Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Uh, I would like to call the March 10th Planning Commission meeting in to order. You'd like to take the role, please. Commissioner Mills, present. Commissioner Ryan, Commissioner Dretzky, present. Commissioner Mcomes, present. Commissioner Martin, here. Did I Did I'm sorry. Did you say uh Commissioner Martin is or I mean Commissioner Ryan is still trying to get logged in, but he has not been successful yet. Thank you.

Uh please stand and join me with a pledge to the flag. And again, we have multiple flags to pick from. I guess we'll face forward. Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

First item on the agenda are the uh two sets of minutes that were presented to us this uh December 10th and um February 11th. Um they've been submitted for approval. Any comments or questions, Mr. Chair? Yes.

Um on the uh 1210 2025 there there's a couple of little typos and um I'm just um asking that the one motion Mr. Mcomes made I believe he read that motion from the staff u recommendation and if that could be put in instead of um what is there right now what is there right now it says recommended the planning commission to move the city council for the port

of cortis west basin redevelopment etc and it's not doesn't quite make sense but it would make sense if it was just put in there wasn't any read it. Okay. And Commissioner Ryan has joined us. Good evening. Good evening.

Um we are discussing uh the minutes or in the agenda regarding the minutes uh from uh December and February. Would you like to make a motion with those corrections? I'd like to move to approve the minutes of December 10th, 2025 with um the few typos and with the revision of that the wording for Mr. Mcome's motion. And do we have a second? I second that motion. Second by Mr. Mcomes. Um standard to call just call for a vote at this point. Okay. Do do we need to call out individually or can we just uh All in favor say I.

I. All opposed by the same sign. Motion passes. I'm a nay. I'm sorry. I'm a nay on that motion since I was not present at the meeting. Oh, okay. Well, it would be a nay or an abstain. Abstain. I'm sorry. Okay. Correct myself. I'll abain. And I'm sorry. What' you say, Mr. Ryan? No, I'll abstain. I wasn't at the meeting either. Okay. Um and then we'll move on to the um February meeting. Any uh any comments regarding that one? Mr. Chairman.

Yes, Mr. Mills. In the February minutes, just two very minor corrections on the first item, election of officers. We've got some words reversed. It says that Linda Martin advised that there will be two elected officials for today's meeting. I think we need to reverse the words officials and elected. We are electing two officials not okay point number one

point number two is close to the end during the planning department update it was stated that I had a question about the impact of fees on ADUs and the word of is extraneous to my statement it's just impact fees okay um I also noted that uh in a roll call uh Paul Paul Ryan was present. Then right below that it says he was absent. So this is regarding the February 11th meeting. Maybe Mr. Ryan could enlighten me whether he was in attendance or not in attendance on February 11th.

You know that's a good question. Um I don't have my calendar open. We can check the video. Yeah, please please do that. Thank you guys. All right. Any other any other corrections have to be noted? Do we have a motion to accept those with the corrections? So moved. And do we have a second? I second that motion. Okay. So we have a uh we have a motion and we have a second. So we we'll we'll vote the same way we did the previous set of minutes. All in favor of accepting these with the correction say I. I. I. All opposed by the same sign.

Motion passes. All right. Um, do we have any public comment tonight? Please stand up and state your your name. Evidently, nobody here tonight to uh do that. Do we have anybody online? There are no hands raised. I'm sorry. There are no hands raised. Okay. So, public comment is going to be very, very limited. Um, public hearings, other business, I guess we're down to Shoreline Master program overview and periodic update reintroduction. Good evening.

Good evening, uh, Planning Commission. Hello, Commissioner Ryan. Um, uh, so I've got a PowerPoint presentation here. Okay. So, um, I am here this evening to talk or well to to give the planning commission a I'm not going to say brief because it's a little bit longer than brief, but um to to kind of refresh your memories about what the uh Anacorta Shoreline Master program is. Um, and I'm going to just walk through well here I'll show you. Um, I'm going to walk through the basics of the shoreline management act, which is um the reason that we have a shoreline master program. Um, I'm going to walk through the Anacortis uh shoreline the currently adopted Anacortis shoreline master program and talk about the different chapters within that um and key policies and and regulations. Um and then uh we'll try something and and go through kind of a example um review process where um we'll take a look at a potential project in shoreline jurisdiction and kind of walk through the steps of what as as a planner what we're looking for um in an application. And I hoping it will also help um potentially members of the public or um property owners that have shoreline properties to uh kind of become more familiar with the uh what they might look up to to know more about what they can do with their property and what some

