HomeMy WebLinkAbout240KIRK BoXLEITNER the Boldt d.ecisions and culvert decision," Moore-Lewis said. I
KBoxLEITNER@erLEADER.coM Moore-Lewis concluded by warning that Hood Canal "is a
\ fi'agile resource," andbychargingthe countywithholdingsecret
The proposed Pleasant Harbor Master Planned Resort (IVIPR) meetings, making draft documents available to the developey's
at Black Point continued to draw comment from thb public supporters and not the opponents of the MPR, and refusing fo
during the Jefferson County commissioners'Nov. 27 meeting. disclose a number of relevant documents since August,
Port Townsends Lys Burden used skills learned druing her 'The people ofthis state do not yield their sovereignty to the
studies at the University of Montana to research the natwally agencies that serve them," Moore-Lewis said. '"The people, in
occurring kettle ponds at Black Point, along Hood Canal, as she delegating authority, do not give their public servants thq right
sought to determine how rare such ponds are in Washington to decide what is good for the people to know, and what is notstate. good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed,
"What I discovered is that there's so that they may maintain control
not very many left," Burden said, ..mr r . ,r . . r overtheinstrumentsthattheyhave'
citingfrequenrvisitstolb;;;il "The people of this state do not .r.-t.a:i
perusai of Washington Geological yield their sovereignfy to the _ _J: -!,ru* tied together the
Surveymapsandotherdata. t---- l----. --o--,' --:. - arguments made by Burden and
Burden expiained that the agencies that serve them." Moore-Lewis, diagnosing what she
Missoula Floods, which swept across sees as a "lack of continued contact
ffJJ:::y,TT:#'il35'h'"Tf"l|l}: Barbara {:9t::!.y[ fi']t*i,,",tfii-;tr*txli3','Jl;
tive kettlJ ponds inihat regron. BRIN NoN GRoUP echoing Burden's points about how
'The only kettles left were where the uniqueness of the kettle ponds
the Puget lobe came dorvn," Burden help make them geographically and
said,referrirrgtotheloca]partoftheglaeia]icesheet.'.There,sculturaIlysigni.ficant.
a lot of kettles around Olympia, but most of them are shallow, Blair wondered,whether elk harvests from the area would
Iess than 80 feet deep. The big kettle at Black Point is five stories remain sustainable and noted the continuing recurrence ofalgae
high, but only 500 yards wide. When you're not at the toe of the blooms in the Hobd Canal shellfish beds.
glacier,.but at the edge of where it was, that's where you get lMhat happens to people's jobs when the runoff a{fects the
kettles that are narrow but deep." .. shellfish even further?' Blair asked. '?erhaps we should put a,
Barbara Moore-Lewis, whose Brinnon Group opposes the moratorium on building in that area."
resort project, followed by expressing her skepticism about the County Administrator Philip Morley countered a number of
commissioners' stated intent of "weighing everyone's rights" in the pubJic comment claims as "not fgctual" by echoing the county
the proposed MPR development at Black Poiat. commissioners'assertions that the county is'held accountable"
"Is this true?'Moore-Lewis asked. ''Ihey give the developer to consult with the tribes and respect treaty law.
rights he does not have." At the same time, Morley expressed concern over the possible
Moore-l,ewis cited a letter from May 3, in which the com- "selective release of records" and encouraged the public to bring
missioners stated that the developer is "entitled to review and such irstances'to his attention.
recommendation by the planning commission, and ultimateiy a Commissioner David Sullivan noted that the county had
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decision by the county commjssioners, with respect to the pro-
poqed regulations in a timely manner."
Although the letter refers to these as "procedural due process
obligations," Moore-Lewis asserted that the county'has no such
obligation," and the developer'has no such right."
Moore-Lewis went on to accuse the commissioners of not
acknowledging the Port Garpble S'Klallam tribal treaty rights.
She cited another letter, this one from Oct, 4, which allegedly dis-
missed treaty rights in favor of following the State Envjronmental
Policy Act (SEPA) process.
'Tleaty rights are separate from any state or county process,
and have been affirmed a number of times ia the courts, including
made contact with "all the tribes,': and not just the Port Gamb1e
S'KIalIam TYibe, while fellow Commissioner Kate Dean said that
she sees it as important to "do our best by the tribes, because we
as a nation have a history of not doing that."
Commission chair Kathleen Kler listed a number of agencies
that work to ensure the quality ofwater in the wake ofprospec-
tive development, on which she and her fellow commissioners
serve as members, before she presented the county's role as nec-
essarily limited.
'We've heard from more than one developer who already felt
our process was punitive," Kler said. "It s not up to us to say what
you should look like."
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