Feedback: Plenty of lots in Coupeville

Mr. Ogle (Letters, June 19) is ill-informed in making his statement that Coupeville has insufficient affordable housing and no affordable building sites. Both claims are patently false, but even if they were true, zoning on the remaining Krueger Farm property would fail to resolve either issue.

A recent report by Nancy Conard, mayor of Coupeville on the status of growth and development in Coupeville, stated that “we have hundreds of building lots in the town limits.” She also suggested that Coupeville has enough buildable lots for decades. For the present, and contrary to Mr. Ogle’s assertion, Coupeville already has housing to accommodate younger and older citizens alike, including those at varying income levels. Good growth planning by the town will enhance and support these needs in the years ahead.

Further, Mr. Ogle labors under a misconception that preserving the remaining Krueger Farm property as open space and trails somehow detracts from needed services in Coupeville and Island County. The retention of the remaining 26 acres of Krueger Farm as open space and trails in itself is a needed service and asset for all to enjoy. People daily take advantage of Coupeville parks and recreation areas and this property will add to those vital services as well as serve as a natural addition to and extension of Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve.

If Mr. Ogle were better informed, he would know that Friends of Krueger Farm have already dug into their own pockets to raise more than $300,000 toward the purchase of this property. He must also be aware that Conservation Futures funds belong to residents of Island County, including Coupeville, who have dug into their pockets through taxes to fund Conservation Futures to do precisely what Friends of Krueger Farm seek to do.

John R. Bolte

Coupeville

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