The Pea Patch Community Campus is coming alive! San Juan County has issued preliminary plat approval with conditions. This means that OPAL and Island Excavating can begin work as soon as weather allows to install utilities, the stormwater detention system and a new entrance road to the property. This is the first step in building our community campus: a unified safety net that will help islanders to thrive for generations to come!
The community is invited to help celebrate with a ground turning event on Saturday, January 24th at 2:00pm on the north end of Pea Patch Lane. The Pea Patch team will provide project updates, introduce new staff and campaign co-chairs, share a sneak peek at architectural renderings along with hot apple cider and fresh doughnuts thanks to our island’s star baker,
Dick Doty of A-1 fame. Rain or shine in our big tent (thank you, Lion’s Club!). Please park at the Funhouse or along Pea Patch Lane.
The fundraising campaign to fund building the Pea Patch is progressing behind the scenes with major donor events and outreach, grant outreach and contracting with Washington State’s Local Community Projects, which funded $3M for site work in the 2025 Legislative Session. We are excited to have raised more than $26M toward the total campus completion goal of $40M with public, private and foundation funding. Construction of the 20 long-term affordable rentals is expected to begin this year!
WA State Representative Debra Lekanoff has once again offered to champion the Pea Patch Community Campus for another capital appropriation in the 2026 session. A delegation of islanders will be traveling to Olympia in mid-January to advocate for funding.
Why do we need the Pea Patch Community Campus? Meeting basic human needs is foundational for individuals and communities to thrive.
- Local jobs do not pay enough to support the high cost of living on Orcas. Many islanders cannot make enough money to afford housing and food.
- Public funding cutbacks and policy changes are making the situation more dire.
- Our neighbors are vital to our community. When lack of affordability pushes people to leave the island, we lose essential workers, small business owners, artisans and volunteers. We are interdependent on each other for our community wellbeing.
The Pea Patch Community Campus is under development at 55 Pea Patch Lane, on the historic Lavender Farm, north of Eastsound Village. The unified social services campus will include a new permanent building for our Orcas Island Food Bank with greater capacity to meet the growing needs of the community and twenty new long-term townhome rentals with supportive services to serve households with very low incomes. The Pea Patch Community Campus is a collaboration of OPAL Community Land Trust, the Orcas Island Food Bank and the Orcas community. Learn more.
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