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If a tree falls in Point Bob, will the county hear it?

by Meg Olson

County council gave final approval to new tree retention rules for Point Roberts and rules for property owners building in areas near known archaeological sites.

The new zoning regulations, approved by the county planning commission after a public hearing in Point Roberts in July, were adopted 6-1 by county council members with little discussion at their October 21 meeting. Sam Crawford, who voted against the changes, said the issue had been controversial and deserved more attention. “The council could be doing more work,” he said.

The new tree retention and archaeological rules replace a single section in the previous version of the Point Roberts Special District zoning overlay that recognized the Point’s “unique forest habitat” and the “special significance” of Lily Point to Native Americans, requiring development to “take into account” these characteristics.

Planners maintained the new rules were needed to make tree retention and archaeological issues easier to administer and more consistent with other state and county rules. They also acknowledged that the rules were tailored to the Point, where “geographic isolation from the rest of the remainder of Whatcom County complicates the direct application of other zone districts within this title.” The special rules are intended to “protect the rural character of Point Roberts while allowing opportunities for community growth and self-reliance.”

Under the new tree retention requirements, which apply to all parcels on the Point, owners of lots smaller than one-half acre can remove all the trees when they develop their property, but the rules require them to replant 30 percent of the pre-existing tree canopy. In developing lots greater than or equal to a half acre, property owners are required to retain 30 percent of trees, and on lots greater than one acre no more than half the trees may be removed. Mature stands of trees, trees on slopes and trees in critical areas are to be prioritized for retention, as identified on a tree retention plan to be submitted when applying for development permits. The new tree retention regulations allow for removal of hazardous trees and they allow property owners to remove trees in excess of the retention threshold if they replant two for every one they remove.

Under the old tree retention requirements property owners were required to retain trees over eight inches in caliper “to the maximum extent feasible.”

Tree retention requirements in the rest of the county, recently revised by county council to protect water quality, specifically apply tree retention rules to parcels where logging could adversely impact water quality.

Specific archaeological regulations were absent in the previous version of the special district overlay. The new rules reflect state regulations for development near archaeologically relevant sites and include recommendations from the Lummi Nation. Under these regulations anyone developing property within 500-feet of a known archaeological site, or inadvertently discovering archaeological objects during construction, must, at their own expense, hire a professional archaeologist to complete a site assessment. If the project site is determined to contain “significant archaeological resources the property owner must submit a plan to protect and preserve them, which can include moving the project, excavation and recovery, reinterment in the case of grave sites, all at the property owner’s expense.

County planning division manager Sylvia Goodwin said the archaeological rules are only adopted by ordinance in Point Roberts but other areas of the county need to follow a similar procedure through county shoreline regulations and state laws. “There are probably more of those sites in Point Roberts than in other areas, since it was at one time an island and was heavily used,” she said, estimating that a tenth of Point Roberts might be affected.

The new version of the overlay also allows conditional approval of “horse racing facilities” and “commercial activities incidental to aviation” at the airport. Further development at the airport is also required to be separated by a 50-foot buffer from adjacent parcels, but that buffer can be eliminated if it interferes with safe use of the airstrip or site access.

As well, several types of businesses are now prohibited along Gulf Road, including mini-storage facilities, animal kennels, additional RV parks, cemeteries, and auto service, repair, washing, storage or sale facilities.

The new zoning regulations go into effect November 8, 2003.

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