as “a mixture of resort accommodations and vacation residential units located on different parts of the site, supplemented by quality food and beverage venues, an appropriately-sized marina, complimentary retail opportunities, a restored and expanded spa and fitness center, and a variety of indoor and outdoor recreational activities for adults, teens and children.”

It was submitted in draft form, meaning Rosario’s final planning document could contain revisions, Blackman said. The planner also commended Usen, saying “he has done some good work,” but added that the county is going to need some time to review the entire Master Plan.

The Rosario Property Owners Association will also be following developments closely. The above-mentioned editorial states that “The RPOA Board will have to review the proposed Master Plan to decide on what measures may need to be imposed by the County as conditions of approval to protect Rosario residents.”

The plan is conceptual only. There are no guarantees that it will ever be implemented.

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