La Conner once again showed that it is the little town that can – and does – when its town council last week passed a thorough and strongly worded resolution against the Skagit County commissioners allowing Fully Contained Communities to be included in the country’s comprehensive plan.

Bravo for the three council members supporting the resolution. They took an important and necessary step. It does not mean the county commissioners will read the many-pointed resolution. It has 23 “whereas,” enough to choke a horse – or a developer. It ends, “the Town Council of the Town of La Conner expresses its opposition to new fully contained communities.”

The council did its duty, representing the vast majority of residents who have spoken to them and the town staff on the issue. Similarly, nearly all of the 800 citizens’ comments the commissioners received last spring were against placing FCCs in the country’s comprehensive plan. Town council listened to its residents. County elected officials, by their actions to date, have not.

By November’s end the commissioners will vote aye or nay to allow permitting of private communities of perhaps 8,500 people to be built on “rural reserve” lands – areas not classified as agriculture but near to farmland and outside of cities. County and state planning laws call for population growth to take place in city urban growth areas.

La Conner’s town council sent a strong message to the country commissioners. Most of the 5,000 La Conner school district residents live in unincorporated areas, however. Their closest legislative representatives are the county commissioners.

If area residents think FCCs are a bad idea – having no place in Skagit County – and therefore permitting them needs to be kept out of the comprehensive plan, now is the time to write and call the three county commissioners.

We vote for the three commissioners every four years even though we – and they – are placed in districts. All the commissioners need to hear from all residents of greater La Conner.

The town’s resolution is on its website. It is a helpful resource for talking points. Use it in preparing remarks.

Major issues cited in the resolution include:

1. County and municipal governments have agreed to

consensus decision making on Countywide Planning

Policies.

2. Skagit Partners’ proposal for its FCC lists a population of

8,500.

3. Cities within the county have adequate land to meet growth

targets.

4. The proposed community will exacerbate the housing crisis

in Skagit County while failing to create affordable housing.

5. County policy calls for one commissioned law enforcement

officer per 1,000 population and that will place pressure on

law enforcement services, increasing costs to La Conner.

6. The Puget Sound Regional Council’s Vision 2050 is to

“avoid new fully contained communities outside of the

designated urban growth area because of their potential to

create sprawl and undermine state and regional growth

management goals.”

County commissioners need to hear from their constituents.

Your country commissioners and their contact information:

Peter Browning

Lisa Janicki

Ron Wesen

Call the Commissioners’ office: 360-416-1300.

E-mail them: [email protected].

Mail: 1800 Continental Pl., Suite 100, Mount Vernon 98273.

Tell them you want them to follow the lead of La Conner’s town council.