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Freeland resident urges temporary moratorium on development until airports are protected in Island County comprehensive plan
Summary
At the Aug. 12 meeting, a Freeland resident asked commissioners to protect private, public-use airports from development while the county updates its comprehensive plan, citing evacuation concerns and infrastructure vulnerabilities.
A Freeland resident told the Board of Island County Commissioners on Aug. 12 that private airfields used for public access should be protected in the county's comprehensive plan or else be temporarily shielded from development until impacts can be assessed.
Carl Chaney said he is not a pilot but described private airports as critical resources in a major disaster, including for evacuating older residents. "If you allow them to build in... you will limit our ability to rescue people here or bring emergency services in," Chaney said, citing concerns that the ferry could be out of service after a major earthquake and that road or bridge damage could cut off parts of the island.
Chaney also raised a condition at Deception Pass Bridge, citing a figure he heard about the structure's seismic costs, and referenced projected housing growth in Langley: "Langley is expecting 445 more homes in the next 20 years," he said, arguing that additional housing could restrict future airport access.
Why it matters: Chaney asked the board to either include airports in the current comprehensive-plan adoption or issue a temporary moratorium on development that could impede airport use during emergencies. How private airfields are treated in land-use codes can affect future emergency response options and the siting of homes and other developments near airports.
County response: Commissioners said the county has not removed airports from transportation or comprehensive planning. Commissioner St. Clair (participating virtually) and Commissioner Johnson said airports remain part of the plans and that the county is not implementing code changes to private-airport rules as part of the current adoption cycle; staff said the language remains in planning documents and that code changes could be considered later. Commissioners encouraged Chaney to contact the county's comprehensive-plan team for details and maps showing how airports are presently addressed.
Questions raised by commissioners: Commissioner Johnson asked for clarification about how building in an Airport Protection Zone or Accident Potential Zone would limit airport use in an emergency, saying she did not understand the asserted correlation between development and the county's use of existing airports during declared emergencies. She noted that when the county declares an emergency it has governmental powers to act to protect public safety.
Next steps: Commissioners invited the commenter to work with comp-plan staff for specifics and said the county can reopen code changes later if needed; no formal moratorium or code change was adopted at the Aug. 12 meeting.
Ending note: The comment highlighted emergency-planning tradeoffs between private property rights, future development, and preserving aviation access for potential disaster response.
