Kira Erickson reports from the Langley City Council meeting of Mon, May 19, 2025 for the Whidbey News-Times. Read the whole story.
Camping with a permit, allowing a brewery on the fairgrounds and regulating generator noise were among the proposed code changes discussed by the Langley City Council this week.
As part of the city’s comprehensive plan update, the council has been reviewing and discussing possible code changes. The amendment process is required by the Growth Management Act, which mandates that the Village by the Sea must accommodate population growth over the next 20 years.
They Said It
Councilmember Rhonda Salerno asked if the definition of camping extended to kids sleeping out in the backyard in a tent, to which Penny responded that it doesn’t include tents. Salerno preferred going back to the old rule about camping seven days without a permit, but [Planning Director Meredith] Penny said getting a permit from day one would help staff keep track of campers better.
In case of an emergency scenario, like the big 9.0 earthquake hitting, Councilmember Craig Cyr asked if the mayor could issue a disaster declaration waiving permit requirements if homes are damaged and people must resort to living in vehicles, to which Mayor Kennedy Horstman agreed.
Though the code changes about camping pertain to private property, the council’s discussion drifted to the campground on the Whidbey Island Fairgrounds, owned and operated by the Port of South Whidbey. Councilmember Gail Fleming wondered if homeless people might be able to park an RV on the campground for an extended period of time.
“It just seems like one other thing in our arsenal of trying to address the affordable housing crisis,” she said.
Penny responded that she had heard from the port’s executive director that because the port’s primary objective is economic development and not housing, stays have to be short-term in order to allow people to camp during events.
The council, however, pushed back against this, asking why the port offers long-term moorage at the South Whidbey Harbor for what are “essentially floating RVs,” as [Councilmember Chris] Carlson put it. Councilmember Craig Cyr pointed out that there are times in the winter and fall when almost nobody is using the port’s campground.
“The vague wording of the noise ordinance has enabled generators like one in their neighborhood that they say produces 90-100 decibels of noise 20 feet from a neighboring bedroom,” Carlson, who helped draft new language for the code, wrote in a memo to the council.
Salerno suggested taking a closer look at the city’s noise ordinances to address other kinds of loud sounds.
| CITY OF LANGLEY |
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| Councilmember, Position 1 Thomas E. Gill Incumbent Harolynne Bobis did not file to retain her seat |
| Councilmember, Position 2 Dominique Emerson Incumbent Rhonda Salerno did not file to retain her seat |
| Councilmember, Position 5 Savannah Erickson Incumbent Gail Fleming did not file to retain her seat |
