Record South Whidbey
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Mulholland, Murphy to
lead second annual pride parade See...A10
WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2015 | Vol. 91, No. 59 | www.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.com | 75¢
Board OKs futures fund changes
Langley Passage reemerges after four-year hiatus By BEN WATANABE South Whidbey Record A plan for a hotly debated 20-home development in the Edgecliff neighborhood of Langley has resurfaced. More than four years after receiving a controversial approval from the city council, Langley Passage is again on its way to becoming a reality. Director of Community Planning Michael Davolio told the council at the July 20 meeting he had received an application for a clearing and grading permit on July 6 from the property’s developer, Whidbey Neighborhood Partners. The paperwork and some subsequent meetings signal new life in a long-dormant project once mired in criticism and threats of legal action. Reached by phone Tuesday morning, managing partner Gary Roth said the development group waited for the housing market to recover, and he felt that now was a lucrative time to build. “Now that it’s on the upturn we feel the timing is right and more lots are needed,” Roth said. SEE PASSAGE, A5
By DAN RICHMAN South Whidbey Record
Justin Burnett / The Record
Seattle resident Matt Dawson sinks a putt at Holmes Harbor Golf Course on Monday. Behind him is the makedo pro shop that resulted from a dispute with the owner of the clubhouse. The course and the clubhouse are for sale, which could resolve the issue.
Back on the market
Holmes Harbor Golf Course owners swing for sale By JUSTIN BURNETT South Whidbey Record
For the third time in less than five years, the Holmes Harbor Golf Course is for sale. The fairways, the clubhouse, the waterfront property, the dock, all of it is up for grabs for anyone with a spare $2 million. At least that’s the sum of the two property owners independent listings: the Holmes Harbor Sewer District’s rock-bottom price for about 50 acres of fairways is $450,000, and Holmes Harbor, LLC, which owns just about everything else, is asking $1.6 million. The two entities have been partners at odds since 2013 when the district bought the fairways from LLC owners Kevin Hanchett and Mike Hooper for $200,000. It’s been a challenging relationship, one that’s resulted
in at least one lawsuit concerning property rights. While a settlement has been reached concerning the latest squabble over parking at the clubhouse, both parties agree that selling the entire facility to a single owner would not only solve the problem of two owners continually butting heads over competing interests but also negate the need for the settlement and the associated legal fees to formalize it. “It would just go away on its own,” Hanchett said. Commissioner Stan Walker, president of the sewer district’s board, said he agrees but made it clear that the decisions were made independently. There was no consensus or discussion to sell to one owner, he said. “I think it would be to the benefit of the golf course SEE GOLF COURSE, A14
The Island County commissioners on Tuesday changed the county’s Conservation Futures Fund program to allow considering economics when contemplating conservation and to streamline the conservation review process. “These changes were overdue,” said Commissioner Richard Hannold, who along with commissioners Jill Johnson and Helen Price Johnson voted in favor of the changes. “We have fine-tuned the CFF over eight months of deliberation, and we paid close attention to many of the comments we received.” The program now funds “projects that jointly protect economic and conservation resources,” according to the commissioners’ 2015 goals resolution. The prior statement of its purpose omitted any reference to economics. And proposed conservation projects under the CFF now will be sent to the county planning department before they are reviewed by a nineperson Citizens’ Advisory Board (CAB). That CAB consists of the former CAB SEE FUTURES FUND, A11