Affordable housing and public facilities were the major concerns of the Eastsound Planning Review Committee meeting on Oct. 2. The Eastsound swale and drainage basins, as well as parking and undeveloped county properties in Eastsound were also discussed.

With Public Works Director Jon Shannon and Senior County Planner Colin Maycock in attendance, EPRC acting chair Gulliver Rankin led the committee as they made their comments regarding the ordinance to come before the Planning Commission and ultimately, the County Council, for amendments to the Comprehensive Plan and development code related to essential public facilities.

Rankin commented that stormwater facilities were not included in the proposal and questioned why stormwater detention treatment was not considered an essential public facility.

Audrey Moreland brought out that certain roadways and bridges should be considered as essential public facilities, considering that, in an emergency such as an earthquake, the destruction or inaccessibility of bridges such as the Moran Park bridge and the Channel Road bridge would make parts of the island unreachable.

Shannon said that the policy objective of the ordinance is to outline the broad context, but it does not address the shoreline where many EPFs are located and it provides siting standards for only one type of facility.

The county Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the ordinance for Essential Public Facilities on Friday, Oct. 10 at 10:45 a.m. at Key Bank in Friday Harbor. Comments to Shireene Hale at 370-7569 or shireeneh@san-juan.wa.us.

Affordable Housing

Maycock announced that he is updating the housing element in the Comprehensive Plan. The housing element is based on the Housing Needs Assessment originally completed in 1999, based on 1990 census data. He noted that the housing element is not a big section of the Comprehensive Plan.

A meeting to look at the goals and policies of the Housing Needs Assessment will be held on Lopez Island on Oct. 15, Maycock said. The meeting will be at the LCLT office in Lopez Village beginning at 10 a.m.

The EPRC has held a working session to review the San Juan County Housing Plan put forward by the Housing Bank Commission on April 12, 2007. In their review they discussed the priorities, timeline and spheres of responsibility in a collaborative effort to formulate an updated housing element for the Comprehensive Plan.

EPRC and Planning Commission member Brian Ehrmantrout urged the group to “give [Maycock] ammunition and ideas for drafting” before the meeting, and to look at the “Nantucket Plan” for ideas.