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Council continues comp plan update hearing, hears questioning on renewable energy EPF and Roche Harbor map request
Summary
Planning staff presented changes to the county comprehensive plan — including merged utilities goals, tribal-consultation language and responses to Department of Commerce comments — and reviewed a map amendment request from Roche Harbor Resort; several residents urged caution about labeling large-scale renewable projects as essential public facilities.
San Juan County planning staff reopened a continuation of the comprehensive plan public hearing, outlining edits that merge utilities goals, clarify tribal consultation expectations and expand the county's response to Department of Commerce comments on the housing element. Sofia Kassem, a long-range planner with the Department of Community Development, told the council the draft combines goals on siting utility infrastructure and protecting rural character and natural habitats while leaving a separate energy-production goal intact.
Kassen said the edits responded to council direction and to written comments from utilities and tribal reviewers. She explained staff did not adopt a specific acreage figure recommended in an Opalco memo and instead retained a more general discussion of projected load and capacity, noting the county will rely on Opalco's long-range planning documents for technical detail.
The planner also described proposed governance policy language prompted by a Swinomish tribal comment letter and a governor's executive order encouraging tribal relations training. Frances Robertson, the county's cultural resources coordinator, said training options vary from low-cost online modules to consultant-led workshops and suggested the county could explore making state-provided training available locally.
Public commenters raised concerns about an essential public facility (EPF) designation for commercial renewable generation and storage. Julia Yargo, a Lopez Island resident, urged the council to consider siting carefully and “look at all aspects, not perhaps destroying any of our landscape to create these” projects. Eva Schulte of Friends of the San Juans asked how tribal consultation and environmental review would be preserved if the county classifies large-scale renewables as EPFs, warning that a blanket designation could “bypass the determination process” required by county code. Kevin Sterling said he supports renewables but urged that public participation be protected.
Kassem also presented a staff review of a Roche Harbor Resort map amendment that would add about 119 acres to the resort master-plan designation. Staff said the application met the county's map-amendment criteria and that there is no proposed increase to the resort's 180 approved dwelling units; wetlands identified since the original 1996 master plan are among the constraints the resort cited for seeking additional land.
The council did not take a final action on the comp plan or the Roche Harbor amendment and continued the public hearing to Dec. 9 to allow staff to incorporate Commerce's comments and any additional public input. The hearing will reconvene at 9:15 a.m. on Dec. 9.
