Residents within Ebey’s Reserve, this is extremely important. Your personal freedoms as home owners and land owners are at stake. Read what the Ebey’s Landing National Reserve Board is planning.

This is not only about the color of your house. While I agree that preserving history is great, the past must not encroach on the present. The settlers also had their own dreams and used their own ingenuity. I’m not OK with this board mandating me to live by the standards of centuries past. This review board, which is only advisory at this time, may become a legally empowered entity in January!

Go to www.islandcounty.net/Planning/EbeyReserve.asp. Look for the Updated Draft Design Manual 8-18-09. This is about restricting our diversities and individual preferences. Living on this reserve shouldn’t give this board the right to step out of their intended purpose or usefulness. This board intends to enact intrusive rules concerning our rights as private owners within the reserve.

Do you really want this board to tell you that you must come before them for every little thing that you want to do on your own land for their approval? Come to the meeting Sept. 15. Be a force for your rights! Read what they are proposing! This is only the beginning of their pursuits to abolish our personal preferences.

They plan many more restrictions. If, like me, you live here to enjoy life as you see fit, run, don’t walk, to the Sept. 15 meeting at 6:30 p.m., Coupeville Rec. Hall. Are we going to march in step like sheep without our voices being heard? Our time is short. They want to speed this through with hopes you don’t care enough to act.

Lynn Burton

Coupeville