Council debates utilities element of draft comprehensive plan; councilors spar over siting and 'essential facility' status

San Juan County Council members reviewed the draft utilities element of the county’s comprehensive plan during their May 12 meeting, focusing on where renewable energy and storage can be sited, whether utility infrastructure should be designated an essential public facility, and how to reconcile renewable‑siting policies with protections for rural character and critical areas.

Long Range Planner Sofia Cassel told the council the utilities element covers electricity, propane and telecommunications and includes a narrative plus goals and policies. "Right now, we are kind of with one foot in this yellow band in the v1 draft and then one foot into the v2," Cassel said, describing a schedule that sends the plan to the planning commission at the end of the week and would wind up with adoption work this fall and winter. She said the county’s contract with the consultants ends in June and that staff will use the summer to finish technical appendices and coordinate with the town of Friday Harbor.

Why it matters: the utilities policies will guide where utility‑scale renewable generation, storage and transmission may be sited in a county made up of multiple islands with sensitive shorelines and protected lands. Changes to the element are likely to require follow‑on revisions to the county code and the Unified Development Code (UDC).

Cassel said the cooperative OPALCO provided the majority of technical edits in the draft; county committees including the Climate and Sustainability Advisory Committee and the Department of Environmental Stewardship also reviewed it. Council discussion highlighted two proposed policies (referred to in the draft as 5.5 and 7.7) that would broaden where renewable generation is allowed and ask the council to consider whether renewable generation facilities should be treated as essential public facilities.

Council member Paulson pushed for stronger language to treat electrical generation, storage, transmission and distribution as essential public facilities. "Renewable energy generation, storage, transmission, and distribution are essential public facilities," Paulson said, arguing the county must plan affirmatively so that infrastructure can be permitted and located to meet future demand. Other council members asked staff to coordinate with the county prosecutor and the ongoing code‑revision process so that any change in the comprehensive plan can be translated into an implementable UDC change.

Councilors and staff also debated the role of rooftop solar and small‑scale installations. Multiple speakers noted rooftop solar will not meet county needs alone; one councilor summarized the draft’s analysis by saying rooftop solar would provide "less than 5% of the projected 2035 load." Speakers suggested the plan avoid overly detailed, rapidly obsolete numeric inventories in the narrative and instead reference technical appendices or an online data source maintained by utilities.

The council discussed language about propane and backup power. Paulson cautioned against wording that would seek to "decrease demand for propane" without recognizing its role as a backup fuel for island homes and critical infrastructure during outages. He said propane often powers backup generators that keep critical services running and urged that policy language reflect that reality rather than categorically discouraging propane.

Members flagged other technical and process items: the utilities appendix lists public EV charging locations that several councilors said appear out of date; a council member noted that the comprehensive‑plan language now uses the term "commercial power generation facilities" in ways that conflates traditional diesel or fossil generators with modern renewable projects and suggested the UDC may need a distinct land‑use category for utility‑scale renewable energy. The county’s prosecuting attorney plans to brief council on code‑revision timing on June 9, according to staff.

Next steps: Cassel said staff hope to proceed to planning‑commission public hearings in early fall and finish the county process by November or December, with additional technical work over the summer. Councilors directed staff to continue refining the element’s narrative and policy wording, to coordinate with OPALCO and other providers, and to prepare for code changes that would follow any policy shifts.

Less urgent detail: Cassel noted the utilities element excludes water and sewer, which live in the capital facilities element and carry level‑of‑service requirements. She also said the updated utilities appendix moves technical facility lists out of the narrative and into an appendix to keep the element shorter and more policy‑focused.