Follow these links for information on community planning for each of San Juan County's communities:
Eastsound	Lopez Village	Friday Harbor	Deer Harbor	West Sound	Orcas Village	Olga	Doe Bay

Community Planning
History (1998–2000)

Boundaries and Densities for
Villages, Hamlets, and Urban Growth Areas

This page provides background on the planning process that led to the adoption of new boundaries and densities for Urban Growth Areas and for Village and Hamlet Activity Centers in October 2000. During this process, local goals and objectives that are relevant to the current land use planning process for these communities were identified.

The community planning process for Activity Centers began in 1998, but was interrupted in 1999–2000 in order for the County to review and modify the boundaries of these areas. This review was conducted in response to a Growth Management Hearings Board (GMHB) order that these activity centers conform to the specific requirements and limitations set forth in the Growth Managment Act for "limited areas of more intensive rural development" (LAMIRDs). Jump to the links for more information on the 1999 and 2000 GMHB decisions and the County's responsive amendments of Oct. 2000.

A Preliminary Activity Center Report describing land use alternatives for seven activity centers was released in June 1999. This report is based on results of the community meetings held in 1998–99. A final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (fSEIS) was released on April 14, 2000 that evaluates the environmental impacts of the designations and allowable uses which are described as alternatives in the Preliminary Report, as they relate to:

·	Traffic (internal and at entrances and exits to the activity center);
·	Transportation systems and facilities (further studies might be called for);
·	Marine water quality and habitat and shore processes;
·	Water supplies and sewerage disposal (to the extent they are known);
·	Environmentally sensitive areas;
·	Character and aesthetics (primarily the issues that area-specific standards will address);
·	Relationship to the Comprehensive Plan and Shoreline Master Program.

Village and Hamlet Activity Centers

Villages and Hamlets are unincorporated but traditional community centers that are classified according to their size and scope of services. They provide centers of activity that offer diverse employment opportunities; a variety of residential densities and housing types; and general commercial, general industrial, institutional, recreational, and community uses in a concentrated development pattern as defined in the Comprehensive Plan.

Villages provide a range of urban facilities and services but usually have only rural-scale governmental services. Villages provide a variety of housing types and residential densities, and are pedestrian-oriented with a compact village core. They have community sewage treatment facilities and community water systems.

Hamlets are rural concentrations of residences with small commercial centers that provide goods and services to surrounding rural and resource land uses, but have only rural-scale governmental services. All or a portion of a hamlet is served by a community water system, and it may also have a community sewage treatment facility.

Hamlet and Village Land-Use Districts and Designations

The Comprehensive Plan establishes land-use districts for the County, each of which permits a different level of activity. Rural land-use districts were assigned based on natural systems and land capability, existing land use patterns, the needs and expressed desires of the community, and coordination with the Shoreline Management Act and the County Shoreline Master Program.

The districts which may apply to Village and Hamlet activity centers are as follows:

I.	Model Land-Use Designations Specific to Village and Hamlet Activity Centers.
	Three land-use districts have been allocated in the UDC for village and hamlet activity centers: Residential, Commercial, and Industrial. These designations have not been defined in the UDC, except in terms of the uses and activities that would be allowed in them and the relative level of permit requirements (see Table 3.1 in the UDC). Thus, an initial idea of what these districts might comprise is as follows:
	VR	Village Residential would provide for single- and multi-family residential uses of moderately high density, as well as schools, and commercial and institutional uses that are compatible with residential use.
	HR	Hamlet Residential would allow for medium- and moderately high- density residential use, and other uses that are compatible with residential use.
	VC	Village Commercial would allow commercial, recreational, and community-wide social and cultural uses and activities), as well as residential uses.
	HC	Hamlet Commercial would provide for existing commercial and government services, and for some reasonable growth in these uses, as well as residential uses.
	VI	Village Industrial would accomodate commercial services and industrial or construction-related activities, and their accessory office and retail uses, as well as utility services.
	HI	Hamlet Industrial would accomodate small-scale commercial services and light industrial or construction-related activities, and their accessory office and retail uses, as well as utility services.
II.	Special Lands.
	The purpose of this land-use class is to protect, conserve, and manage existing natural conditions, resources, and valuable historic, cultural, educational, or scientific research areas and to preserve indigenous plant and animal species and ecosystems in a natural state for the benefit of existing and future generations without precluding compatible human uses.
	C	Conservancy		N	Natural
III.	Overlay Designations.
	Overlay districts and subarea plans provide policies and regulations in addition to those of the underlying land-use districts for certain land areas and for uses that warrant specific recognition and management. For any land use or development that is proposed to be located entirely or partly within an overlay district or within the jurisdiction of a subarea plan, the applicable provisions of the overlay district or subarea plan prevail over any conflicting provisions of the UDC; all other provisions of the UDC retain full force and effect within the Overlay District.
	MRL	Mineral Resource Lands		OSC	Open Space Conservation
	A	Airport		ESA	Environmentally Sensitive Areas
IV.	Shoreline Master Program and Jurisdiction.
	A land use or development that is proposed to be located entirely or partly within 200 feet of the ordinary high water mark of a regulated shoreline is within the jurisdiction of the Shoreline Master Program, and is subject to the applicable provisions of Section 3 of the Comprehensive Plan and of UDC Section 5, as well as the applicable provisions and permit requirements of the underlying land-use district. Shoreline environments and designations are described in Element 3 of the Comprehensive Plan.
	U	Urban		N	Natural
	RR	Rural Residential			Aquatic
	R	Rural			Subarea Environments (Eastsound and Shaw Island)
	RFF	Rural Farm-Forest			Marine Habitat Management Area (Orcas Bay)
	C	Conservancy

Land Use District Boundaries. Land-use district boundary lines extend parallel from their landward location to a point of intersection at the center of all bodies of water. Bodies of water include all saltwater bodies, streams, and lakes.

Multiple Designations. Some properties or developments may be subject to the regulations for two or more applicable land-use districts, shoreline environments, or overlay districts.

Overlay Districts and Subarea Plans. The Official Maps do not portray survey accuracy and do not provide a definitive answer as to whether any Overlay District regulations apply to a specific property. The Administrator of the Permit Center may make a written interpretation as to the presence or absence of an Overlay District(s) on specific property.

Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) Maps. ESA maps will be prepared and maintained by the Permit Center. The ESA maps, like the Official Maps, do not provide survey accuracy, and will be provided only as a general guide to alert the viewer to the possible location and extent of ESAs. The maps should not be relied upon to establish the existence absence of an ESA, boundaries of an ESA, nor to establish whether all of the elements necessary to identify an area as an ESA actually exist. Conditions in the field are controlling. In the event of a conflict between information shown on the maps and information shown as a result of field investigation, the latter shall prevail.

Allowable Residential Density. The maximum allowable residential density for all parcels is shown on the Official Maps. There are no separate shoreline densities. If specific site considerations dictate a lower density than that shown on the Official Maps, the County has authority to impose a lower density.