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Examiner The Whidbey
News from the Heart of Whidbey Island
THURSDAY, AUGUST 9, 2012
VOL. 18, NO. 1
Ordinance A perfect day at the beach could protect historic homes By Elisabeth Murray Staff Reporter
A leaking roof, broken window or missing door on a historic structure could cause damage that is expensive or impossible to fix, leading to a property owner’s decision to tear the building down rather than spend money repairing it. The Coupeville Town Council is hoping a new ordinance will reduce the chance that the second-oldest town in Washington will lose more of its historic buildings to “demolition by neglect.” Current town code does not prevent the owner of a historic building from allowing it to fall victim to the ravages of weather and lack of maintenance. The ordinance to be considered soon would require historic structures be maintained to prevent deterioration. It also would allow a building inspector right of entry at least once a year to inspect a historic structure, with either the consent of the property owner or a written warrant. If significant problems are found, the owner would be required to make repairs. If the owner failed to do so, the town could choose to fix the problems and assess the owner a financial penalty. That scenario would be a last resort, town planner Larry Kwarsick said. “We want to do this in a way to encourage appropriate action and not seem punitive,” he said, adding that crafting the ordinance will be a challenge. Other communities have taken a variety of approaches to address the issue. For example, the town could initiate the maintenance or repair and add the cost to the owner’s property-tax bill, like any other tax lien. The risk, however, is that the property owner might not pay. If the property goes into default, the town could get stuck with a neglected historic structure that costs a lot to maintain – and that no one wants to buy due to concern over strict government rules regarding that maintenance. “It is not the intention or desire of the town for this to happen,” Kwarsick said. The town has had procedures and standards in place to protect historically significant properties from demolition, but they haven’t always been effective. In 2008, for example, the historic Vaughn house, built in 1910, was demolished to make room for a new house. The board then in place to review demolition applications – the Coupeville Design Review Board – approved the demolition because restoring the historic building would have been too costly. Town code at the time also included penalties for instances in which a historic propSee HISTORIC, page 5
Kasia Pierzga photo
Sunday’s hot weather was the perfect time for a stroll on the beach at Ebey’s Landing, where the temperature was a good 10 degrees cooler than it was in nearby Crockett Lake, which recorded a toasty 86 degrees. Sunny but cooler weather is expected to continue throughout the week, with temperatures expected in the 70s – just in time for this weekend’s Coupeville Arts Festival.
Coupeville may end park impact fee By Elisabeth Murray Staff Reporter
Before hammer can hit nail and drill can bite into wood, a fee to mitigate the impact of new home construction on parks, recreation and open space in Coupeville must be paid to Town Hall. But the impact fee may soon be suspended or dropped as the town updates the parks and recreation element of its comprehensive plan. Town planner Larry Kwarsick is in the process of determining if the town has enough parks, open space, and trails for Coupeville’s 1,800 residents. Kwarsick will compare the town’s current acreage with the goals set in the town’s comprehensive plan. According to the town website, there are currently 28.13 acres of parks in the town. This includes mini-parks, neighborhood and community parks and open space. “The town can only have (impact fees) if there is an unmet level of service,” Mayor Nancy Conard said. The fee – $870 for each new single-family home – goes into a parks fund that pays for
purchase of parkland and the cost of park improvements. The town began collecting the fee in 2001 on all new homes built within town limits. As of June 30, the park fund cash balance totaled $58,160. Money generated by the fee was used for the Broadway Trail, a gravel walkway along a portion of Broadway between Hwy. 20 and Madrona Way. It could also help pay for installation of a new viewing deck on Front Street in the two undeveloped lots between Toby’s Tavern and the Knead & Feed on Front Street – land that was donated to the town after being purchased by people who wanted to preserve it as open space. The town has yet to get estimates for in-
stallation of the deck, but Conard said the money in the park impact fund probably would not be enough to pay for the whole project. The town did make one mistake in using park impact fee revenue for a project – installation of a sidewalk on the south side of Coveland between Main and Grace streets – that the state Auditor’s Office later said did not qualify as a park. The town was required to refund the fee, plus interest, to the 14 property owners whose money had been used for the project. If all the property owners claim their cash, the refund will add up to $13,538. See PARK FEE, page 6