Jeremy Nash: Griffin Place and What Comes Next | State mandates, rising costs, and the future of our town
If you have been following town business lately, you have probably heard about the proposed Griffin Place project. It will sit across the street from the elementary school on Hamilton Ranch Road. The plan is for multiple buildings on about an acre of land, with up to forty-nine housing units and eight set aside as workforce housing. Many nearby residents have raised real concerns about traffic, school safety, and how the project fits next to existing homes.
I understand why people are upset. It is a lot to drop into that spot. Anyone familiar with that area of town knows the infrastructure is already lacking, with narrow lanes, limited sidewalks, few safe crossings, limited parking, and a sewer main rumored to be at capacity. What many neighbors may not realize is that Griffin Place will more than likely be approved, because projects like this are becoming the new norm.
State rules under the Growth Management Act have changed how towns like Friday Harbor must plan for growth. The state says every town has to allow more housing density, smaller lots, and taller buildings. The problem is that it does not matter whether a town is actually growing or not. It still has to meet the same standards.
Friday Harbor has never met its previous growth projections, and it is unlikely to meet the new ones either. We are a unique and isolated community, bounded by geography and the ferry system, and those realities will never change. That said, the same laws that push for higher density also require higher standards for infrastructure like water, sewer, and stormwater systems, adding costly requirements that small towns can barely meet.
All of these rules come with tight timelines and limited flexibility. If a town does not meet them, it will lose important state funding for infrastructure. All of this makes the governing body feel as if their hands are tied.
That is why you are seeing a project like Griffin Place move ahead even while people are still trying to understand it. The project already fits the new density and zoning standards that the state will require towns to adopt soon. The town will more than likely move forward with approvals that align with those upcoming changes rather than waiting for them to take effect.
The numbers are striking. At recent council meetings, staff outlined several updates that will reshape town neighborhoods. Just a few include reducing the minimum lot size for single-family homes from 9,000 square feet to 4,500 creating a new R-8 multifamily residential zone, increasing density in existing multifamily areas from R-14 to R-20, and allowing taller buildings. The town is even talking about asking the county to annex more land to meet future population targets.
From the numbers it may be hard to understand, but imagine narrow three-story houses with accessory dwelling units behind them, stacked one next to another with hardly any off-street parking, and three-story apartment buildings filling in where homes once stood. This is a real shift in the shape and scale of our community.
Even though the Town Council acts as if it is helpless, it still has choices. Granted none of them are easy. But, they could stand up to the state and refuse the density changes, accept the loss of funding, and cut spending to stay afloat under a smaller budget. Also, as I have discussed in previous articles, it can work with other small towns to push for changes in how State funding rules are written so that full revenue buckets could help fill the empty ones.
Make it so those tourist dollars pay for our local infrastructure. Or it could take the most democratic route and ask the people of Friday Harbor directly what kind of town they want to be. So far, the council seems to be taking the path of least resistance by following the mandates, collecting the funds, and saying, “It is what it is,” while hoping for the best.
As I said before, all of these new rules come with a real cost, and while not always readily visible, and to drive the point home, one place town residents can feel the real strain is in our utility bills. The town’s own reports show another round of increases coming in 2026, with about six percent more for water and eight percent more for wastewater. These are not caused by local overspending. They are driven by new state requirements for wastewater treatment, stormwater systems, and infrastructure upgrades. Every time the state tightens the rules, the costs fall on town residents.
So what's the democratic solution I alluded to previously? Most people don’t realize that the Town of Friday Harbor is, in fact, a corporation. Not a private company, but a municipal corporation created by the state. It owns property, runs utilities, signs contracts, and pays a full staff. It has assets, liabilities, and a budget of about $45 million dollars. That is a large number for a town of this size. Even a modest monthly payroll and operating cost runs well into the hundreds of thousands.
According to the Town’s official website, Friday Harbor encompasses about 1.23 square miles, or roughly 787 acres. (Federal census data lists a slightly larger area, around 2.18 square miles.) No matter which measure you use, it is a very small place for the size of the organization that runs it. Fewer than 2,800 residents live inside those boundaries, yet they are the ones supporting a full municipal corporation with the costs and responsibilities of a small city. That imbalance between scale and structure is what makes it so hard to be locally sustained. It keeps the town heavily dependent on the state and always scrambling for new sources of revenue.
The county, on the other hand, faces the same state mandates that the town does, but it has more weight when it comes to dealing with Olympia. It represents an entire county, not just a few thousand residents inside one square mile, so state officials and legislators listen when it speaks. It also works on a longer compliance schedule and has access to funding sources that small towns cannot reach. Friday Harbor, by comparison, is a small, expensive layer of government trying to meet the same obligations with a fraction of the resources and almost no political leverage. That is why so much of what the town does is reactive and unsustainable.
If the structure itself is creating the imbalance, what would it look like to change it? Washington law allows residents to reconsider incorporation. A town can choose to dissolve through a council resolution that puts the question on the ballot, or by petition if enough registered voters sign. In either case, it goes to a public vote, and if a majority says yes, the town’s responsibilities transfer to the county.
Disincorporation does not erase Friday Harbor. It removes the extra layer of government that may no longer make sense. The town would still be known as Friday Harbor, but it would no longer have a municipal corporation sitting on top of it. The county would handle local services for everyone on the island, just as it does for all the other islands. Remember, Friday Harbor is the only Incorporated town in San Juan County. Disincorporation of the town would create one Island, one government, and one set of rules. Residents could see lower administrative costs and possibly more stable utility rates.
People who live outside town limits already depend on Friday Harbor. They work here, own businesses, use its roads, visit its shops, and rely on its port. Yet they have no say in the decisions that affect the town. Bringing everything under one structure could give the island a clearer, fairer system that fits the size of the community and give everyone an equal voice.
If we want to protect the character of Friday Harbor, we need to look honestly at how we are governed. The problem is not just the people serving on Council or staff. It is the system itself. Incorporation once gave us protection and local control. Today, it has become a financial and regulatory burden.
Speaking as one of many residents whose families span generations on this island, I have a perspective that reflects both the changes we have seen and the challenges we face today. I believe it is time to consider disincorporation seriously. Not out of frustration, but out of practicality. This place has always been about community, not bureaucracy.
We are entering a new chapter. A new mayor will soon take office, and a new council member will join the dais. Both have talked about accountability and the need for change. That conversation should include this one. Every resident who depends on Friday Harbor, whether inside or outside town limits, should take part. Ask questions. Learn what the state is requiring. Understand what the town can and cannot do under those rules. The choices made in the next year will shape the island for decades to come.
When I talk with friends and neighbors about these subjects, most already sense that the town’s structure is wearing thin. They give different reasons, but the feeling is the same. The vast majority are surprised to learn that we can actually change it ourselves.
We need to start the conversation, organize, educate, and bring the question of disincorporation to the ballot. Everyone, whether you live inside town limits or not, should take the time to write to the Town Council and share their opinion.
It is not about tearing anything down. It is about deciding together what kind of government makes sense for a beautifully unique place like ours.
Jeremy Nash