HomeMy WebLinkAbout112723 email Concerns regarding the CUP decision by the Planning CommissionersALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
Dear Commissioners,
I am a resident of Discovery Bay, Port Townsend. I live close to where a permit has been issued for an expansion of a previously unauthorized geoduck aquaculture farm.
I attended the meeting of the County Planning Commissioners on November 15, 2023, where a vote was passed to recommend that you, the County Commissioners, adopt the "Discretionary
CUP" for "expansions", and "conversions" of existing shellfish tidelands, to write into the SMP.
I, and many of my neighbors, have several concerns about the reasons that five of the nine commissioners voted for the "Discretionary CUP."
If you think about the way a decision for a "Discretionary CUP" versus a "Standard CUP" can be influenced, it should concern you as much as it does me. Unfortunately, unscrupulous
tactics by ambitious people may push a decision to grant simply a "Discretionary CUP", when it absolutely should be a "Standard CUP". These possibly unscrupulous tactics benefit private
property owners and the shellfish industry businesses, while ignoring the health of the shoreline ecosystems, and the citizens who enjoy them. A "Standard CUP" ensures that the public
has a say in the process, and that a neutral hearing examiner is involved. The "Standard CUP" is the only way to ensure confidence in the public that the right decision regarding the
CUP issue for the SMP has been made by you, the Commissioners. I urge you to please adopt ONLY the "Standard CUP" for all geoduck farming applications, into the SMP. The "Standard
CUP" is the fair method to employ for all decisions regarding shellfish farming permits.
Furthermore, I ask you to ask yourself why you would NOT consider the "Standard CUP" as the only option for the SMP. The "Discretionary CUP '' could have far reaching consequences
for the County, its citizens, salmon, shorebirds, eelgrasses, all other shoreline dependent animals, and the topography or the shorelines.
Respectfully,
Linda Lowe
10 Woodman Rd
Port Townsend, WA 98368
253-363-2490