The South Whidbey Port may be getting a renewed permit for an ambitious plan to expand the Langley Marina, but there are no plans to move forward with the project any time soon.
Port Executive Director Stan Reeves explained that the 2015 Army Corps of Engineers permit for the expansion project expired in 2020 and he’s been working to get the permits renewed for another five years. While the port doesn’t plan to ask voters to fund the project, he said he wants to have the permits ready to go in case a grant or another opportunity arises.
Reeves said it took about five years to get the original permit but only about six months to get a renewal, so it makes sense to keep it active.
The Army Corps of Engineers issued a public notice of the permit request last week that opens a comment period until Aug. 5. Information on the project and instructions on how to comment can be found at the Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle district website, www.nws.usace.army.mil, under “regulatory public notices.”
The Army Corps’ notice on the project describes it as providing additional transient and permanent boat moorage for recreational and emergency service vessels. The two-phase proposal would add 84 new moorage slips and an additional 1,266 feet of space for side ties.
The project would include the installation of four additional main floats. The new structure would increase overwater coverage by 0.83 acres.
Proposed mitigation includes removal of an abandoned dock and a sunken breakwater along with plantings of 4,808 square feet of eel grass.
Reeves said the last sizable project at the marina was in 2013, when a 400-foot concrete breakwater from Bremerton was tugged to Langley and cut into two pieces to create D and E docks, which provide larger vessel tie-ups.
Reeves explained that 75% of the 42 slips are dedicated to transient boaters while long-term moorage is at a premium. There are currently 285 people on the waiting list for long-term slips and the marina is no longer accepting requests.
“It’s better for the city of Langley and the port district if we have visitors coming in and out of there rather than just boats that are parked, so to speak,” he said.
While last summer was the busiest season at the marina ever, the number of visiting boaters has decreased dramatically this year. Reeves said the change is likely due to the high cost of marine fuel, which is about $6 to $7 a gallon.
