A developer’s plans to build a 165,000 square-foot shopping pavilion, with restaurants and clothing stores, at the north end of Oak Harbor has run into a snarl.

Mayor Patty Cohen has been working behind the scenes to prevent the development from being built on the 17-acre site, owned by retired car dealer Don Boyer. She said she’s protecting the long-term welfare of the Navy’s training mission by keeping intrusive development away from the base.

“It is known throughout the Pentagon how well the local community does at protecting against encroachment,” she said, adding that she wants that image to continue. Preventing encroachment, she said, helps keep the base open and growing.

Nonetheless, her actions caused an uproar. Rumors are floating around the city. The landowner, the developer and at least a couple of council members are upset with her. Some people feel she overstepped her authority as mayor while others suspect she has ulterior motives.

“The situation is a symbol of the many, many other situations,” Councilman Eric Gerber said, “in which I think the mayor has done things in an inappropriate way.”

Boyer said he met with Navy officials who said they wouldn’t oppose the development project as long as it stayed under 165,000 square feet. The Navy, though, has no authority to actually approve development plans.

“It will bring in employment for Navy spouses and more tax revenues for the city,” he said. “It’s difficult to see why the city would oppose it if the Navy doesn’t.”

Cohen said she’s been misunderstood and the matter has been blown out of proportion, but will stay out of future decision-making on the subject because of a possible conflict of interest.

At this point, the future of the shopping pavilion seems up in the air. The site may need a zoning change, though the developer said he has every intention of moving ahead with building.

Nat Franklin of PMF Investments said he already has booked tenants, including apparel retailers, food-related businesses and two major restaurants for the site. He said the shopping pavilion will be at least 165,000 square feet, but could be substantially larger if allowed.

“It’s an opportunity for some very special development that will be very eye-catching,” he said.

The land in question is 17 acres at the corner of Highway 20 and Fakkema Road. Boyer is the trustee for the land, representing his children.

About 10 years ago, Wal-Mart considered building on the site, but the Navy put the kibosh on the plan. The problem is the land is located in the so-called “accident potential zone.” Navy spokesperson Kim Martin said that means there’s a statistical potential for an accident. Aircraft taking off from the Navy runways go right over the property, so they felt it’s not a good idea to have a large number of people congregating on the site.

The city annexed the property into the city and zoned it as C-4, highway service commercial district. The district is primarily intended for car sales, but permitted uses include restaurants, furniture sales, real estate sales, drive-in banks and boat sales.

Cohen said she spoke to Island County Commissioner Mac McDowell about the Boyer property this summer. She said they both were concerned about a development on the site encroaching on the Navy base. The county and city have worked together to keep development, especially high-density residential housing, away from the base.

The main problem with encroachment, she said, is that it generates complaints about noise and creates light pollution in the night skies.

After speaking with McDowell, Cohen said she met with Boyer and discussed the possibility of purchasing the property. Originally, she said the plan was for the city, county and Navy to collectively buy the land and place it in forested zoning so that it can never be developed.

Afterward, Cohen discussed the possibility of buying the $2.3 million property with the council members. According to Gerber and Councilman Paul Brewer, the council made it clear to her that they weren’t interested in buying the land.

“My biggest concern,” Gerber said, “is that her and Commissioner McDowell were out there trying to negotiate property without council authorization.”

Cohen claims she was representing the NAS Whidbey Task Force, a group that works to keep the base open, when she met with Boyer. McDowell serves on the task force.

Cohen said it was a mistake not to move forward on buying the land and protecting it from development.

Last week, Cohen heard a rumor that a developer was going to buy the Boyer property. At the same time, the city learned that NAS Whidbey was coming out with a new map for the Air-Installation Compatible Use Zone, or AICUZ. It could affect zoning, and therefore development, around the base.

In addition, Cohen said she learned about a state funding source that could be used to purchase the Boyer property.

As a result, Cohen called a special meeting for 5 p.m., Friday, Sept. 23.

The notice of the meeting states the business to be conducted was “possible moratorium on new development in C-4 zoning.” Cohen also planned to having an executive session to discuss possible litigation. She admits that her proposed moratorium may have led to litigation against the city.

Cohen said she spoke with Boyer, by phone, Thursday night and learned that the property was already in the process of being sold. She said she decided to call off the meeting at that point.

Boyer, however, said he is upset that Cohen didn’t tell him during the phone call Thursday that she had called a special meeting for Friday to discuss his property. He said he learned about the meeting later that night from another person. He decided to cut his vacation short and fly back to Oak Harbor to attend the meeting.

“In my opinion, she has some devious intentions involved,” Boyer said. “She didn’t want me to be at that meeting about my own property.”

Brewer said he spoke to the mayor Friday morning and she still planned to meet that night. “She definitely wanted to meet,” he said. “She was pushing for it.”

But Brewer said he and other council members talked her out of it. He said Boyer should have been invited to the meeting.

“We have to guard against encroachment,” Brewer said, “but there’s a right way and a wrong way to do things. … I want to avoid litigation by being upfront and open.”

Boyer said he feels that Cohen has a conflict of interest. He points out that her family owns a nearby Highway 20 property that is also zoned C-4. He claims she may benefit if development is prevented on his property.

Cohen said that is nonsense, though she agreed to “step back” from the issue to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. She said her two goals are to protect the training environment for the Navy and the protect Boyer’s investment.

“One way or the other,” she said, “Don Boyer needs to compensated for the value of his land out there.”

Still, many questions remain about the future of the property. Cohen said there may still be time for the city to work out a deal to purchase the land.

Franklin said he already has drawings of the proposed development and has met with the planning department about the project.

Under C-4 zoning, it may be up to the planning department to decide if Franklin’s planned uses are allowed on the property. If Franklin and city planners disagree, the developer can ask for a text change to the C-4 zone or apply for a zoning change to C-5.

In the end, the final decision on the future of the Boyer property may rest in the city council’s hands.