of the um allowances and restrictions might be. Um, and then finally, we'll move into the periodic update of the Shoreline Master program requirements under the Shoreline Management Act and talk a little bit about the status of the um periodic update that was uh initiated in 2019. All right. So, um, just to kick it off, uh, why are shorelines important? Um I think we all you know living in Anacortis we all have an understanding for the value that they can um bring to our lives improving our quality of life um supporting economic vitality for the community um uh you know waterfront industrial um uh marine industries tourism and recreation um waterfront supports all of those. Um there are a lot of recreational opportunities that come from having shorelines including you know uh boating sh uh you know all of these trails parks we love our shorelines. Um so there are a lot of reasons to want to preserve and protect and plan for them um in a in a way to ensure that they are uh sustainable and healthy for generations. Um so the Shoreline Management Act is the state law that um was enacted in 1971, adopted by the legislature and then ratified by the voters in 1972 and um it had the overarching goal of preventing the inherent harm in an uncoordinated and peacemeal development of the state's shoreline. So there was a

lot of concern at the time in the years prior um that you know projects were happening on shorelines there was no plan um there were environmental impacts resulting um and the um public's use of um the waterways was being impacted and so uh the shoreline management act arose out of that situation and established a statewide framework for managing accessing and protect protecting the shorelines in Washington. The SMA sets up a partnership between the Washington state and local governments. Um, it requires local jurisdictions to develop shoreline master programs that uh work to implement the SMAS's policies and um the department of ecology at the state level provides technical assistance to local governments and um ensures compliance with the uh shoreline management act. There are three uh broad policies of the shoreline management act and those are to protect the environmental resources of the state shorelines and um promoting public access and enjoyment opportunities and also giving priority to uses that require a shoreline application. So that means um at uses that rely on water access, the SMA gives those uh preferred status over uses that don't necessarily have to be located along the water in order for them to to function.

So the Anacortis shoreline master program is the comp a comprehensive land use plan for the shoreline area and um as I mentioned it's intended to carry out the policies of the shoreline management act in a way that is consistent with the Anacortis comprehensive plan um and uh um local um existing actual conditions on on the ground that are local to um specific to Anacortis. The SMP is both a planning and a regulatory document. So it has goals and policies uh for the use, development, protection and restoration of shorelines. And then it also has um development regulations that uh apply to um development activities in the shorelines that are intended to implement the goals and policies. And it also uh sets up an administrative process um that includes the shoreline permit systems and enforcement that the city uses to um review development applications for uh conformance with the S&P. because this is a long longer presentation, please feel free to interrupt me if you have any questions. Thanks. Um, okay. So, the Shoreline Management Act um applies uh within Shoreline jurisdiction. And so, shoreline Oh, this is my one slide with animation. So shoreline jurisdiction um includes all marine waters uh streams and rivers with greater than 20 cubic feet per second mean annual flow and

there are none of those in Anacortis so we don't have to worry about that. uh lakes 20 acres or larger, which we do have a couple, and upland areas uh that extend 200 feet landward from the ordinary high watermark of the marine shorelines and lakes and also associated wetlands. Um just a little background on the history of the shoreline master program in Anacortis. Um as I mentioned the SMA was adopted in 1972 and Anacortis adopted its first um shoreline master program in 1977. So it's been around for quite a while. Um over time there have been various amendments. Some were smaller, some were larger. In 2001, there was a pretty significant rewrite to implement the Fidalgo Bay plan. Um, and then in 2010, there was a um pretty a very significant uh rewrite pretty much of the shoreline master program. So, that was the last periodic update that uh the city did on its shoreline master program. And for that update process, um it was significant because the department of ecology, which is responsible for, um developing the guidance for jurisdictions when they do their periodic updates um and when they're drafting their shoreline master programs. um they up updated their guidance in 2003 and um it was really a kind of a big shift in

how things were done. It was a shift towards a more science-based um ecosystem management. There was a requirement for uh jurisdictions to do a shoreline inventory and characterization studies of their shorelines. So actually um going out and uh inven oops inventorying the shorelines, looking at um you know existing uses uh areas where there was intact um native vegetation areas you know to preserve areas where there was industry. Um so actually looking at the existing conditions um on the ground and um what the ecological um conditions were. Um this allowed for better uh designation of each of the shoreline. So each of the areas along the city shoreline now is has a shoreline environment designation. And so that was based on the the work that came out of the inventory and characterization. Um also the new requirements in in the ecology guidance in 2003 um required uh the city include policies to ensure no net loss of ecological functions um that arise from development along the city's shorelines. So these the images on the right are the uh reports that were done for that major update in 2010. The actual um the update actually wasn't required to be done until 2012, but the city was early uh and and finished it in 2010. So

that's why I've got 2010 and 2012 in the title there. But these reports are um available on the website. Um and it so it's just a lot of background information that supported that that major update. Uh one of the changes in the um department of ecology guidance was how critical areas are treated within shoreline jurisdiction. So um under the growth management act we know that the city is required to designate and protect critical areas and to protect their functions and values and um where critical areas occur within shoreline jurisdiction. They are now they are regulated by the uh shoreline master program alone and not the g the critical areas regulations that are required under the growth management act. So um before there was some before the last periodic update that was a major topic um that was that needed to be addressed with that update the the confusion about which legislation which body of legislation applied within shoreline jurisdiction. Was it growth management act or shoreline manage or growth management act or shoreline management act? So that was resolved and um after those major periodic updates were completed uh the um critical areas within shoreline jurisdiction only are regulated by the shoreline master program. I'm going to slow down and take a sip of water.

