Commentary: The Yin and Yang of the Growth Debate on Bainbridge Island. Do We Want to Become the next Vail, Co., or Create Housing Equity and Balance?

By Dr. Howard Frumkin

The recent election on Bainbridge Island featured a lot of anti-development and anti-growth talk. Some of it was overt, and some was more subtle, framed as “maintaining the island’s character.”

I get it. I’m among locals who love our island’s natural beauty—our forests, our trails, our beaches, our winding country roads. But I think we need to grow. Three reasons motivate me:

My first reason has to do with community character. I don’t want us to become an exclusive, wealthy redoubt, another Aspen or Vail, CO., or Jackson Hole, WY. Do we want to be a place where the teachers and police officers, the waiters and plumbers and cashiers who are so important in our community can’t afford to live?

Do we want island kids to grow up knowing only other wealthy kids? Do we want young families to be unable to get a toehold in island housing? I don’t think so; that scenario seems neither equitable nor sensible. The alternative is more housing, with an emphasis on affordable housing.

My second reason has to do with climate change. In coming decades, increasing drought, extreme heat, rising sea levels, and fierce storms will force places such as Miami, New Orleans, Phoenix, and even Los Angeles, in spite of the recent atmospheric river events, to decant their populations. There will be substantial internal migration in the U.S., and our region will be on the  receiving end. The term “climate migrants,” or “climate refugees” is already in our lexicon.

We can’t just erect walls; we need to accommodate people who have no choice but to relocate. “Welcoming the stranger” means planning for more growth, even if that takes us out of our comfort zone.

My third reason has to do with feasibility. I’m certain that we can grow well, without sacrificing the island’s character. The secret is good design. The English countryside is a model—dense villages with diverse housing stock (and plenty of charm), surrounded by protected rural land.

Reckless development isn’t the only option; we can envision and build delightful places. Some object that the island’s water supply is a limiting factor. This is a fair concern; we rely on a sole source aquifer. With climate change, we’re expecting wetter winters and drier summers. And, too, there’s considerable uncertainty regarding what this will mean for the island’s groundwater.

Indeed, our groundwater management plan, now in development, will need to embrace water conservation, recharge enhancement, storage, and other strategies. But as we consider growth, one thing is certain: small homes use far less water per person than large properties with irrigated lawns and gardens. The kinds of housing we need will impose only incremental water demands. I believe we can steward our water wisely, and still accommodate growth.

A conflict between a good thing and a bad thing is easy to resolve: you choose the good thing. A conflict between two good things is much more challenging. It calls for accepting the need for tradeoffs and approaching them thoughtfully, striving to optimize both good things as much as possible.

We need to grow. We need to steward and protect our environment. These are both good things. Let’s not dismiss or vilify either one. Instead, let’s embrace them both, with generosity, reverence, and careful, nuanced design and planning.

Howard Frumkin of Bainbridge Island is a physician-epidemiologist whose career has focused on health aspects of climate change, the built environment, nature contact, and sustainability, within the framework of Planetary Health. He has served as Senior Vice President of Trust for Public Land, as Dean of the University of Washington School of Public Health, as head of the “Our Planet, Our Health” initiative at the Wellcome Trust, and as Director of the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health. He is author or co-author of over 300 scientific journal articles and chapters, and has written 10 books. 

English Village photo courtesy of Paul Groom Photography Bristol

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