As a public hearing on Bainbridge Island's building moratorium got underway Tuesday night, city council chambers were full and people clustered in the hall by the door.
There has been questions and some criticism ever since City Council voted for the six-month building moratorium, citing concerns about development and growth. Threatened harm to freshwater aquifers due to the continued clearing of native forests and vegetation is listed among the reasons why the moratorium is needed.
The moratorium is intended to apply to new residential development that involves more than the development of a single-family home. Construction that would result in the significant loss of native vegetation is also prohibited.
"When you talk about stopping construction, you are talking about affecting a large number of people. There are a lot of professions involved in this," said City Manager Doug Schulze.
Taking a break from building is bad for business at BC & J Architects.
"We are just a small architectural firm, designing homes for young families that move here and want to start a life. And the city council put that all to bed over a period of 20 minutes or a half hour in the middle of the night on the ninth of January," said Peter Brachvogel, an architect at BC & J. "I thought it was a cheap trick. I thought it was really bad."
Brachvogel said an amendment did pass that eased restrictions under the moratorium. However, he has concerns about efforts to enforce a Native Vegetation Protection Area, and what it could mean for future construction projects.
