Discussions on critical areas get more time

The following article appeared in the July 5, 2006 edition of the Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader.

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Discussions on critical areas get more time

By Janet Huck, Leader Staff Writer

“The critical areas ordinance is not a done deal,” said Jefferson County Commissioner David Sullivan.

Sullivan and fellow Commissioners Pat Rodgers and Phil Johnson voted unanimously Monday to extend the deadline for the update on the county’s critical areas ordinance until Jan. 18, 2007.

The time allows for more public input on a land-use subject that has helped galvanize a rejuvenated farm-based property movement. People upset with the proposed critical areas ordinance, mainly wetland buffer zones, drove tractors to the courthouse for one protest, with hundreds showing a willingness to attend meetings or make public statements.

Originally, the commissioners voted on a three-month delay of the July deadline previously reached with the Washington Environmental Council, which had sued the county over its proposed critical areas ordinance. WEC has indicated support for a sixth-month delay instead of three months; its agreement is required.

In a related issue, the commissioners voted to include more public hearings on the Chimacum Creek management plan (1.4 MB PDF file) that was set for completion Aug. 18. The deadline for completion of those public hearings is now Sept. 18.

Critical delay

Most people at the regular July 3 commission meeting thought WEC would agree to the commissioners’ sixth-month delay. Al Scalf, county director of community development, said he expected a signed agreement with WEC by week’s end.

Many participants on both sides talked as if it were a done deal.

Norman MacLeod, who has been active in local issues, said: “It gives us time for community involvement on the regulations. The people who are regulated would have a say in being regulated. We wouldn’t be working in an us-versus-them basis but working to built something that benefits everybody.”

“It’s the best celebration of the Fourth of July,” said Jim Hagen, county planning commission chairman. “We can take a deep breath because we have more time for community involvement.”

“We have time to write a new timeline and get information about the draft out to the public so we can get good community input and make the changes we need to make to the ordinance,” said Commissioner Sullivan.

Under the present proposed changes, some streams and wetlands could require a 450-foot buffer zone to protect habitat from the impact of development or farming.

The buffer zone requirements vary depending on the kind of stream or wetland and how the surrounding land would be used. As an example, if a piece of farmland has a stream passing through the middle of it, its owner might be required to leave up to 450 feet of land on either side of the stream undisturbed.

Farmers protested the proposed changes, saying the changes would reduce the value and uses of their properties without compensation.