Public Hearing on Wetlands/CAO

San Juan County Community Development and Planning office

Notice is hereby given that the San Juan County Planning Commission will conduct a public hearing on 8:45 a.m., Tuesday, March 6, 2012 at the San Juan Island Grange, 152 First Street, Friday Harbor. The subject of the hearing will be an ordinance amending the Wetland Critical Area provisions of the San Juan County Code. These amendments are proposed to fulfill the periodic update requirements of RCW 36.70A.130.

For Wetland Critical Areas, the proposed ordinance:

• adds, changes, and removes definitions of terms;
• adds to the list of official maps;
• modifies the minimum size of regulated wetlands;
• classifies wetlands and assigns water quality and habitat sensitivity ratings;
• removes the prescriptive buffer width protocol and establishes a site-specific sizing procedure for determining required buffer widths;
• removes the list of regulated activities and clarifies the activities allowed within wetlands and their buffers;
• allows for the reduction of buffer width for areas downslope of wetlands;
• removes sections on buffer averaging, decreasing, and increasing;
• adds reference to the official manual to be used for wetland delineations; clarifies the required contents of and expiration for wetland reports;
• removes the sections regarding mitigation (which have been relocated to the General section, SJCC 18.30.110);
• and repeals Appendices A (San Juan County Wetlands Rating System), B (Mitigation/Enhancement Plan Contents), and C (Bonding).

The proposed ordinance also adds language to the County’s lighting requirements.

The hearing will begin at or after 8:45 a.m., Tuesday, March 6, 2012 at the San Juan Island Grange, 152 First Street, Friday Harbor. Interested parties are encouraged to attend & submit comments. Written comments received by Community Development & Planning (CD&P) on or before March 4, 2012 will be provided to the Planning Commission prior to the hearing. Comments received after this date must be submitted in person at the hearing (please bring 14 copies).

Project documents are available on the CAO website at: https://www.sanjuanco.com/cao/default.aspx. For more information, or to submit comments, contact Janice Biletnikoff, AICP, San Juan County CD&P, PO Box 947, Friday Harbor, WA, 98250, (360) 370-7572, or janiceb@sanjuanco.com.