Residents raise Lake Cavanaugh safety, Big Lake stormwater and permitting fee concerns during public comment

Several residents used the Skagit County Board of County Commissioners’ public comment period on Jan. 14 to raise safety, environmental and permitting-transparency concerns.

Lorita Humble, who identified herself as a Lake Cavanaugh resident, asked the board to prioritize reopening North Shore Road and asked whether population or density should determine investment when there is a risk to life. “Does density or area population really apply when it comes to possible loss of life, or are the Lake Cavanaugh residents expendable?” she said, noting limited escape routes and a longer-term closure of North Shore.

A separate commenter (Jan) presented photos and video and said land‑clearing work at the Overlook Crest development had begun despite an outstanding stormwater management plan. Jan said the county had received an assessment from Dr. Richard Horner, a civil and environmental‑engineering expert, that the construction phase “poses substantial risk to Big Lake through soil erosion and the transport of sediments and the phosphorus they carry.” Jan said she submitted videos and images to staff to illustrate siltation and exposed dirt roads that drain toward Big Lake.

Connie Cryer raised concerns about how county code and fee schedules are presented to the public in relation to hearings‑examiner reconsiderations and appeals. Cryer said she found a discrepancy between the code text and the fee schedule adopted in August and told the board that the county charged $750 for a hearings‑examiner reconsideration and $1,000 for an appeal. “When we applied for a reconsideration, we were told that, oh, you didn't apply for the fee. Well, the fee is $750 for a reconsideration. It's another $1,000 for an appeal,” she said, and added that code updates were not appearing properly on the public website and that a public‑records request made Dec. 3 remained unfulfilled beyond a 30‑day acknowledgement.

Commissioners acknowledged the comments and directed staff to follow up. Board members noted that the public‑comment period is separate from hearings but encouraged residents who raised permitting and code issues to work with county staff and the planning department so the matters can be reviewed outside the limited three‑minute comment window.

The comments signaled several administrative follow-ups for staff, including confirming the status of the Overlook Crest stormwater permit and any enforcement or monitoring needs, checking the public code publication status and fee schedules online, responding to the outstanding public‑records request and assessing whether additional safety or grant funding can be pursued to reopen and maintain North Shore Road at Lake Cavanaugh.