San Juan County advances Critical Areas Ordinance draft, schedules public meeting April 6

San Juan County planners outlined a first draft of a long‑overdue update to the county’s Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) at the March 20 Planning Commission meeting, saying the changes aim to align local rules with best‑available science and make the code easier to use.

The county’s draft would add or revise roughly 51 definitions, create a new "significant tree" protection that applies when applicants seek buffer reductions, and change how reasonable‑use exceptions are applied, including a 4,000‑square‑foot threshold staff said will clarify eligibility.

"The purpose of this proposed update is to ensure that the critical area regulations meet the criteria, are consistent with the best available science, are defendable, and, best of all, they’re clear for the people who need to use them," said Colin Maycock, a DCD staffer briefing the commission.

Why it matters: San Juan County’s CAO has been pending updates since 2018. County staff said the changes are intended to protect wetlands, fish and wildlife habitat, aquifer recharge areas, frequently flooded areas and geologically hazardous areas while improving administration and predictability for applicants.

Major proposals outlined by staff include: reorganizing wetland and habitat buffers into a single user‑friendly buffer system; expanding freshwater habitat buffers in many locations; adopting a generic 110‑foot marine buffer; limiting some exemptions in buffers; and creating mitigation and buffer‑averaging standards to make compensatory options clearer.

The update would also add tree protections linked to buffer reductions. "So if you’re doing a buffer reduction ... you’re going to have to protect significant trees," Maycock said, describing the change as "a departure from the current standard, but one that I think is overdue." The draft also proposes 50–100‑foot setbacks for Category 1 geologic hazards.

Environmental groups welcomed parts of the update but urged stronger shoreline provisions. "Friends of the San Juans appreciates the substantial work ... but the draft ordinance does not yet meaningfully incorporate the extensive, extensive new science that has emerged since the last major review more than a decade ago," Magali Kota, legal director for Friends of the San Juans, told the commission during public access time. She recommended designating chinook salmon as a species of local importance, strengthening shoreline buffers and limiting exemptions that allow activities within buffers.

Maycock said the county will present the draft regulations to the public online on April 6, publish a hearing draft after that meeting and then schedule public hearings and joint Council/Ecology review as required for shoreline elements. "We will be drafting the public hearing drafts of the regulations and proceeding throughout the year to hopefully move this towards adoption," he said.

What’s next: The department has posted the draft regulations, a BAS (best available science) crosswalk and submitted comment letters on the county’s project page; staff said they will brief the County Council next and continue collecting public input before a hearing draft is prepared.

The April 6 public meeting will be online; staff encouraged interested parties to review the BAS crosswalk and the posted comment letters and to submit written comments through the county portal.