HomeMy WebLinkAbout070526 email - BOC_LLOR Citizen commentALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
Dear Commissioners,
My name is Jim Fox, and I'm a real estate broker with Windermere Real Estate in Port Townsend. I've lived here for 30 years and have worked in real estate full-time for 21 of them, specializing
in land and development while working with clients across the economic spectrum — from the very wealthy to the average citizen.
I'm writing to address the ongoing debate over the LLOR and SDR and their impact on citizens and businesses alike. I have a unique perspective on this issue, as I was the broker who
Envisioned and sold Dave Clark the land on Cape George Road that spawned the SDR/LLOR requirement and later became a legal case. I want to share with you the basis for my confusion
— and disappointment — with how that played out.
When I listed that property, I saw something no one else seemed to have pieced together:
* Public water runs directly through it
* comprised roughly 21 individual tax parcels
* The Larry Scott Trail bisects the entire property, offering easy non-motorized access to town
* A dozen manufactured homes and small parcels abut it just to the south
* The soils are good for septic
* A tall stand of second-growth fir (now worth over $1 million) which could be selectively harvested to leave a real neighborhood feel
I was excited! I thought I may have found a way to take a real bite out of the housing crisis. 50+ affordable homes close to town! I saw this property as an opportunity for an inexpensive,
close-in development. It gets the mill smell, sits near the gun range, and faces a busy road — nobody's building a dream home there. But that's exactly what made it the right kind of
spot: a stepping stone for first-time buyers with limited means.
When I pitched the idea to Dave, he saw the potential immediately and did his due diligence before purchasing. Shortly after the plan was approved, it was deemed not in keeping with
rural character — and we all know what happened next.
My larger concern is this: Port Townsend is surrounded on three sides by water. There's only one way to create more space, and that's by moving outward from town. I expected to be commended
for this plan. Instead, the very voices most urgently calling for affordable housing found a way to walk back the permit and shut the project down.
I was stunned, and I lost a fair amount of faith in government's ability to apply common sense to real problems. Dave was — and still is — willing to set aside a percentage of homes
for Habitat for Humanity or the county for low-income or subsidized housing. He's a genuinely good guy, but he's also a businessman. At this point, I believe that without some creative
or decisive action, we're going to lose this opportunity. Dave has the experience and resources to help solve this problem. Manufactured homes today aren't built the way they were when
we were kids, and the old stigma is fading.
I urge you to find a path forward. We can't keep kicking the can down the road.
Dire problems call for special consideration, and I believe what happened here ran contrary to the public interest. I urge you to remove the SDR and ease the LLOR requirements, so there's
a real window to get sensible projects like this one-large adn small, moving.
Thank you,
Jim
___________________________________________________________
JIM FOX
Real Estate Broker
<https://windermerere.img.email/images/69a1f2e6938f0.png>
<https://www.windermere.com/> <https://windermerere.img.email/img/spacer.gif> WINDERMERE R.E. PORT TOWNSEND
<https://windermerere.icns.email/icon/fa-light-16-phonealt-009CDE.png> (360) <tel:(360)643-1540> 531-3201
<https://windermerere.icns.email/icon/fa-light-16-envelopeopen-009CDE.png> jimfox@windermere.com <mailto:jimfox@windermere.com>
<https://windermerere.icns.email/icon/fa-light-16-compass-009CDE.png> Jim@jfoxbroker.com <https://www.windermere.com/>
<https://windermerere.icns.email/icon/fa-light-16-home-009CDE.png> 1220 Water St. / Port Townsend
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