San Juan County DCD director search, code review and vacation-rental re-vote expected to shape land-use policy

San Juan County officials told the Eastsound Planning Review Committee they have attracted applicants for the county Department of Community Development (DCD) director job and are proceeding with a code review and related advisory processes that could influence vacation‑rental rules and other land‑use policy.

Justin, giving a council update, said the county is “on the path” in the DCD director recruitment and that applicants this round appear to be “worth considering.” He and other participants said previous recruitment rounds produced fewer viable candidates and that county leaders are looking for candidates with institutional knowledge of island operations.

County staff described a broader code review effort spearheaded by the prosecutor’s office and led by DCD once a director is in place. The review, described by staff as an effort to consolidate and simplify roughly 185 pages of code, aims to finish preparatory work this year and begin substantive changes next year. Staff said the end goal is to make procedures simpler and to restructure where materials appear in the code rather than immediately changing policy substance.

Committee members also discussed interaction between county staff and the San Juan Builders Association. One member raised concern that the builders association — a paid lobbying organization — had regular meetings with DCD staff and asked whether that relationship gave the association special influence. Staff said they plan to revive a Building Advisory Committee that would draw a broader set of voices (including green builders and tradespeople) and that a refreshed advisory committee could provide balanced input during the code consolidation and later code changes.

On vacation rentals, staff said the county will re‑vote on the ordinance June 10 because an administrative posting question led to rehearing the item. “I cannot say what the outcome of that vote will be, but my assumption is it will be pretty darn close to the same as the last time we voted on it because, functionally, the only thing that has changed is the adjustment of a few dates,” Justin said. Committee members said the discussion and any changes will continue to be monitored by planning review committees.

Staff committed to bringing Mark Tompkins and Kyle Dodd (DCD leadership) to a future meeting for further discussion and to report back on the Building Advisory Committee formation and Rosario master-plan conversations. The committee asked staff to provide structured updates and to list code references for items raised during the EPRC review process.