Okay. So, um there are several options for how jurisdictions uh treat critical areas or how they incorporate them into the shoreline master program. um some jurisdictions or one option is to just embed the critical areas regulations directly into the um body of the the goals and policies and regulations of the shoreline master program. The other way is to um incorporate by reference your growth management act critical areas regulations or the applicable provisions. you incorporate those by reference into the shoreline master program. There are parts of the critical areas regulations that sometimes don't aren't uh don't comply with SMA. So that's you're including portions of the critical areas regulations but not not all of them. The way that the city um incorporates critical areas regulations in its 2010 uh SMP is um we have there's a an appendix appendix A at the end of the S&P that contains the critical areas regulations for shoreline areas and that can be confusing for people for some reason. Um, okay. So, uh, this is our 2010 shoreline master program that I've been talking about. Um, it was adopted in well, it was approved by ecology and became effective in September of 2010. And this is just an outline of the different parts of the SMP. And I won't read through them. I'll

spare you that. Uh this is the official shoreline environment designation map that is within the SMP and um I was talking about those shoreline environment designations earlier along the different reaches of shoreline and you can see the different colors here. I'll try to I guess I can't zoom in. Um but each of the different colors represents a different shoreline environment designation. The orange is the consery designation. Oh, I guess I do have a couple more animations. So, I'll I'll get into the um shoreline environment designations here in just a minute, but this is the a nice map that shows uh the entire city limits and all of the areas that are within shoreline jurisdiction and are uh regulated by the shoreline master program and the shoreline management act. So all the way along the marine shoreline um down uh along Fedalago Bay and there's a small portion over here on Padilla Bay that is also in shoreline jurisdiction. Um, and then of course the Whistle Lake, Heart Lake, a little itty bitty teeny portion of Lake Erie down here on the the very edge, and um, Little Cranberry Lake. Uh, and then we've got the Skyline area, Washington Park. The, um, associated wetlands that we talked about. So the uh ship harbor wetlands are included in shoreline jurisdiction uh as are the wetlands that are

associated with cranberry lake cranberry and I think that's it. Any questions on that map? Okay. So um this next part of the presentation just goes through I showed you the initial chap list of chapters within the S&P. So this is just going to hit on each of the chapters and what's what's included. So you have a nice overview of of everything that's in this document. Uh so chapter 2 includes the scope and it talks about the um applicability of the shoreline master program and uh so the S&P applies to all uses and development within shoreline jurisdiction. Development is actually defined under the shoreline management act and I it's a long definition. I put it down here at the bottom. Um but it it includes a lot. It's basically um you know any exterior alteration or construction of uh new of structures um grading bulkheads driving and piling. Uh so lots of different activities on the shoreline are covered by the the S&P. Chapter three of the S&P gets into the administrative provisions. So it talks about the um different types of shoreline permits that may be required for development along the shoreline. Um the there are three types of shoreline permits under the shoreline management act. Um there is the shoreline substantial development permit

and um those are required for all developments unless they are specifically exempt and uh let's see required for all developments that meet the legal definition of substantial development. So um as I mentioned development is defined and substantial development means any development which total cost or fair market value exceeds $8,500. Um conditional use permits are not as common as a shoreline substantial development permit but they still do happen from time to time. uh but shoreline conditional use permit is required if a particular use is listed as a conditional use in uh the shoreline environment designation or um if the SMP doesn't actually address that particular use. So if there's a situation where um somebody proposes a use that SMP just didn't anticipate um then it would be processed via a shoreline conditional use permit. Shoreline conditional use permits have uh criteria um that the application needs to demonstrate that they meet and those are established by the state law and the department of ecology after the local jurisdiction has finished its uh review and decision process um the permit gets sent to the department of ecology for their approval or their decision. And it's the same process for shoreline variance permit. Uh variances are used to allow project to deviate from the SMP's dimensional standards. So, um,

