Land Bank to buy some Crescent Beach waterfront

It is early in the year for amended budgets, but the staff and board of directors of the San Juan County Land Bank had three promising purchases they thought too good to pass by.

County commissioners unanimously agreed and approved the $567,500 allocation needed for purchase of three properties, setting a tone of acquisition to begin 2002.

But the tone may fall flat, however, as revenue from the real estate excise tax that supports the publicly owned land conservation agency has dropped for the second year in a row. Revenue was down roughly $600,000 between 2000 and 2001. The same was true the previous year.

Despite troubling trends, the Feb. 12 authorization allows the Land Bank to buy 20 acres of wooded wetlands along Terrill Beach Road and nearly four acres at Crescent Beach, including 518 feet of waterfront. Both properties are located on Orcas Island.

“Waterfront access on Orcas is always a priority for the Land Bank,” Land Steward Thor Hanson said of the Crescent Beach property. “It’s a great project and fits nicely with two other projects we have there already.”

The amended 2002 budget also includes $200,000 for pending acquisition of the gravel pit in Friday Harbor. The Land Bank will partner with the Port of Friday Harbor and San Juan County Public Works to purchase nine acres of shoreline at Jackson’s Beach for $1.5 million. Lafarge North America in turn will donate the 55-acre gravel pit to the county.

Including closing costs, the Crescent Beach/Malzon purchase totals $320,000. Gene Knapp, president of the Land Bank board of directors, noted that Commissioner John Evans of Orcas Island was “a critical player in making this happen”.

Purchase of the 20 undeveloped acres at Terrill Beach Road for $50,000 ends an ongoing legal dispute between property owners Greer, et. al., and San Juan County over storm-water runoff and re-directed drainage that plaintiffs claim devalued their property.

Hanson said 20 acres of undeveloped, wooded wetlands for $32,500 presented a “good value” regardless of legal issues. The land lies adjacent to San Juan Preservation Trust property and the conservation agencies’ combined wetlands provide important wildlife habitat and possible public access on Land Bank area, he said. Public Works or the county Risk Pool will pay the balance of the settlement.

The 2002 budget now forecasts $2.6 million in revenue and $3.1 million in expenses for an end-of-the-year balance of $2.1 million. Commissioners approved the amended budget with little debate while noting the important role the Land Bank continues to play, now entering its second decade.

“I’m very much in favor of the budget and acquisitions,” said Commissioner Rhea Miller. “There’s no better way to guarantee conservation than with the Land Bank.”

The Land Bank was established in 1990 with 60 percent of the popular vote. Nine years later, the conservation agency’s charter was extended to 2014 by 72 percent of registered voters.

The county owns 801 acres of property through Land Bank fee-simple acquisitions. Conservation easements cover 1,676 acres of land, translating into the removal of 313 potential building sites. The local Land Bank remains the only publicly owned land conservation agency in the state.

— Scott Rasmussen reports on regional government and education for sanjuanjournal.com and The Journal of the San Juan Islands, sister publications of islandsweekly.net and The Islands’ Weekly. He can be reached at (360) 378-4191 ext. 13 or email.

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