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Whitman County Planning Commission sets June deadline for Critical Areas Ordinance update
Summary
Consultant Facet told the Planning Commission the county must document consistency with state 'best available science' and complete a gap analysis to support CAO code amendments, with a goal to route a draft through the commission by the end of May to meet the June 30 deadline.
Whitman County Planning Commission Chair Brian Davies opened the Feb. 4 workshop by turning the floor over to Facet consultant Dan Nickel to explain the scope and schedule for the county's statutorily required Critical Areas Ordinance update. Dan Nickel said the county must document how its rules align with the state's best available science and complete a gap analysis that will feed recommended code amendments.
"The goal here is to have this, you know, at a minimum through the Planning Commission by the end of May," said Dan Nickel, Principal at Facet, describing a schedule intended to meet the June 30 statutory deadline. Nickel told commissioners the CAO update will focus on five critical area types—wetlands, streams/riparian areas, critical aquifer recharge areas, frequently flooded areas and geologic hazards—and that Facet will take a "minimal" approach where feasible.
County Planner Alan Thomson and Nickel said the consultants will prepare two early deliverables—the best available science documentation and a gap analysis—to justify any code changes. Thomson told the Commission the county will use the CAO text currently posted on the county website as the starting point and agreed the consultants can display and edit draft language live during meetings.
Nickel indicated state resource agencies will be engaged for technical feedback. He flagged recent guidance from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife on riparian buffers, Ecology wetland guidance updates and Department of Health considerations for aquifer recharge as likely inputs. Alan Thomson added that the county has a draft rewrite of the floodplain ordinance tied to FEMA-related updates that the consultants will review.
The Commission will receive recommended code language with linked rationales—either to best available science or to state requirements—so commissioners can evaluate the basis for proposed changes before making a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners.
Next steps: Dan Nickel said the consultants will coordinate a schedule with staff and circulate documents to the Commission in advance of the next meeting.
