Builder, group square off again

Once again, Camano Island developer David Platter and the environmental group Camano Action for Rural Environment find themselves on opposite sites of a land-use debate.

They squared off a few years ago about a hotel Platter wanted to build at Terry’s Corner, on the north end of Camano Island. The hotel was never built.

Now Platter wants to build a new motel, office building, restaurant and soccer field on about 5 acres a few miles east on Highway 532, across from Cascade Lumber.

Island County’s zoning for that area, called "rural village," specifically allows all the above, except motels, which are not mentioned.

Platter asked Island County’s planning director, Phil Bakke, for an interpretation of the code. Bakke said county code gives him such discretion.

"Obviously, our list of things that are permitted uses or conditional uses is not comprehensive," Bakke said. "Otherwise, our code would take up volumes and volumes of pages."

Bakke decided that a motel would be a reasonable use, with conditions, in a rural village zone.

Philip Lewis of the Camano environmental group appealed that decision. Lewis said Bakke does not have such administrative authority.

"The planning director took liberties that he’s not empowered to take," Lewis said.

The Island County Hearing Examiner will decide the matter at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Terry’s Corner Fire Hall, 525 E. North Camano Drive.

The project concerns some residents.

Ulale Gipson worried that the new development would put too much stress on the area’s roads and groundwater supplies.

"I’m terribly concerned about the traffic," Gipson said as she talked about how her commute to and from the island is regularly slowed to 10 mph on that stretch of highway.

Platter countered that having more services on the island might actually help traffic congestion. He pointed to one retail area, Camano Plaza, as an example.

"When they threw in Camano Plaza, I found myself very rarely traveling off the island for the things I need," Platter said. "If I need hardware, or auto parts, or parts for my tractor, I no longer need to go into Stanwood."

Lewis emphasized the water issues, saying residents are worried about how tapping the aquifer for the new buildings might affect their existing home wells.

"There is an uproar in the community related to taking a huge amount of water out of the ground when we have a single-source aquifer," Lewis said.

Platter said he has engineers and professionals tackling the technical details.

"All these issues will be dealt with," Platter said.

Bakke, the county planner, said some residents seem to have the mistaken impression that he has already approved the whole project.

That’s not true, he said. The developer will still have to go through the permit process. Specific technical requirements such as a 10,000-square-foot limit on a building’s floor space and a 30-foot height limit, not to mention the required water and traffic studies, might sink the project.

"I have serious doubts whether it can be done there," Bakke said.

Lewis worried that Platter had divided a bigger project into separate 10,000-square-foot buildings to get around the code’s requirements.

But for Platter, the fact that Camano’s environmental group has supported the variety of businesses, a park and a park-and-ride lot that replaced his defunct project at Terry’s Corner doesn’t sit well.

"I think they’re hypocrites," Platter said.

Reporter Scott Morris: 425-339-3292 or smorris@heraldnet.com.

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