This was originally posted to: Guemes Island Planning Advisory Committee

DRAFT GIPAC Minutes March 2, 2015

Guemes Island Planning and Advisory Committee

Draft Minutes

March 2, 2015

Members Present: Nancy Fox, Michael Brown, Stella Spring, Sandy McKean, Patty Rose, Allen Bush and Hal Rooks,Gary Curtis, Emeritus. Citizens Marianne Kooiman and Edith Walden were also present.

Minutes-from the February 2 and February 16 meetings were approved as amended.

Treasurer reported a balance of $3,703.9.

Marijuana Policy

Hal attended a public meeting of the County Commissioners about next steps on marijuana policy. If the proposed policies become permanant, on Guemes there will be no legal growing due to concerns about water. For the rest of county a plan will be presented to the Planning Commission and then the County Commissioners will vote. The moratorium may be over as soon as April 28. It is still a good idea for us to attend planning commission hearing to be sure Guemes concerns are heard.

Discussion of the GIPAC response followed. We have a problem with the industrial nature of marijuana growing for Guemes Island: the infrastructure that goes with marijuana growing is a concern. Michael will work on drafting a statement of our concerns/talking points.

Public Meeting on Seawater Intrusion

On Thursday, March 26, at 5 PM at the hall the county will present a Seawater Intrusion Update. We will see how many of our suggestions are incorporated. GIPAC is hosting the meeting and there will be an Educational component and update and time for public comment. Patty will post the meeting on Linetime and there will be an article in the Tide. Stella will put the event on the blackboard, and see that it is erased afterward.

By-laws and Board Insurance

Michael met with an insurance agent. Edith suggested that with an indemnification clause for officers and directors in the by-laws the officers and directors are protected from being held personally liable for any acts on behalf of the organization other than malfeasance, and noted that indemnification does not prevent lawsuits and does not provide funds to defend lawsuits. We may just need to edit what we have, because our statement on board responsibility is wordy. As it stands now, we wouldn’t be able to pay legal expenses, but an insurance policy would pay for legal defense. Hal reported that the RCW says that, under defined conditions, volunteers shall not be liable if the non-profit carries insurance. Hal thinks we could buy basic insurance for $250 per year, and that a judge might the  throw out any suit brought against GIPAC. Edith suggested that we should deal with an insurance agency that deals with nonprofits. Marianne reminded us that we are advisory: if someone wants to sue, they could sue the county. Mary Brennan does pro-bono legal work for nonprofits on Guemes and Michael will talk with her.

Hal will bring a bylaws proposal to next meeting.

 

 

 

Finalize land use and shoreline code recommendations to County:

Building Envelope:

Proposed code change was accepted by a unanimous vote.

1) Amend SCC 14.16.320 RRv and SCC 14.16.300 Intermediate RI:

 

  • to require side-yard setbacks totaling 30 percent of the average width of the lot or 30 feet (whichever is less) for the combination of the two side-yards, with an eight-foot minimum setback on each side,

  • to establish a 12-foot height limit at each  side-yard setback line, with one additional foot of building height allowed for each foot inside the required side-yard setback, up to the maximum height of 30 feet.

2) Amend SCC 14,16 to create a new height overlay for Guemes Island, establishing a 30’ maximum height limit island-wide.

Review Guemes provisions in draft County shoreline plan

Building envelope standards, including height and setbacks, can be taken out of the shoreline master program (SMP) draft because they will be fully addressed in the zoning code.  Accessory building height and Vegetation Conservation Areas will need to remain in the SMP Stella, Marianne and Patty volunteered to explore this further. Fence height also needs to be remain in the SMP. [Note that fence height was subsequently discussed by email and determined to be an island-wide standard that can and should be pursued.

Setback standards were taken off our draft because they are in the zoning code. There was much discussion about a vegetation conservation area with native plants within a shoreline buffer, and we left this provision in. It was decided to retain shorelines recommendations regarding fences and accessory structures and run them by the county.

Next month we will go over by-laws and conservation priorities.

Respectfully submitted,

Patty Rose

Secretary

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