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San Juan County Council approves vacation‑rental permit changes, road vacation, parking infractions, grants and sets Lopez Park & Rec hearing
Summary
San Juan County Council on June 10 approved an ordinance making vacation rentals in two village commercial areas subject to provisional use permits, vacated Fairgrounds Road on San Juan Island, revised parking‑infraction code language, authorized two RCO grant applications, and set a July public hearing on a Lopez Island Park and Recreation District petition.
The San Juan County Council approved a bundle of land‑use, enforcement and grant items on June 10, adopting an ordinance that will require provisional use permits for vacation rentals in the East Sound Village commercial and Lopez Village commercial designations; approving a road vacation at the San Juan Island fairgrounds; updating local code language to treat certain violations as parking infractions; authorizing two Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) grant application authorizations; and setting a public hearing on a petition to form a Lopez Island Park and Recreation District.
Votes at a glance
- Vacation‑rental ordinance (repeal and replace of prior ordinance): motion moved and seconded; voice vote, “Aye,” motion carries. The ordinance changes San Juan County Code to require provisional use permits for vacation rentals in East Sound Village commercial and Lopez Village commercial designations and creates a pathway for existing operators to apply for permits. The county received one written comment (Sean Demeritt) and a public caller asked that a "savings clause" or similar protection be added for earlier vested building permits; staff noted the proposed ordinance creates an application pathway for existing operations.
- Resolution vacating Fairgrounds Road (San Juan Island): motion moved and seconded; voice vote, “Aye,” motion carries. County public works said the action will transfer administration of the paved area to the fairgrounds and remove a public right‑of‑way that traversed the fair property.
- Ordinance clarifying parking infractions: motion moved and seconded; voice vote, “Aye,” motion carries. Public Works said clarifying the code will ensure the county's posted fines are treated as parking infractions by the courts rather than general civil infractions, preventing additional statutory assessments from being added to posted fines.
- Washington State Recreation & Conservation Office (RCO) applicant resolution — Coho Preserve (project 25‑1087): motion moved and seconded; voice vote, “Aye,” motion carries. County staff said the San Juan County Conservation Land Bank will cosponsor an RCO application tied to an acquisition adjacent to the county's Coho Preserve; acquisition price cited in discussion was $450,000 and grant request was described as roughly $480,000; county counsel noted standard RCO contract language raises some long‑standing concerns the county will pursue with other counties and RCO.
- RCO applicant resolution — San Juan County lead entity for salmon recovery (project 25‑1266P): motion moved and seconded; voice vote, “Aye,” motion carries. The county will continue as the lead entity; staff said the contract provides $253,000 for biennial coordination capacity and staff estimated roughly $924,000 in capital funds could be available for project grants this round.
- Resolution to set public hearing on Lopez Island Park & Recreation District formation (petition found sufficient): motion moved and seconded; voice vote, “Aye,” motion carries. Elections staff verified the petition met the statutory threshold (3,64 required; staff reported collecting more than the required 364 valid signatures). The council set a public hearing for July 15, 2025 at 9:15 a.m.
Council staff said each of the above items will be followed by administrative steps: ordinance filings, RCO application submittals, and subsequent budget amendments where acquisition or matching funds are required. Several staff and council members noted limited fiscal risk to the county for the RCO applications because grant funding was expected to cover most acquisition costs but that county contract language with RCO still merits follow‑up.
Ending: The council approved the suite of items with unanimous voice votes and directed staff to complete administrative follow‑through: file the ordinance, submit RCO applications, and publish hearing notices for the Lopez Park & Rec petition.
