Most of the community wants it. Even those who are unhappy about certain aspects believe the services it will provide the Deer Harbor community are both wanted and needed. Yet, on Jan. 7, when the Orcas Island Fire Department went for its Conditional Use Permit Hearing, a number of residents went to Friday Harbor to be heard, on what they see as problems with the new fire station being built on the same Channel Road site as the existing station.

The Hearing was specifically to determine if the Conditional Use Permit application complied with San Juan County Uniform Development Code and the Deer Harbor Hamlet Plan.

This was not the first time Deer Harbor residents have had an opportunity to speak publicly about the new fire station. The OIFD held three public meeting in the Deer Harbor Community, and the project has been on the agenda at every meeting of the OIFD Fire Commissioners since mid-2007.

What are the concerns that were brought up at the Hearing? Most were the same as in the beginning of the process. Some residents are unhappy with the location of the station, the fire equipment use of the Channel Road Bridge that must be crossed to get to western Deer Harbor residents and concerned about traffic. Some neighbors are concerned about the size of the station and landscaping.

Many of the residents who attended the meeting, were neighbors of the new station. In addition, the former fire department Deer Harbor tenant, Karla Rieg, presented a petition signed by fifty residents in opposition. Meg and Bob Connor, who had offered to sell the Fire Department a piece of property on Deer Harbor Road, spoke about traffic concerns.

Many of the fire station detractors admit that most of their concerns can only really be solved by the county public works department but they still consider them fire department issues.

Location

“The Fire Department owned one piece of land that offered a good location for the fire station,” said Teri Williams, of Permit Resources, who was hired by the OIFD to assist with the permit preparation and submittal.

“Would they be able to sell that land at a reasonable price and agree upon a new price for another? No one from the community stepped up to offer to buy the property at a fair price, which would have allowed the fire department to consider purchasing another piece of property. The fire department has public money they have been hanging onto for this project and purchasing new land was not feasible.”

Rieg admits when she learned that the fire department was actively exploring purchasing property for the fire station, when they sent her written notice of their plans, nor at anytime since, has she contacted the fire department to say she wanted to buy the property. She did not think she had to.

Rieg says, “Years ago when Harris first came to Orcas I wrote him a letter telling him I wanted to buy the property, if it every became available. I have the money in the bank. I had a value on it from the county assessor’s office and I would have bought the property.”

The fire department ran ads seeking property to purchase. The Connors responded offering a piece of property they had on Deer Harbor Road in front of the Community Club that they say has great visibility. According to Williams and OIFD Chief Mike Harris, the Fire Department looked at the feasibility and economics of the piece of property but ultimately rejected it.

Deer Harbor resident Michael Durland has several issues with the new station, but all could be solved with a different location. He says the sight distance from the driveways, the traffic on Channel Road and the status of the bridge are all things that could be solved by a different location. He does not think the fire department did enough to find a better location.

“I have spoken to the owner of a piece of property around the Community Club and south of the Deer Harbor Inn fronting Deer Harbor Road,” Durland said. “It’s the perfect property. It’s right on the main road and has no visibility problems. The owner says he wants to sell to someone who would develop it for the good of the community. The fire department did not talk to the one person who had property available to sell them.”

Durland admits that the piece of property does not solve the problem of the bridge but he has a solution for that too. The Connors have an easement that could be purchased to develop a road to provide access to western Deer Harbor without using the bridge.

Neither Durland, nor the property owner, ever contacted the fire department to tell them about the property.

Channel Road Bridge

Should the Channel Road Bridge become unavailable, residents of western Deer Harbor would be unreachable by fire and emergency vehicles or anyone else. However, residents agree, the problem exists for both the Deer Harbor Road and Channel Road locations without an additional road being built for the Deer Harbor location.

The Connors, who want the new fire station and the medical and fire services it will provide, say they have heard that the bridge which services the most populated part of Deer Harbor is in trouble.

“The bridge is at the end of its life span,” Meg said. “It was incorrectly put in. The county road department has told us it could fail without notice at any point. The fire department have just dismissed it as a concern. It’s something everyone in west Deer Harbor should be concerned about.”

Harris says he does not see the bridge as a concern. He called the county roads department before he started the fire station project and asked them if there were any plans to change, move or repair the bridge. He was told there were not.

“The county has a responsibility to tell everyone, but specifically the fire department who uses heavy equipment, if there is a problem with the bridge,” Harris said. “They have not indicated to us at any time, that the bridge is a problem.”

Durland said that he has contacted the public works department about the bridge. He says public works wants a grant to replace it with a wider bridge. He also asked about the load limits on the bridge and was told public works would have to research it and get back to him. So far, he has not been contacted with answers from them.

