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Residents and conservation groups press council as public hearing on Anacortes Community Forest Lands plan closes
Summary
At a March 16 public hearing, supporters and critics of the Anacortes Community Forest Lands (ACFL) plan urged council to strengthen enforcement, wildfire preparedness and implementation funding; council closed the hearing and directed staff to compile a comment matrix for review next month.
Mayor Walters opened a public hearing March 16 on the draft Anacortes Community Forest Lands plan and invited public testimony after parks staff summarized the multi‑year process and said the SEPA DNS drew no appeals.
The hearing drew a mix of praise and critique. "We've been part of this process," said Josie Henderson, executive director of Friends of the Anacortes Community Forest Lands, thanking the Forest Board and urging council to continue evidence‑based decisionmaking and to commit to enforcement. Marlene Finley, president of Evergreen Islands, told council the draft is concise and readable but "largely a status quo document" that lacks a budget, quantitative trend analysis, stronger law‑enforcement and wildfire provisions, and a named natural‑resource manager.
Nearby homeowners and trail neighbors raised practical concerns about parking and safety where trails meet private driveways. Paul Baron and Linda Earwood said the plan does not address how parking at the lower end of Trails 247/248 will be managed and described noise, off‑leash dogs and overnight activity that they say has disturbed their properties. Motorcycle users and trail volunteers urged inclusion in management strategies and stronger, fair enforcement for unauthorized uses.
Parks staff and the mayor acknowledged the enforcement gap and outlined next steps: staff will accept a short additional window of written comment, produce a comment matrix that summarizes oral and written input, and return to council on April 20 for further review. Mayor Walters said staff are preparing an ordinance to give the city additional enforcement tools following plan adoption and that the city intends to increase summertime police presence and expand camera coverage at parking lots as resources permit.
Why it matters: The ACFL is a large community resource with active, sometimes competing, recreational uses. Speakers at the hearing stressed that without an explicit implementation budget, enforcement plan and staffing, policies in a plan will be difficult to execute. Council directed staff to fold this public testimony into a comment matrix and to return with recommended next steps.
The council closed the hearing and will consider the compiled comment matrix and any ordinance language after staff returns with the April materials.
