By CLAUDIA BRADLEY

Staff Reporter

The San Juan County Development and Planning Commission approved an amendment to the San Juan County Comprehensive Plan, redrawing the Lopez Village Urban Growth Area (UGA) boundary by removing 8.43 acres from the UGA at a public meeting on Lopez Island on Tuesday, Jan. 29.

Three parcels of land east of Fisherman Bay Road in Lopez Village comprising the 8.43 acres have been removed from the Lopez Village UGA and will no longer be subject to water, sewer and development requirements of Lopez Village. The boundary change reduces the UGA to approximately 143 parcels on 198 acres.

In 2004, there were 214 residents in Lopez Village. The Lopez UGA anticipates an additional 483 residents (or 228 households based on the average Lopez household size of 2.12 persons according to the 2000 census) and 24 businesses by 2020.

In the Jan. 29 County Development and Planning staff report to the planning commission, Senior Planner Colin Maycock wrote, “the removal of the three separate parcels will not negatively impact land supply because current development plans show a movement toward higher density development in appropriate areas.”

The 8.43 acres removed from the UGA represents a possible loss of 28 dwelling units, assuming a conservative density of four dwellings per acre. Maycock wrote, “The 10.39 acres being developed by the Lopez Community Land Trust (LCLT) and Lopez Housing Options (LOHO) which allow a bonus density of eight units per acre, alone may well account for 26 of the 28 units lost.”

In conclusion the County Planning and Development commission believes amending the 2005 UGA to exclude the three parcels in question is a necessary step toward becoming compliant with the State’s Growth Management Act and the loss of 8.43 acres of developable land will not negatively impact the supply of land.

For a copy of the Jan. 29 staff report see Lopez Urban Growth area at www.sanjuanco.com/cdp/.