by Ralph Nichols

A compromise agreement that could end the standoff over Burien’s Shoreline Master Program (SMP) may be in the works.

City Councilman Gordon Shaw asked at the end of the council’s Oct. 3 meeting that a Burien Marine Homeowners Association document be placed on their Oct. 24 meeting agenda.

“I have reason to believe there are some options for a win-win situation for our Shoreline Master Program process,” Shaw told the other council members.

Council members Jack Block Jr. and Gerald Robison supported his request, thus making it so.

The city council adopted an updated SMP in September 2010, which retained a 20-foot setback from the usual high water mark in developed residential areas along Puget Sound.

But the state Department of Ecology, which appeared to favor a 50-foot buffer with an additional 15-foot setback, subsequently rejected this and three provisions in the local plan.

Michael Noakes, president of the homeowners association, told The B-Town Blog after Monday’s meeting that Ecology “was ready to deny Burien’s SMP and begin the rule-making process.”

Such a rule-making process would impose on Burien an SMP preferred by Ecology.

“The BMHA does not believe this would be in Burien’s best interest,” Noakes said. So “we prepared a memo advocating that the city continue negotiating with the Department of Ecology to finish the SMP process, rather than face denial” of Burien’s plan by the agency.

Since the Burien SMP was rejected, representatives of the homeowners association “have continued unofficial discussions” with Ecology,” he continued.

“There is no compromise solution at this time, but we are working toward one. I personally believe that such a solution protects the city from a showdown and is better for Burien and the Department of Ecology than a denial.”

Noakes said the homeowners association is doing the work, not city staff, “but the city will certainly have a role” in the process.

Every city and county in Washington is required by the Legislature to update its SMP.

by Ralph Nichols

Burien City Council members drew a line in the sand Monday night (May 9).

They won’t adopt four amendments to the updated Burien Shoreline Master Program (SMP), as requested recently by the state Department of Ecology.

The most controversial amendment wanted by Ecology would have imposed a 50-foot buffer plus an additional 15-foot setback along the developed residential marine shoreline. The city’s new SMP retained an existing 20-foot marine buffer with no additional setback.

City Manager Mike Martin said that without additional direction from council members, staff was ready “to tell Ecology that the city has received no additional information on which to base a decision so we’re sticking to our guns.”

Following a brief discussion, council members by consensus gave staff a green light. A formal response to the state agency’s proposed amendments and other changes to the local SMP will be submitted to the council for a final OK on May 23.

Burien Planning Director Scott Greenberg told council members that 37 changes requested by Ecology “are consistent with city’s policy direction” when it adopted the updated SMP last September and should be approved.

Another seven requested changes to the SMP can be accepted “with minor modifications,” he continued.

But, Greenberg said, four of the changes wanted by Ecology “are inconsistent” with city policy, and staff “recommends rejecting them.”

“I am disturbed by the Department of Ecology document,” said Councilman Gordon Shaw. “It bothers me greatly that Ecology had representatives at all three stages of our process, and yet they just go into a back room in Olympia … and stuff things down our throat….

“‘OK, you did all that but that doesn’t matter’” seems to be Ecology’s attitude toward the local SMP process,” Shaw suggested.

“Who are these people who can take this process we’ve been through and just throw it out?” said Councilman Gerald Robison. “I support staying with what’s been done already.”

Noting that she voted for a 50-foot buffer last year, Councilwoman Rose Clark said, “I’m not continuing with that [buffer]. I’m not in favor of it now.” She also expressed disappointment that Ecology failed to give the city “some recognition of our effort.”

But Mayor Joan McGilton demurred, saying she “found the work Ecology did was reasonable.” Yet “even though I agree with Ecology, I will support the city’s plan.”

The other amendments to the SMP requested by Ecology but rejected by the council would have curtailed a homeowner’s ability to rebuild if the home was destroyed, removed an outright ban on watercraft on Lake Burien if public access occurs in the future, and imposed an additional step for a shoreline variance in geologically hazardous areas and wetland buffers.

