One of the last undeveloped pieces of waterfront property near downtown Port Townsend caused a stir amongst Port of Port Townsend commissioners at their meeting Oct. 12.

What is now known as the “Back 40,” previously called the “Carnival Parking,” was a hot topic.

This particular piece of land sits in the northeastern section of the port’s property at Point Hudson, just behind and to the side of the Commander’s Beach House.

In the past, this expanse of dirt has been used to house the RVs of touring carnivals, hence the name, as well as act as parking for events like the Wooden Boat Festival.

Most of the time, however, it sits unused.

“I have been a really loud voice for doing nothing at Point Hudson except preserving the buildings for almost 50 years, and I have had a chance to build in the Back 40 and I’ve thought, ‘No, I can’t do that. I don’t want anybody else to build there. I can’t go do that,’” said Port Commissioner Carol Hasse.

Port Commissioner Pete Hanke, however, has been asking for a piece to lease for many years to use as parking for customers of his family’s business, Puget Sound Express.

CONFLICT ARRISES

Due to his conflict of interest, Hanke was forced to abstain from the discussion when a concept layout was presented to the board that would have divvied up the Back 40 to lease as parking for Hanke’s family business, as well as parking for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and expanding the boat yard for Sea Marine, the private company operating the yard and lift at Point Hudson.

“This use of the Back 40, of expanding the boat yard and giving parking to an existing business whose survival in so many ways depends on it, is a good thing to do,” Hasse said.

“We’re not going to pave over that land. We’re not going to put in parking meters. If some important thing in the future comes up that that land is needed for and the port says yes, if there’s not a building there, if there’s not some existing structure, I just feel like the best thing that can happen is to support our local businesses,” she added.

With Hanke’s abstention, that left just one other voice, Port Commissioner Pam Petranek.

“What I don’t want to do right now is tie up in a lease, parking. I think we can leave parking open, leave our space flexible, and accommodate the businesses that are still here without having exclusive use,” Petranek said.

“I want to allow Sea Marine to have their boat business. Right now, I would think our port’s priority is travel lift dependent, boat and water dependent priorities first,” she added.

Her decision was final.

“I’m not ready to do the plan as suggested.”

With one in favor, and one opposed, the proposal could not move forward.

SPLITTING SPACE

Instead, the board went on to agree that parking overall was an issue at Point Hudson and unanimously voted to address it with a comprehensive plan.

The board then was set to vote on “Letters of Intent” with Sea Marine and the Department of Fish and Wildlife, agreeing to take the next steps in their leases in the Back 40 while leaving Puget Sound Express’ parking spaces out.

A motion to expand the state’s footprint in both the buildings at Point Hudson and parking in the Back 40 passed unanimously without much debate.

But when it came to the vote on the Letter of Intent to lease 26,750 square feet of property to Sea Marine, a footnote that stated the business may expand beyond that prompted concern from Hanke.

“Without approving the Back 40 plan, this is all fairly nefarious in terms of what we end up with, in terms of the footprint, correct?” Hanke asked  Eron Berg, the port’s executive director.

That expanision would remove 21 parking spaces from what had been drawn as Puget Sound Express’ portion of the earlier layout, Berg said.

“I guess I’m confused because Commissioner Petranek stated that she didn’t want any exclusivity in the Back 40,” Hanke said.

“For parking,” Petranek replied.

“For parking,” Hanke repeated.

The tension was palpable.

“For the record, [Puget Sound Express] has desired to lease ground in the Back 40 longer than anybody else. Am I correct with that, Eric?” Hanke asked of Eric Toews, the port’s deputy director and the longest tenured of all the port employees present.

“That’s an accurate statement,” replied Toews.

Petranek made a plea to move forward, and at first Hanke agreed.

“I fully support expanding Sea Marine,” Hanke said. “I’m with you on that. What I’m not with you on is agreeing to [a Letter of Intent]without knowing exactly what it is you’re leasing.”

“There’s a lot of unanswered questions here. I just wish we had specific parameters of what was going on in the Back 40. I thought this did a great job of doing that,” Hanke said of the earlier concept layout that had been passed over.

“We have a lot of unknowns with everything we’re talking about,” Petranek said.

AN END IN SIGHT

Despite the debate, all commissioners had stated their intention to vote in favor, so Petranek motioned to move forward and vote on the Letter of Intent with Sea Marine.

“I feel the concerns and the discomfort,” Hasse said.

“We’re not voting on a lease, we’re not voting on an expanded space, we’re voting on ‘Let’s move in this direction,’” Hasse reminded everyone. “The concern that I have is that it be fair and consider the people here, those businesses, and move forward.”

Hasse and Petranek both voted “aye,” before Hanke made one last statement on the matter.

“I am going to vote aye, but I will make a comment,” Hanke said.

“I know, Pat, that you feel that this as an unfair process, that you’ve asked for six years to expand,” he continued, directing his comments to Pat Shannon, owner of the current boat yard and one of the partners at Sea Marine.

“I just want it noted that we have asked to rent some ground in the Back 40 longer than you have and been denied,” Hanke said.

Hanke then went on to list a number of changes that Sea Marine would have to do to expand their boat yard, contrasting that with his own use.

“Your’e asking to basically dig up the Back 40, recover it with ballast so you can direct the travel lift back there, create a stormwater system under it so you can drain it, and those are uses that neither WDFW or [Puget Sound Express] are asking to do.”

“We’re just asking for parking. This is a major change of what’s going to happen to the Back 40.”

And that was not all.

“Someone commented that cars pollute,” Hanke continued. “Well, I would hasten to say that what we have had to deal with at Boat Haven to keep the boat emissions out of the bay has been nothing less than monumental as far as ecology is concerned. You are asking us to take a monumental leap of faith.”

“I just want, for the record, to note that expanding the shipyard back here will change the ecology,” Hanke said before the room got quiet.

“So the motion passes for the LOI for Sea Marine,” Petranek announced.

Another even longer silence filled the air.

“I knew this was not going to be the most fun meeting the port commission ever had,” Berg joked.