I am writing in defense of my very small island (only 7.7 square miles, with fewer than 200 residents), which you have each visited. We are governed by a Subarea Plan developed by a diverse community committee over a period of several years and approved by over 80% in an advisory ballot, which is now being challenged by the county Public Works department.

We were not notified about a hearing before the Council to set a date for what will be a very important decision for Shaw Island. We only found out after the date had been set. Since the issue is whether the prohibition of heavy industrial uses in the Shaw Island Subarea Plan will be upheld, everyone on Shaw Island needs to be heard. Since many residents are in other places at this time of year — Mexico, Hawaii, wherever there is sunshine — time is of the essence for us.

We are eager to educate the Council and the county manager about the nature and purpose of the Shaw Subarea Plan since there seems to be some misunderstanding. We do have a small school, but we do not have the infrastructure for a university, which was applied for in the 1980s, but the permit was denied. With fewer than 200 residents and only eight to 12 cars allowed per sailing, with five sailings on a Sunday, residents sometimes have to wait an entire day to get off the island on a summer weekend as it is. There is no gas or other fuel on Shaw and no medical services other than helicopter evacuation. Fortunately, our Subarea Plan saved the island from vacation rentals when Airbnb appeared early in this century because there are no facilities for tourists. There are other unique features of Shaw Island that we can share with you to help explain the need for each of the provisions of our Subarea Plan.

As far as road maintenance, the status quo has been working for the last several decades. As the manager of Public Works admitted in a recorded statement to the County Council, he could work with what he had for the next 20 years without purchasing the new property. Despite being a very small island, Shaw already has an Essential Public Facility, which is at the fire station at the Community Building. On most days, the Public Works site there is empty. No trucks, no activity. The concrete block building is also empty. It has not been used for anything as far as anyone can tell from the outside. The area around the building is used by the community for parking for the Community Building. Once every seven years, there is a need to chip seal the 12 miles of county road. This has been done from the present site. If necessary, the chip sealing work could be temporarily fenced off. We understand that when Jon Shannon was in charge of Public Works, he drew up a plan to do this, so it is certainly possible.

The Shaw community will welcome the County’s residential use of the property they have purchased on Neck Point Road to provide housing for County employees. Residential uses are the highest and best use of that property. However, we will work as an island community to preserve our residential neighborhood against the incursion of an industrial zone, which will lower adjacent real estate values, impair the quality of life for the neighborhood and undermine the protective power of the Shaw Subarea Plan.

Thank you for your time and attention,

Lynn Bahrych, J.D., Ph.D., Shaw Island