This update is to cover the three Illahee items that were discussed at the January 28, 2008 Board of County Commissioner's meeting.
General. There were a number of Illahee residents at last Monday's Commissioner's meeting. However, the major issue and primary interest of many in attendance were the two resolutions changing the fees charged by the Department of Community Development (DCD). Those presentations and the ensuing public comment sessions were interesting, but long.
Illahee Community Plan. The Commissioners next heard a presentation on the Comp Plan Amendment resolution that included a line item to "review and update the Illahee Community Plan." We noted during the public hearing time that the reason the plan was before them was because of our initial questionnaire in which we asked residents if they wanted to be part of Bremerton, or Silverdale, or if they would like to develop a community plan. We noted the questionnaire results; which were 4 for Bremerton, 9 for Silverdale, and 234 for a community plan.
Tax Title Land Petitions. Later on in the meeting was the carryover of the Smith/Peacock tax title land petition. The Commissioners voted in favor of the petition without taking any public testimony. We heard afterwards that there were citizens who rearranged their schedules so they could attend and comment at what they thought would be a public hearing, based on our update which indicated the hearing was "continued" because Dwayne Peacock was on vacation during the 1/14/08 hearing. We are sorry for the confusion, though we thought, and still think, the hearing on the Peacock issue was "continued," and that there should have been an opportunity for public comment, prior to them making a decision. It will be interesting to see if the Commissioners are aware that a number of people are upset in Illahee (assuming they read the updates), and if so, will they do anything about it.
Resolution Regarding Certain Petitions and Community Plans. The last item on the agenda was a resolution to not accept road vacation and tax title land petitions in Illahee, Kingston, and Hansville until their respective community plans are approved. The resolution passed and it will now be up to these communities to figure out how to handle these issues and where to insert this information into their plans.
Our Reporting Dilemma. We were slow in putting this update out because we didn't know how, or if, to report on what we perceived of as the lack of a public hearing for the Peacock petition. Some have said it could be counterproductive to mention this issue. Others have asked us to report things as they happen, both the good and the not-so-good. Because others in attendance also thought the public process had not been followed, we decided to report it in this update.
Our Blog. Let us know your thoughts via this blog site (which is an opportunity for anyone to respond). Simply click on "comment" at the bottom. You can respond using your email name, or a nickname, or as "anonymous." Let us know if you have any questions on how to use the blog.
Jim Aho
Sounds lilke you had some people disappointed they were not heard.
ReplyDeleteIf I remember right, my early advice to you was to stay away from the road vacation and tax land issues. My advice still stands, these are emotional issues that will distract you from the bigger and more important issues you face.
Someone needs to try to protect Illahee's charm and character, that will ultimately be destroyed by county policies and planners, if you don't come up with a good plan.
Work on the plan, not on side issues, says the Illahee Observer.