Tulalip commission seeks nontribal board members
Published 9:00 pm Saturday, November 29, 2003
TULALIP — Three seats on the Tulalip Tribes Planning Commission are up for election, including the two for nontribal members.
Anyone interested in serving on the commission must submit a letter of interest by 4 p.m. Dec. 17 to Joe Sparr, the tribe’s land-use planner, stating their qualifications and why they are interested in the three-year position.
Applicants must live on the Tulalip Reservation.
"We feel that because we live side-by-side with nontribal (residents), they should have a voice as well," said Linda Williams, planning commission chairwoman.
The planning commission currently is conducting a series of six community meetings to gather comments and concerns from beach-community residents over a set of draft shoreline regulations the commission developed.
"Many of the fears that the people who live along the shoreline have is that we’re asserting jurisdictional control without allowing them to have a voice," she said.
The next meeting will be 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Tulalip Tribes gymnasium at the Tulalip Tribal Center, 6700 Totem Beach Road. It will focus on the Sunny Shores community.
The commission faces a lot of work on land-use issues, because forecasters estimate that 17,200 people will live on the reservation by 2020, she said.
"Half of our (tribal) population is under the age of 18, and they’re going to need housing soon," she said.
"We try to preserve the rural character of the reservation as much as possible. That’s hard being next to Marysville, which is growing, as well as the (Quil Ceda Village) business park and other developments."
Letters from those interested in serving on the planning commission should be addressed to Joe Sparr, Tulalip Tribes Department of Community Development, 6319 23rd Ave. NE, Tulalip, WA 98271.
Reporter Cathy Logg: 425-339-3437 or logg@heraldnet.com.
