PORT ANGELES — An open house and public hearing on the city’s updated shoreline master program is set for Monday.
The open house will begin at 6 p.m. and the public hearing at 7 p.m. at the Vern Burton Community Center, 308 E. Fourth St., the state Department of Ecology said.
Ecology is taking public comment through April 11 on the updated plan before considering final approval of it.
People are invited to provide verbal testimony or submit written comments at the hearing.
The proposed updated shoreline master program regulates new construction, development and uses along marine shorelines from Dry Creek to the Clallam County line near Morse Creek.
To the north, it extends to the international border in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
It also extends south from the shoreline and upland 200 feet from the ordinary high-water mark, which in Port Angeles is 7 feet above sea level, associate planner Scott Johns said in an earlier interview.
It combines plans for future development and preservation with new development ordinances and permitting requirements.
It establishes buffer zones to protect wetlands, with flexibility for individual circumstances, Ecology said, and also includes a restoration plan showing where and how voluntary improvements in water and upland areas can enhance the local shoreline environment.
The Council approved it in June 2012, and revisions Ecology required were completed in January.
“Port Angeles’ locally tailored shoreline program is designed to help minimize environmental damage to shoreline areas, reserve appropriate areas for water-oriented uses and protect the public’s right to public lands and waters,” Linda Kent, Ecology spokeswoman, said in a statement.
No net loss
One of the guiding principles of the program is a “no net loss” standard.
This means development must maintain or improve the shoreline ecological functions.
Among those who plan to comment on the plan is Anne Shaffer of the Coastal Watershed Institute.
“I think the city is heading in general in the right direction,” she said, praising action to maintain bluff vegetation and riparian corridors.
She added that she would like to see more avoidance of any impact on some areas, such as Ediz Hook.
After the public comment period is done, Ecology may approve the proposed shoreline master program as written, reject it or direct Port Angeles to modify specific parts.
Once approved by Ecology, Port Angeles’ shoreline program will become part of the overall state shoreline master program.
About 195 cities and counties statewide are in the process of or soon will be updating or crafting their master programs.
All Washington cities and counties with regulated shorelines must update their programs by December 2014, following regulations adopted by Ecology in 2003.
Written comments and questions should be addressed to Jeffree Stewart, Department of Ecology, Shorelands and Environmental Assistance Program, P.O. Box 47775, Olympia, WA 98504-7775.
Stewart can be reached by email at jeff.steward@ecy.wa.gov or by phone at 360-407-6521.
Port Angeles’ proposed shoreline program and related documents can be reviewed at City Hall, 321 E. Fifth St., or at its website at http://tinyurl.com/bgd69sk, as well as at the Ecology website at http://tinyurl.com/a6bozke.
