Title
Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO), Phase 2, Locally Important Habitat and Species Briefing
Recommended Action
Information only. No action requested.
Report
Issue:
Whether to receive the information and update on Phase 2 of the CAO, Locally Important Habitat and Species.
Staff Contact:
Linda Bentley, Senior Planner, Community Planning and Development, 360.570.3746
Presenter(s):
Linda Bentley, Senior Planner, Community Planning and Development
Background and Analysis:
Under the Washington State Growth Management Act (GMA), the City is required to update the Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) periodically as part of the City's Comprehensive Plan update. The required update included a mandate that the City's critical areas sections in the development code must be reviewed to ensure consistency with current best available science (BAS).
In addition to the required update, the Land Use and Environment Committee directed staff to include a review of potential additional protections for locally important habitat and species. To ensure staff could complete the state-required BAS updates by the deadline and to allow more time for an in-depth look at the locally important habitat species issue, we divided the tasks into Phase 1 (BAS) and Phase 2 (habitat and species).
Finally, when the City amends its CAO, it must also amend its Shoreline Master Program (SMP) to adopt the new CAO by reference.
Phase 1 of the CAO was approved by City Council on July 19, 2016. The tentative future timeline for Phase 2 follows:
Jan 9, 2017 Planning Commission Briefing
Jan 18, 2017 Public Open House
Feb-Mar 2017 Planning Commission Public Hearing (Including SMP amendment)
Mar-Apr 2017 City Council Ordinance adoption (Including SMP Ordinance to adopt amended CAO)
After hearing concerns and getting suggestions from a technical working group, staff and consultant Environmental Science Associates (ESA) did additional research and consulted with other jurisdictions regarding t...
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