Dear Fellow Islander,                                 December 9^th, 2013

The San Juan County Critical Areas Ordinance (“CAO”) was passed by the prior  County Council at their last meeting in December of 2012.  The Ordinance places new onerous restrictions on both upland and shoreline home owners.  The administrative appeals to the law have run their course and complex litigation filed by numerous parties will begin.  This will be a financial burden for our County and citizens for years to come.

CAPR’s legal challenge to the CAO has followed a slightly different path which is ahead of the newer appeals and has the potential of resolving this issue in a much more expedient fashion.  CAPR recognized that the CAO was crafted by the County Council and planning staff in closed and secret meetings that, we believe, illegally excluded the public from the process.  This was the primary basis for a lawsuit filed by CAPR in Superior Court on Oct. 15^th, 2012.  Unfortunately, the lower court did not agree with CAPR’s position.  Consequently, CAPR has appealed what we believe are fundamental errors of law in the decision of the Superior Court.  That appeal is now pending before  the Washington State Court of Appeals.  Visit http://caprsanjuan.wordpress.com/ to view CAPR Brief   Our Brief shows why we are confident of a win in the upper court, and why closed door meetings are a violation of the Washington Open Public Meetings Act.

We are writing to ask for your continued financial help and support in this legal action.   We believe that if the court requires the new Council to re-examine the CAO in open public meetings, the outcome will be far more favorable to the home and land owners in San Juan County. Continued

On January 27th & 28^th, as part of the “Growing a Great Business Series,” four new workshops will be offered for small business owners, or those thinking about starting a business.   Participants can choose from classes in Business Development, Financial, Marketing, and Business Operations Planning.  Each 3 hour class is $20, or participants can take ALL classes for $55.

Instructor James Dunn from Seattle’s Washington CASH (Community Alliance for Self-Help) returns to Lopez for his fifth visit to lead these lively interactive workshops.  He consistently receives high marks.  Teri Murray, an Orcas island resident who participated in his Online Marketing Workshop last month commented on her class evaluation form: “James has that rare combination of being extremely well informed about his topic, amusing and very insightful about the participants’ ideas and proposals.  I’m still quoting him whenever I can.”  James takes great pleasure working with entrepreneurs to help them build the lives they want to lead by following their passions and making money in the process.

The Lopez Island Family Resource Center (LIFRC) is committed to helping islanders gain self-sufficiency through education and training.  The ResourceCenter began offering classes in 2007 and since then the program has continued to grow. Classes are made possible by grants through Communities Connect network, Broadband USA, Harvest Foundation, and San Juan Economic Development Council, in collaboration with the Lopez Island Library. Continued