livable communities

In October 2022, we provided background on the Comprehensive Plan and the ongoing County Update process. You can still access that information here. This month, we’re providing an overview of the progress of the Comprehensive Plan update for San Juan County and sharing what we might expect in 2023. Attending public hearing in person is the ... read more

The Comp Plan in a Nutshell: San Juan County has adopted a “Comprehensive Plan” intended to guide growth in our community by incorporating a community vision into goals and policies. These goals and policies are then supposed to be implemented through the adoption of local codes and other local government actions and programs. An important ... read more

OPALCO, San Juan County’s cooperative energy provider, has announced its support for adding a Climate Change Element to San Juan County’s Comprehensive Plan. This support comes as the County prepares to finalize its first update of the plan in more than ten years. Authored by Friends of the San Juans (Friends) in collaboration with experts ... read more

What does Pride month have to do with environmental justice? Here at Friends, we are taking time during Pride month to examine our internal culture and how LGBTQ+ liberation intersects with environmentalism. If you would like to learn along with us, here are some resources: Recommended Readings: Pride Month, LGBTQ+ And The Environmental Movement Why ... read more

Since the San Juan County Council shifted into a full-throttle, get-this-thing-across-the-finish-line approach to the update process for San Juan County’s Comprehensive Plan (aka, Comp Plan), housing has been a hot topic and focus of discussion amongst Friends of the San Juans and across our community. The Comp Plan is one of the key ways that ... read more

The San Juan County Council has shifted into a full-throttle, get-this-thing-across-the-finish-line approach to the update process for San Juan County’s Comprehensive Plan, or Comp Plan. This has implications for the effectiveness of the Comp Plan and also for public engagement in the update process. The County’s fast track plan will add more pressure on all ... read more

40 Days into the State Legislative Session…Update on our Priorities Thank you to everyone who has responded to our action alerts and registered support for our legislative priorities! We are more than half-way through the legislative session. Bills (except for those related to the budget) must pass out of the opposite house by March 4th. ... read more

The 2022 Washington State Legislative Session began on January 10th and runs for 60 days. This is the second year of the biennial session, which usually results in only small changes to the budget. However, the positive revenue forecast plus the passage of the federal bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provides an unprecedented opportunity to increase ... read more

At this time of year, we reflect on our community’s trust in Friends of the San Juans, a trust that has continued to grow and evolve over our 42 years of service. While we connect the dots between Friends’ decades of work and the still-awe-inspiring beauty of our islands, we acknowledge the truth that there ... read more