Sittin' On The Dock Isn't What Everyone Has In Mind For Bay -- Development Spat Surrounding Westcott Bay An Example Of Continuing Debate In San Juans

SAN JUAN ISLAND - Westcott Bay is known for the abundance and quality of its shellfish. While red tide has prompted the state to ban shellfish harvesting from the entire county, locals know that Westcott is safe, because its water is monitored weekly. Oysters raised there are flown to restaurants up and down the West Coast, and even to New York.

Westcott also is one of the few large bays on the island that remains largely in its natural state. Aside from a dock at the mouth of the bay, built before San Juan County implemented its Shoreline Master Program, the shoreline has been left undisturbed, free of what locals call the porcupine effect: a series of docks jutting out like quills into the water.

But last year the Bellevue Farm Owners' Association proposed a dock at the far end of the bay to serve a new development. The response was predictably prickly.

The group's pursuit of approval for the dock has set off a messy squabble that has embroiled parties as diverse as the Friends of the San Juans, an environmental group; the University of Washington; and John Nordstrom, the influential Seattle businessman and civic leader.

Charges have been flung back and forth of environmental extremism and intimidation, and of veiled bribes and improper use of influence.

Though the dispute ostensibly centers on one dock, at its heart is a conflict between longtime islanders who want to preserve a way of life and more affluent newcomers who accuse them of being resistant to any change. It's also a clash of styles and sensibilities.

When Brad Augustine, president of the owners association, applied for the dock in July 1995, he didn't anticipate any trouble. Decades ago, when the property was the site of a poultry farm, called Bellevue Farm, there was a 350-foot dock at the shoreline.

The 58-acre property was subdivided five years ago into four parcels and has the potential of being divided further into a total of 18 lots.

Augustine initially proposed a 593-foot-long dock with finger piers for up to 18 slips. In proposing a single dock for the development, he thought he was being environmentally sensitive because the proposed dock would eliminate the need for others to build their own.

The dock, which has been whittled down to 345 feet with no finger piers in Augustine's latest proposal, would make it easier for the homeowners to launch boats without having to wait for high tide, or drag boats through the muck at low tide.

"I fell in love with that property; I liked it so much I bought one of the lots," said Augustine, a former Seattleite who has lived on the island for three years. "This is such a special piece of property that I wanted to do a good job and leave something that I could pass on to the children. We plan on living there forever."

But the project met immediate resistance from Friends of the San Juans, which objected to the addition of a dock in a county-designated nature-conservancy area. The owners of Westcott Bay Sea Farms, which sells 25,000 oysters each week, said the increased boat traffic into the bay would harm its delicate ecological balance.

The dock, once built, also would set a dangerous precedent and encourage other homeowners in the area to demand their own docks, the critics asserted. Others complained that if generations of homeowners could drag their boats through the mud or wait until high tide to launch, why couldn't the newcomers?

Beyond the environmental concerns, there also was a larger fear by longtime residents that a way of life was being lost.

"There's a pattern of the islands being changed by big-money interests coming in," said Nancy DeVaux, executive director of Friends of the San Juans, noting the recent purchase of Camp Nor'wester on Lopez Island by billionaire Paul Allen. "And the traditional in-tune-with-nature way of life is giving way."

DeVaux notes how the small cabins that used to dot the islands' shoreline now are dwarfed by large homes. The eight lots on Augustine's portion of Bellevue Farms, for instance, range in price from $175,000 to $265,000.

The environmental concerns were lent some credibility when Richard Strathmann, associate director of the UW's Friday Harbor Labs, testified on the possible impact of the project. The labs, which study and monitor the island's shorelines, are usually asked by the county to comment on the environmental impact of proposed projects.

Strathmann testified that the dock and the boats could affect the bay's eel grass and the herring embryos that use the grass as a refuge. The herring, in turn, feed larger fish, including salmon. Strathmann also said increased boat use might affect the way water is flushed from the bay, which is essential in keeping the bay clean.

Augustine eventually reduced his proposed dock to 375 feet, then to 345 feet, to placate critics and to keep the dock at least 20 feet from the bay's band of eel grass. But in January, hearing examiner Wick Dufford ruled against the project.

Glenn Amster, the Seattle attorney representing Augustine's group, called Dufford's decision arbitrary, citing 50 other docks throughout San Juan County that the county allowed in conservancy areas. He appealed the case, but the San Juan County Commissioners upheld the decision.

"The real issue at hand is no growth and no change," Amster said. "They don't want to see change. This is a piece of paradise, and the last ones in always want to close the door behind them. But it's an elitist attitude to close the door and not let anyone else in."

Amster argues that the existing laws allow both recreational boating and the aquaculture operation to co-exist in the bay. As for concerns about pollution, he points to nearby Garrison Bay, which has a dozen docks without any apparent harm to the shellfish.

Undeterred, he appealed to the Shorelines Hearings Board, which is to hear the case Thursday.

As the hearing has neared, a measure of nastiness has crept into the proceedings.

In his response to the homeowner group's move to get additional depositions from those against the dock, John Krall, the deputy prosecutor representing San Juan County in the case, complained that the pro-dock group was attempting to harass and intimidate its opponents.

Beth Helstien, president of the Friends of the San Juan board, said Augustine told her during a chance June meeting that one of the homeowners had access to a lot of money and was willing to take the case to the Supreme Court if necessary. He also commented that the future cost of the case would be high.

Ray Brandstrom, who owns the largest parcel of property in the association, is the son-in-law of John Nordstrom, whose family owns the chain of specialty department stores.

"Their tactics seem unnecessarily intimidating," Helstien said. "That's pretty powerful stuff in a small community, and it taints all future interaction. I try to build walls around the issues I become involved in because further down you may need to work with people on another issue."

In late July, Nordstrom wrote a letter to UW President Richard McCormick, expressing concern over the opposition's intention to call Strathmann as a witness in the upcoming hearing.

"Dick, if my facts are correct, I hope you can clarify that the University of Washington does not support or oppose the permit application and that the use of the name of the University of Washington is not authorized in these circumstances," Nordstrom wrote. "If this is true, I hope you will notify your Friday Harbor group."

McCormick responded the next week with a letter affirming that the university took no position on the application and that Strathmann would limit his testimony to biological impacts and not comment on the merits of the application.

"They're using their influence to influence the process," Helstien said. "I can't write a `Dear Dick' letter to the president of the University of Washington."

In late August, the Bellevue Farm Owners offered a settlement in which the group agreed to reduce the dock to about 300 feet, support an amendment to the Shoreline Master Program that would forbid other docks in the bay, and pay an unspecified amount to the Friends of the San Juans' educational programs.

The offer only prompted Helstien to say that the Home Owners Association was trying to buy out her organization. "We will not be bought off," she said. "I was stunned."

Amster, meanwhile, defended the move, saying the settlement offer was only the latest attempt to try to come to an agreement. He dismisses the other incidents as typical litigation posturing.

Last week, the group added another item to its settlement proposal, this time agreeing to remove the dock from Westcott Bay if the water quality degrades because of the dock and can't be reversed in any other way.

Whatever the Shorelines Hearings Board decides, the case is not likely to end there. After the board issues its ruling, which is usually handed down within a month, Superior Court awaits, and both sides have vowed to continue fighting for their particular vision of paradise.