Earlier in the meeting, Three Tree Point resident Ron Franz said while “the city was pretty darned responsive to public opinion … I’m profoundly disappointed by Ecology’s response. The [width of the] buffer is just a number Ecology pulled out of a hat.”

After thanking the city for its efforts in responding to Ecology, Michael Noakes, president of the Burien Marine Homeowners Association, said he was “surprised and disappointed by Ecology’s response” to the SMP “with its focus on ‘development creep’ as the rationale for buffers.”

The agency made “a blatant attack on homeowners’ ability to rebuild their homes in the existing footprint,” Noakes added.

And while pleased that the Department of Ecology recognized the validity of a homeowners association study of Burien’s Puget Sound shoreline, “I find it curious that they ignored our findings,” he noted.

Three Tree Point resident Andy Ryan said Ecology “seems to have this unfounded fear that we [marine] homeowners want to move our homes to the water’s edge.”

Ryan also voiced disappointment with restrictions on bulkhead heights and planting non-native vegetation in the absence of scientific evidence to support them.

Every city and county in Washington is required by a 2003 legislative action to review and update their local SMPs, which were mandated by the 1972 voter-approved Shoreline Management Act, with direction and review by Ecology.

by Ralph Nichols

Last summer, when Burien City Council members were updating the local Shoreline Master Program (SMP), the state Department of Ecology never defined “no net loss of ecological function” – the legislative yardstick for many shoreline regulations.

And when Ecology recently sent that SMP back to Burien – with conditional approval provided the city makes to its plan the changes required by the state – it did so again without a working definition of “no net loss.”

The city’s next move will be discussed at tonight’s Burien City Council meeting (7 p.m., May 9; PDF of agenda here), which likely will include a new volley of comments by concerned homeowners in defense of property rights and local control.

Changes that Ecology says Burien must make to its SMP include:

• Requiring a maximum 50-foot buffer plus a 15-foot setback for new development on marine shorelines. The city approved SMP retained the existing 20-foot marine buffer with no additional setback. Ecology says a reduced buffer may be allowed in some cases if neighboring homes are closer to the shoreline.
• Removing an outright ban on watercraft on Lake Burien should public access occur in the future.
• Keeping a single-family home in “conforming” status, even if it requires a variance to expand on shoreline property.

In a draft response to Ecology’s required changes, which council members will review, city staff opposes amending these provisions of the SMP.

Staff also opposes changing language that could prohibit the rebuilding of a legally established home if it was destroyed.

No action by the city council is expected at tonight’s meeting. However, staff will be asking council members for direction.

The city can agree to the changes required by Ecology, or it can submit an alternative proposal back to Ecology. If an alternative is submitted by Burien but then denied by Ecology, the city has an option to request a restart of the review and approval process.

Every city and county in Washington is required by a 2003 legislative action to review and update their local SMPs, which were mandated by the 1972 voter-approved Shoreline Management Act, with direction and review by Ecology.

“Burien’s master program provides significant improvements in the protection, development, restoration and water-quality protection of the city’s 5.5 miles of marine and 1.5 miles of Lake Burien shorelines,” reads an Ecology press release. “The update will promote the protection and restoration of shoreline habitat, accommodate historic land use patterns, and provide for public access.”

Here’s more text from Ecology’s release:

Ecology informed the city that the program would need changes in specific areas to meet state Shoreline Management Act (SMA) requirements and guidelines. The guidelines were negotiated in 2003 among business interests, ports, environmental groups, shoreline user groups, cities and counties, Ecology, and the courts. These changes include:

• Requiring a maximum 50-foot buffer with a 15-foot setback for new development on marine shorelines, while allowing a reduced buffer, in some cases, if neighboring homes are closer than that to the shoreline.
• Removing an outright prohibition on watercraft on Lake Burien if public access were to occur.
• Clarification of the types of commercial development allowed in shoreline jurisdiction.
• Keeping a single-family home in “conforming” status, even if it requires a variance to expand on shoreline property.

The city may respond by accepting Ecology’s changes, which would put the shoreline master program into effect. Or, the city may submit alternate changes, which would require Ecology review and approval.

