Of the 77 miles of Orcas Island shoreline, less than three are available for public access. And virtually none of that is on the northeast side of the Island.
That may change soon. The San Juan County Land Bank has negotiated to acquire about 220 feet of beachfront (about a half acre) at the end of Buckhorn Road from the Hardman family. The negotiated price is $250,000.
About the beachfront, Land Bank Director Lincoln Bormann said, “This is perfect access – a pebble beach, a good place to launch a kayak and it’s close to Matia and Clark Islands and not far from Sucia.”
Bormann asked the county council for a resolution supporting the Land Bank’s application for a grant from the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program; the resolution is scheduled for action April 24.
The WWRP grant would cover half of the cost associated with acquiring and developing the property. The Land Bank Conservation Area Fund would cover the rest. According to Bormann, the Land Bank would improve the property with access stairs, fencing, signage, parking and “maybe a picnic table or two.”
Despite reaching a tentative deal with the property owner, Bormann said purchase of the beachfront remains in doubt.
He said the WWRP grant program is “very competitive” and the Land Bank must “compete” against other agencies vying for the same pot of state funding, and that financial awards are distributed only to those projects that earn the highest rankings. He said the Land Bank will present its proposal to the WWRP in August and should know where its application ranks shortly after that.
Still, Bormann notes that success at the WWRP level is not the final say. For any applicant to receive a grant through the WWRP, he said the state Legislature must allocate funding for the program, and that the Land Bank won’t know until 2013 whether it can finance the deal.
The property is part of the Hardman estate; James Hardman will continue to own the remaining 1.2 acres and live in the upland house. Hardman told the Land Bank that he has “vetted the sale with the neighbors,” who support the project.