setbacks, height, those types of standards is a, uh, specific permit under the SMP or excuse me, yeah, the SMP. Um, that has specific criteria that need to be demonstrated and those permits also go to Department of Ecology after the local decision decision process is over. Oh yeah. So, this says the proposals for development activities within shoreline jurisdiction may require uh one of these permits or two or all of them or none at all. So, it really depends on the scope of the the proposal and what the use is and um the extent of of the development. Uh the other type of um I'm not going to call it a permit because it's not a permit, but um it is an authorization is a letter of exemption from the requirement to get a shoreline substantial development permit. Um so exemptions are uh very they are defined in the um in the shoreline management rules. So, there's a list of I don't know like 15 or 20 different types of projects that are exempt from having to go through the full shoreline permitting process. Some of the um examples at least that are common in Anacortis that we see a lot of are um like projects for normal uh maintenance or repair. um you know, a a dock gets damaged and somebody needs to go in and you know, fix fix a piling or or um even replace an existing dock

like for like in the same location, same size that would be processed as an exemption. Um another common exemption is a uh single family residences and a pertinent structures. Um and another common one is well not that common but um sometimes we'll get uh requests for an exemption for site investigation. So people have to um for like for a marina redevelopment where they're doing uh you know a new breakwater or um work like that they have to go in and test the sediment or for either for um you know toxic materials or to figure out how deep they need to put the piles when they do the redevelopment. So even something like that requires review and uh authorization by the city. But an exemption, letter of exemption is not a big deal. It's um it it doesn't go through the full, you know, uh notice of application, public review process. It's an administrative uh decision and um usually only takes a couple of weeks.

Mr. Dretzky. Um, quick quick question. Um, I'm probably just not understanding the single family residence. So, if I want to build a single family resident within the shoreline jurisdiction, I just need a housing permit. I don't need a shoreline permit. Is that what you're saying? So, you would need a letter of exemption from the requirement to get a shoreline permit. So, that's correct. It's a um the letter of exemption and then a building permit for for the residents are the permits that you would need. And how would I get that letter of exemption?

You you would apply um just like the application for a a building permit. It's just an application form that gets submitted to the city. Got it. Thank you.

Yeah. Um, so developments that are exempt from having to go through that full shoreline process are still uh still have to comply with all of the applicable um SMP policies and regulations. Um, so it doesn't give you a break from any of those. It's just the procedural the process aspect um of of the permitting that you are exempt from. So, city staff is reviewing those exemptions for all the same things that we would for a shoreline substantial development permit. Um, okay. So, moving on to chapter four of the SMP. Um so this this chapter has uh goals and policies just kind of like um you know the comprehensive plan. These are uh different elements that are um you know larger shoreline management issues topics of of um uh shoreline management. So the shoreline use element, economic development, circulation, public access. So there are goals and policies in the S&P about all of those topics and those goals and policies uh go to support and inform the more specific um goals and policies and regulations that we'll talk about here in a minute. So chapter five is the talks about the shoreline environment designations and associated goals and policies. Um, so the en the shoreline environment designations are intended to encourage development that will enhance the

present or desired character of the shoreline. I wish I had a I had an image that kind of shows the so basically it's the shoreline divided up into different reaches and um the the document that I told you about earlier the inventory and characterization each of the reaches is um uh discussed in terms of its physical character and uh biological characteristics of the shoreline and then that is what was used to develop the environment designations. This is that map again and it um includes all of the environment designations and then I just put a description of the purpose of each of the designations from the SMP. So um for example the conservancy designation which you'll see um along you know this portion of Gimish channel just north of Washington Park um there is a consery designation along the first 100 ft landward of ordinary high watermark so it's kind of a parallel designation along channel um I'm sorry that it's so small and I can't zoom in but that that first stripe of orange there you see is the conservancy designation and then the red is the shoreline residential designation. Um and then you'll see more conserancy designation along the Fidalgo Bay, some of the lakes and the southwest side of Capstani. Um,

the purpose of the conservancy designation is to protect and restore the public benefits and ecological functions of open space, natural areas, sensitive areas while allowing compatible uses. And so these are areas that are, you know, not not built out. They they still have some um uh functioning, you know, vegetation. They they still are um they still are providing public benefit and ecological functions that can be maintained and potentially some uses uh can be incorporated into those um if they are compatible. The natural shoreline environment is the next one that is um you'll see it like on the south side of Little Cranberry Lake, on the west side of H Heart Lake and around uh Washington Park. So that's like you know the really um uh the areas that are relatively free of human influence or include intact or minimally degraded shoreline functions. So those are some of the the best areas to you know preserve and make sure that the policies and regulations aren't allowing uh you know developments that's going to impact the functions and values. Um shoreline residential designation is you'll see along skyline uh along the little fingers and then down south to the city limits. Um and then again I mentioned it's also um along women's channel the second 100 feet from shoreline uh from the ordinary high watermark and then along over on camp capani there's some shoreline residential. So the this the purpose of that designation

