HomeMy WebLinkAbout032625 email - Fwd_ Pending expiration of the Port Ludlow Timber Harvest Settlement Agreement on May 7_ 2025ALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
Oops, here is the attachment missing from my recent message (and my second attempt to send it).
All the best,
Gary Daugherty
Begin forwarded message:
From: GaryAndTeresa Daugherty <zandromeda@icloud.com>
Subject: Pending expiration of the Port Ludlow Timber Harvest Settlement Agreement on May 7, 2025
Date: March 26, 2025 at 10:00:07 AM PDT
To: JeffBoCC@co.jefferson.wa.us
Cc: Gary Daugherty <zandromeda@icloud.com>, gwdaughe <gwdaughe@netscape.net>
A number of people in Port Ludlow are concerned about the ending expiration of the Port Ludlow Timber Harvest Settlement Agreement on May 7, 2025 (https://www.ptleader.com/stories/the-end-of-an-agre
ement-resort-developers-deal-with-county-to-expire-life-in-ludlow,196673 <https://www.ptleader.com/stories/the-end-of-an-agreement-resort-developers-deal-with-county-to-expire-life-in-ludlow,196673>
)
As a member of this group, I have done some research on the potential consequences of this, and spoken to both members of the community here and to David Wayne Johnson at the Department
of Community Development (DCD).
And while I do not oppose allowing the agreement to expire, I feel the county has some work to do in order to prepare for this (summarized below):
In order to restrict future attempts to commercially log (and especially clear cut) property in the Port Ludlow Master Planned Resort (PL-MPR) zoned by the county as Open Space Reserve
(OSR):
1. We want the Jefferson County Assessor’s Office to change their classification of OSR zoned property in Port Ludlow from ‘designated forestland’ (which permits commercial logging
and clear cutting) to something consistent with the zoning defined in the county Title 17 MPR code <https://www.codepublishing.com/WA/JeffersonCounty/#!/JeffersonCounty17/JeffersonCounty1740.html>
2. We want the Jefferson County Department of Community Development (DCD) to make a concerted effort to convince the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to adopt
an internal policy that would a) deny the issuance of logging permits on such OSR zoned property, and b) ensure notification of the county when any logging permits, or any changes to
the use designation of such OSR zoned property are requested by the land owner from DNR.
3. We want the county to have contingency plans for how to deal with actions that could, in future, result in the commercial logging (and, in particular, the clear cutting) of OSR zoned
property within the Port Ludlow Master Planned Resort.
4. As an important part of this, we want the county to have plans for a legal defense against commercial logging (and, in particular, cleat cutting) of OSR zoned property with the Port
Ludlow Master Planned Resort (MPR) should it become necessary to go to court. And, as a corollary to this, we want the county to commit to going to court, if necessary, to try to prevent
future commercial logging on OSR zoned property in Port Ludlow.
5. We want to see actions to achieve these objectives taken before the current Port Ludlow Development Agreement and Timber Harvest Settlement Agreement expire on May 8, 2025 to avoid
any repetition of what happened in 2015 and 2016 should the PLA assert their right to commercially log OSR zoned property in Port Ludlow Master Planned Resort
Of these, action items 1 and 2 are the most important at the moment.
I believe DCD is generally supportive of this (they raised issue 1 themselves), though I will let them speak for themselves.
My concern is that the board needs to be aware of the issues involved and ensure appropriate actions are taken before May 7 or soon thereafter.
Perhaps you could you find some time for a discussion of this in one of your Monday meetings, inviting DCD to participate, etc.
All the best,
Gary Daugherty
72 Timber Ridge Dr
Port Ludlow, WA 98365
319-521-7697 (cell)
zandromeda@icloud.com <mailto:zandromeda@icloud.com>