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Commission reviews shoreline and natural-resources language for comp plan update
Summary
Planning staff reviewed the natural resources element, including shoreline/master plan requirements and how Scatter Creek wetlands and critical areas are treated; staff recommended mostly carrying existing shoreline master plan policies forward but adding clear goals and actions and consulting an environmental planner for options.
Planning staff told the commission the natural resources element in the 2016 comprehensive plan is not a required element but that the Shoreline Management Act and the city’s shoreline master plan impose specific checklist items that must be included in the update. Unidentified Speaker 3 said the shoreline master plan is adopted by reference in the current comp plan and will be in the new plan as well, so only targeted goals, policies and actions specific to shoreline management need to be added.
Staff said wetlands associated with Scatter Creek are covered under the shorelines-of-the-state designation and that other critical areas are regulated under the city’s critical areas ordinance. Commissioners discussed goal NR 7 and goal NR 12 (including language about cluster development) and asked staff to adjust wording if the master community overlay is removed to keep habitat protections clear.
Unidentified Speaker 3 described plans to work with an environmental planner to draft easily interpretable policy options and said staff will return with a more finalized draft of the land-use, housing and shoreline-related policies for commissioner selection. No formal changes were made at the meeting.
