Changes on the way for Sequim Bay
Plans advance for housing development and another oyster farm
When developers of the Seabrook community announced plans for up to 600 homes to be built on Sequim Bay, CC Watchdog contacted the Jamestown Tribe and Commissioner Mark Ozias to ask about the fragility of Johnson Creek, which bisects the 160-acre property.
Last year, the Tribe and Commissioner claimed that if the Happy Valley Gravel Pit were to reopen, it would environmentally impact the creek and possibly infringe on the Tribe’s treaty rights. Would a housing project of this magnitude also cause alarm for the Tribe and commissioner? The Tribe responded, but Commissioner Ozias did not (read the original article and Tribe’s response here).
On Monday, the Sequim Bay Development Company will discuss the housing project’s plans, impacts, and potential benefits to the community. The public meeting, required by Sequim municipal code, will be held at a private business on a sovereign nation’s land: the 7 Cedars Casino.
This Monday, September 23, 2024
4-6 PM
Blyn Bay Room at 7 Cedars Casino
Port report
The development would border John Wayne Marina, which the late actor’s estate deeded to the port in 1981. In March 2019, the Port of Port Angeles, which owns and manages the marina, released a Request for Information to solicit “conceptual proposals for the potential future management and operation of the John Wayne Marina.”
The document outlined the marina's importance to the community and acknowledged that it is part of the Tribe’s economic base — an integral component of its seafood exporting operation.
City of Sequim and Tribe wanted marina
Soon after, the City of Sequim requested that the port transfer ownership of the marina to the city. Officials pitched that it was the only public beach access within city limits and said their goal was to preserve visitors’ ability to beach comb, picnic, birdwatch, or “let the peace of the setting soothe one’s soul.” Sequim’s request listed several benefits of the proposed transfer, including supporting the Tribe’s commercial aquaculture business.
According to a Sequim Gazette article, months later, the Jamestown Tribe expressed interest in purchasing the marina. The Tribe also suggested another option: that the port could transfer the marina to the City of Sequim “at no or very low cost,” and the Tribe could manage it.
City officials were adamant that the Tribe could not own the marina; it could only be owned by a public agency or entity. That stipulation could be changed if the city council updated the Shoreline Master Program — a process that would involve public engagement and state review.
At the time, Jamestown Tribe’s CEO Ron Allen reasoned that the Tribe is “a different kind of public entity, a public entity related to tribal jurisdiction.” Allen argued, “The bottom line is there is nothing preventing us as a government entity from being a candidate to purchase the property, and with certain conditions.”
Native American tribes are sovereign nations, not public entities. They have the authority to govern themselves and create laws and government structures. While interacting with federal, state, and local governments, they maintain a unique legal status that distinguishes them from public agencies.
Paradise Cove
If the deal had gone through, it would have been an ideal location to access the Tribe’s latest proposed 2.3-acre commercial oyster farming operation: Paradise Cove, a protected lagoon across Sequim Bay from John Wayne Marina. The Washington Department of Natural Resources (a public agency) owns the tidelands within the cove.
The Clallam County Department of Community Development (a public agency) will conduct a public hearing on the proposed oyster farming operation on November 7th at 1:00 p.m. in the Clallam County Courthouse (a public space).
Oyster farming
Just last month, a deal was signed to hand over management of the Dungeness and Protection Island National Wildlife Refuges to the Jamestown Tribe. Despite public outcry and a pending lawsuit brought by environmental organizations, the Tribe intends to conduct a 50-acre non-native oyster farming operation within the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge near Dungeness Spit.
Concerns about oyster farming are founded; commercial shellfish operations devastated Drakes Estero, an estuary just north of San Francisco. A National Park Service article reported that the inlet was “burdened with millions of pounds of debris produced by shellfish farming” before undergoing a cleanup operation. Biologists were particularly interested in restoring a vital, carbon-capturing plant credited with combating climate change: eelgrass.
Seven years ago, public agencies collaborated to remove nearly 100 racks used in the Drakes Estero commercial oyster farming operation. They also removed millions of Pacific Oysters—the non-native species that the Jamestown Tribe will introduce to Dungeness and Sequim Bays. The oyster species native to this region, the Olympia Oyster, is edible but small and slow-growing compared to the more marketable Pacific Oyster native to Japan, China, Korea, and Pakistan.
The operation also removed “aquaculture debris and shells” from the estuary floor. “When [the team found] an additional 2.8 million pounds of debris, including oyster shell, metal, racks, plastic rope, [and] cement…that was very surprising. We just had no idea…it was at that scale,” a National Park Service scientist said in the article.
The miles of wooden racks (five miles if laid end-to-end) and tons of debris had prevented the eelgrass from growing in Drakes Estero. The Jamestown Tribe acknowledges the impact of commercial oyster farming on eelgrass beds: in its 2021 Annual Report, the Tribe discussed conserving eelgrass in its future commercial oyster farming operation in Dungeness Bay.
However, eelgrass conservation may have to take a back seat; according to the Tribe’s 2023 Annual Report, their oyster business generates millions of dollars in revenue.
These 2023 harvest numbers are impressive for a Tribe with only 519 members, 217 of which live locally.
Marina not for sale
Ultimately, John Wayne’s estate weighed in about the land they had deeded to the public: they wanted the port to keep it. In a Sequim Gazette article, John’s son, Ethan Wayne, was quoted as saying, “The Wayne family did not give away tens of millions of dollars (in today’s dollars) or its private beachfront property so that the port could sell it to another owner.”
Critics worry that the new development won’t address the housing affordability crisis many county residents face. The lowest-priced current offering at Seabrook, the developer’s first project, is a one-bedroom, 416-square-foot cottage listed for $469,000. The highest-priced listing, a five-bedroom, 3,281-square-foot home, is listed for $2,100,000.
While it’s unknown if the Jamestown Tribe is still eying the marina or if there is a connection between the Tribe and the Sequim Bay Development company, one thing is sure: change is on the way for Sequim Bay.
I love your tag line - Suspicion thrives in the absence of transparency.
Ughhhhh —- in every way !! The affordable housing myth has destroyed so many beautiful properties- here in LO we have clear cuts that have created heat islands - no infrastructure and no walk ability !