By Don Nelson / Methow Valley News
And then there was one.
A spate of recent resignations from Winthrop’s Westernization Design Review Board (WDRB), the appointed advisory group that administers the town’s Westernization ordinance, has left the board with but one member.
That means the WDRB, which by ordinance must have at least four members, doesn’t have a quorum and can’t perform its main function: reviewing applications for Westernization permits, and passing its findings and recommendations along to the Town Council.
The recent resignations reflect some former board members’ growing frustration with what they saw as a lack of support for Westernization from the Town Council — a complaint that has risen in the past but never with such dramatic consequences before now.
Gone from the WDRB are Kristen Smith, Brian Sweet, Lauri Martin, Greg Gable and Steve Oulman, the principal author of the Westernization code update that was approved by the Town Council in May 2017. Only recent appointee Jacque Wilk remains.
The resignations, which include some of the most devoted and influential proponents of the town’s Westernization ordinance and its importance to the town, came in rapid succession after a recent, highly charged public debate over a proposed amendment to the Westernization code. The amendment would ease existing restrictions on the installation of solar panel arrays in the town’s W3 zoning district.
That request, which originated with Little Star Montessori School but was later characterized by proponents as intended for the entire W3 zone, was first brought to the WDRB for consideration. Currently, the ordinance would allow solar arrays if they were not visible from Highway 20, but prohibits solar installations if they could be viewed from other public rights-of-way.
Rejection and response
The WDRB unanimously rejected the request. In a letter to the council, the Westernization board said that “while solar energy is a worthy goal, any change that leads to deterioration of the Westernization Ordinance, Winthrop’s economic driver, would be a serious mistake … It also opens up the Ordinance to more challenges and unimaginable special requests in the future.”
Amendment proponents Ellen Lamiman and Cara Godwin appealed that decision to the Town Council. “We believe this ordinance change will serve to attract new business investment in W-3, and will be viewed by tourists and Winthrop and Methow Valley resident as positive enhancement showing a reasonable approach to including renewable energy in Winthrop,” Godwin and Lamiman said in prepared comments.
At subsequent meetings, the council heard comments from supporters of the ordinance amendment, who argued that solar power is a necessary part of the town’s sustainable energy future and that its presence in the W3 zone would not adversely affect the town’s Westernization theme.
WDRB members, some of who had worked hundreds of volunteer hours on the Westernization code’s revision including the W3 zoning provisions, responded that any erosion of the code could have a negative long-term impact on Winthrop’s economy. That view was supported by public testimony as well.
Evident frustration
Some WDBR members were frustrated by what they saw as tenuous support from the council, which is largely made up of newly elected members. Board members were also taken aback by some public comments that challenged or rejected the relevance of the WDRB’s recommendation — many of those remarks coming from people who don’t live in Winthrop.
The Town Council referred the matter to the Winthrop Planning Commission for a required public hearing. The Planning Commission then recommended formation of an ad hoc committee to consider whether the code can be amended to allow solar arrays while protecting the integrity of the Westernization code.
The council agreed to form such a committee, which has met once. Appointed were town council members Kirsten Vanderhalf and Ben Nelson, Planning Commission member Teri Parker, business owner Rita Kenny, Mark Crum, and Kristen Smith representing the WDRB. Vanderhalf, a former chair of the WDRB, said the first committee meeting was somewhat limited because not everyone attended. She said the committee’s directive from the council is to explore options that would allow solar in the W3 zone, and that that the committee will seek more information about solar.
“The Town Council has directed us to do research about solar — not to allow it on every a rooftop or none at all,” she said. “The council has shown they are committed to Westernization, but they also have to be progressive.”
Privately and publicly, former WDRB members have said they were worn down and discouraged by what they saw as constant uphill battles to keep the Westernization code intact and effective.
Former WDRB board member Brian Sweet, who with his wife, Amy, owns Cascades Outdoor Store in downtown Winthrop, offered this statement:
“I care deeply and passionately about Winthrop’s westernization ordinance. My wife and I have invested the last 16 years of our lives into the town. I resigned from the Westernization Committee when it became clear that many members of the Winthrop Town Council did not see the value of Westernization and did not support the judgment of the committee it appointed. I look forward to the day that the Town Council and the business community can once again work together to highlight what makes Winthrop a truly unique community in the Northwest.”
Smith, who is also the town’s marketing director, has for several years been a consistent, vocal supporter of Westernization, often passionately urging the council to uphold the code and not give in to requests for changes or exemptions.
But this week, Smith said she had nothing to say about her resignation. Her silence speaks volumes to many residents and business owners who have fought to maintain Westernization’s integrity over the years.
Former WDRB member Lauri Martin, co-owner of Robins Egg Bleu in the W3 zone, said this week that her decision to resign “has been a long time coming,” hastened by the council’s unwillingness to back the WDRB and by public reaction to the W3 zoning proposal.
“A lot of it [her decision] was not having support from the council,” Martin said. “I feel like, what’s the point if anyone can challenge it [the ordinance] and change it? I can’t see changing the whole district for one person.”
Martin said she was also affected by “the anger from the other side [of the rezoning issue] … I don’t know who they are or what they have to do with Winthrop.”
“Because the town council doesn’t stand behind it [the Westernization code], that makes the committee stand out and we become a target,” Martin said.
“I love Westernization,” Martin added. “But it makes it harder to go through [challenges to the code] over and over when it’s a passion.”
Board members needed
Vanderhalf said she has heard that the WDRB resignations were related to a lack of council support, but she said the council does understand the importance of Westernization. She pointed to Mayor Sally Ranzau’s frequent reiteration of Westernization’s value to the community.
Ranzau said she’s dismayed at the WDBR’s sudden disintegration, and she put out a call for new members to restore the board to working order (see this week’s Letters to the Editor). Ranzau earlier said that Oulman’s departure from the WDRB was a “huge loss.” Oulman, who said he resigned for health reasons, was familiar with the details of the Westernization code and was often the WDRB member who patiently answered questions and accepted suggestions about the ordinance as it was being revised.
“We desperately need to get some people,” Ranzau said.
“We really need buy-in from people who are passionate about Westernization,” Vanderhalf added.
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