Council forwards adult business rules to state; refers tiny homes bid to town panel

La Conner Town Council members were akin to traffic cops during their May 23 nearly 90-minute hybrid meeting at Maple Hall.

The council forwarded proposed local restrictions on adult businesses to state officials in Olympia while remanding for review to the town planning commission a bid by developer Greg Ellis to site tiny homes on the lots behind Pioneer Market at Whatcom and Washington streets.

Mayor Ramon Hayes echoed what planning staff have previously said for restricting such businesses.

“If we don’t regulate them,” said Hayes, “we open ourselves to having to allow these types of businesses anywhere in town.”

The guidelines, reviewed by planning commissioners, now require the Council’s final action. It will consider strict regulations on how adult businesses could operate and restricts them to locations in the north and south industrial zones deemed most remote from residential areas and the school campus.

Planning Director Michael Davolio said the packet includes correspondence from citizens concerned with both designated areas.

“La Conner is a small community,” said Hayes. “It’s difficult to identify areas where this would have the least amount of impact.

“We just can’t say no,” he added, “because there are constitutional issues.”

Town Administrator Scott Thomas stressed that “we’re not deterring free speech; we’re mitigating the impact.”

Councilmember Ivan Carlson suggested the issue might prove moot, anyway.

“I don’t think there’s a market here for adult businesses,” he noted.

Glen Johnson, a Skagit Valley resident, cautioned – albeit with tongue planted firmly in cheek – against being too confident someone wouldn’t try to open an adult business in La Conner.

“There’s crazy tourists who come to town,” he quipped. “We don’t know what their tastes are.”

The discussion took a decidedly more serious tone when the topic moved to the Ellis tiny homes venture.

Ellis, is marketing custom homes on the property. He has a new plan for more affordable, enviro-friendly small houses that he said would especially benefit those without cars.

A member of the La Conner-based Skagit Valley Clean Energy Cooperative, Ellis said he has a potential partner who specializes in prefab construction and that an updated site plan makes the project more conducive to going solar.

“These would be tiny units,” said Ellis, “up to 400 square-feet, with two stories. It would provide more affordable housing in town. A lot of people make minimum wage and you can hardly rent anything at that rate.”

Councilmember Rick Dole said he had spoken with La Conner merchants who are struggling to find employees here because of high fuel and housing costs.

“A lot of people would walk, bike or use transit,” Ellis said of potential tiny house residents. “It would allow people to stay here and work and not have to drive in from Burlington and Sedro-Woolley.

“All basic needs are within three blocks of the site,” he added. “It’s a great spot.”

Councilor Mary Lee Chamberlain said that while the tiny homes model is a piece of the housing equation, there is also a need for larger family-sized dwellings.

The discussion will continue before the planning commission, whose ranks include mayor-in-waiting Marna Hanneman.

In other business, the Council reluctantly decided to remove the iconic but flawed fish slide from Conner Waterfront Park. Often out of service for costly repairs, the stylish popular slide has unfortunately become a drain on the Town budget.

“In a perfect world,” said Councilmember Annie Taylor, “I would like to have it retained. I understand it’s just going to continue to be a drain on finances. It’s a question of where is the money going to come from.”

The consensus is to hold a ceremony in honor of the custom-built slide prior to its removal.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Chamberlain said, “to see it fall apart but I’m afraid CPR on it will be continually needed.”

Hayes praised the slide’s design and joined Thomas in citing the emotional bond it has fostered with townspeople but said “The reality is the fish slide manufacturing process left a lot to be desired and it has cost us a lot of money.”

Dole reported on the town’s emergency management commission meeting that immediately preceded council, saying the group was bolstered by the return from vacation of member Duane Carpenter, who has an extensive background in meteorology.

“He provided some really good input on predicting weather conditions,” Dole said. “The south end of town is more defensible with Ecology Blocks placed in appropriate areas in advance of an event.”

While long-term flood threats from the Skagit River and those posed by Sullivan Slough on the north and east sides of town were addressed, Dole said the commission’s focus at present is the Swinomish Channel.

Several residents attending, some who participated in Saturday’s community discussion at La Conner Swinomish Library expressed support for Maggie Wilder’s suggestion that the Town reserve the recently purchased Jenson property for a community garden.

“We don’t have the time or financial resources to do anything there right now,” Hayes said. “We’ve always viewed the Jenson property as a long-term type of project, perhaps two to five years down the road.”