2016 January 11
From: Leigh Power
Sent: 1/11/2016 8:59 PM
To: Island County Commissioners
Subject: Wonn Road Public Access Restoration
Dear Island County Commissioners,
It has been over six and a half years since the Island County
Commissioners unanimously approved Resolution C-34-09, authorizing
the Prosecuting Attorney to bring legal action to restore public access
to the beach, tidelands, and water east of Wonn Road. At that meeting,
Bruce Montgomery, owner of the property in question, was the only
speaker opposed to the adoption of C-34-09. Many of the other 50
attendees spoke eloquently in favor of the resolution.
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In an attempt to persuade the Commissioners against this Resolution,
Bruce Montgomery offered to work with the County to provide an
alternative public beach access point, and suggested that he would
be willing to invest an estimated $100,000 toward that goal. In so
doing, he in effect acknowledged the public's right to public beach
access provided it was not near his property.
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Supporters of Resolution C-34-09 made the following compelling
counter arguments.
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The Wonn Road public access road is unique both geographically
and historically. Thus, there is no acceptable alternative
location. Its history is based on 150 years of by use by both
native and early settlers. The location also provides the only
safe public access point by water between Langley and
Coupeville.
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The value of this public asset is a great deal more than the
money offered by Montgomery. First, as a public asset, it is in
effect owned by all of the people of Whidbey Island and cannot be
bargained away without their approval. Secondly, its history and
location make it ideal to perpetuate its traditional purpose as a
public point of access to the island and tourist attraction.
The current proposal before the Board is basically the same as the
original proposal in 2009. As it was in 2009, any proposal for an
alternative location is both unacceptable, and a bad deal for the
County and its citizens.
Finally, the precedent set by accepting the current proposal would
offer a powerful tactic to encourage public access encroachment and
damage the fragile movement to restore public access rights throughout
Island County. I strongly urge the Commissioners to reject this
proposal and vigorously pursue the intent of Resolution C-34-09.
Respectfully,
Leigh Power
Coupeville
Response from Jill Johnson follows:
On 2016-01-11 23:24, Jill Johnson wrote:
I'm unsure where you received your information, but here are the details of the settlement.
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The citizens of Island County receive a Westside lot adjacent to an existing park to expand and enhance public access.
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The County will receive $50,000 to improve that lot.
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The Wonn Road access will once again be accessible to the Public at the end of the property owners life...or 10 years, which ever is longer. This also includes the tidelands which was not part of the original lawsuit.
The only exception to #3 is if an equal or better Eastside access point can be purchased by the family and given to the County within 10 years. Then they can keep the current access -point. Any lot that is purchased to replace the Wonn Road access must first be approved by the County Commissioners.
I personally have worked hard on this agreement and believe it too be fair and in the best interest of the citizens. In court there was no guarantee that the County would prevail, certainly not on the tidelands. This case could have dragged on for years with no resolution. Now we have certainty and ultimately two public access points vs. one. I view that as positive.
Please let me know if there is something else I can explain if you have more questions.
Sincerely,
Commissioner Jill Johnson
Follow-up from Leigh Power to Jill Johnson's response:
On 2016-01-12 10:52, Leigh Power wrote:
To: Jill Johnson
Thank you Jill for you thoughtful response.
As a follow up to your comments, I have added source links for my original statement.
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The text for Resolution C-34-09, March 23, 2009, is available at
March23Regular.doc
starting on page 130. This document also contains a transcript of the meeting.
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A video of the meeting, containing more detailed comments, is available for viewing at
YouTube Video -- this is also available at
Island Beach Access website
along with additional comments from Whidbey
Island residents.
While I understand your motivation to expedite a resolution to this issue, the trade-off in
this case is to:
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reward someone who has, in the eyes of many Whidbey Islanders flagrantly
broken the law, and
- deprive all Whidbey Islanders of their lawful rights to beach access.
In my opinion, what appears to be an expedient solution at this time is likely to have far more
negative results over time. There is nothing expedient about waiting another ten years for
Whidbey Island citizens to regain Wonn Road beach access!
As has been pointed out by others, it is not at all clear that this proposed agreement is even
legal in the state of Washington. In particular, execution of the exception to #3 may well require
violating RCW 36.87.130
[Revised Code of Washington State];
that is, vacating
a road abutting a waterway. Again, what appears to be expedient now is likely to be much muddier
than anticipated.
This conflict ultimately needs to be resolved in court. Both Bruce Montgomery and the County
have stated that they are ready to go to count to resolve this issue once and for all. The prudent
path is to stay the course and expedite the court case now.
Respectfully,
Leigh Power
Coupeville
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