Title
Agenda Item:
Public Hearing - Shoreline Master Program
Body
Issue:
Conduct public hearing on draft Shoreline Master Program.
Committee Recommendation:
N/A
City Manager's Recommendation:
Conduct Public Hearing on the draft Shoreline Master Program and hold the public record open for additional written comment until 5:00 PM on Tuesday February 5, 2013.
Staff Contact:
Keith Stahley, Director, Community Planning and Development Department, 360.753.8337
Presenter(s):
Keith Stahley
Background and Analysis:
At the December 18, 2012 City Council meeting staff presented a draft Shoreline Master Plan for City Council direction. Council directed staff to finalize the document for the public hearing. While staff has reformatted the document for legal purposes and continued to refine the document from an editorial perspective, staff has not made substantive changes to the SMP that was considered on December 18th. The January 22, 2013 Public Hearing draft is Attachment 1.
Staff anticipates that following the public hearing and close of the record City Council will provide further direction to staff to finalize the SMP. Attachment 2 is a proposed schedule. Following the close of the public record on February 5, 2013, staff will assemble the record for Council's review and consideration. Staff will analyze this input and provide City Council an assessment and options on how to address key issues on February 26th.
ESA, an environmental consulting firm, has completed the Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) for the proposed SMP. Their assessment is included as Attachment 3. The CIA finds that, "The cumulative actions taken over time in accordance with the City's Draft SMP are not likely to result in a net loss of shoreline ecological functions from existing baseline conditions."
The General Assessment of Cumulative Impacts continues, "As described in the Shoreline Inventory and Characterization Reports, past and ongoing uses along Olympia's shorelines have led to altered shoreline functions. Development and increased impervious surface have led to water quality degradation, shoreline modifications have altered natural hydrological processes, and loss of riparian vegetation and overwater structures have altered habitats. However, as described above, updates to shoreline environment designations, requirement of mitigation sequencing, use regulations and development standards, along with implementation of the shoreline restoration plan, provide substantially improved protection of shoreline functions. In concert with implementation of restoration actions in the city and other ongoing state and federal programs, the regulatory provisions of the Draft SMP would serve to maintain the overall condition of shoreline resources in the city and largely avoid long term cumulative impacts."
Additionally, ESA conducted an evaluation and comparison of the existing and proposed shoreline regulations (Attachment 4). They have also prepared two section drawings that help to illustrate the relationship of a building to the shoreline with and without a bulkhead included as Attachments 6 and 7. This work, while applicable to all marine shorelines, focuses on the West Bay area. Their work is included as Attachments 3 - 7.
The summary comparison concludes that, "The biggest change from the existing SMP to the proposed Draft SMP would be the establishment of vegetation conservation area standards establishing protective standards for existing native vegetation and requiring installation of native vegetation when mitigation is necessary to offset impacts. Other major changes would include:
1. Requiring all shoreline uses and developments to meet the concept of no net loss of shoreline ecological functions and processes not just developments located over-water that are impacted fish and wildlife habitat.
2. Limiting public access requirements to residential developments of more than 9 lots or dwelling units.
3. Adding two more requirements for non-water-oriented uses. In addition to providing public access, they must be part of mixed use developments that includes a water-oriented uses and provide shoreline enhancement/restoration.
4. Prohibition of new over-water covered moorage and covered moorage expansion.
5. Restricting the creation of dry land to a specific list of uses and establishing standards for shoreland fill.
6. Establishment of robust shoreline stabilization measures to ensure that there is a demonstrated need and that erosion is not caused by upland conditions."
Attachment 7 provides a table that includes a more detailed point by point comparison of the 1990 and 2012 regulations.
Neighborhood/Community Interests (if known):
There has been broad community input throughout the SMP update process and City Council has conducted workshop meetings with a variety of stakeholders and interest groups to gain insight into the proposed SMP.
Options:
1. Conduct a Public Hearing on the draft Shoreline Master Program and hold the public record open for additional written comment until 5:00 PM on Tuesday February 5, 2013.
Financial Impact:
No direct impacts.