In this week’s Sundays with Seegers, County Commissioner candidate Jake Seegers chronicles a rare moment when citizen pressure worked — and issues a warning about the fight still ahead. Public testimony forced county commissioners to reject proposed land-use changes and reopen discussion on existing code that restricts RV living, ADUs, and vacation rentals many residents rely on to survive. Elsewhere, volunteers succeeded where enforcement failed, removing a dangerous bluffside structure and restoring public safety. But no such victory exists yet for timber revenue, as state policies continue to erode the funding base that supports local services. That battle is still unfolding — and it will require sustained public attention before the losses become permanent.

Property Prizefight

Clallam County governance worked well for citizens this week during a long-awaited discussion of ordinances regulating recreational vehicles (RVs), accessory dwelling units (ADUs), and vacation rentals in the commissioners’ boardroom. The gallery overflowed with residents eager to voice concerns over the proposed ordinance changes put forward by the Department of Community Development (DCD), as well as to suggest their own modifications to the County’s existing Title 33 ordinances.

One citizen after another shared personal stories outlining how their families and friends depend on RVs, ADUs, and short-term rentals (STRs) to survive in a county where affordability is increasingly elusive.

Suzie Bliven shared that the vacation rental on her family’s legacy farm is her only source of income outside a small Social Security check. ”I could get rid of my Airbnbs, but then I would only have social security.”

Ms. Bliven leases her 60-acre farm to a young farmer, but the lease rate only covers the property tax and insurance costs. Two long-term rentals on the property are provided at below-market rates — one to a young mother who manages and cleans the vacation rentals.

Elizabeth Batson raised concerns over proposed language that seems to prohibit occupancy of legacy homes and cabins. “Washington State did not adopt a state-wide building code until 1975 – more than 120 years after this county was founded. A significant portion of our housing stock predates code standards,” she said.

Glenda Peterson Schaad spoke about her great-grandfather, who settled in the Forks Prairie at just 19 years old after losing his mother. “He wanted land, and I am the recipient of his bravery and courage.” Her family has farmed and ranched the property since 1882, and she said vacation rentals are essential to keeping the farm in the family in perpetuity.

Rose Marschall from Port Angeles depends on house sharing — short-term leasing of multiple rooms in her house — to make ends meet in retirement. “If you [pass this], I will be homeless because I rent out rooms in my house. I learned today that I can only rent out one room in my house. I have a five-bedroom house, and all my kids are out. I can’t rent out three rooms in my house?”

Concerns were raised that ADU and vacation rental limits are applied uniformly across all parcels, regardless of size. DCD Director Bruce Emery confirmed that, as written, the code makes no distinction between a half-acre lot and a 60-acre parcel — treating vastly different properties as if they were the same.

Gasps reverberated through the boardroom when Director Emery disclosed that a conditional use permit — which would be required under the proposed code language for a property owner to have a second occupied RV or vacation rental — costs the property owner about $3,500.

Randy Simmons summed up the collective sentiment: “This is a taking of land…when you force landowners to do [these] things, that’s a taking of land at [their] expense.”

Mr. Simmons turned to the gallery of over 60 Clallam citizens and posed the most effective question of the day: “How many of you are for this new proposal as written?”

Not a single hand went up.

Commissioner Mike French took time to clarify that some of the proposed ordinance changes would expand property rights related to ADUs in Urban Growth Areas (UGA) and short-term rentals of park model RVs.

The commissioners acknowledged many of the concerns voiced through written and public comment. It was a proud moment for residents in attendance when the commissioners rejected the proposed ordinance changes as written and promised to revisit both the proposed and current code in light of property owners' desires.

This is what a properly functioning local government that serves the people looks like.

Thank you to all members of the public who took the time to email the commissioners and Director Emery, or to provide public comment. Your voices were heard this week.

However, this fight for property rights is not over. The ordinance changes will be revisited by the Planning Commission and resubmitted for review by the commissioners at a future date. Hopefully, future ordinance changes will include:

* An expansion of vacation rental rights to more than one per parcel.

* An allowance for two occupied RVs, with proper sewage disposal, without a Conditional Use Permit.

* An expansion to two ADUs per parcel for larger parcels outside of the UGA

Battle for the Bluff

On the same afternoon, citizens of Port Angeles also won a long-fought battle. Mounting pressure from engaged citizens forced the city council and local law enforcement to act. On Tuesday, January 20th, 4PA was given the green light to remove the precarious cantilevered structure on the bluff behind Country Aire.

