Island County’s lens is back on Freeland, and community boosters are more than ready for their close-up.

“We’re managing for growth, so bring it on,” said local business owner Leanne Finley. “This limbo stage is terrible.”

Work to create a customized set of development regulations for Freeland will start next week with a public meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, April 6, at Trinity Lutheran Church.

County Commissioner Helen Price Johnson, county planners and Freeland community leaders will discuss the project’s importance and the schedule for moving forward. There will also be information on citizen participation.

“It’s extremely important that the county get going on these regulations, especially for the downtown core,” said Meg Wingard, chairwoman of the Freeland City Committee.

Freeland has had the same residential and non-residential zoning as the rest of the county since the county first adopted its zoning rules in 1966.

That meant development proposals in the Freeland area were reviewed the same way as those elsewhere throughout the county, from Clinton to Camano Island.

Wingard has pressed Price Johnson to get plenty of community involvement as the new rules are written.

“The county has the jurisdiction to do it,” she said. “We’re not a city, and not likely to be one soon.”

Freeland residents have long fought to keep their community from the strip mall and sprawl development that has characterized other highway-dependent communities in Western Washington.

“I would like to see Freeland have a heart and soul,” said Finley, owner of the Beach Cabin. “Right now it’s a little hard to get that community feeling.”

She said Freeland already has banks, insurance firms, merchants — “the whole shebang” — but without the identity of a town or city.

“Having our own identity would add a lot of benefit and community pride,” she said. “’Downtown unincorporated island county’ doesn’t have much of a ring to it.”

County planners expect the population of the Freeland area to grow to approximately 4,000 by the year 2020, with the bulk of new residents being retirees from the Seattle area.

Substantial commercial growth also is expected in Freeland as the population of the entire South End grows.

“The growth is going to happen,” Finley said. “And we can’t manage it unless we have all the layers working together.

“With the economy today, it’s a good opportunity to focus on new projects and ideas that will bring a better economy in the future,” she added. “Let’s go for it.”

According to the county, the bulk of the first phase of work on customized development regulations will focus on Freeland’s downtown commercial core. The timeline for that phase is May, June and July.

Groundwork done

County officials said the project will build upon the work that has already been completed, including the Freeland Sub Area Plan, the Freeland 2025 Reports, the Maker’s Report and several other planning documents.

Steve Myers, owner of Sound Electric and a Freeland property developer, said he would prefer that the Freeland Chamber of Commerce and the Freeland 2025 committee be in charge of drafting new regulations.

“They’ve done all the groundwork,” he said. “They know what the people of Freeland want.”

“I’d like to see Freeland become a city,” Myers added. “Then the county wouldn’t have to be involved at all.”

Those in favor of Freeland incorporation have pushed the concept for at least three years, but have yet to get it on the ballot.

Meanwhile, planning for a sewer system for the downtown core is basically complete, but the project had to await adoption of the Freeland Sub-Area Plan.

Now the sewer project is awaiting funding sources, with an eye on federal stimulus money.

Wingard said the timing isn’t right for incorporation, and so the community should work with the county to get realistic regulations that would be in place once cityhood does occur.

“Incorporation will require a huge effort,” she said. “There’s no point in a pie-in-the sky approach. We don’t want to spin our wheels and do things where there is no support.”

“I think the timing is much better to be supportive of the county to get things into perspective,” she added.

Plan to guide work

County commissioners approved the sub-area plan in December 2007. The plan sets out how Freeland, the South End’s banking and retail center, will grow as population increases on South Whidbey.

But while the sub-area plan sets out the broad vision of the town, many would like to see Freeland become a walkable urban village with affordable housing and environmentally sensitive development — a place that maintains the area’s rural charm. For that to happen, a new set of development regulations are necessary.

Many of the ideas that will form the basis for the new regulations are part of the policy framework detailed in the sub-area plan: clustered development; shared parking places; and extensive trails, sidewalks and other pedestrian amenities. The new rules will set out everything from how wide sidewalks should be, to the number of homes that can be built in particular zones.

What to expect

Residents and county officials have spent much time in recent years outlining how development should be regulated as Freeland becomes increasingly urbanized.

Freeland’s commercial core would be guided by “business general” zoning.

Shared parking may be encouraged between businesses. Parking may also be put at the side or rear of buildings.

All new projects would have landscaping plans and visual studies; buffering and screening standards for new development — and redevelopment projects — would be created.

Apartments above or behind businesses would be encouraged. And high-intensity lighting would be discouraged to protect nighttime views of the sky; some lighting would be shielded from casting a glow onto neighboring properties.

In the “business office” zone, Freeland’s growth plan envisions one-, two- and three-story buildings set in clusters, with outdoor community areas.

In the “Freeland Village” zone, planners imagine development that creates a pedestrian-friendly atmosphere reminiscent of a small town. Buildings would be clustered together, and new development would feature outdoor common areas, shared landscaping, benches, street trees and pedestrian alleys, sidewalks and trails.

Buildings would be built close to the street, and joint-use parking areas would be encouraged — some outside the village. New streets would be small, one-way routes with little or no on-street parking.

New rules for development in Freeland are also expected to include “mixed-use” zoning, which would allow complimentary commercial and residential development side-by-side.

Residential development rules are expected to range from high-density zoning (up to 10 homes per acre), to medium density (up to six homes per acre, including duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes), low density (up to three homes per acre) and rural estate (one home per acre).

Some new housing projects can expect restrictions that require screening for boats and other recreation vehicles.

Other ideas include allowing “zero lot lines” for single-family housing projects — where structures can be built right up to the property line — and the use of lot-size averaging, a technique that gives builders greater flexibility in the number of homes built on a parcel.

An “overlay zone” has also been suggested to further restrict development near Highway 525. Past suggestions have included requiring all new commercial, multi-family and residential projects with two or more homes to a design review process.

Design review would also be done on modifications and renovations to existing developments. Design guidelines would cover color, style, materials and locations of buildings, as well as the types of vegetation that could be used in landscaping.

Other ideas have included requiring property owners to keep their commercial or residential properties free of trash and junk, and prohibiting neon signs or signs that are excessively tall or large.

Change will take time

Both Myers and Finley say sewers and incorporation are essential pieces of Freeland’s future. And they said property owners would be more willing to move forward with development once acceptable regulations are in place.

But Freeland is what it is, and aesthetically-challenged properties won’t disappear overnight, Myers said. He said existing buildings are certain to remain until they outlive their usefulness.

“Freeland’s not going to look like Langley or Coupeville,” Myers said. “Even if new development codes existed right now, Freeland probably wouldn’t change for 30 years.”