The future of San Juan County:
I've been serving as the chairman of the San Juan County
Comprehensive Plan citizen advisory committee for Orcas
Island for the last several years. The county, by
participating in the Growth Management Act, is rewriting its
vision of its future. I've been finding myself animated about
the future of the island, the future of the county, and,
in general, the future of beautiful places throughout the
world as I've watched my committee, and the community,
struggle mightily with the idea of seeing what they love be
threatened, if not trashed, by their own difficulty in
resolving largely unarticulated, tho deeply felt,
personal/community boundary issues. I've written several
essays which discuss the growth issues facing San Juan
County,
and by extension almost anywhere, and
suggest possible routes to their solution. Should you find
any of this material interesting or useful, both for
contemplation or for
application to your situation, where ever you live, I'd
appreciate your feedback.
The essay here suggests a solution while
reminding us that there's no free lunch.
The essay here describes why
regulation is a response to both growth and the
characteristic
that many of us have to not do the right thing; the piece
starts by reflecting on the white striping lines in ferry
lane
parking lots.
The essay here discusses the idea of buying
our
future, of being proactive rather than inactive or reactive.
The essay here points out that all the
effort being devoted to keep things as they
are will, if successul, result in nothing visible, nothing
tangible, nothing new. As a result,
who can get excited about working hard to achieve what we
already
have?
Joe Symons