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State appeals county boat launch decision
By
Meg Olson
The
state parks department is appealing a county decision to
deny non-conforming use status to a boat launch at the south
end of Birch Bay State Park, without which the launch will
be closed.
According to county land use division manager Roland Middleton,
his department was unable to grandfather in the boat launch
because of conflicting information about whether the site
has been traditionally used to launch boats. "If everyone
said it was always a boat launch, if we had any credible
evidence, then we could OK it," he said. "Since
we have disputes and not enough evidence we can’t authorize
it."
Parks staff applied for non-conforming use status in a bid
to keep the launch open, following mounting complaints from
neighbor Pete Hansen that the boat launch was not permitted
and led to increased traffic which adversely impacted adjacent
tidelands.
Parks staff contended the launch had been in use before
current county shoreline regulations were put in place in
1974, which would mean it should be allowed as a grandfathered
use. In support of their position they submitted photographs,
letters from users of the launch and a 1995 appraisal which
stated "the ramp was originally utilized in conjunction
with a commercial enterprise and has continued in public
use for about 30 years."
Hansen sold the property to the parks department in 1996
for $43,000 and was apparently aware that the parks department
purchased the land to use as a boat launch, though he did
not return calls for comment. A 1995 letter to Hansen from
William Jolly, parks chief of long range planning, described
parks’ "strong interest in obtaining the property
for public water access and boat launch use." Birch
Bay State Parks manager Ted Morris said the park looked
into acquiring the launch property from Hansen after users
complained that Hansen had barred access to it and they
had nowhere in Birch Bay to launch their boats. "He
had liability concerns, and rightly so, but people asked
the park what we could do to ensure water access,"
he said.
Hansen first began to complain of parks developing it as
a boat launch in 1998. He wrote in a letter to Middleton
that the site was not traditionally a commercial boat launch
but a site where "a few locals were hand launching
their small rowboats." Further letters from Hansen’s
attorney Jon Sitkin swing from describing the launch as
"historical" to protesting its "recent establishment,"
but all maintain that the launch violates the shoreline
management act by allowing vehicles onto the tidelands and
operating without required permits. Sitkin also argues the
development of the launch violates Hansen’s property
rights by facilitating trespass onto tidelands he owns a
part interest in. The state and Hansen’s neighbor to
the south are the other interested owners.
The picture gets cloudier through conflicting versions of
how and when the launch was used. Tom McCalib is the previous
owner of the Bossy Cow Marina, which covered Hansen’s
property and the strip purchased by the parks department.
McCalib signed an affidavit denying the existence of a public
boat launch , or one people could use to launch boats with
their own vehicles during his years of ownership, from 1969
to 1974. He claims the only launch that existed was a dolly
attached to the Bossy Cow building which has since been
torn down. McCalib’s assertion is backed up by other
letters from Bossy Cow users, but contradicted by others
who claim to have used the gravel boat launch now owned
by parks for over 25 years.
Morris said that, since purchasing the ramp the park has
put in several thousand dollars in improvements and had
planned further improvements, such as paving the gravel
ramp and developing parking for trailers and restrooms.
He said he hoped people who had traditionally used the ramp,
especially those with photographs, would come forward to
help the park’s case. "It’s taxpayers’
dollars well spent to get this grandfathered in if we can,"
he said. The hearing examiner’s office expects the
hearing to be scheduled in early 2002.
If the parks department’s bid to gain non-conforming
use fails, Morris said they will likely pursue the more
costly and time-consuming process of applying for a Shoreline
Substantial Development permit to keep the ramp open.
"It is permitted under zoning and it is allowed as
a use, but there’s a lot of review between here and
there," Middleton said.
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