Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Environment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Pasco staff preview user guide and pilot tracking tool for Shoreline Master Program
Summary
Planning staff previewed a state‑funded Shoreline Master Program user guide and a pilot ecological‑functions tracking tool to help the city track mitigation and achieve no‑net‑loss goals; staff will test the tool on selected shoreline reaches and post reports in July.
Planning staff presented a draft user guide and described a pilot ecological‑functions tracking system funded by the Washington State Department of Ecology. The user guide is intended as a concise (about 40 pages) web‑friendly explanation of the Shoreline Master Program implementation — not a code revision — and staff emphasized the goal of helping residents and applicants understand when and how mitigation and reporting are required.
Staff described a dual approach: (1) better permit tracking in the city’s ePermitting system to flag mitigation obligations and reporting deadlines; and (2) a landscape‑scale evaluation using aerial imagery and ground verification on a sample of shoreline “reaches” to assess whether the city is achieving no net loss of ecological function over recent years. The pilot will focus on a handful of reaches rather than the entire shoreline; staff expects technical work to be substantially complete by June with public posting of reports planned for July.
Staff noted examples (riprap areas vs. Corps of Engineers wetlands) to explain function variability, and encouraged property owners to consult planning staff about vegetation trimming vs. activities that change ecological function.
Next steps: staff will finalize the user guide, post materials on the city website and proceed with the pilot tracking and quarterly/annual reporting to improve permit follow‑up and program accountability.
