Following numerous incidents of islanders abusing parking services, the county is implementing new regulations.
The Orcas Island Park and Ride at the ferry terminal now has three-day and seven-day parking limits.
“There are people who have been using it as a storage space for vehicles and people who have left cars there and filled them with garbage,” said Orcas councilmember Justin Paulsen. “The Sheriff’s office can’t act if there is no signage, and there hasn’t been signage indicating time limits on parking. It is creating a public health issue. This is a way to keep the long-term parking down to a minimum, but if someone is going off island for a week, they can still use it.”
The westerly lot is designated for three-day parking and the easterly lot is for seven-day parking, as denoted on the signs. The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office will be monitoring the lots and enforcing the new regulations beginning this summer.
“If we have to tow it, where does it go? If they leave it too long, theoretically, they get a free towing. Ultimately, we become responsible for the derelict vehicle,” explained Paulsen.
County-wide, the fine for leaving a vessel overnight at a day-use dock is increasing from $25 to $250, and the fine carries over day-to-day. On Orcas, this has particularly been a problem at the West Sound dock.
“For some, it was cheaper just to park your boat at the day-use dock than to get a slip at a marina,” Paulsen said. “Space was being abused, and you’d only get a fine if the sheriff caught you. Because the Eastsound floating dock is out for repairs, West Sound has been used even more.”
In Eastsound, Madrona Point has long been a hub for homeless campers and people sleeping in their cars. Signs are being posted to indicate that it’s not an overnight parking place.
“We do have folks who are unhoused living in their vehicles, and that is part of the issue. This is indicative of a larger problem that we are facing. What is a safe place for them to be?”
Paulsen credits the Orcas Community Resource Center staff with working hard to provide services to homeless and low-income islanders as well as the upcoming OPAL Land Trust project Pea Patch that will help meet housing needs.
The Pea Patch Community Campus is under development at 55 Pea Patch Lane north of Eastsound Village. The unified social services campus will provide permanent facilities and increased capacity for the food bank and the resource center and 20 long-term townhome rentals to serve households of low income with supportive services.
“It’s not a comfortable thing for our community because we haven’t had to deal with it before. If we had a place we could safely move people to that had adequate services, then we could move them. However, we don’t have the necessary housing resources to relocate them anywhere. We are without a solution. It’s why projects like Pea Patch are so important. And that probably still won’t even cover the full need,” Paulsen said.