“People for Puget Sound has put a grant for the complete removal of the bridge back on the table, as one of their options for restoring the estuary,” Durland said.

Deer Harbor contains one of the largest salt marshes and tidal mud flats in the San Juan archipelago according to People for Puget Sound. They say the inner harbor was listed as imperiled in 2001 in an analysis of estuaries in the San Juan Islands.

“The protected inner harbor called Cayou Lagoon once contained oysters, eel grass beds and a viable salmon creek,” according to their website. “The Channel Road Bridge crosses the outlet of Cayou Lagoon, and has constricted the tidal exchange into the lagoon for the past 40 years. The resulting sedimentation has gradually filled the lagoon, and eliminated the deep water channels that provide habitat for a variety of marine creatures. Decreasing freshwater flows from tributaries has also decreased the functioning of the estuary as a sanctuary for marine species.”

Size and Landscaping

Residents are concerned about the size of the building and the landscaping. Some think the building is too big and that unsightly dumpsters, propane tanks and generators will clutter the area.

To concerns about the size of the building, Williams said that the Deer Harbor Hamlet Plan allows for buildings of up to 5,000 square feet. The fire station will be no larger than any residential building on the same site would be.

At the hearing Williams stated, “If this were a residential building, the Deer Harbor Hamlet Plan would restrict aesthetics and would not require screening.

“This would allow the owner to put as many dumpsters and propane tanks in the front yard as they wanted. The fire department is required to be more sensitive to the impact to the neighborhood, than any residential builder without the buffer requirements would have to be. Because of the Conditional Use Permit, the Fire Department must take into account the visual impact on the neighbors. They will provide landscaping and fencing as solid buffers, so that to neighbors looking into and from adjacent properties the propane tank, dumpster and generator will be hidden.”

Traffic

At one time, there was a possibility that the Deer Harbor Post Office might move to share property with the new fire station. Residents were concerned about the increased traffic on what many feel is a location with poor visibility.

“I was somewhat interested in exploring the idea of the post office,” Harris said. “I wanted the fire station to be as much use to the community as possible. The Hearing Examiner has said the Conditional Use Permit is for a building that may be used only for emergency services. The post office sharing space with the fire station is a dead issue.”

The Connors say there is a tree that leans out onto the road, at a crest of the hill, near the proposed station that has been a hazard for years. They want public works and the fire department, to fix it before the new fire station brings increased traffic to the area.

Harris said, that in all the meetings and the hearing that he attended, and he has attended them all, he has never heard anyone mention the tree.

As part of the building process, and to address the traffic concerns, the fire department will be improving an existing driveway at the new station and installing another one. The fire department has already obtained written permission from public works for the project.

“The new driveways are not going to make much difference,” Durland said. The one they are building on Channel Road is not much different than the one they currently have as far as visibility goes.”

Size

Reig, who for 17 years, leased a trailer on the fire department’s Channel Road location, said the residents want a smaller barn-like structure. Harris wants to build a station that will anticipate the growth of the community, maximize space and provide for their needs now and in 20-years.

The Hamlet Plan, requires that the building fit into its environment. Since the fire station will be in a residential community, Harris has agreed that the station will have a residential appearance.

“Many years and much time has been spent looking at alternatives,” Williams said. “Many competent professionals with the county regulations in hand, have been involved since 2005. The fire chief made it clear he did not want to ramrod this through. There were many meetings and discussions to flush out the community concerns. We have taken as many ideas as we could from them, and incorporated them into our plans. The chief is to be commended for his patience and understanding. At some point, you finally have to draw a line in the sand and move forward.”

By the time a building or land use project reaches this stage, a lot of work has already been done. To submit a complete application for a Conditional Use Permit, the fire department submitted a site plan that included proposed developments, existing structures and significant features on their property and adjacent properties, existing and proposed improvements on public rights-of-way, natural and storm drainage improvements, proposed landscaping, and information about Environmentally Sensitive Areas.

According to Williams the Hearing Examiner has since concurred with county staff and recommend approval in his Findings, Conclusions and Decision dated Jan. 16, 2009.

The next step, will be the submittal of the building permit. This will include completing a boundary line modification with adjacent neighbors, as shown on site plan, and completing work on the existing water source for Health Department approval. Orcas Sewage Design, has designed and received a septic permit for the new station, Pacific Hart Engineering, will complete the final storm water plan, Ben Trogdon Architects will complete final construction drawings and Williams will continue to work with adjacent neighbors to finalize the landscape plan.

The OIFD will go out to bid for the construction project and begin site preparation by the end of March. The new station is scheduled to receive one of the new mini-pumper fire engines and a 2000-gallon water tanker this summer. They hope to have the exterior of the building finished by the end of October.