This was originally posted to: Guemes Island Planning Advisory Committee

GIPAC Minutes 11-09-2014

GUEMES ISLAND PLANNING AND ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES

November 9, 2014

PRESENT:  Allen Bush, Nancy Fox, Gary Curtis, Stuart Charles, Bruce Rooney

Annual Community Meeting

The annual community meeting and election of GIPAC officers/members held at the community hall was attended by 20 or so community members including candidates for open GIPAC positions. The agenda was as follows:

Sub-area Status: Allen Bush outlined the current development of the sub-area planning process by and between GIPAC and Skagit County.  Allen noted that there were no growth projections for Guemes Island since 2007. There are approximately 600 homes on the island with potential growth to almost 1500. The sub-area land use plan is more restrictive than the County plan and the integration of the plan by and between Guemes  (GIPAC)  and the County is ongoing.

Shoreline Management Plan: Nancy Fox outlined the current development of the shoreline portion of the sub-area plan noting that the proposed setbacks and other restrictions such as building height and bulk were at issue. The County plan’s increased setback requirement are consistent with the sub-area objectives however Nancy Fox noted that the proposed variance process, coupled with a new way of calculating setbacks, could undermine this intent by allowing construction of buildings even closer to the shoreline than allowed under the existing Shoreline Management Plan. GIPAC is in discussions with the County on this issue and is requesting advanced notification of variance applications concerning  Guemes waterfront properties.

Growth Records: As noted in the sub-area discussion growth records  and projection of future growth are out of date.  This data update is critical to both Guemes land-use and the proposed ferry upgrade/replacement.

Septic Inspections: Allen Bush noted that of the 600+ island septic systems approximately 90 remained to be inspected and those were given an extension for several reasons including inspection workload. Overall the process was deemed a success. Allen Bush also discussed the County septic system maintenance courses (Septic 101, 201) available to the community which would allow self inspection on certain (gravity) systems.

Water: The subject of water was a general discussion of preservation of the sole-source aquifer, catchment systems (now allowed by State), gray water use (OK but highly restrictive regulations) and well water level measurement (which varies by atmospheric pressure) GIPAC has a meter available to community members.

Elections: Three expired term vacancies (Bruce Rooney, Gary Curtis, Stuart Charles) were open for new GIPAC membership plus one opening to fill Tom Lindsay’s current position from which Tom formally resigned. Nominations from the floor included Hal Rooks, Stella Spring and Patty Rose. All nominations were seconded and unanimously elected. Michael Brown volunteered to fill Tom Lindsey’s vacated position. The motion to accept Michael Brown was seconded and unanimously elected.  Nancy Fox noted that both Gary Curtis and Stuart Charles volunteered to remain available to GIPAC for ad-hoc tasks such as County hearings etc. A nomination was seconded to add a Director Emeritus title for Gary Curtis and Stuart Charles. The nomination was unanimously approved.  GIPAC officers were elected/confirmed as follows; Chair – Nancy Fox, Vice-Chair –Allen Bush, Secretary-Patty Rose, Treasurer-Hal Rooks.

Other discussion included communication vehicles available to the community on critical or important sub-area issues, Currently the Tide and Linetime are the primary vehicles. E-mail is a potential vehicle but gaining e-mail address access requires individual approval. A sign-up sheet was passed out for those present who wished to be contacted by e-mail.

Water extraction/use was discussed as an underlying topic worthy of our attention.  The existing aquifer(s) have been evaluated as adequate for the current demands of the island residents however not all extractions are equal, i.e. salt water intrusion and in some areas inadequate water table from which to draw from (Clark Point).

Tom Lindsey formally handed in his resignation to Bruce Rooney.

A new Shoreline Management Plan is available on the county’s web site.  It is a long download.

Respectfully Submitted,

 S. Charles

c.  B. Rooney

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