Luisa Loi reports from the Coupeville Town Council meeting of Tue., Dec. 10, 2024 for the Whidbey News-Times.
The Town of Coupeville is seeking to create a limited urban growth area to annex two parcels into its incorporated boundaries, but they won’t accommodate new homes.
Being the only town in the state that is located completely within a national historic reserve — precisely in Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve — Coupeville is exempt from the requirement of designating an urban growth area that can accommodate population growth projections outside of town limits.
According to state law, municipalities can’t annex land that is located outside of their urban growth areas. Yet, Coupeville can still choose to establish an urban growth area to annex land into the town, Mayor Molly Hughes wrote in a memo submitted to county officials in September.
The town is currently eyeing two properties that, combined, cover 26.27 acres.
They Said It
The town proposes to place all of the school district’s property under the same jurisdiction, which would facilitate future attempts of securing permits and ensure consistency with land use requirements, [Hughes] wrote. The district has also shown interest in potentially connecting the parcel to the town’s sewage system in the future.
During a council meeting on Dec. 10, Councilmember Pat Powell said she didn’t see how the town would benefit from incorporating this parcel, as the district doesn’t pay property taxes and annexation might increase costs for the town. Councilmember Michael Moore also expressed he did not see it as an urgent matter.
The Five-Acre Woods will continue to serve as a vegetative buffer. While it’s already owned by the town, transferring the parcel into town limits would alleviate the county from the responsibility of overseeing its future uses, Hughes wrote.
