Whether the San Juan County Comprehensive Plan and its development regulations are revised, changed or updated more than once a year might not matter much to most islanders.

But it matters a great deal if your livelihood depends on the local building trades, according to Orcas Island’s John Evans, executive director of San Juan Builders Association.

Evans was among several islanders who spoke against proposed legislation at a Sept. 9 public hearing which would allow changes to be made to Comp Plan and the UDC more than once a year. Those objections and the proposal’s rejection by the Planning Commission earlier in the year, and a desire for more information, prompted the County Council to postpone the hearing until Sept. 23.

Evans, a former county commissioner, said it’s difficult enough as is knowing what is – or is not – allowed even for those well-schooled in local development regulations. He predicted chaos could result if regulations were changed sporadically or in “willy-nilly” fashion.

“At some point in time nobody’s going to know what the rules are,” Evans said. “To me, it’s like building a house without a set of plans.”

Furthermore, Evans said that the once-a-year limitation, known as the annual “docket,” was put in place by design to ensure “predictability” and so that islanders could keep track of whatever changes might be in store. Evans’ objections were echoed by Chris Clarke of San Juan Island, who added that allowing changes to be pursued at any time “injects a chaotic element” into what ought to be an “orderly” process.

But that limitation, according to Senior Planner Shireene Hale, hampers the Community Development and Planning Department’s ability to tackle a backlog of more than 100 alterations which need to be made to the Comp Plan and UDC. Some are simple, others complex, and, she said, in some cases local regulations conflict with state law.

Handling so many potential changes at one time, Hale said, is “too big a bit to try and take.”

In addition, Hale noted none of the other eight Puget Sound counties limit their ability to make Comp Plan or UDC changes to just once a year and that she’s unaware of any counties that do. With recommendations offered by the Planning Commission, she said the proposal now includes a two-year sunset clause and a provision that any change approved during the year would go into effect as a package on Dec. 2.

Lifting the restriction, Hale said, should help the department slice the backlog into “manageable bites.” Without it, she fears it will grow.

“We’re in such a deep hole I don’t see us getting out of it without more planning staff or unless we stop working on optional projects, like sub-area plans,” she said.

Nancy DeVaux, director of the San Juan Community Land Trust, supports lifting the restriction. She said the trust and other affordable housing groups would benefit from the some necessary code changes and that “affordable housing items are part of the backlog.”

Of the 100 or more pending changes, CDPD Director Ron Henrickson expects only a “handful” will be accomplished by the end of the year with the restriction in place. He said that the two-year sunset clause offers an opportunity for the community to “see if it works or doesn’t work.”