Most islanders won’t support hotel

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, December 7, 2005

Looking at the demographics of Camano Island, I wonder what developer David Platter is thinking (Monday news article: “Camano hotel hinges on court”). The island has many retired people, lots of part-time residents and many young people who have settled here because of the lower property costs. The rest of the people are ones who liked and chose the rural island lifestyle. Camano Island is just far enough off the beaten track that people do not come here unless they have a reason and most islanders like it that way. These people are not the ones who will support a hotel.

Individuals who have had a vision of someday building their dream home on the island own the 5-acre tracks around the proposed hotel sight. Some of the adjacent lots have already had high-end homes built on them. These homes will lose value as will the raw land in the area. Who wants to live next to a hotel?

To open a business on the island is a high-risk investment. How many businesses on Camano Island have the same owner that they had five years ago? What is Mr. Platter thinking? He is typical of many developers who have destroyed their state by paving over every square inch of property that they can. Mr. Platter said, “This is the most hostile environment I have ever been connected to.” This leads me to a few questions:

1) With this hostile environment does he think the people on the island want his hotel here?

2) Who is going to support the hotel? Certainly not the residents on Camano Island.

3) Does Mr. Platter have a plan, when his hotel fails, to return the land to its original condition or will that be the responsibility of Island County taxpayers?

Billy C. Phillips

Camano Island