Projects
Twisp city park, mid-winter 2010-2011.
Twisp Landfill
View our comments and official documentation here
Okanogan County Comprehensive Plan
Read our comments:
Comments by the Methow Valley Citizens' Council, April 25, 2011.
Read the latest version of the Comp Plan:
Okanogan County Comprehensive Plan, December 27, 2010. This link was current on the County Commissioners website in 2011.
Download the Comprehensive Plan with edits shown from Okanogan County Planning Department:
Okanogan County Comprehensive Plan, November 8, 2010. This is the version that was available on the county planning website on Nov. 20, showing past edits in colors and a strikethrough font.
Click here for a detailed summary of problem issues
Okanogan County is struggling to write a county-wide Comprehensive Plan, and is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement to facilitate the process. The county has also been rewriting the Critical Areas Ordinance and Shoreline Master Program at the same time, but lately they postponed completion of that process. Public comments are being accepted on the Comprehensive Plan. Okanogan County Commissioners are opposed to the state Growth Management Act and their Planning Department has eliminated all mention of it in the planning documents. The following links provide access to some of the documents.
Comprehensive Plan companion documents
Comprehensive Plan Map, for Okanogan County, dated 10/14/10. This is a large download! (10 MB). Right-click to save the document rather than crashing your browser by linking directly. The link goes to the Planning Department. The Methow Review District is labeled separately, and the Lower Methow is marked as
Rural High Density.
Critical Areas Ordinance documents
Critical Areas Ordinance sample comments. These were submitted by MVCC.
Critical Areas Ordinance dated October 15, 2010. WARNING - this document crashed Firefox when accessed via the county planning website - try the alternate download site below.
Critical Areas Ordinance dated October 15, 2010. Alternate download site.
Draft 2009 Critical Areas Ordinance. On the County web site.
Draft 2009 Critical Areas Map. From the County web site. FYI, this map is not very useful.
Shoreline Master Program
Shoreline Master Program Draft dated August 26, 2010. WARNING - this document crashed Firefox when accessed via the county planning website - try the alternate download site below.
Shoreline Master Program Draft dated August 26, 2010. Alternate download site.
Zoning documents
Proposed 2009 Zoning Map for Methow Valley, prepared by Pacific Biodiversity Institute.
Archived planning documents
Comprehensive Plan comment letter to County Commissioners. This is a sample comment letter excerpted from comments sent by the Citizens Council on May 30, 2010. To comment, the Methow Valley Citizens’ Council had to wade through a disorganized mass of Planning Department documents.
A review and comparison of the 2009 County Comprehensive Plan with older plans, including the Vision Statements of the County Neighborhood Groups.
Methow Valley Comprehensive Plan 1976 Addendum (pdf file)
2000 update of the Methow Valley Planning Area Sub
Unit A Community Master Plan (pdf file)
1964 Okanogan County Comprehensive Plan (pdf file).
Other Okanogan County Planning Documents
Right to Farm Ordinance. Report for August 23, 2010 hearings. This includes the public comment record.
Subdivision amendments. Report for August 30, 2010 hearings.
Water
Exempt Wells. Protecting water supplies for families. The cumulative effect of exempt wells is a huge issue in Eastern Washington. Kittitas county is now attempting to address this issue in conjunction with the DOE. Okanogan county should do the same in order to avoid situations such as the well-known dilemma in the town of Roslyn, in which the town's water was shut down but exempt wells in the mammoth Suncadia resort were allowed to pump. County residents with existing wells deserve protection by our local government and should not need to worry that new, large developments will be allowed to take our water.
Take a look at the letter to Okanogan County Planning Department from Washington State Department of Ecology, Water Resources Division, regarding the Department's policy on exempt wells in our state.
Sustainable Development
Our rich life in the Methow Valley gives us mixed blessings--our arid climate, mountainous terrain and harsh winters cannot support a large metropolis, and we have the good fortune to live within a natural environment.
A Citizens’ Guide to Action. Development Issues in the Methow Valley and Unincorporated Areas of Okanogan
County, by the Methow Valley Citizens’ Council (2008).
The destination of a destination resort: Early Winters
Non-chemical Weed Control
The Citizens’ Council is concerned about the impacts from increased use of pesticides along roads and developments in Okanogan County, and supports a number of efforts that emphasize less damaging alternatives.
Database of literature references to
weed control and toxic chemicals, and their effects on the environment,
wildlife and human health.
Ground Water Recharge
In spring, 2000, MVCC began performing a state-of-the
art research project to study the relationship of irrigation canals on
ground water tables. This project was partly funded by a Brainerd Foudation Grant and led by Engineer Verne Donnet.
This project involved sampling nearly 100 domestic water wells during the course of a normal season.
The static level of the water table
was measured each month, and the results were correlated with the opening and closing of the irrigation
canals. The results were so profound that the US Geological Survey was stimulated to repeat the study. The
USGS study essentially corroborated our results. This study and others can be found at the USGS website:
http://wa.water.usgs.gov/projects/methow/
Water quality protection
MVCC values the quality of our water--the Methow River has AA and AAA quality water. MVCC members have participated in a number of programs to reduce pollution, such as litter pick up and weed pulling. We are currently learning more about alternatives to pesticides, so that Okanogan County can reduce its reliance on toxic chemicals. MVCC members are well informed about the threats from pesticides, and encourage citizens and government to learn more about alternatives to chemical control of weeds and pests. MVCC maintains a large database of pesticide information.
