The Whidbey Environmental Action Network made a motion to intervene in support of Island County in an appeal to the Growth Management Hearings Board by Wright’s Crossing LLC. If the motion is granted, WEAN will be allowed to fully participate in all legal issues.

In December, the developer submitted a petition for review to the hearings board that claims the Island County commissioners were “illegally stalling” their proposed large-scale development south of Oak Harbor.

“This is the first time that a farmland-eating development of this size has been proposed for Whidbey,” said Steve Erickson of WEAN in a press release. “We won’t stand by while North Whidbey is transformed into urban sprawl.”

WEAN’s argument for the motion is that the developer has not specified how much of the development will be affordable housing and that the proposal is problematic with regulations set forth in the Growth Management Act.

The group states it is not adequately represented by the existing parties.

“The petitioner is a private developer whose primary interest is personal economic profit, not preservation of rural character on Whidbey Island,” the motion states. “Plainly the petitioner does not represent the interests of the WEAN’s members.”

The motion claims that while the commissioners represent the public in general, this does not necessarily include the specific interest of the environmental action network’s members. Both parties have been notified of the group’s intention to intervene, but have not yet responded as to whether either will oppose the intervention.