Island County council tables Coles Valley land-use agreement

A 40-acre Coles Road parcel in Langley stayed in limbo after the City Council voted 3-2 to table a land-use agreement that could determine whether the site becomes a large affordable-housing neighborhood or remains tightly constrained under older annexation rules.

The decision keeps pressure on a long-running Coles Valley dispute that has already shaped what can be built on the land. The parcel was annexed into the city in 2005, and the existing annexation agreement limits development to 24 units, even though the property’s zoning would normally allow 115 lots. City officials and South Whidbey, LLC have been negotiating a new agreement to replace the 2005 deal.

Mayor Kennedy Horstman presented the proposed agreement at a May 18 council meeting. Under the version described by the city and in local reporting, the plan would allow 65 single-family lots and two cottage tracts with up to 10 cottages each. Habitat for Humanity of Island County is under contract to buy the full property if the council approves the new framework.

Councilmember Chris Carlson argued the agreement was only “step one” and said it would establish a maximum amount of development rather than give “carte blanche” to build. Councilmember Thomas Gill opposed tabling the matter and said the proposal did not change the property “per se.” The council set the issue aside until the June 15 meeting.

The delay matters because the Coles Valley land is already tied to a separate preliminary long-plat application, which city materials say is paused pending resubmittal. Staff asked for more information on that application in September 2025, and any amendment to the annexation agreement is being handled separately by the City Council. If the new agreement is eventually approved, the plat would have to be revised to match it.

The site has been contested before. A prior planned unit development was withdrawn in November 2024 after years of review. That earlier proposal covered 28 acres and called for 137 homes and about 31 accessory dwelling units, along with single-family homes, duplexes, fourplexes, sixplexes, commercial tenant space and a community hub. Critics raised concerns about traffic on Coles Road, environmental impacts and the property’s proximity to a wastewater treatment plant.

Public concern surfaced again at the June 2 meeting. Resident David Stenberg said he and 33 others attended remotely but were not allowed to comment. Marnie Jackson, executive director of the Whidbey Environmental Action Network, raised concerns about a salmon-bearing stream, steep slopes, critical areas and the wastewater-treatment facility nearby.

Habitat for Humanity of Island County has framed the project as a compact, community-centered neighborhood with permanently affordable homes. The council’s delay leaves that vision unresolved, and keeps one of Langley’s most consequential land decisions open for more debate.