Bertlesen expansion paves land

It was a surprise to discover that the Skagit County planning staff is recommending changing the zoning of approximately 70 acres of rural land at the intersection of I-5 and Starbird Road to allow a new gas station, general store, campground, farmers market, equipment rental business and a dog park.

Do we really need another gas station on I-5? The I-5 corridor is under tremendous pressure to be developed and paved over. People want to live in Skagit County because it is beautiful, because we have protected our rural areas and our resource lands. For twenty years citizens have worked diligently to protect our Valley through a comprehensive plan. We now have a comprehensive plan that complies with the Growth Management Act and limits commercial and industrial development to areas that are already paved along the I-5 corridor.

What is very strange is that at the “Shell” Conway intersection, just north of Starbird road where this new gas station and commercial development would be located, Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland and the County Farmland Legacy Program have been raising money and working hard to purchase the development rights on 90 acres of farmland adjacent to I-5. It seems inconsistent that the County is using our tax dollars to limit development on one parcel, yet just a few miles away, is recommending a rezone to allow commercial development on rural land, doesn’t it?

We have a comprehensive plan that works. We do not need to change it. Ask our Planning Department to enforce it and represent the well-being of all.

Find more information on the Bertelsen LLC rezone on the County’s website:

skagitcounty.net/Departments/PlanningAndPermit/2022CPA.htm. Click on: LR22-01: Bertelsen Farms Small Scale Recreation & Tourism Rezone.

Jaye Stover

Burlington