Anacortes American, 12/18/02
BY PAUL COCKE
News Editor
Skagit Land Trust has appealed the dispute stemming from T Bailey’s proposed new plant on March Point and the nearby heron nests to Superior Court, but the trust’s executive director said she hopes the matter won’t have to be resolved in court.
"Negotiations are going quite well” with T Bailey, said Molly Doran, Skagit Land Trust’s executive director.
Doran said the lawsuit, filed on behalf of the trust against the city of Anacortes, the Port of Anacortes and T Bailey on Dec. 5, was a “defensive measure” to preserve their appeal status and that once a settlement is reached the suit will be dropped.
It isn’t meant to pressure T Bailey in any way, she added.
“We’re not in an antagonistic place at all,” Doran said, adding she was optimistic a settlement can be reached.
Gene Tanaka, T Bailey president, also said that he believes progress is being made between T Bailey and the land trust, although he added that no progress is in sight in talks between T Bailey and the Port.
Earlier this month, the Port, T Bailey and the land trust were to meet in Seattle to discuss a three-way agreement to resolve the dispute, but T Bailey withdrew from that meeting, unhappy with financial terms offered by the Port.
The Port has a long-term lease with T Bailey for the site off South March Point Road where the local company plans to build a facility to manufacture wind turbine towers.
But Skagit Land Trust, which owns land adjacent to the site, is concerned about the possibility of noise from the new plant disturbing a colony of some 400 heron nests on its land.
The land trust appealed the city’s authorization to clear and grade the land to the city’s board of adjustment, which denied the appeal. The next step in that process could be Superior Court.
Providing a buffer between the T Bailey site and the heron nests and monitoring of the effects of the facility on the herons have been part of settlement talks among those involved.
Ian Munce, city planning director, said he feels the environmental issues can be resolved and that city officials have urged the Port and T Bailey to reach agreement on the financial issues, which Munce termed the “sticking point."
“We’re still talking to both parties,” said Dan Stahl, Port executive director.
“T Bailey’s project is very important to this community. The Port is hopeful that settlement can be reached between T Bailey and the land trust.”
“Instead of spending money on attorneys, it would be better to focus on an appropriate butter and monitoring,” Stahl said.