“What hath concurrency wrought?South Whidbey residents will find out Thursday when the Island County Public Works Department unveils the draft of its updated transportation and capital facilities plans.Concurrency refers to House Bill 1487, which passed the Legislature under the guidance of Rep. Dave Anderson, D-Clinton. The bill requires that local planning be tied to the capacity of state highways and ferries. This concurrent planning is new, as formerly the county planned only with its own facilities and needs in mind.Anderson touted the concurrency bill as necessary for good planning, but only last week had to again defend it in a public election forum. Some critics have said that tying local planning to state highway and ferry capacity could eventually slow or even stop development.An open house will be held Thursday, Oct. 26 from 4-7 p.m. at the Bayview Senior Center. Public Works Director Larry Kwarsick will be on hand to explain changes linked to concurrency.The major changes in the Transportation and Capital Facilities Plan include updated traffic counts on state highways in Island County, new traffic projections to 2006, new level of service methodology and standards for state facilities, and concurrency requirements for the Clinton and Keystone ferries and SR 525 and SR 520.The public is invited to attend, review and comment on the draft plan. “