Residents want ferry facility booted off Bainbridge Island

In what looks to be an uphill battle, a group of Bainbridge Island residents is waging war against Washington State Ferries, urging that the ferry system's Eagle Harbor maintenance facility be moved off the island.

They point to a study done in 2002 by KPFF, an engineering firm, that recommended the ferry system move the facility to Seattle, at either Todd Shipyards or Pier 91.

But a later study, in 2005, determined that the move would cost more than upgrading the Bainbridge Island terminal, an estimated $38 million project.

"They bulldozed the community," said Doug Smith, a member of Reclaim Our Waterfront, which is fighting the Eagle Harbor decision. "In 2006 it no longer makes sense for [the system's Eagle Harbor facility] to occupy the most valuable waterfront property. It's a big eyesore of our harbor."

The organization claims the state didn't do a proper environmental assessment and is ignoring a study the state commissioned.

Meanwhile, the ferry system is in litigation over the project and says the dispute has caused delays that have cost taxpayers a half-million dollars.

"We own that property," said Traci Brewer-Rogstad, director of operations for the ferry system. "It is critical to the operation of our vessels. The preservation work is critical, it needs to happen, and for the city to step in and tell us we can't maintain our own property is difficult for us to comprehend."

Added Doug MacDonald, head of the state Department of Transportation: "It's a measure of frustration finding ourselves tied up in legal wrangling. The ferry system has been there since 1962, and there's a long-standing use on that waterfront."

The community group wants to convert the maintenance facility, which is next to the ferry dock, into a waterfront park or a public marina.

Eagle Harbor is where Washington State Ferries takes its boats to be maintained and overhauled.

The state says the facility is too small and wants to upgrade it with earthquake retrofits, dock improvements and possibly a bigger building. It hopes to have the project completed by 2011.

John Doerschuk, a Bainbridge property manager, said the $40 million expansion "will be a blight on the waterfront for 50 years. It's time to find a more compatible site."

City goes to court

Meanwhile, the city of Bainbridge Island says it isn't happy with the way the state has acted.

The city has taken the ferry system to court over its failure to prepare an environmental-impact statement for the expansion. The city has issued a determination of environmental significance, which would require Washington State Ferries to prepare an environmental-impact statement, and the ferry system is fighting that through a hearing examiner.

According to Ryan Vancil, attorney for Reclaim our Waterfront, the ferry system in February submitted an application for a shoreline permit. In the spring it decided the project didn't require a full environmental-impact statement because the project is basically maintenance work.

The city decided that was inadequate and declared itself the lead agency for the project, which means it could order an impact statement. Washington State Ferries is challenging this with the state Department of Ecology.

"The project will have significant impacts that can't be mitigated," Vancil said.

"I think we have reached an impasse," said Mike Anderson, head of the ferry system. "We believe we have solid legal grounds. This is just a maintenance project, this is a nonsignificant event, shoring up the dock and remodeling the interior of the building."

In a recent letter to the Bainbridge mayor and City Council, MacDonald and Anderson wrote, "There is no little irony that lively Bainbridge Island draws so much of its strength and character from its convenient link to downtown Seattle by the Bainbridge-Seattle ferry service. This simply underscores the importance that we move programs forward at Eagle Harbor to support the reliability and cost-effectiveness of the ferry system.

"We do not agree that an appropriate goal for the community is to 'reclaim' working waterfront from its historic use as a shipyard."

Seeking a voice

Bainbridge Councilwoman Debbie Vancil, who is Ryan Vancil's mother, said Bainbridge Island just wants a voice in the Eagle Harbor process and believes the ferry system is ignoring the city.

"We want them to recognize the fact that we have reasons for them to work with us," she said. "We want to treat them like any other major property owner." She said the ferry system is the second-largest property owner in the city, next to Bainbridge Island itself.

The councilwoman said the city has safety and parking issues — environmental issues — that the ferry system is ignoring. "We have no desire to stand in the way of their project, but they have basically blown us off," she said.

The Reclaim Our Waterfront group believes it has one significant claim to evicting Eagle Harbor: a 1974 Shorelines Hearing Board decision that the group says set aside two acres of land near Eagle Harbor for public marine use.

The Eagle Harbor project would encroach on this land, said Ryan Vancil. "This could mean a potential cutback of the project if this restrictive covenant is upheld," he said. That, he said, could prompt the ferry system to look again at Todd Shipyards or Pier 91.

But Lisa Parriott, project manager for Eagle Harbor with the ferry system, said the state believes that when it condemned the property for the maintenance facility that covenant was extinguished.

She also said the ferry system doesn't plan to encroach upon the two disputed acres, except to replace some pilings.

Smith said his group isn't giving up.

"They are trying to ramrod a project with major unresolved legal, environmental, safety and security issues unresolved — all with virtually no input or concern for the community of Bainbridge Island."

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054 or sgilmore@seattletimes.com