is to accommodate residential development and uh also protect and restore ecological functions. Some of the more developed areas of the city or areas where the um comprehensive plan uh and zoning envision um you know commercial and industrial uses are designated urban and that's the yellow color that you'll see along the um Capsani and Fidalgo Bay up here and then also over in Skyline. This is uh formerly known as Lex uh Stabber Marine Maritime I think is the owner now. And then um urban maritime is is reserved for um the areas that are intended to preserve a variety of water dependent, water oriented and water related uh public, commercial and industrial uses. Um, so like uses that are associated with the port of Anacortis. So you'll see that along the north shoreline here and then down in the industrial uh zone on Fidelgo Bay. So those are our shoreline environment designations. So that's an important piece of information to know if you if you want to know what is allowed um if you own property on the shoreline. Uh, chapter six has the environmental protection general regulations and I'm just going to cruise through those. Um, so these are goals, policies and regulations about shoreline impacts, mitigation and bonding. Um, talks about

vegetation conservation for uh projects that are occurring. um along shorelines and then it also has the um pol goals and policies related to critical areas that are within shoreline jurisdiction. Chapter 7 um is our public Shorland public access policies. And so um in in those policies you'll see a requirement to provide public access for um many types of shoreline development. It is it is a requirement to uh incorporate um public access into the the development unless there are uh well in in certain circumstances it's not required like if it's a safety issue or or things like that. But um these policies require uh that consideration for larger developments. And it's got um design standards for what that access needs to look like, easement requirements um and other design issues, public private separation. And chapter 8 is uh specific use policies and development regulations. So, um these are all of the different types of uses that you might propose within shoreline jurisdiction. So there are actually specific uh policies and regulations applicable to each. So depending on the type of use that's proposed, you go to that use and you'll find the the specific um policies and regulations. Same thing for shoreline modification policies.

Uh so modifications include the actual you know physical changes to the uh shoreline. So boat launches, breakwaters, docks, fill, shoreline stabilization. Um those all have their own policies and regulations as well. Chapter 10 is related to enforcement and penalties. Chapter 11 talks about um the requirements for periodic review and update of the shoreline master program. Chapter 12 has a bunch of definitions. Um there are definitions that are specific to the shoreline management act. So it's important to you know they might have one meaning under the zoning code but the meaning is or the definition is a little bit different under the shoreline master program. Uh, appendix A again is the shoreline critical areas regulations that I um that I mentioned earlier. And appendix B is the uh shoreline restoration plan. Um, and this plan goes through and identifies uh goals and objectives for restoration of Anacortis' shorelines. Um, it has an inventory of uh projects that were in the works or planned back when the S&P was updated um by public agencies or environmental organizations. Um, so it kind of identifies here's some high priority uh projects that could happen to um improve uh ecological functions along the shoreline.

Okay. So, um, in this next, so that's the full Shoreline Master program. Now, you're experts. Um, so this next little part I was, um, we'll see how it goes, but I was just going to try to kind of walk through the different the steps that staff would go through or that a, um, person that, you know, maybe wanted to find out about what's permitted on their property and shoreline um, how would you go about finding that out? Uh, so this is kind of the overview of of how you would start. First, um you'd want to find out if the project is within shoreline jurisdiction. Um if if the location is in shoreline jurisdiction, if the use that you're wanting to do or the modification is allowed in the shoreline environment designation that the property is in. Um from there, if it is allowed, you would determine what kind of permit is required. So, is it does the um activity require a shoreline substantial development permit? conditional use. Does it require variance or is it exempt from the requirement to get a permit, a shoreline permit? Um, from there if you know once you know what kind of permit you need, you can go through and identify um what sections of the SMP apply based on your use and in shoreline environment designation and uh um the the scope of the development that's being proposed. Um the next steps at least out of for planners that are reviewing a project, maybe not u somebody that's just looking to find out what's allowed on their property. Um but the next um steps would

be to look at whether there are any environmental impacts or um impacts to shoreline um ecological resources that need to be mitigated. So um has the project uh been designed to avoid impacts? Um you know going through the mitigation sequencing of first looking at avoiding uh minimizing impacts or are the impacts unavoidable and they need to be mitigated. Do you have to provide um mitigation for for those impacts? And then for um the shoreline permits, the substantial development and conditional use, a public notice and comment period would be required typically or would be and then the local decision is issued filed with the department of ecology. If it's a shoreline conditional use or variance, um then ecology makes the final decision. And then after all of that uh if you are if you get an approval then an applicant can apply for a building permit to actually do the work. So they've gone through uh city's ensured that the project you know complies with the shoreline master program and the shoreline management act and um it's ready to be approved for construction. Oh, I just wanted to note also that the um Shoreline Master program and all of the regulations within it apply sort of as an overlay in addition to all of the applicable uh zoning and development regulations that apply to projects that