Burien is one of several local governments that have completed their updates. The revised master program combines local plans for future shoreline development and preservation with new shoreline development ordinances and related permitting requirements.

About 230 towns, cities and counties statewide are in the process or soon will be updating their master programs during the next few
years, under the state’s 1972 voter-approved SMA.

Shoreline master programs are a cornerstone of the SMA. It requires cities and counties with regulated shorelines to develop and periodically update their locally tailored programs 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.

For more info on Ecology’s review of Burien’s shoreline master program, click here.

More about shoreline master programs here.

The City of Burien’s Shoreline Master Program information is here.

We’ve covered this issue extensively for the last year or so – to read our previous coverage, click here.

by Ralph Nichols

If there was really any question about the primary focus of state regulators as they review Burien’s updated Shoreline Master Program (SMP), it was settled at Wednesday night’s (Dec.8) public hearing.

The Department of Ecology is “having trouble embracing” the 20-foot buffer adopted by the city council for residential reaches of the Puget Sound shoreline, said Bob Fritzen of the agency’s Bellingham office.

Ecology, which reviews all SMPs after they are approved locally, conducted the public hearing. The agency will approve Burien’s SMP, send it back to the city with suggested revisions, or reject it.

Recommendations written by the city’s Shoreline Advisory Committee, which represented the first round in a two-year process to revise the Burien SMP, included a 50-foot buffer plus a 15-foot setback along the developed marine shoreline.

A majority of Burien Planning Commission members agreed with the controversial proposal to expand the buffer – strongly opposed by marine homeowners – and kept it in the draft submitted to the city council in March.

But council members voted 4-3 in August against accepting the 50-foot buffer/15-foot setback, electing instead to adopt as a buffer the current 20-foot setback from the ordinary high water mark.

Fritzen, who questioned why the city council rejected the expanded buffer and settled on a 20-foot distance, said “we need more information … obviously we do have concerns about smaller buffers….”

Asked if Ecology has “hard evidence that a 50-foot buffer is better,” he replied that Ecology has “a lot of discussion on the record … that right or wrong [the buffer] ended up at 20 feet…. There’s no supporting evidence for 20 feet.”

He was then asked, “So there is no evidence to support 50 feet?” Fritzen shot back, “That’s not my answer. You heard my answer.”

A primary function of the local environmental regulations, mandated by Washington’s Shoreline Management Act of 1972, is the prevention of net loss of shoreline ecological functions. Yet “no net loss” has no clear working definition.

Fritzen stated that environmental protection is the “most important” criteria in determining shoreline development issues.

Ecology’s Geoff Talent observed, however, that protection of property rights is also a key factor in the regulatory equation that balances public interest and no net loss.

Following the hearing, Burien Mayor Joan McGilton told The B-Town Blog, “It’s in the hands of Ecology now. I hope they make the right decision.”

McGilton, an environmental engineer, didn’t elaborate on what a “right decision” may be. However, she voted with the minority to keep the 50-foot buffer/15-foot setback when the council opted for 20 feet last summer.

Michael Noakes, president of the Burien Marine Homeowners Association, told The B-Town Blog, “We are grateful for the willingness that the Department of Ecology has demonstrated to enter into a dialog with Burien’s residents and ensure a thoughtful and transparent review process.

“We hope that the Department of Ecology will appreciate the recent work that has been performed by the BMHA to add detail and clarity to the evaluation of existing conditions in Burien’s marine shoreline.”

He noted “this work adds further support to the correctness of the city council’s judgment that a 20-foot buffer and 150-foot vegetation conservation area are sufficient to achieve no-net loss given the fully developed nature our marine shoreline.”

That work is a new report – a detailed setback evaluation of the Burien marine shoreline – which, Noakes said, “will verify no net loss while providing homeowner protection” when submitting it for the record during the public hearing.

“Wider buffers do not improve the environment and increase the burden on homeowners. The importance of existing conditions shows why state law puts cities in charge of local SMAs,” testified Tadas Kisielius.

