The owner of a lot near Trillium Community Forest is seeking a zoning code interpretation to build a large structure for the purposes of Buddhist meditation and hydrotherapy, according to application materials.

Larry Kwarsick, on behalf of Jeffrey Chartrand, is applying for the zoning code interpretation. According to an Island County legal notice for the project, the proposal consists of a 3,604-square-foot structure to be used as “meditation spaces, communal areas and hydro-therapy rooms for the homeowner and their guests.”

Kwarsick did not respond to a request for comment by press time but said he would be glad to discuss the topic after the county decision is made.

According to the county’s legal notice that appeared in the Whidbey News-Times, the public comment period for the application closed Sept. 24.

The project’s narrative states that the applicant owns a 20-acre parcel currently zoned as “rural forest.” An existing 4,784-square-foot home was constructed in 2017 on the site. The lot is located near Trillium Community Forest.

The proposed structure consists of a two-story pole building, with a large common area for “visitors to congregate and engage in group meditation and other activities.” Three meditation rooms and two hydrotherapy rooms are proposed on the ground floor, while a second-floor loft consists of two more meditation rooms and another hydrotherapy room.

The narrative insists that proposed uses of the structure and facilities by friends, family and Buddhists of the pre-Buddhist Shinto religion are neither institutional, nonresidential nor commercial uses.

“The fact that the proposed hydro-therapy rooms can be part of a purification ritual derived from pre-Buddhist Shinto religion in Japan, as well as contemporary naturopathic therapy, which can be self-administered, does not make the visitation a church (Buddhist place of worship) or a place of business,” the narrative states. “It is also neither a recreational use nor medical practice.”

There are some who have expressed concerns about the project, including Marianne Edain, the founder of the Whidbey Environmental Action Network.

“We have a fair number of questions, including the very fine line between hosting the owner’s multiple friends and running a religious scam,” Edain said in an email.

She also wondered if “hydrotherapy” translates to “hot tubs,” and if so, four hot tubs sounds to her like more than just “family and friends.”