aren't in shoreline jurisdiction. Um so it it um all of those additional you know design standards, setbacks, height, uh storm water, those all still apply. It's just that the shoreline uh jurisdiction has these additional requirements that get overlaid. Okay. So in our example about the review steps that you would go through to uh determine um you know what's allowed on on a particular property and what the permit process would be. Uh so the first question that we were going to ask ourselves is is this project in shoreline jurisdiction? and to find out uh the city does have a interactive map that includes these um shoreline designations and the you know the distance here the width of this line is about 200 feet. We don't know exactly where the ordinary high water mark is. That's something that um gets defined in the field based on u um vegetation and you know usually a biologist would do that. Um, but this gives you kind of a good good idea of where shoreline jurisdiction ends. Um, so with this interactive map, you can find out if your properties in shoreline jurisdiction and then also what the environment designation is. So in this fictional example, we're going to pretend like uh we're looking at a property in skyline with a shoreline residential designation. and we want to build a house single family. Um, so the next step is to figure out if that proposed use or modification is allowed in the shoreline environment

designation of the property. So we know that the so this is now going into the shoreline master program. This is the table that um outlines all of the different shoreline environment designations along the top and then along the left hand side are um categories of uses. So very much like our zoning code and the uh permitted uses along the left hand side and the zones along the top. So in the we know that the property is zoned shoreline or excuse me designated shoreline residential. So we we're looking in this column and we know that we want to do a residential development of a single family home. So we come over and there's a P here which means it's permitted. So a single family home is a permitted use in the shoreline residential uh environment designation. So now that we figured that out, uh we need to figure out what type of permit is required, what type of shoreline permit is required for that for that development type. And so for a single family residence, we know that there is a specific exemption outlined in the WAC for um construction on shorelands by an owner, leie, or contract purchaser of a single family residence for their own use. Um so no spec homes. And so, uh, based on this exemption from the from the state, uh, state rules, um, we know that that is the type of shoreline authorization that is required. So, we don't have to do a shoreline permit. We don't need a conditional use permit or variance. It's just a letter of exemption.

So, at that point, if you're the applicant, you would get on the city's website and look at um you know, what do I need to submit with my application for a shoreline exemption to build a single family home? And so, we have submittal checklists that you can look at and it identifies everything that would need to be submitted. So, uh, once that well, and you'll also want to take a look at what the specific, uh, environment designation policies and regulations are, um, and also the specific use, um, requirements. So, I just kind of listed out the different sections of the SMP would that would apply in this particular case uh for a new single family home in the Shoreline Residential SEDD. So, uh Shoreline residential regulations in section 5.9 talk about the required setbacks. So I know in that particular area in Skyline because it's, you know, already developed uh with single family homes that are relatively close to the ordinary high water mark already. Um the setback requirement there is 25 ft. So that's the smallest setback we have for uh non-water dependent use. Um and I think that might be the smallest one for residential development. But that's you know recognizing the existing development pattern out there. Um that section also talks about impervious surface limits. So depending on the slope of the lot there are there's a maximum uh ranges from like 20 to 30% maximum impervious surface. And then there are also requirements for

either retaining existing riparian vegetation if there is any. I know that particular area it's not super likely that there's a lot. Um but if there is native riparian vegetation that would need to be shown on the site plan that gets submitted and um it would need to be retained during construction. Um and then and if there is no native riparian vegetation u then a planting plan that adds new vegetation would be required. Um so that's the um environment designation. There's also uh other sections that are applicable. the vegetation conservation section and um that's above and beyond the the just the one that's specific to shoreline residential. Um that has requirements for vegetation retention and replacement and regulations for trimming. Um you know on some properties uh you know folks want to be able to continue trim like maintaining a view. Um so there are regulations for how you know what's what's required there what's allowed. Um and then there's also for residential development generally we need to be looking at uh is even you know meeting the requirements for setbacks. We need to make sure that the uh new structures going to be located to avoid the need for future uh structural shore defense if there were none. in shoreline or in skyline. We know there's, you know, the existing uh rockery along most of the most of that shoreline. Um, but those are all considerations that staff would

be looking at as part of a review. Um and then the bottom line with all of these um uh decisions that the city is issuing for either for a shoreline exemption or any of the other types of permits is uh you know that we need to be ensuring that there is no net loss of ecological functions necessary to sustain shoreline resources. So that's, you know, something that we're trying to look at for or that we are looking at for every single permit, looking at what the impacts are. Can they be avoided? What's the mitigation? Uh, you know, are we are we maintaining that baseline? Um, okay. So, this moves on to the next step in the process where um you know, we've we've looked at um all of the application materials and uh you know, we've determined that yes, we can approve this uh exemption, but we need to add some conditions to make sure that uh the new development will comply with SMP. So you might have some conditions about um completing the shoreline planting before uh final occupancy of the home. There might be a requirement for uh maintenance and monitoring plan to make sure that the vegetation that is uh planted actually survives. And um then also there might be a requirement for uh recording a notice on title that identifies you know this um this area on the lot or the shoreline vegetation is needs to be retained so that future owners know that you know they can't go in and mow it down. Um, and then the the rest of these steps

