Island County taxpayers are the losers in a bizarre land condemnation effort by the city of Langley.

Langley wants a hunk of Island County Fairgrounds property to build an access road to a proposed new development, and is going to court to get it.

The Island County Commissioners have no choice but to defend the fairgrounds, which the county owns, and will be footing the bill against the lawsuit. The Island County Fair Board is hoping to intervene with its own lawyer, paid for by donations from defenders of the fairgrounds.

It is doubtful that in Island County’s long history one local government has tried to condemn a piece of property belonging to another local government. In essence, it’s Langley taxpayers against county taxpayers. Both, no doubt, would rather see their hard-earned dollars go to a more productive government enterprise such as police protection or healthcare for the needy.

Langley officials can justifiably be blamed for instigating this drama. If there’s one thing the Island County Fair does not have enough of, it’s real property. Island County’s fairgrounds is probably the most compact in the state at approximately 13 acres which must accommodate the fair buildings, a carnival, arena, extensive trailer camping, tent camping and access roads, among other necessities. People have been talking for years about moving the fair to another location with more space, but it’s never been an affordable idea. So it’s easy to understand why the Fair Board is reluctant to part with even a small piece of the fairgrounds, such as the roughly one-quarter acre demanded by Langley. Why make a bad situation even worse?

Langley officials should rethink the decision to condemn land owned by the citizens of Island County. Fighting this out in court is a waste of taxpayers’ money. Time to think of “Plan B,” because “Plan A” isn’t working too well.