Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Critical Areas topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident urges planning commission to review critical-areas rulemaking after cited court decision
Summary
A resident told the commission to review the city's critical-areas regulations and waiver authority, citing a September 2020 court decision and state Growth Management Act requirements; the resident referenced Medical Lake municipal code and asked the commission to consider amendments before next year.
Naomi Robertson, who identified herself as a Medical Lake resident, urged the Planning Commission during public comment on July 26 to review the city's critical-areas regulations and the planning director's authority to waive biological-site-assessment requirements.
Robertson cited a September 2020 court decision she identified as "Ridvey Environmental Action Network versus the Island County," and said the decision found a county critical-areas ordinance insufficient where it "gave the planning director nearly unfettered discretion to waive a biological site assessment." She told the commission that such broad waiver authority is inconsistent with the Growth Management Act and with the Washington Administrative Code's precautionary approach to protecting critical areas.
Robertson referenced RCW provisions governing planning and development-regulation amendments and asked the commission not to wait until next year to consider the proposed changes she had submitted; she also cited Medical Lake municipal code section 17.56.045 as relevant to critical-areas regulation.
Commissioners acknowledged the comment. Robertson concluded that the city need not "wait until next year" to consider amendment proposals and said she would bring her questions back at a future meeting if the new commissioners were not present.
No formal action was taken; the comment was entered into the public record for commission consideration in the periodic-update process and any potential amendments.
