A Message from Commissioner Bacon

Island County, Washington sent this bulletin at 06/26/2026 01:30 PM PDT

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Island County

District 1 News June 26, 2026
IC Planning Team

Our Long-Range Planners did an amazing job with our 2025 Comprehensive Plan Update, which the Board approved this week.

Thank you for reading my newsletter for the 26th week of 2026.

The Board of Island County Commissioners expresses our sincere gratitude to Planning Staff, to Planning Commissioners past and present, and to the many hundreds of residents who provided over 1100 public comments over the last three years, for the huge body of work it took to complete the Island County 2025 Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update. We are very proud of the final document, which establishes a vision for our County and provides the necessary guidance to ensure our values are protected while that vision is achieved over the coming decades. Thank you all.

Next week is 5th week for the Board—so there will be no meetings and I will not publish this newsletter next Friday. Also, I am taking a little personal time and will miss the following week, so there will be no newsletter from me until Friday, July 17.

Most County offices will be closed on Friday, July 3, in celebration of Independence Day.

  • The Regular Session of the Board of Island County Commissioners was held on Tuesday, June 23, 2026; video recording here: https://media.avcaptureall.cloud/meeting/82f82d20-f756-4c9d-9584-6b6092eca146.
    • Because of the anticipated public comment for the Comp Plan public hearings, we held general public comment at the end of the meeting to better manage our time.
    • We pulled item 12 from the Consent Agenda, an agricultural lease extension, for further consideration at a later date.
    • We held a public hearing to establish a Farm and Agricultural Lands Advisory Committee pursuant to RCW 84.34.145. This committee reports to the Assessor’s office and will advise them in implementing assessment guidelines for agricultural land values. Mark 00:03:33 in the recording. There was one comment from the public expressing a desire that the Board create a committee to advise on agricultural policy.
    • We held 2 public hearings on the 2025 Comprehensive Plan update: one to approve the Comp Plan, and the other to approve immediate code changes including a repeal of the moratorium on building in the RAIDS, beginning at mark 00:14:50 in the recording. We received 11 public comments. Concerns expressed included: Deer Lagoon maps in the Parks element; two comments about market priced housing in Rural Clusters; APZ language; the Natural Resources element language on no net loss; the fact that Oak Harbor was allowed annexation of parcels without first resolving the “donut hole” issue; a comment about protecting the financial viability of farms; a comment expressing gratitude about the inclusion of senior issues in the Plan; a comment in favor of the APZ map changes; a concern about rural sprawl and the need for a Freeland sewer solution; and a suggestion that we do an After Action Review on the Comp Plan process.
    • The Planning Department, the Planning Commission, and the Board of County Commissioners provided a multitude of opportunities to the public to provide their input during the 3 years of development of this Comp Plan. We think that’s why there were so few comments this week—we heard you, and in most cases included your thoughts in the final document. We expect to reopen the Transportation, Parks, and Critical Areas portions of the plan next year to tweak those few issues that the Board is still unsatisfied with (two examples for me: aviation and Deer Lagoon).
    • WE APPROVED BOTH COMP PLAN ORDINANCES ON TUESDAY and did not have to continue the meeting to Wednesday after all. The building moratorium in the RAIDS is now lifted.
    • We opened general public comment at the end of the meeting, beginning at mark 02:10:10 in the recording. There were three public comments: two expressing gratitude for the Board’s decision to pull item 12 from the agenda, and one regarding Island Transit. There had been a few other people in the room at the beginning of the meeting, hoping to provide public comment on the animal control officer issue; they left before we opened public comment at the end, and I apologize to them for the inconvenience
    • There will be no Board meeting next Tuesday as that will be a 5th week. The agenda for the Board meeting for Tuesday, July 7 will be posted by next Thursday, July 2, here: https://www.islandcountywa.gov/AgendaCenter.
  • Tentative Upcoming Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) Public Hearings (held during board meetings, beginning at 10 am, unless otherwise noted):
    • Tuesday, July 7:            Bayview Terrace (franchise)       
    • Tuesday, July 7:            Sierra Vista (franchise)
    • Tuesday, July 14:          Rockaway Park (franchise)       
    • Tuesday, July 14:          Wiedmann & Fuller (franchise)
    • Tuesday, July 21:          Code Amendment Damage Claim Procedure
    • Tuesday, August 4:       McConnell (franchise)  
    • Tuesday, August 4:       Lone Lake (franchise)             
    • Tuesday, August 4:       Summerland (franchise)  
    • Tuesday, August 4:       TIP/CIP          
    • Tuesday, August 11:     2026 Budget Amendment             
    • Tuesday, August 18:     Madrona Annex (franchise)             
    • Tuesday, August 18:     Sunset Water (franchise)             
    • Tuesday, August 18:     Wildarama (franchise)                
  • The next Work Session will be held on Wednesday, July 8. The agenda for this meeting will be posted by Thursday July 2 here: https://www.islandcountywa.gov/AgendaCenter.
  • The Council of Governments (COG) and Island Regional Transportation Planning Organization (IRTPO) met on Wednesay, June 24.
  • Last call from me: The November general election ballot will include an advisory vote for the County Commissioners regarding consumer fireworks. What the Commissioners will ask voters is: should the Island County Board of Commissioners amend Island County Code Section 9.08A – Fireworks to ban the use of consumer fireworks in Unincorporated Island County? This will be an advisory yes/no vote only—the Commissioners want to know how you feel before we decide whether or not to take any further action on fireworks. I plan to include Pro and Con statements in the Voters Pamphlet, which means I need to form a committee of 1 – 3 registered voters to write the Con statement (a committee has already volunteered to write the Pro statement). These statements are limited to 200 words, and I will provide the committee with template and submittal information. If you are opposed to banning fireworks and are interested in serving on the Con committee, email me at district1@islandcountywa.gov.
  • Island Transit news: https://www.islandtransit.org/
  • Island Senior Resources news: https://senior-resources.org/.
  • Ebey’s Reserve news: thanks to funding support from the US Navy, you are invited to “explore” a significant historical landmark, a virtual tour of Ebey’s Landing Ferry House: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/collections/533ec94ced584c84b1dc616ef258706b.
  • I will not be meeting with the public on Monday June 29 or July 6. On Monday, July 13, District 3 Commissioner candidate Satin Arnett will join me at the Freeland Hall at 3 pm to meet with interested citizens. And on Monday, July 20, District 3 Commissioner candidate Matt Van Pelt will join us, also at the Freeland Hall at 3 pm.

Melanie

Happy Independence Day!

“As mankind become more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality.”    ~George Washington