aren't really applicable to a shoreline exemption because there is no public notice or comment with that type of authorization. Um, the decision that would be issued is the exemption letter and then the applicant could could apply for a building permit and we don't file those with ecology to typically. All right, thanks for bearing with me on that. Um, the next little section that we have, and we're almost done, is uh to give you an update on, so I just kind of walked through all of the aspects of our current existing adopted 2010 Shoreline Master program. Um, we are required to update our Shoreline Master program every 10 years. uh for the last periodic update that was due, the city began um up the began the update process in 2019. Um, and the city was also at the same time updating the uh critical areas requirements that were required under GMA with the intent of um incorporating those updated regulations into the shoreline master program. We got pretty far in the process. Um, Commissioner Martin, I think you might be the only one that or No, I think you might be the only one that was around for that process.

I think so. I think Mr. Drezky. Yeah. Okay. Two out of five. Yeah, that's pretty good actually. Two out of four tonight. So, Mr. Ryan's attending. Oh, Mr. Ryan, sorry. Yep.

We think he's attending. Um so anyways we you know the the process got pretty far. Um there were public you know open houses meetings drafts uh environmental review um a uh draft was sent to the department of ecology to get their uh initial determination of consistency which was provided. Um and the planning commission recommended approval of the updates to the city council. Um city council in let's see I guess it was in 2022 uh wanted to see the condition or the uh recommended changes that planning commission had provided them. They wanted to see those integrated into the document along with some other changes and then gone out for another public a round of public review. And so we did that. Uh there was another public comment period um in October of 2022, I think. Um, and during all of that, there were also appeals of the city's critical areas regulations ongoing. And so we got to a point where, you know, the plan to integrate the critical area regulations into the S&P. There was a question about whether um, you know, that was going to be possible because of the ongoing appeals and uncertainty of what the final regulations would look like. Um, so the appeals were finally resolved in uh the end of 2023, I want to say. But by then we were on to the the comprehensive plan update for 2025. Um so that's just a little bit of history of of where that process was,

where it got left off. Um and you know now uh we are wanting to uh reintroduce that process and and get back uh started. So just a a brief reminder of what that periodic update was focused on. Um it was not like a major comprehensive update like the previous update in 2010. Um it was primarily focused on looking at what the uh updates to the shoreline management act and other state laws were since the 2010 adoption of the of the S&P and um incorporating any needed amendments based on those. Um it was also looking at consistency with the Anacortis comp plan. There were some changes to uh there were some inconsistencies between the future land use designation of some of the properties and the shoreline environment designation. So there were maybe like four different locations where that was proposed to be changed for consistency. um looking at consistency with other city regulations and making those updates. And then uh organizationally the or uh you know um right now we have a standalone SMP the proposal with the last update was to uh codify the the the regulations out of the shoreline master program um and put those into the development regulations. So all development regulations for zoning for for everything for shoreline would all be in one location and then migrating the shoreline goals and policies into the comp plan as a um shoreline element of the comprehensive plan. So they're

the standalone SMP would um would go away and the policies would go with the comp plan where the policies are and the regulations would go with the development regulations. So that was the plan. Um and yeah, I mean I think those are the the the main updates that uh were the subject of that update. So, oh, this is just a a timeline of what had been completed during that process. Excuse me. Can you go back that one slide? Yep.

Um, in 2023, were those things implemented then when the appeals were resolved? Uh, no. All the proposed changes, the the periodic update is uh was delayed. the completing the periodic update was was delayed and we are uh looking to reinitiate that process. Okay. The planning commission.

Okay, that's that's all I have. Are there any other questions? Thank you so much for bearing with me through that. Well, I guess I I will continue along that vein. Um, is a lot of the work that was done um have to be re redone or is a lot of it is that sort of set the foundation for going forward a couple years later?

We're we're still um evaluating exactly what the the the next steps need to be. Um we wanted to you know bring this to the planning commission and provide this refresher on what the SMP um is and um you know talk about uh you know moving forward what what the requirements are but I think the as far as what process and what the content of the um update will be after today that's not been uh we don't have the specifics on that. Okay. Yeah. Um,

as the state has modified what they want want done, have we changed have we modified that plan put in place in 2010 to keep up with the mandated requirements for the state?

Um, the the state is is working on um they're they continue to work on updates to their to their to their guidelines and to their rules. There's some in draft form right now. Um, you know, I don't the the draft where we left off with the periodic update um addressed all of the changes that had happened to the state law between 2019 when we started that process. We would we would want to take a look at what's changed since 2019 and see if that needs to be integrated into the update moving forward, but

that's not been done yet. The city was forced in that n all the changes done in that 9-year period. They were they were they were became requirements for permit process or application process. I'm sorry, I missed the first part of that. The state made changes between 2010 and 2019. I'm sure they had a steady diet of changes coming down the pike and uh those then were always incorporated into the city's plan for how you got a permit and everything. The the Yeah, all the changes to state law were incorporated into the proposed amendments SMP. Yeah, they haven't been adopted yet because we haven't adopted that the update. Thank you.

