By Jeff Tate
Earlier this year the Board of Island County Commissioners adopted land use regulations that affect property located within “Accidental Potential Zone (APZs).” APZs are identified on a map and are located in areas surrounding Naval Air Station Whidbey island north of Oak Harbor. My office has received a number of inquiries regarding the regulations and it is obvious that there has been a substantial amount of misinformation regarding the affect of these regulations on private property owners. Here are the facts:
Coupeville’s “Outer Lying Field (OLF),” which is located just south of Coupeville, is unaffected by these regulations because there are no APZs that surround this airstrip.
Of the 1,178 properties within the APZ adjacent to NAS Whidbey, all but six continue to be sub-dividable. For those six, the board is going to adopt a program that makes these landowners eligible for a property tax reduction.
Every landowner continues to be able to use their property for residential purposes. Houses may be built, parties and gatherings may be held, farming and “u-pick” activities are allowed.
Existing uses, structures and activities are grandfathered and are therefore unaffected by the rules.
The effect of the newly adopted rules is to prohibit churches, schools, day cares, bed and breakfasts, campgrounds, fire stations, equestrian centers and other similar uses in the APZ’s.
Of the 1,178 properties within the APZ there are only 15 of these types of uses that actually exist and they are grandfathered. The track record for establishing these types of uses prior to the adoption of the new rule shows that they are uncommon.
The reason that the board adopted rules that prohibit these uses in APZ’s is because of the potential risk of having on-going congregations of people in areas where there is a higher risk that an aircraft accident could occur. Hopefully, we will never need to answer the question of why one of these uses was allowed to be constructed in the unfortunate event that it were to be located in the path of an aircraft accident.
Jeff Tate is director of Island County Planning and Community Development.
