Oak Harbor residents will never know the details of a developer’s plans for 17-acres on which the city just clamped a development moratorium.

Property owner Don Boyer put an end to his deal with developer Nat Franklin to build a large shopping pavilion on the property, located off Highway 20 on the north end of town, within the Navy’s Accident Potential Zone.

Boyer, a life-long city resident, retired businessman and community booster, didn’t want to get in a fight with the city, so he decided not to pursue the project. Someone with less fondness for Oak Harbor may have made a different choice, and for good reason.

The property was appropriately zoned for such a project and, if the developer was correct, plans complied with the Navy’s updated rules for development within the Accident Potential Zone. To slap a moratorium on development after plans are announced is an issue that could be argued before a judge. Boyer could have buttressed his case by filing formal plans before the moratorium could be imposed, but again he chose to less confrontational route. Citizens can thank Boyer that he’s not not making a legal issue out of losing the best use of his property.

The city council was basically stampeded into the moratorium by Island County Commissioner Mac McDowell, who was afraid development in the Accident Potential Zone could, theoretically, in the distant future, have some negative impact on the Navy base. It was one man’s opinion without any substantive documentation to back it up, but his persistence carried the day.

Now, it’s up to the city to adopt some realistic development rules so Boyer or his successor can use this valuable piece of property. Better yet, arrange for the Navy, state or some other public entity with more money than the city to purchase the property so its future use will no longer be an issue.