Y just for clarification, can you go back I think one slide. This Yeah, this slide. So it says what's included and um can you clarify is this for the shoreline master plan for this update we're move you said you were moving the regulations the shoreline regulations into the is that into the city regulations. Yeah. Into the um development regulations in title 19. Okay. of the municipal code

and then the shoreline goals and policies to the comprehensive plan. So essent is is there going to be any S SNP after this review or is it all going to be found in other documents and there with this plan there would not be a standalone SMP document. It would be uh integrated into other other documents. So that is something to you know to consider. um it is consistent with uh you know ecologies guidance on on you know acceptable ways to to do things. So Okay. When you say ecology, are you talking about the state ecology? The state department of ecology. I'm sorry. Yeah. All right. Thank you,

Mr. Dretzky. Yes, Dr. Martin. So um so if the shoreline uh plan is going to become an element in the comprehensive plan and we've looked previously at the comprehensive plan before it was the new comprehensive plan. It seems like we have to go back that far to um the comp plan itself. That that seems like what we need to do. But you're evaluating. We are evaluating. Yes. I mean, we'll we'll want to make sure that um you know, everything is consistent and and not in conflict. So, right.

That's that'll be part of what we're looking at. Thanks, Mr. Chairman. Yes, Mr. Mills. I think my question is similar to all three of them. When it comes to recommending changes, what is the baseline that we're recommending changes to? Is it the 2010 document or is it the draft document from 2019? I I think we're still evaluating what the best path forward is. Okay. Yeah, it's the same question. Okay. It's a good question.

Is there a deadline for when this all has to be done? like like like there was on the comp plan. Well, we had been planning to complete it this year um after the completion of the comprehensive plan update, the periodic update of the comp plan. So, that is that is the goal.

Is it is it safe to assume that whatever led to all the appeals and the basically the the difference of opinion about what what should be done that those won't pop up after you do a lot more work again. I mean, those are those have been satisfied and those people and whoever brought those issues up is uh is is is in accepting the fact that we're going to be doing it now. And again, I guess my my fear is that the the city does a lot of work and then all of a sudden there's appeals again. So, it's a it's a long hard process for you guys and and get to a date where all of a sudden the appeals start popping up. Yeah, I don't I don't think I have comments on that.

I I don't think that it's, you know, I it's it's hard to say.

Any other comments or questions? Well, thank you very much for bringing us up to date and uh telling us how we got to where we are now. It' be interesting to see where it goes. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Thank you for your attention. and I appreciate it. Planning department update.

Good evening, Planning Commission members. Uh, I'm John Coleman, director of planning, community, economic development, and uh, last month I think I buried you in planning commission updates. So, uh, I don't think there's really much to report since then. Um, no, none of none of your aside from trying to think if it was been since then that I think it was just I think it was just around that time that uh the the last of your proposed um or last of the projects that you reviewed had already gone to council and been pushed along. So there's nothing that the planning commission has touched is moved uh to the plan uh to the city council and so and we're kind of done with those until your next recommendations from these sort of legislative actions that we'll be doing. Um, we do anticipate that we'll be working hard on this shoreline master program update as well as probably bringing some other smaller uh, easy code fixes that are unrelated to this that just things that we've been wanting to get to, but the comprehensive plan prevented us from doing so for many reasons. One, we were busy with the comp plan, and two, we didn't want to change code in the middle of our develop our large development regulation updates. So, um, we tried to stick to just the comp plan related ones. So, um, that that's about all. Do you have any questions for staff?

Mr. Dresky, Dr. Martin, um, do we have an update on um that any new planning commissioners coming on board? The mayor's communicating with people trying to find uh find someone to fill the last position. So, it's really up to the mayor. I don't know exactly yet, but we're moving quickly. We have applicants. Oh, yeah. We're we're we're moving. I I think the mayor's getting ready to do some appointments. Okay. Thanks.

Anything else for the good of the order?

Uh, I think we just had mentioned that, you know, as we're working hard in the S&P, we might be inclined to have two meetings a month and so include a special meeting. Um, we wanted to see how today went to to feel it out. And um, so we don't know yet in April. It's possible we'll have a we'll have two in April, but this will be it for March, right? We weren't planning a second one in March, but there might be two in April. Thank you. Any other questions for the staff? Any questions? Thank you. Uh with that, I guess we'll adjourn the meeting. Um unless anybody has any objections. No objections. So we'll we'll adjourn at 7:15.