An attorney representing the BMHA, Kisielius said the existing buffer and conforming uses provide “a balance that gives the ecological protection you’re looking for.”

There are no regulations or case law defining no net loss, so a judge would have to turn to a dictionary for a definition, said Ron Franz, a shoreline resident and an attorney.

The definition the judge would find is “don’t make things worse,” Franz added. “The 20-foot buffer does not make things worse … it passes the legislative standard.”

Some marine shoreline homeowners also asked Ecology for greater flexibility in repairing and rebuilding bulkheads that protect their property from wave erosion – a need they said was clearly evidenced by last month’s windstorm.

by Ralph Nichols

It didn’t take long for homeowners along Burien’s marine shoreline to have their concerns confirmed at a Dec. 8 public hearing by the Department of Ecology on the city’s recently updated Shoreline Master Program (SMP).

Ecology is “having trouble embracing” the 20-foot buffer adopted by the city council for the developed residential reaches along Burien’s Puget Sound waterfront, said Bob Fritzen of the agency’s Bellingham office.

“Obviously we do have concerns” and more information is needed about why the council retained the current 20-foot buffer in its revised SMP, Fritzen said.

Ecology wants more documentation explaining why council members reduced a proposed 50-foot buffer back to the existing 20 feet, and also rejected a proposed additional 15-foot setback.

During public testimony, Michael Noakes, president of the Burien Marine Homeowners Association, summarized a detailed new report – a setback evaluation of the marine shoreline – which he described as a “painstaking review of all 291 shoreline residential properties.”

This study “will verify no net loss while providing homeowner protection,” Noakes testified. No net loss of shoreline ecological function is the standard the Legislature requires for establishing shoreline regulations.

All Puget Sound waterfront homeowners speaking at the hearing urged Ecology to recognize the unique circumstances of this developed shoreline and to retain the 20-foot buffer adopted by the city council.

Lake Burien homeowners called for changes in the document to increase protection of the fragile ecology of the lake and adjacent wetlands, at to insure no net loss in the future.

A full report on this public hearing will be posted on the B-Town Blog sometime Thursday afternoon (Dec. 9), so be sure to check back then.

by Ralph Nichols

Burien waterfront homeowners could hear for the first time at a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. tonight (Wednesday, Dec. what state regulators think about the city’s recently updated Shoreline Master Program (SMP).

The Department of Ecology, which reviews local shoreline plans to determine if they comply with state guidelines, will conduct the hearing on the SMP approved by the Burien City Council on Sept. 27.

More than 260 cities and counties statewide must update their local SMPs by 2014. To date, only about 30 revised plans have been completed, then reviewed and approved by Ecology.

Washington’s 1972 Shoreline Management Act requires that each city and county with “shorelines of the state” have an SMP tailored to specific local geographic, economic and environmental needs – based on state laws and regulations.

Burien received a $117,000 grant from Ecology to fund consultant services and staff time involved in the lengthy process of updating its SMP.

The city’s Shoreline Advisory Committee met nine times before sending proposed revisions to the Burien Planning Commission last January. Following a three-month review, the Planning Commission submitted its recommendations to the city council.

Council members adopted the new SMP on a 6-1 vote and it was submitted to the state’s environmental department.

Ecology reviews each local SMP to determine if the document complies with state requirements. The agency has sole authority to approve a local SMP as submitted, approve it with changes requested by state regulators, or reject it.

Only after Ecology approves a local SMP does it become part of the statewide shoreline “master” program.

Waterfront homeowners, especially those along Puget Sound, expressed concern about what Ecology might do immediately after city council members adopted the local plan – perhaps with good cause.

For example:

Earlier this fall, Ecology approved Des Moines’ updated SMP – only after that city submitted its third revision, which was written with the assistance of an agency staff member.

And both the city of Sammamish and Jefferson County have been required to complete detailed responsiveness summaries for Ecology detailing “issues raised by state-wide public comments” received on the local SMPs.

In addition, environmental organizations with specific agendas that don’t include private property rights – which the Burien Marine Homeowners Association organized to protect – have already intervened in some local SMP processes.

