Logging application filed on Saratoga site
Published 8:00 am Saturday, February 7, 2004
Residents have until next week to comment on an application by a Snohomish timber company to log a 30- acre of site on Saratoga Road.The applicant, Joe Firchau Construction, is asking permission to harvest of 630,000 board feet of timber and to construct a 1,920 foot permanent service road for three future homesites. The parcel is adjacent to 26.5 acres Firchau owns and clearcut last year.
This concerns Langley resident Diane Kendy.
Kendy said she is very concerned about the proposed clearcut.
“If the results are anything like the mess that was created from this applicant’s clearcut just a few months ago, the county will again be left to pay the bill for cleaning up the carnage,” Kendy said.
During October’s windstorm, many of the trees in the 100-foot buffer were blown down. The buffer was left after last year’s clearcut to maintain and sustain eagle habitat.
According to John Bertrand of the Island County Planning and Development office, Firchau has said he intends to buy the 30-acre site as part of the process.
Bertrand said he and a county critical issues expert, Justin Craven, will examine the site on Monday. “We will be walking the site to check for several issues including stream, wetlands and ravines and to see what other properties the site adjoins.”
Bertrand said this permit will be scrutinized.
Therefore, that issue will be addressed during the permit application review, Bertrand said, because Firchau let it be known he intends to buy the 30-acre site, making his total contiguous land holding greater than 40 acres.
“His total acreage is likely to come up in the review process,” Bertrand said.
“Frye Timber of Bellingham own the property directly across Saratoga Road from Firchau,” he said.
There are two other applications also submitted by Firchau for parcels just north of Strawbridge Road in the Langley planning area, and not adjacent to the larger parcel.
According to Bill Poss of the Island County Planning and Development office, Firchau submitted the applications for other property owners of the two 10-acre sites, which are adjacent to one another.
None of the parcels fronts on Saratoga Road.
Written comments about the environmental impact of the project are due by 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. They can be send to Island County Planning, P.O. Box 5000, Coupeville, WA 98239.
