PORT TOWNSEND — Angry area farmers parked a convoy of sign-toting John Deere tractors in front of the Jefferson County Courthouse on Monday as they protested proposed action that they said would infringe on private property right.
More than 50 residents packed the County Commissioner chambers in protest of proposed amendments to the Unified Development Code that would extend buffer zones for wetlands.
Among them was Bob Pontius, a Port Ludlow Republican running for county commissioner, who asked, “If this is implying that you’re going to take our property, then how are you going to compensate us?”
Answered county Director of Community Development Al Scalf, “You have to look at the Legislature in Olympia. The laws are changing yearly. It is our professional duty to bring this forward to the public.”
Outside, one of the farmers’ signs read, “Property isn’t safe while the Legislature is in session.”
Others merely said “no” to the critical areas ordinances and the same for the Washington Environmental Council.
