Pheasant Pictures. We did receive some nice pheasant pictures from John Lind that we have attached. It also seems like there used to be more pheasants in the area than there is now. We used to have some resident pheasants we would see daily in the area and also others when going for walks. It is nice to know there are still some around.
County Commissioner Meeting Issue. A number of Illahee residents were at the County Commissioner Meeting on Monday evening (3/22/10) to urge the Commissioners to change the way they handle land use appeals such as the Timbers Edge appeal. The issues are whether the Commissioners should continue to hear appeals or remove themselves from the process, and also whether volunteer mediation should be used. The Kitsap Sun covered the issues in the linked article on Sunday http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/mar/20/commissioners-weigh-changes-to-land-use-appeals/.
Illahee Community Statement. Two Illahee residents spoke in favor of the Commissioners getting out of the appeal process entirely and in favor of mediation. The following statement from the Illahee Community Club was read and submitted:
Thank you for looking at ways to improve the appeal process.
When making your decision, please take into account local community input. After all, they are the ones who are going to have to live with the results.
In Illahee the results of poor DCD decisions in the past are evident every time there is a significant rain. Storm water is tight-lined to the deeply incised canyons of Illahee Creek where it becomes a flushing action. And the results are a culvert filling with sediment and brown sediment laden waters polluting Puget Sound waters. And last year the estimate to fix the Illahee Creek storm surge problems came in at $20 million dollars. The cost of correcting poor county decisions is significant and it looks like the community will continue to have to live with the results.
The Illahee Community has found over the years it cannot depend on county actions to protect its own interests and has had to pay for its own scientific studies followed by appeals to the Hearing Examiner and to the Board of County Commissioners. The process was not fulfilling and community input seemed discounted at every step. This should not be the case and there must be a better way to doing things.
We like the medication concept and hope it will help.
We would also like to see the Commissioners step out of the judicial process entirely as they usually have neither the legal background nor the training to be making these decisions. Why should the community pay a lawyer to argue complex legal issues before a non-judicial person? It just doesn’t make sense!
Please find a way to take into account your local community’s desires as they are the ones who will have to live with the results of your decisions.
Walker's Paradise. With the nice days and the blossoms on the trees and the fragrances of the blooms, it is a walker's paradise. We have attached a couple of photos as we know some on our email list have not returned from their winter homes.
Jim Aho
