By the Town of Friday Harbor
The Town Council recently referred to a Hearing Examiner the question of whether frontage improvements can be required for the HolliWalk housing development constructed by the San Juan Community Home Trust. While the Hearing Examiner answered that question with a “yes,” he nonetheless felt that because frontage requirements were not addressed at the beginning of the project, he would not now allow the Town to enforce those requirements. While we do not agree with the Hearing Examiner’s decision, the Town will not appeal that decision.
Before going into specifics on HolliWalk, it should be made clear that the Town has long supported developers of affordable housing and will continue to do so. In 2009, the Town agreed to annex 50 acres at the urging of the Home Trust so they could build 120 permanently affordable homes (26 have been built so far). In 2018, the Town partnered with the County to create the Home Fund where all of the Affordable Housing REET (Real Estate Excise Tax) generated in the Town is disbursed to support affordable housing throughout the County. And in 2021, the Town code was amended to allow attached accessory dwelling units (attached ADUs) to be built in single-family zones. All told, between the Home Trust and Homes for Islanders, roughly 150 affordable homes have been built in the town over the past 20 years. This is in addition to the many apartment complexes permitted throughout the town that, while no longer under HUD restrictions, nevertheless provide important affordable housing.
Turning to the HolliWalk development, it is important for the community to understand why the Town was intent on enforcing our street standards. HolliWalk consists of 8 homes that are accessed via Holli Place. When developing multifamily housing, the Town requires developers, including developers of affordable housing, to make frontage improvements not only for the benefit of those who will inhabit the homes under construction, but also for the future inhabitants of those homes, as well as for the surrounding neighborhood. Adding sidewalks, curbs, gutters, and streetlights has become standard for modern development.
We recognize while current residents might not want these improvements in order to maintain a more rural feel, without them there are negative repercussions for others: stormwater impacts to neighbors, inability to navigate the neighborhood for persons who are mobility or vision impaired, premature street failure due to water undermining the pavement, erosion of landscaping and soils, and safety concerns for pedestrians, especially during dark winter afternoons, among others.
The Town recognizes we have neighborhoods that developed long before current development standards existed and so do not have these amenities. Unfortunately, there is no state or federal funding source for adding frontage improvements to streets considered purely residential (i.e., their primary purpose is not to move traffic). Adding frontage improvements at the time of development is the most prudent and affordable way to provide this important infrastructure.
Upholding development codes is an obligation, not an option, for the Town. In addition, our responsibility to protect the public requires consideration of all citizens, not just current residents, the able bodied, or those who prefer a more rural neighborhood. All our citizens, including those who reside in affordable housing developments, should enjoy safe, clean and inviting neighborhoods. To that end and in the interest of the entire community, we will continue to uphold land use, building, and development codes as established by law.
