PORT TOWNSEND — The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners approved a joint resolution Monday to establish a regulatory reform program that intends to make county code easier to follow.
The resolution, approved by the county Board of Health last Thursday, sets into motion a streamlining of the regulatory structure and associated permitting process with an eye toward the protection of public safety, health and the environment.
It also looks to reduce the cost and barriers to economic development and affordable housing to be consistent with state law, according to county documents.
The county Department of Community Development and Environmental Public Health will develop the program, which will be presented to the county commissioners and the Board of Health by July 1.
The resolution passed unanimously.
Patty Charnas, the director of the DCD, said the state Growth Management Act has 13 different goals and asks local governments to reach them.
“This helps local governments achieve better balance,” Charnas said.
Among the goals are to:
• Reduce the code and permit review reliance on burdensome and costly professional studies.
• Allow county departments greater flexibility to allow minor exceptions that retain environmental protections and public safety.
• Enhance transparency and accountability for timely reviews.
The county will be installing what it calls a “modern permitting system” in EnerGov, software the commissioners expect will lead to greater transparency, improved accountability and more consistent permitting paths.
Commissioner David Sullivan said this is an update to a 2006 “omnibus” package the county passed after it updated its comprehensive plan.
“What we basically have is the foundation of what we have today,” Sullivan said.
He added: “As you use something, you find out how it works.”
Sullivan used the example of county residents who often ask planners if they are allowed to build certain structures, and while he values being able to point to a black-and-white answer, he said a gray area is sometimes OK.
“People aren’t really going to want to lose their flexibility,” he said.
Commissioner Greg Brotherton said his family once asked for a geotechnical report prior to a project on one piece of property and had to go back and pay for a second report on neighboring property.
Brotherton said it might help county residents to have access to that type of information relative to their neighborhood.
“Can we start to leverage this to get the data we’re collecting to the public?” he asked.
The code reform, particularly with environmental protection, will have an immediate impact on two major projects on the commissioners’ upcoming agendas. They plan to update the Critical Areas Ordinance later this year and the Shoreline Master Program in 2020.
“I’m all for taking on this effort,” Sullivan said. “I think this is fundamentally our job.”
In other business
Commissioners also approved about $461,000 for Lakeside Industries for a pavement project on South Discovery Road; an agreement not to exceed $35,000 with McCarthy & Causseaux for Jefferson County Hearing Examiner services; and up to $7,500 in an interagency agreement with the state Parks and Recreation Commission to study sewer capacity at Dosewallips State Park.
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Jefferson County Managing Editor Brian McLean can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56052, or at bmclean@peninsuladailynews.com.
