Island County extends emergency development moratorium for six months amid developer opposition

The Island County Board of Commissioners voted on April 6 to renew an emergency moratorium on processing land‑use and building permit applications in designated mixed‑use rate zones for an additional six months.

Jonathan Lang, Island County planning and community development director, told the board the moratorium (ordinance C 3 525; proposed renewal C 17 26) is intended to preserve housing capacity while staff finalizes a new comprehensive plan and development regulations. Lang said the moratorium, originally adopted July 8, 2025, allows staff to draft regulations that will be adopted with the comprehensive plan and noted exceptions already written into the moratorium for repairs, like‑for‑like reconstruction, qualifying tenant improvements and permits deemed complete before the moratorium took effect.

"This moratorium was put in place so that the county could draft development regulations as we work on our comprehensive plan," Lang said, adding that staff projects the comprehensive plan will be brought to the board for approval in early summer and that a 60‑day appeal period after adoption could extend when code changes take effect.

Developers and affected property owners urged the board not to extend the moratorium or to add narrow exemptions. "You're holding this up because you might want to put something that goes against the CCRs built in there," said Jack Berser, who identified himself as representing Cornerstone Homes and asked the board to consider an amendment exempting recorded plats with restrictive covenants. "It just doesn't make sense," he said.

Bill Criswell, speaking on behalf of Eagle Development Group, said the moratorium has blocked refinancing and development planning and called for more direct outreach to affected owners. "You've had 12 months to get this done," Criswell told the board. Scott Kingston, another affected co‑owner, said zoning is only part of the housing affordability problem and urged the board to end the moratorium for parcels where work can proceed safely under existing building codes.

Commissioners asked staff whether a case‑by‑case variance process or pre‑application conferences could allow compliant projects to proceed. Emily Carr of Long Range Planning said pre‑application conferences and the proposed regulations posted on the county website could help affected owners prepare. Commissioners and staff also explained that a severability clause is being included in the code and comprehensive plan ordinances so parts of the code could proceed if other sections are appealed.

After deliberation, Commissioner Johnson moved to adopt ordinance C 17 26 renewing and extending the emergency moratorium for six months; the motion was seconded and carried with a majority vote and one recorded abstention. The board directed staff to continue work toward adoption of the comprehensive plan and related code updates and noted the moratorium may be repealed earlier if the new regulations are adopted and no successful appeals occur.

The board did not adopt the amendment proposed by commenters at the hearing; staff and legal advised that a substantive change not included in the advertised hearing materials would require re‑advertising and starting the public‑hearing process again. The board also emphasized that property owners may request pre‑application conferences with planning staff to review potential projects in light of the proposed regulations.

The extension takes effect immediately and will remain in place for up to six months unless repealed earlier by the board after adoption and implementation of the comprehensive plan.