A major point of controversy in the development of Burien’s revised SMP was a proposed change to buffers along the developed Puget Sound residential waterfront.

Submitted to by the planning commission to the city council, it would have expanded the existing 20-foot setback from the ordinary Puget Sound high-water mark to a 50-foot buffer plus an additional 15-foot buffer for any new development.

However, council members rejected the expanded buffer when they voted 4-3 in mid-August to retain the 20-foot setback. The expanded buffer does apply to non-residential areas on the marine shoreline – primarily along Seahurst Park.

Repair and replacement of bulkheads and shoreline vegetation were also points of controversy during the final weeks of council review, but citizens, city staff and council members reached a marginal agreement.

Marine shoreline homeowners are expected to cite at today’s public hearing the damage to bulkheads and nearby property caused by the Nov. 22-23 storm, and ask for an easing of restrictions on these structures.

Plaguing the SMP revision process until earlier this year was a requirement that shoreline management be based on the “best available science.”

Responding to difficulty in applying this nebulous standard – the criteria required by the state’s Growth Management Act for regulating critical areas – the 2010 Legislature changed the criteria for shorelines to “no net loss of ecological function.”

The determination of when “net loss” is calculated – at the time a new SMP is adopted or retroactively to when development first altered a shoreline – was a question council members wrestled with.

In the end, they accepted with some dissent the principle that any net loss of shoreline ecological function will be based on future impacts of waterfront development.

Citizens who don’t speak at this public hearing but want to voice their opinions may submit written comment to Ecology before 5 p.m. Dec. 17.

Send comments to:

Bob Fritzen
WA Department of Ecolog
1440 10th St., Suite 102
Bellingham, WA  98225

Email: bob.fritzen@ecy.wa.gov

On a day when parts of Burien’s shoreline were battered so hard by a storm that at least one house has been condemned, the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) announced that it is seeking public comment on Burien’s recently updated Shoreline Master Program (SMP).

Ecology will host a community public hearing on Burien’s updated SMP on Wednesday, Dec. 8th, beginning at 6:30pm in the Burien City Council Chambers at 400 SW 152nd St., Burien.

Ecology is accepting public comment on Burien’s shoreline program update through December 17, 2010. Comments and questions should be addressed to Bob Fritzen, Department of Ecology, 1440 10th Street, Suite 102, Bellingham, WA  98225 or by email to bob.fritzen@ecy.wa.gov.

Burien’s updated shoreline program was adopted by the city council after an extensive, and oftentimes heated process.

According to a statement from Ecology:

The updated master program guides construction and development along the city’s 6.7 miles of shorelines. It combines local plans for future development and preservation with new development ordinances and related permitting requirements.

Under Washington’s voter-approved Shoreline Management Act, Ecology must review and approve Burien’s shoreline program before it takes effect.

Ecology is accepting public comment on Burien’s shoreline program update through December 17, 2010. Comments and questions should be addressed to Bob Fritzen, Department of Ecology, 1440 10th Street, Suite 102, Bellingham, WA  98225 or by email to bob.fritzen@ecy.wa.gov.

Burien’s proposed program and related documents are available for review at:

• City of Burien website http://www.burienwa.gov/
• Burien Department of Community Development. – 400 SW 152nd St., Suite 300
• Burien City Library – 400 SW 152nd St.
• Ecology website: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/shorelines/smp/mycomments/burien.html

Ecology will host a community public hearing on the Burien shoreline program proposal on Dec. 8, 2010, in the Burien City Council Chambers at 400 SW 152nd St., Burien.  The public hearing will be at 6:30 p.m.

Ecology may approve the shoreline program as written, reject it or direct Burien to modify specific parts. Once approved by Ecology, Burien’s shoreline program will become part of the overall state shoreline master program. Ecology also will help each local jurisdiction legally defend its shoreline program if necessary.

