La Conner planning commission approves Port of Skagit tree removal with six‑month mitigation plan

The La Conner Planning Commission voted to approve a Port of Skagit permit to remove 22 trees in the town's North Basin, attaching a condition that gives the town six months to identify feasible planting sites and allows the port to satisfy remaining mitigation with an in‑lieu donation.

Planning staff said the trees the port proposed to remove represent roughly 533 inches of trunk diameter and that the code's diameter‑to‑diameter replacement formula would, in practice, require an impractical number of small trees. Planning staff recommended crediting five years of expected growth for new plantings and giving the town's parks and public‑works program six months to identify appropriate public planting sites; any remainder would be covered by a fee in lieu and a formal mitigation agreement with the port.

"If you plant a capillary, we're looking at, okay, what will the diameter growth of this tree? How many diameter inches in 5 years would this tree give us?" planning staff said, describing the staff approach to translating small nursery stock into code‑required diameter inches.

Port representatives said the work responds to an operations need: applicant representatives described a tenant planning to launch a much larger ferry that needs a clear launch corridor. Heather Hatcherson identified herself in the record as a director of planning and development for the applicant; Bailey Hubert, identified as a boat builder associated with Maverick, said the contract could cover up to eight ferries over 10 years and described local job growth tied to the work. "This contract is worth more than $400,000,000," the applicant representative said in describing the project's scale.

Commissioners and members of the public raised site‑specific concerns about prior tree removals, bank stability and where replacement trees might be planted; staff said shoreline and aquatic permits and SEPA review should address erosion and bank‑stability protections where required. After discussion, a commissioner moved to approve application LU26‑014 with staff recommendations and the additional condition allowing a combination of identified plantings and in‑lieu fees; another commissioner seconded the motion and the commission recorded no votes in opposition.

Staff said it will draft a formal decision report capturing the condition and will set up the mitigation agreement between the town and the port; the decision will be available for signature and the item will then proceed as an appealable action per town procedures.