County Council Passes Shoreline Master Program Update

— by Margie Doyle —

San Juan County Council members from left, Bob Jarman, Rick Hughes and Jamie Stephens sign the Shoreline Master Program on April 5, 2016 at the Eastsound Fire Hall

There was no public testimony given at the final public hearing before the passage of the Shoreline Master Program update before the San Juan County Council on Tuesday, April 5 at the Eastsound Fire Hall. Council Chair Jamie Stephens opened the final presentation by County Staff Colin Maycock and Linda Kuller of Community Development and Amy Viera of the County Prosecutor’s office.

This version corrected typographical areas; reviewed recent additions and deletions; and inserted map changes. Viera said there were also some reorganization and grammatical changes for clarification and enforcement purposes, and added, ‘We threw out a mishmash of terminology”

After months of review by County Council and staff in extra sessions, Council members still spent nearly three hours Tuesday afternoon to make sure that the intent of the update was clear, with discussion and clarification on such matters as aquaculture,shoreline stabilization, pipleline transportation, nonconforming structures, barge landings, recreational development and  private campgrounds.  Rick Hughes then moved to approve “To Adopt an Ordinance Repealing Sections 18.50.010 – 18.50.390 of chapter 18.50 SJCC and Amending Official Comprehensive Plan Land Use and shoreline Maps; Adopting New Shoreline Master Program Regulations and a Shoreline Restoration Plan; and Amending Section B Element 3 of the Comprehensive Plan and Chapters 18.20 and 18.80.”

In the ensuing discussion he said, “[County] staff and the Prosecuting Attorney’s offices have done an amazing job. It means a great deal to me, especially since the Council has passed the CAO [Critical Areas Ordinance] the transportation and economic elements and all the comprehensive legislation the state [Growth Management Act] requires; with the exception of the Comprehensive Plan. Also, that we passed [the ordinance] on Orcas Island is important to me and shows respect for the community of Orcas.”

Jamie Stephens also thanked the staff and prosecutor’s office for their work on the SMP. “This is a a good document that doesn’t roll back anything but increases protection to our shoreline while allowing people to build homes and enjoy their property. The public should know we addressed all their comments, one by one through a long and tedious process. We took them to heart, and it says a lot about the people who took the time to comment and staff who addressed their comments.” Stephens also noted that three years ago, on Orcas Island, the County Council agreed to move forward with the update, even though it had run out of funding for it.

Council member Bob Jarman thanked county staff for its “hard work, dedication and time put into it. I look forward to working on the comprehensive plan with you as well; and I really appreciate that you’ve met the deadlines.”

The ordinance will be reviewed by the State Department of Ecology, which may take 4 to 6 months, Hughes said later. The review will include outreach to the community.  “although we’ve already had an extensive public input process —  over 1,000 comments, including from [Department of] Ecology addressed in public session.”

Hughes added, “Moving forward, this document shows the leadership of San Juan County to the rest of the state on how to provide more stringent environmental issues while allowing private property development.”