During a King County town hall meeting last Thursday, islanders turned the focus to the topics of affordable housing and marijuana retail stores, subjects that have drawn attention and controversy recently with the creation of the island’s community plan.

Vashon’s Community Service Area (CSA) Plan is the product of a more than year-long county-led effort to replace the island’s existing 20-year-old Town Plan as a guide to development on Vashon for the next two decades. Despite an open house held two days earlier focusing exclusively on the plan — the first draft of which had been released to the public for feedback — nearly all of those in attendance last Thursday expressed opinions about topics included in the planning document. Some accused the county of not taking into consideration the hundreds of comments that have been made on the plan. Reached after the meeting, King County planner Bradley Clark, who has been leading the plan’s creation process on Vashon, said it is important for islanders to remember that everything included in the plan is meant to be a suggestion to the King County Council, which has the final say and will vote on the plan once it is complete.

He also noted that the county is bound by laws that may prevent certain changes from being made to the plan, regardless of the comments that are received. For example, the plan’s initial recommendation to create a special district overlay allowing more housing units to be built on certain parcels as long as those units are affordable (available to anyone making 80 percent or less of area median income) has drawn contention. According to Clark, this part of the plan has generated more than 90 percent of the public comments received to date. At last Thursday’s meeting, islander and Water District 19 commissioner Jenny Bell said she believes islanders concerns about affordable housing developments “have not been heard.”

“The process has demonstrated affordable housing is wanted, but there is diversion as to how. I don’t believe due process has been followed,” she said. “I’ve got 133 signatures agreeing not-for-profit community housing is what we want. We have not been heard.”

King County’s Clark said that the special district overlay will in no way exclude nonprofits, but the county cannot legally mandate that only nonprofit organizations can build affordable housing on Vashon.

“They’re asking King County to mandate that only nonprofits can use this (overlay),” he said. “We can’t go down that road because it brings legal questions into concern. It’s all about equity and fairness. We can’t give preferential treatment to anyone, be it a property owner, market developer or nonprofit developer.”

He went on to explain that the special overlay only applies to 100 percent affordable housing and nonprofit organizations are the only developers building that kind of housing.

“The money has to come from somewhere, and 100 percent affordable housing is not attractive for market developers,” he said.

The other part of the affordable housing special overlay that has drawn criticism is its original proposition that any parcel zoned R-4 or higher (four units or more per acre) can be developed at a maximum of 12 or 18 units per acre as long as all units are reserved for those who earn 80 percent and below of the area’s median income. But the county has made multiple changes since receiving comments from islanders:

1. The area median income (AMI) requirement has been changed to require at least half of all units in a development to be provided at 60 percent AMI (versus allowing all units at 80 percent AMI as it had stated before).

2. Parcels with R-4 zoning may only develop to maximum density of eight dwelling units per acre (versus 12 units per acre under the prior draft).

3. A new section has been added to require not just a property posting, but a community meeting for any development that proposes to use the special overlay incentive. Clark said any developer planning to build a 100 percent affordable housing development must hold a meeting and provide a detailed site map, as well as explain exactly what the development will consist of and who it will serve (buyers or renters).

4. Another new section has been added that requires a mandatory evaluation of the affordable housing incentive in four years to determine if it is effective or should be discontinued.

“People think we’re not listening,” Clark said. “The challenge is to take all the feedback and ask, ‘What can we actually do?’ It’s King County’s plan for the island, so given the county’s restrictions, we have to look at the state level and financial level and then take requests and present something workable.”

According to county documents, there are 182 residential parcels that would be eligible for the special overlay incentive. Of those, 111 are developed and 22 are classified as underdeveloped. There are 49 vacant parcels (just over 51 acres).

But Thursday’s town hall focused on more than the long-debated topic of affordable housing. Marijuana retail stores, specifically the topic of whether to allow them in commercial business-zoned areas in Vashon’s town core, also quickly emerged as a point of contention. The current draft of the CSA Plan allows potential marijuana retailers to apply to operate a retail marijuana store in an area zoned for commercial business — most of Vashon’s town core. But, Clark, who has been responsible for the creation of Vashon’s CSA plan, said decisions can be made about what can be permitted in community business zones. Some in the island community recognized marijuana retail stores could be recommended to be prohibited from community business zones.

The Vashon Alliance to Reduce Substance Abuse (VARSA) has recently begun spearheading the effort against allowing retail marijuana stores in commercial business areas on Vashon. A recent email from the organization urged the community to comment against allowing the stores in order to “reduce youth access and perceived community tolerance for youth drug use.”

“We need to make it as hard as possible for kids to get marijuana. Increasing access means increasing supply, which leads to increased use,” the email indicated before citing information from the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration that shows zoning to restrict access “is an important protective factor and successful environmental strategy to decrease youth substance use rates.”

Islander Kristen Frandsen, who was involved in the creation of the CSA plan, spoke first, citing concerns about what a retail marijuana store could mean for the island’s youth.

“The communities in which we live have the most impact on our health. What can we do in the town plan to support a healthy community?” she said. “If our job is to create a healthy community, use zoning. Restricting access will reduce use.”

Her comments set in motion a long back-and-forth between those who agreed with her concerns, and those who did not. Islander Linda Schaeffer, founder of island marijuana production company Vashon Island Organics, said that while she too does not want children to have access to marijuana, a retail shop will not be a threat.

“There are bouncers at the door and fines for selling it to those under 21,” she said. “Kids can walk into Island Lumber and shoplift alcohol. No one is talking about that. Kids have access to alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana right now.”

According to the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB), marijuana sales to minors are considered “the most serious violations because they present a threat to public safety.” Businesses cited for sale to a minor face a 10-day suspension or $2,500 fine. A second violation within three years requires a 30-day suspension, and businesses who receive three public safety violations within three years face license cancellation.

Islanders Duncan Greene and Ivan Weiss seconded Schaeffer’s sentiments and said that they don’t believe banning marijuana will keep it out of the hands of children.

“I’ve been on-island for 40 years and there has never been a time on-island when kids haven’t been able to get marijuana. The only reason for this ban is fear,” Weiss said.

Many others countered VARSA’s position and Frandsen’s comments by saying that decreasing legal access will only allow the marijuana black market to grow, allowing children to still have access to the drug.

Back at the county, Clark said it is important to note that county zoning regulations are only a small part of the process that prospective marijuana retailers must go through. The LCB has a highly competitive application and licensing process and is currently not accepting retail marijuana license applications from anyone. There are also strict laws about the proximity of marijuana stores to child care facilities, schools and parks. Stores are prohibited from opening within 1,000 feet of schools, child care centers and parks, which presents another obstacle to those wishing to open a shop in Vashon town. Between childcare and preschool programs being run out of churches and other buildings in town and Ober Park, there are few locations that could be used as a retail store. LCB officials said that there is no official map or database listing possible marijuana retail store locations, but when applications are submitted, the board checks for those kinds of child-centered areas nearby.

“Our goal is to have a community plan that represents the desires of the community as to the greatest needs,” Clark said.

The community service area plan is available online for the public to comment on through May 1 here. Then, on June 15, King County Executive Dow Constantine will submit his recommended version to the King County Council. The council will hold public meetings and hearings on the plan throughout the summer and fall before voting.