All equipment was carried by hand into the steep worksite.

4PA staff and local volunteers worked diligently to dismantle the hazardous structure and clean up the surrounding area.

After two hours of scaling and descending steep slopes slick with mud, the 4PA crew had returned one portion of the hillside to nature’s management.

Here is a time-lapse video of the removal.

Local clean-up non-profit, 4PA, is a sterling example of a community solution to a community problem. Local government should be using its authority, resources, and policy tools to empower and expand efforts like this — not obstruct them or force volunteers to fill gaps created by failed enforcement and policy.

One structure remains on the bluff. The occupant was delivered a 72-hour notice to vacate the premises by PAPD.

Timber Industry Under Attack

For generations, timber has been the backbone of Clallam County’s economy and a critical revenue source for the county and junior taxing districts — schools, libraries, hospitals, pools, and fire districts. Washington State lawmakers and advocacy groups are steadily eroding that revenue stream.

Recent non-harvest stream buffer expansions from 50 to 75 feet may look minor on paper — a few extra feet here, a fraction of a percent there — but over time, these changes compound into real, measurable damage to rural economies and the public services that depend on timber revenue.

In Forks, Joel Wilhelm, Fruit Grower’s Washington Timberlands Manager, estimates that buffer expansion rules will result in a 2%–4% decrease in available harvestable acres. With 36,000 acres under Wilhelm’s management, this is a significant hit.

After a pause in various timber sales by Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove and the removal of 77,000 acres from the harvestable land base, only 114,391 MBF (thousand board feet) were sold in Western Washington from July 1 to December 31, 2025 — representing just 25% of the annual target of 459,000 MBF.

According to Clallam County Fire District 2 Commissioner Keith Cortner, this shortfall poses a serious risk to funding public safety. Revenue lost to Fire District 2 and Fire District 3 exceeded $315,000 in 2025.

At the same time, new legislation proposed in HB 2170 represents a more direct shift away from working forests and toward carbon markets and so-called “ecosystem services.” The bill would authorize the Department of Natural Resources to enroll trust lands into carbon offset and ecosystem service programs, enter contracts lasting up to 125 years, and substitute carbon and ecosystem credit revenue for traditional timber harvest revenue.

This is not just diversification — it is a structural change in how trust lands are managed.

Trust land managers have a fiduciary duty to act in their beneficiaries' best interests. That responsibility becomes blurred when additional policy objectives are layered on that may — or may not — align with those interests. HB 2170 allows DNR to pursue goals such as “reforestation, forest health restoration, afforestation, air and water purification, habitat creation, temperature regulation, stormwater management, and disaster mitigation.” While these may be worthwhile public goals, they are not the same as maximizing long-term, reliable revenue for counties, schools, and local services.

Anti-timber advocacy groups, like Elwha Legacy Forests, have already embraced the bill.

Trust lands exist to support counties, schools, and local services. Turning them into long-term carbon banks locks up working forests, reduces long-term harvest potential, and shifts rural communities from reliable, locally generated jobs to speculative, market-driven climate finance.

The likely result is fewer harvest acres, reduced long-term revenue for counties, and increased pressure on already strained junior taxing districts. Without pushback, this won’t stop with a single buffer expansion, timber removal, or bill. It will continue — one rule, one program, one “pilot project” at a time — until the timber industry that built our communities is regulated into irrelevance.

While enhanced revenues from carbon credits layered on top of continued timber management — and the jobs it supports — could make sense, this bill appears to skew toward replacement, not supplementation, of traditional forestry revenue. That shift risks trading reliable, locally generated timber income for speculative carbon markets, with long-term consequences for rural communities and trust beneficiaries.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead

What can you do?

* Sign up to testify, note your position, or provide written testimony on HB 2170.

Write your commissioners and ask them to stand up to Olympia in defense of the county’s timber revenue – legal action should not be off the table. All three county commissioners can be reached by emailing the Clerk of the Board at [email protected].

Last Sunday, Jake Seegers asked readers whose rights the commissioners care about most. Of 166 readers:

* 62% said, “Tribal corporations.”

* 18% said, “Substance users.”

* 17% said, “Homeless.”

* 2% said, “Property owners.”

* 1% said, “All Clallam County Citizens.”

Editor’s Note: CC Watchdog editor Jeff Tozzer also serves as campaign manager for Jake Seegers during his run for Clallam County Commissioner, District 3. Learn more at www.JakeSeegers.com.

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