Despite years of work to streamline design regulations within Ebey’s Landing National Historic Reserve, there are a number of people who are still critical of the proposal.

Residents are concerned the regulations aren’t specific enough, a condition that could cause delays as county or town staff interpret rules. Some farmers are also worried the new rules could interfere with how they grow crops on their land.

The new guidelines are an effort by the town of Coupeville, Island County and the National Park Service to develop a unified set of design regulations for property owners living within the boundaries of the 17,000-acre Ebey’s Reserve. An open house was held Wednesday night at the Coupeville Recreation Hall to give residents another chance to voice concerns about the 80-page document. Approximately 30 people attended the two-and-a-half-hour affair.

County resident Loyd Moore said he was concerned that the guidelines are arbitrary and leave too much interpretation in the hands of staff workers.

“There’s no specificity to this,” Moore said of the proposed regulations.

As an example, he quoted one of the guidelines currently listed in the draft concerning the architectural character of any new construction within the Reserve: “New buildings should be similar in general character but they should also have subtle differences in design to distinguish them from the historic structures. Contemporary designs which reflect the scale, materials and color of surrounding development are more acceptable than false historic structures. New buildings should be stylistically distinct from historic structures to protect their integrity.”

The proposed design regulations would combine Coupeville’s Design Review Board and the county’s Historical Review Committee into a Historic Preservation Commission that would review visible projects located in historically sensitive areas of the Reserve.

Smaller-scale projects would be evaluated by either town or county staff or a three-member committee consisting of Coupeville’s town planner, the county planning director and the manager of the reserve.

“We tried to structure this to where it isn’t onerous on the applicant or landowner,” Coupeville Town Planner Larry Kwarsick said during the open house.

Town and county staff have been working since 2008 to develop the guidelines. The desire for new rules came about several years ago when a proposal arose to demolish the Samuel Crockett house, which ultimately was preserved.

Some Coupeville residents are also concerned about another plan to demolish the historic but deteriorating Libbey house on North Main Street.

Farmers in the Reserve remain worried about how the new regulations will affect their business. To help them, the draft regulations state that farmers can build new structures less than 10,000 square feet without having to go through the design process.

Even with the accommodations, some farmers were concerned the language in the guidelines would hurt their farms.

Georgie Smith of Willowood Farm asked what is needed to get a “hoop house” approved and what fees are involved. She said a hoop house should be exempt from design review.

Officials noted that a hoop house in a residential neighborhood would have to go through the design review process, but not if it was on a farm.

Hedgerows on Central Whidbey farms is another bone of contention for local farmers. Some argue the new rules would prevent them from altering hedgerows for such things as improving access to fields.

“It’s completely ridiculous to not be able to access our hedgerow,” Smith said during the open house.

Officials will schedule a second open house in late February before going into the public hearing process with the Coupeville Town Council and the Board of Island County Commissioners. Both entities will have to sign off on the proposal.