Commission reviews draft to consolidate Oak Harbor clearing and grading rules into environmental title

Senior planner Dennis Lafever presented draft amendments April 8 that would consolidate Oak Harbor's land-clearing and grading regulations into a single chapter and move the rules from Title 19 (development code) into the environmental Title 20.

Lafever said the change aims to reduce duplication and improve coordination because clearing review currently sits in Development Services while grading is administered by Public Works/Engineering. The draft consolidates review under a single chapter (proposed Chapter 20.15), places authority with the city engineer or the engineer's designee, and aligns technical standards with the Western Washington Stormwater Management Manual (cited in the presentation as the 02/2019 manual).

Commissioners requested clarification about tree-retention language, which in the draft referenced Chapter 19.46. Lafever acknowledged that cross-references and coordination between Development Services and Engineering remain a work item and said staff will resolve the appropriate code citations and administrative responsibilities before returning to the commission. He said the plan is to bring the ordinance-form draft back to the commission for public hearing in May and then to City Council public hearing in June.

No public testimony was offered at the meeting on this item. The commissioners welcomed the consolidation concept but emphasized the importance of ensuring tree-retention and planting objectives are integrated into the consolidated process so the grading/clearing permitting pathway does not undermine long-term tree-retention goals.