Editorial: Big turnout

Published 8:00 am Wednesday, August 2, 2006

Nobody could remember a larger turnout for a meeting of the Oak Harbor Planning Commission.

An estimated 150 citizens swamped the meeting last Tuesday. The city apparently had an inkling interest was high, as the site was changed from City Hall to the larger room at the Municipal Shop building. But that also was far too small, compelling the Fire Marshal to order the meeting closed as a safety precaution.

The turnout was refreshing for those who believe in citizen input in the planning process. For years, Planning Commission meetings have been attended mostly by those with a direct interest in the proceedings, such as the buyers, sellers and developers of a specific piece of property. A few voices were raised by people concerned about unchecked growth, but those were voices in the pro-development wilderness.

A couple of unsettling large projects got the public out to last Tuesday’s meeting. Many were angered by the ideas of extending zoning for large, commercial “big box” stores to the rural southern entrance to Oak Harbor and building up to 1,000 homes on the 377-acre Fakkema farm on the west side of town.

The Planning Commission was unprepared for the outpouring of community concern. There were arguments, rude comments and general confusion. The city should have done a better job of welcoming the public. In Coupeville, the public is often greeted with coffee and cookies. Perhaps it would be wise to buy only soft-bake cookies, as one was thrown in anger at a recent Coupeville meeting. But generally, cookies make the atmosphere more pleasant.

The Planning Commission meeting will be resumed sometime in late August, most likely at the high school’s spacious Parker Hall. Hopefully, everyone who attended last week’s meeting will return, along with even more concerned citizens. Oak Harbor could plan in such a way that in the future, it will have an attractive downtown, pleasant entryways into the city and nice neighborhoods that don’t sprawl into rural areas. But to reach that goal, people have to get involved and stay involved. Otherwise, those with a direct financial interest in a project will continue to be favored by the Planning Commission.