Proposed Lighthouse expansion sparks town debate

There was a time the Lighthouse Inn was truly a local hot spot.

And that doesn’t take into account when a town character from bygone days tried setting the landmark waterfront restaurant ablaze.

It was, as La Conner resident Bob Raymond reminded a packed crowd at Maple Hall Tuesday night, “one of the more popular eateries in the Skagit Valley.”

But now the former elite diner is subject of a heated debate over a plan to significantly expand its original footprint.

The Town Planning Com-mission, which Raymond and numerous others addressed, held what amounted to an initial public forum to review...