City staff are pleased with temporary erosion control efforts taking shape at the Morand family property at 4801 Anaco Beach Road, City Planning Director Ian Munce told the Anacortes City Council on Monday.
“I’m delighted to report that Mr. Morand after the last meeting with the council.... has made substantial progress,” Munce said.
The council will review the situation in two weeks and decide whether to permanently suspend $300 a day fines imposed by the city earlier this year against the owner for failing to implement erosion controls on the eroding bluff. The erosion has taken part of a neighbor’s yard and threatens to undercut Anaco Beach Road.
“The whole purpose of the penalties was to get action,” Munce said.
Bob Morand said his original plan was to build three new homes at the site and use the proceeds to build a permanent bulkhead along the 477-foot water frontage on Burrows Bay, but he could not get permission from the city and state for hard armoring. After the property was pounded by storms in 2004, Morand was allowed to build a 177-foot storm wall to protect his existing home. Meanwhile, a water infiltration system failed and the temporary road built for the storm wall construction collapsed.
The Planning Commission approved Morand’s building plans pending installation of erosion controls and added a requirement that the site be monitored for stability for five years before building could begin.
The City Council reduced that monitoring period to three years, but said no internal road could be built on the property.
During an appeal of the fine last month, Morand told the City Council its conditions, particularly the long waiting period before construction, make it impossible for him to obtain financing. Since buying the home in 2004, the family has spent $350,000 for the storm wall, $50,000 for the failed water filtration system and $140,000 for engineering.
Last month the council voted to suspend Morand’s fine for 30 days to give themselves a chance to consider the situation and him a chance to get something accomplished. Since then, 60 cubic yards of beach nourishment materials have been placed on the beach, the road has been regraded and covered with a protective layer of coarse crushed rock to slow surface flow, the slope of the landslide “slough” material regraded into a gentler slope, several crushed rock berms have been installed to intercept flows and large rocks have been placed around the southwest corner of the abutting property to the north to protect the corner from scouring and undercutting, according to a geotechnical report by Glen Mann of Creative Engineering Options Inc. The report said installation of two or three straw-bale barriers across the access track still needed to be installed.
The work does not address the city’s every concern, but “It does address the one issue the staff was most concerned about,” Munce said.
