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Poulsbo defers full critical-areas adoption while Kitsap County appeal and new Fish and Wildlife science are reviewed
Summary
Staff said Kitsap County's critical-areas update was appealed and that Fish and Wildlife's new "best available science" (a so-called "strike zone" tying buffer widths to soil and tree-height assumptions) may force significant buffer changes. The city will monitor the appeal and is leaning to delay local adoption until Q3.
Director told commissioners that a recent appeal of Kitsap Countys critical-areas update and new guidance from Fish and Wildlife have created uncertainty over how stream buffers should be calculated. "What Fish and Wildlife has created is called a strike zone," the director said, describing a method that sets buffers based on soil type and the height a tree could reach on that soil.
Because the county did not adopt that standard and because the new science is being appealed (the director said the appeal was filed by the S'Klallam Scribe, per the directors understanding), Poulsbo staff said they will watch the outcome closely and give themselves additional time before adopting similar changes locally. The director said staff are engaged with Fish and Wildlife and may do internal work, but are "leaning" to move the city's own update into a later quarter to see how the appeal resolves.
