Members of the public and several commissioners addressed housing policies in the draft comprehensive plan and urged the county to adopt clearer, more actionable measures to increase housing affordability and diversity.

Public input: Faith Vandepoet and participants from the Climate Compass sessions urged the county to "consider regulatory tools for reducing the number of homes in the county and or converting vacant homes or vacation rentals into the permanent housing supply," including smaller new-home footprints and limits tied to vacancy durations. Friends of the San Juans and Compass participants recommended policies to support tiny-home communities, housing clusters, and protections for renters and vulnerable groups.

Commissioner discussion: Commissioner Bill Banks cautioned against using size limits as the primary tool and said "the person that wants to build a 4,000 square foot home isn't gonna reuse his property and build a cluster of tiny homes." He suggested alternatives, including impact fees tied to large homes to fund housing programs, expedited permitting for tiny homes and nonprofit-led development, and density bonuses. Banks proposed employer-sponsored moderate-income housing incentives (density bonuses if units are secured as long-term affordable) targeted to specific UGAs (East Sound and Lopez Village) and to employers providing critical services.

Staff changes and process: Planning staff said the housing element had been updated to strengthen policy language in several places, to add expedited permit review for tiny houses (policy 4.5), to identify a DCD land-use staff housing subject-matter expert (policy 6.1), and to amend policy 7.7 to consider limits on ADUs used as short-term rentals. Staff also said land-capacity analysis results were updated to reflect East Sound map changes.

Why it matters: Commenters emphasized that housing affordability, weatherization and housing diversity (tiny homes, ADUs, cluster housing) are closely tied to climate resilience, workforce retention and island economies. Commissioners asked staff to coordinate housing, land-use and capital facilities work to ensure land capacity and infrastructure support housing objectives.

Next steps: Staff will continue revisions; the housing needs assessment and related appendices remain in progress and will be presented at the June 20 meeting, ahead of the full plan public hearing this fall.