SMP update to be pushed back at least a year.

During this week’s Land Use Committee meeting, we learned that Kitsap County has signed an agreement with the Department of Ecology (DOE) to postpone its Shoreline Master Program (SMP) update for one year — from December 2011 to 2012.

We also learned that the Bainbridge Island Planning Director will be asking the council to approve a similar delay to facilitate coordination with the County and that DOE has said they would approve it with no effect on recently approved grant money.

Other sources tell us that a number of legislators plan to propose a two-year deferral of deadlines for SMP updates during coming legislative session. They say that the proposal has support from the Association of Washington Cities.

The current economic downturn and falling tax revenues make it particularly hard for cities and counties to cope with SMP updates at this time. An extension seems reasonable since it would take a bit of budgetary pressure off local jurisdictions.

It is unclear at this point is how such a delay might effect the Puget Sound Partnership’s plan to request a shoreline moratorium that would halt construction of bulkheads and docks in “sensitive areas” until new rules are approved. However, it would push back a predicted COBI moratorium, authorized in last year’s legislative session, to July 1, 2011.

Bainbridge gets $200K to help fund SMP update.

On October 13th, the Department of Ecology (DOE) announced the recipients of $6.3 million in legislatively approved grants to 70 cities and counties in the Puget Sound region to help modernize their existing shoreline policies and development regulations, also called “shoreline master programs” or SMPs. The City of Bainbridge Island received a $200K grant.

To some, this is viewed as a way for the Legislature to fund the mandated SMP updates, since each city and county must go through the process. Others see it as an expensive way to appear to support the local control outlined in the Shoreline Management Act, while substituting direct control by the DOE.

Why do they say this? Property owners in Jefferson and San Juan Counties report that DOE has been providing detailed drafts of their preferred SMP updates and making it clear that they won’t accept any substantive changes. Whatever the reasons, the check is in the mail and the game is afoot.

Kitsap lawmaker says Ecology overstepping its authority.

Rep. Jan Angel has sent letters this week to the state departments of Ecology and Commerce asking its directors to refrain from creating new shoreline policies and guidance.

The issue centers around which jurisdiction takes precedence in setting shoreline rules and buffers: the state’s Shoreline Management Act (SMA) or the Growth Management Act (GMA). GMA governs “critical areas” which the Department of Ecology contends should cover some shorelines with generally more restrictive rules.

Both laws have been in conflict and the subject of litigation involving Kitsap County’s shoreline buffer zones. However, Angel says the state Supreme Court ruled last year that the Shoreline Management Act is the governing jurisdiction for the state’s shorelines.

Now, she says, without legislative authority, the Department of Ecology has issued “interim guidance” and is developing new policies on how governments can deal with critical areas within the shorelines.

Bainbridge to make environmental committee permanent.

Testimony by Ken Sethney on behalf of Bainbridge Shoreline Homeowners
at the COBI City Council Land Use Committee 10/20/09
re: Resolution 2009-27 making ETAC a permanent volunteer committee

Bainbridge Shoreline Homeowners is happy that the Council is working to make the Environmental Technical Advisory Committee (ETAC) permanent. We support the notion that there will be a core committee and a pool of experts available for consultation. That said, we have some suggestions after reading proposed resolution #2009-27 (full text below).

Section 1 seems very comprehensive in its scope. However, while item E references the Growth Management Act, there is no reference to the Shoreline Management Act. Since the legislature, the governor and the courts have made it clear that local Shoreline Master Plans are be governed by the SMA and not the GMA, it may be prudent to reference the appropriate language here to avoid future complications.

Section 2 lays out the qualifications and terms of those who will serve on the committee and in the consulting pool. WAC 365-195-905(4) sets forth the appropriate scientific expertise. However, we are concerned about balance on the committee and in the pool of experts.

Rumor control: Do planners want your home to fall into Puget Sound?

by Ken Sethney, Chair, Bainbridge Shoreline Homeowners

It is often said that COBI Planners — or Dept. of Ecology bureaucrats — or some evil, shadow government masterminds — want all shoreline properties to erode and all “nonconforming” homes to fall into the water.

That’s why they want to declare your home to be “nonconforming”. That’s why they don’t want you to build or repair a bulkhead. That’s why they don’t want you to build a dock, or plant a lawn or have garden with anything in it but “native plants”. Be afraid, be very afraid!

Sounds a bit paranoid, doesn’t it?

That’s what we thought until we received a copy of a presentation on nonconforming uses and structures delivered to local planners and consultants by Betty Renkor, Senior Shorelines Planner, Department of Ecology.

Bainbridge SMP Update report.

Alice Tawresey, former Winslow mayor and Bainbridge Shoreline Homeowners treasurer, submitted the following report concerning a meeting with City planning director, Kathy Cook on 8/29…

The City has signed the DOE grant which will give them funding for the SMP update process, specifically for outreach and scientific studies. They are waiting for DOE counter-signature before they can proceed. At this point, the only work that has been done is the inventory.

Over the summer the city employed an intern who worked without salary doing inventory work in preparation of the SMP update. That individual is returning to school to finish a masters degree.

Due to the departure of Peter Best, the city is currently in the process if hiring someone with expertise in the area of shoreline regulation, government processes, knowledge of the RCW and WACs covering SMP updating. They have written a job description and plan to put it out through both general channels and through some “targeted recruiting”.

Legal response to Jefferson County’s draft SMP.

by Dennis D. Reynolds, Land Use Attorney, Bainbridge Island

I represent The Olympic Stewardship Foundation (“the OSF”). The OSF’s membership includes a broad array of citizens, property owners and business owners in Jefferson County. The OSF is a non-profit organization dedicated to representing the voice of rural landowners. Its members support the shared belief that citizens, particularly those who live on their land, are capable of providing the very best care and management for the environment in which they live. The core of the OSF’s founding members have a demonstrated record of maintaining and improving on-the-ground conservation in Jefferson County.