Recently Mrs. Nerd and myself went to a restaurant up near Lynden.
A restaurant named The Cassoulet Cafe.
Mrs. Nerd had Fried Chicken and Waffles. I had Biscuits and Gravy.
And then we had some cake.
And, damn, it was good.
The food was priced within reason and yet was tasty beyond all reason.
We have eaten in restaurants in Seattle, and Vancouver BC, and all points in between... and The Cassoulet Cafe stands out as one of the very best restaurants we have dined at here.
You should really go there and try the food, because it is totally awesome.
This begs a question: Why, exactly, am I writing a restaurant review on Latte Republic?
Because I believe that politics ends at the esophagus, essentially.
The head chef of this restaurant is Mr Gabriel Claycamp, the guy who wants to run a slaughterhouse on some ag land out in the county.
Really a bad idea. Breathtakingly bad.
But what Mr. Claycamp doesn't know about land use planning is more than offset by his acumen at running a restaurant. He is really, really good at chef stuff... and hopefully he will stick to that.
Which brings us to... the Reality Check...
It seems that there is one particularly interesting argument that is being made to support the passage of the ordinance that would allow Mr. Claycamp's slaughterhouse project (an ordinance which is far from dead, by the way).
The portion of the county that is currently zoned for building slaughterhouses is in land designated RIM, which stands for Rural Industrial Manufacturing.
But the RIM land in the county is part of the land that is currently under an Order of Invalidity by the Growth Management Hearings Board.
So, since that portion of the County Zoning Map is currently deemed Invalid, no permits can be processed for anything on RIM land. Including slaughterhouses.
And, while this Order of Invalidity is in effect, no one can build a slaughterhouse on RIM land in Whatcom County.
Now a person of ordinary prudence could be forgiven for thinking that one way to fix this problem is to... you know... come into compliance with the Growth Management Act (state law governing land use and stuff) and get the Order of Invalidity rescinded.
But this is Whatcom County... so there will be none of that.
We are instead going to make like Wile E Coyote... strap ourselves to the legislative equivalent of an ACME rocket and do a brilliant end run around the Order of Invalidity by just changing the zoning in areas of the County that aren't (yet) deemed Invalid... and allow slaughterhouses to be built there... because the GMA is not the boss over us... and its Hearings Board (who I have it on good authority are all butt-faces) can't tell us what to do... so there. Butt-faces.
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| Dramatic Re-enactment of County Council's work on Slaughterhouses |
Our intrepid County Council has just added another $50,000 to fight the Butt-facery of the GMHB Order of Invalidity on appeal, because... you know... freedom.
(It is not widely known but apparently freedom costs about $50,000... when adjusted for inflation.)
If it has even occured to anyone in County government that the purpose of an Order of Invalidity is to compel a county to come into compliance with state law, no one has mentioned it officially.
It appears likely that, in the spirit of Wile E Coyote inspired plans, it is considered poor form to point out such things. The prevailing wisdom in cartoons is that if you don't know you are running on air, you can enjoy the full benefit of the conspicuous "turbo lag" often seen governing the laws of cartoon physics. In effect, if you are cartoon and you believe you are running on solid ground, you can achieve a Quantum Lock of Denial which can prevent you from falling.
And I see no flaw in this plan, because it always worked out so well for Wile E...
...oh...
...never mind.
Actually, the more and more you look at this plan, the more it looks like a really bad idea that just hasn't been thought through.
It comes across as provocative. It comes across as short-sighted. And it comes across as a transparent attempt to act in derogation of state law. Even if that is not the intent of the Council... that is how it looks. And when seen in the shadow of an Order of Invalidity, the light becomes less and less flattering the longer that shadow grows.
We are supposed to be getting out of Invalidity territory, we are not supposed to be laying a foundation in it.
For example, are we going to transplant other RIM land uses out of RIM land? Or just slaughterhouses? Fairness would seem to dictate that any business friendly use currently confined to RIM zones should be afforded the same consideration as slaughterhouses. If another industry wants out of the Rim of Invalidity... will the County Council say no? And if so... why?
More to the point, there is a significant body of evidence that supports the theory that we are not, in fact, cartoons. If this evidence bears out, then that exposes a whole range of new significant structural flaws in the plan.
If the County Council wants to do something to help business in the County, it will get the County into compliance with the GMA... by letting go of whatever property-rights binky it has latched onto and instead actually modifying our County code to come into compliance with state law already.
Remember, when you are in a hole, and you want to climb out, it is usually a good idea to stop digging first.
And after you stop digging... and climb out of that hole... you will have probably worked up a hearty appetite. So, stop by The Cassoulet Cafe for some Chicken and Waffles. Because it is way yummy.
And don't forget to have some cake, too.
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