Nov. 5--OKANOGAN -- About 850 Okanogan County residents came to a Tuesday night meeting organized by a group that claims property rights are in danger if the county's draft comprehensive plan is adopted.
The Coalition for Property Rights takes issue with Okanogan County's decision to use guidelines in the state's Growth Management Act, even though the county isn't yet large enough to fall under the act's requirements.
The county has been working for two years to update the more than 40-year-old document, designed to guide future development.
The coalition sent postcards to every county resident and sponsored radio ads urging people to come to the meeting and hear about the plan that "could irreparably change our way of life and jeopardize the long term economic viability of our beautiful county."
Jon Wyss, chairman of the group, said the plan infringes on property rights by restricting uses, and will end up limiting growth and reducing funds that support basic services. He said the county would probably have to hire a hearings examiner, which would cost money and take away from other services.
Winthrop resident Pam Jenkins said she was not convinced by the presentation that property rights are in jeopardy, and said there has to be some balance between individual rights and the right to be protected from incompatible uses on neighboring property. Jenkins sits on the Winthrop Planning Commission, but spoke as a resident interested in planning issues.
She said she thinks it makes sense to use the Growth Management Act's structure, since the county will eventually have to comply with it.
The coalition includes the Okanogan County Farm Bureau, Okanogan County Cattlemen's Association, the Okanogan County Horticulture Association and the Okanogan County Republican Party, along with North Central Washington Association of Realtors and North Central Home Builder's Association.
Wyss said there's no single element in the plan that the coalition is most upset about. But as a whole, he said, it places limitations on agriculture lands and development, and adds unnecessary regulations.
In one slide, he showed a picture of a farm in Germany, where farmland is interspersed with solar panels. That wouldn't be allowed under Okanogan County's plan, he said.
He said much of Okanogan County's farmland would be designated as lands of long-term significance, restricting the ability to convert those lands to other uses. But if a county farmer wanted to turn his fields into a zero-carbon-footprint community, with solar and wind power generating all the power needs, it wouldn't be allowed, he said.
"The coalition recognizes that property owners are the most qualified to determine the best use for their property," he said.
Jenkins disagrees. "My personal opinion is, we definitely support individual property rights, but we do land-use planning to ensure that the people next to me are using their land in a way that's compatible," she said.
She said the comprehensive plan talks about the need to preserve agricultural lands, but those in the coalition apparently want farmers to be able to do whatever they want with it, which in many cases would be to subdivide it and sell off small lots.
But many people, at least in the Methow Valley, would like to ensure enough agricultural land is preserved so that the valley could be self-sustaining. "I'm not sure the same sentiment is shared by people in the Okanogan Valley," she added.
Okanogan County Planner Perry Huston said the plan still can be restructured to not comply with the Growth Management Act. He said the fact that so many people came to a meeting about the comprehensive plan shows that democracy is working.
Okanogan County commissioners expect to hold public hearings on the plan early next year.
K.C. Mehaffey: 997-2512
mehaffey@wenatcheeworld.com
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