Residents plan to be heard at public hearing

A group of residents intend to do their civic duty and be heard at the public hearing called by the Town of La Conner Planning Commission Tuesday. The Port of Skagit submitted its recommendation last January for a new chapter creating a port industrial zone in the Town’s code. In August town planner Michael Davolio prepared a 27 page document, “Suggested 2022 Code Changes,” for the planning commission.

Town residents have been preparing, also. Over 20 attended a meeting at Maggie Wilder’s Sept. 6, their second after a session at Renee and Jim Matthews in August. An attendeesaid the group was “kind of fired up about going to the meeting and letting their ideas be known.”

Their overall concern is with the leadership of town. Residents started paying attention and became galvanized with the purchase and sale of the Hedlin Maple Avenue ballfield property in 2021. This attendee, who asked to be anonymous, pointed to “the focus of the planner seems to be, in our opinion, misplaced to make development too easy at the expense of the neighborhoods.” The group wants planning redirected to serve the neighborhoods and the majority of the town’s residents. Intimated was that economic development take a smaller role in the community’s development.

Their three-page summary states they “covered important ground,” primarily – and necessarily – mirroring Davolio’s list, but the 306 Center Street condominium project was their first concern.

Their outside lawyer, David Bricklin – the Town has also engaged a Seattle firm – assessed the 1986 Contract Rezone passed that year by the town council that changed the property to commercial zoning. Bricklin’s six page August letter cited its validity and that the agreement holds “the town accountable to their past commitment.” The group’s strategy “is to put the town on notice that the citizenry is seriously invested in a fair outcome of this debacle.”

The rest of the meeting focused on the “amendments to code and planning proposed,” addressing Davolio’s list.

The four major code changes they want the planning commission to challenge are to short term rentals, height increases in the industrial zone, agricultural setbacks and new port zoning.

Short term rentals, from 30 days to six months, have been discussed by the planning commission. The group opposes them. This is not included in Davolio’s August list.

Height increases. Buildings above 30 feet cannot be reached by the La Conner fire department’s equipment. Hence this height restriction. Sixty foot is the maximum building height in the proposed port industrial zone

Agricultural sebacks. Reducing the 25 foot rear setback requirement to 15 feet is opposed.

New Port zoning. The group agrees to “Be vigilant about this possible change.”

Beyond these emphases at the Sept. 20 public hearing, the group is developing their own list of code and comprehensive plan amendments to pursue, ranging from redefining affordable housing through new hiring and evaluation practice for town administrators to include citizen participation, to building code revisions addressing climate change and a maximum size when abutting the residential zone.

Maggie Wilder summed up the group’s purpose: “We are looking for representation for the neighborhoods. It just seems like the neighborhoods are sometimes forgotten. There are real people who live here who are very affected by the pace of development.” That is the message residents will deliver at the public hearing.