Island County approves permit-fee increase and two conservation PBRS applications amid tax-shift questions

Island County commissioners on Dec. 9 approved a county planning permit-fee schedule amendment and granted conditional approval to two Public Benefit Rating System (PBRS) conservation applications, voting 2–1 on both land preservation proposals.

The board first voted to amend Resolution C65-25, updating the land use and building permit fee schedule to reflect the planning department's cost of service. Planning Director (speaker 13) told commissioners the fees are charged as a fee-for-service to cover planning and building-review costs rather than general tax revenue. The board approved the change by voice vote.

The meeting then moved to two PBRS applications. Austin Hoofnagle, an associate planner, presented application 34724 (Laplace) for 26.31 acres at 7210 Holst Road in Clinton, describing on-site wetlands, fish-bearing streams, steep slopes and aquifer-recharge areas. Staff recommended conditional approval requiring a recorded conservation easement within one year, annual compliance affidavits and periodic monitoring access. Applicant Joe Laplace addressed the board in support of protecting his property "in perpetuity," describing the site's creek, wildlife and forested character.

Commissioner Johnson and others questioned how PBRS points interact with donated conservation easements and whether approving both results in a compounded tax reduction that shifts costs to other taxpayers. Planning staff and the assistant director explained the PBRS points are intended to incentivize recording a conservation easement and that the assessor adjusts assessed value when the deed restriction or easement is recorded; staff described the PBRS 5-point conservation-easement bonus as modest and designed to encourage permanent protection. Still, commissioners pressed staff for follow-up with the assessor to clarify how tax shifts are calculated for affected taxing districts.

After public comment and deliberation, the board approved the Laplace PBRS application by a 2–1 vote.

Later the board considered PBRS application 4024 (Gulick) covering about 72.91 acres across five parcels, described by staff as adding a parcel to a previously approved PBRS and recording a conservation easement in perpetuity. The applicants' agent, Larry Worsick, confirmed a conservation easement has been recorded for portions of the property and answered board questions about access and site topography. Commissioners again raised concerns about the cumulative tax effects of combining donated easements with PBRS points and asked county staff and the assessor to provide more detailed examples of the dollar impacts and tax-shift distribution.

The Gulick application was approved by the same 2–1 margin, with the board imposing the same conditional requirements as staff recommended.

Votes at a glance: - Resolution C65-25 (planning/permit fee schedule amendment): approved (voice vote). - PBRS 34724 (Laplace), 26.31 acres: approved, 2–1; conditions include recorded conservation easement within one year, no disturbance to open space, annual compliance affidavits and monitoring access. - PBRS 4024 (Gulick), 72.91 acres: approved, 2–1; same conditions as above.

The board directed planning staff to follow up with the assessor's office with additional detail on how tax shifts are calculated so commissioners can better assess the equity impacts of combining conservation easements with PBRS incentives. The board also requested that staff provide the public with clearer descriptions of the anticipated public-access arrangements for properties granted PBRS points when access is proposed.

The meeting closed with routine commissioner announcements and a request that planning and public health report back on a separate public-comment complaint about an apparent code-compliance issue in Freeland.