Burien’s updated shoreline program was adopted by the city council after an extensive local process. The update began with a thorough inventory of existing land-use patterns and environmental conditions. The city then prepared policies and regulations to preserve existing shoreline areas while protecting future residential development. Burien collaborated for more than three years with waterfront property owners, builders, real estate agents, environmental interests, tribes and state agencies.

Shoreline master programs are the cornerstone of the state Shoreline Management Act passed by voters in 1972. The programs help minimize environmental damage to shoreline areas, reserve appropriate areas for water-oriented uses, and reduce interference with the public’s access to public waters and shorelines.

The law requires cities and counties with lakes 20 acres in size or larger to develop and periodically update their locally tailored shoreline programs.

In 2003, Ecology adopted new guidelines that establish the basic requirements for updating local shoreline master programs. The guidelines resulted from a negotiated settlement between business interests, ports, environmental groups, shoreline user groups, cities and counties, Ecology and the courts.

Burien joins a growing number of cities, towns and counties that have updated their shoreline programs using the 2003 guidelines. The state guidelines allow each town, city and county flexibility to customize the regulations to fit its local land-use circumstances and its vision of local waterfront development.

More than 30 communities have already updated their shoreline programs, with 70 updates currently under way. Most haven’t done so comprehensively in almost 40 years.

Since 2005, the Legislature has allocated more than $15 million in state grants through Ecology to help more than 260 towns, cities and counties with regulated shorelines update their shoreline policies and regulations by December 2014. This includes $3 million earmarked by the Legislature in 2009 specifically to help municipalities throughout the Puget Sound region.

by Ralph Nichols

Burien City Council members approved a revised Shoreline Master Program (SMP – link here) on a 6-1 vote at their Sept. 27 meeting.

Councilman Gordon Shaw, who said “what we’ve set out to do here is without merit,” cast the lone dissenting vote.

Throughout the council’s review of the document – a process that began in April – “I have been told to be patient … and the science would prove this whole effort worthwhile,” Shaw noted.

But “I never saw a cause-and-effect relationship between the science and what our plan is set up to do … this is just very bad government.”

Mayor Joan McGilton observed, however, that “as a scientist and an engineer … I say there’s no science that can verify the impact on five miles of shoreline. There’s no science that good.

“We now will pass this plan on to the Department of Ecology. The state will look at Burien’s plan” and decide how it fits with other city and county plans around Puget Sound.

Ecology, which will hold a public hearing during its review of the Burien SMP, will evaluate the document and then give it final approval or return it to the city with recommendations for specific revisions.

Burien’s lengthy process to revise its SMP originated with the Washington Shoreline Management Act, which voters statewide approved in 1972. The act required local governments to write comprehensive plans that regulate development and other activities along both marine and freshwater shorelines.

In 2003, the Legislature mandated that all local SMPs be updated by 2014 – a process involving more than 260 cities, counties and other jurisdictions. To date, only about 30 updated plans have been completed, and reviewed and approved by Ecology.

The Burien Shoreline Advisory Committee spent about a year drafting proposed changes to the city’s SMP, and then sent it to the planning commission in January. After three months of review, including public comment, the commission submitted its version to the city council.

Following a final review of the document on Sept. 13, council members agreed to place the SMP on the Sept. 27 consent calendar for final adoption.

Before Monday’s final vote, McGilton said to citizens who became involved in the SMP process,” thank you all for your time and input to make the community a better place to live.”

But the discussion wasn’t quite over. Shaw, who expressed disappointment over council approval of the buffer and setback around Lake Burien on Sept. 13, said that action “was made on the basis of erroneous information.”

At the same time, he argued, the SMP “ignores problems far worse” for the health of Puget Sound – storm water runoff and sanitary sewer discharge.

Deputy Mayor Rose Clark agreed with Shaw that “we are left with a dirty Sound,” but said the Legislature has not provided cities “all the parts to clean up the Sound.”

“The oil industry and toxics folks are trying to put the budget [for Puget Sound cleanup] back on individual taxpayers,” McGilton suggested.

Shaw added, “You can blame it on the big bad oil companies if you want, but the enemy is us.”

Councilwoman Kathy Keene reminded the council that the Southwest Suburban Sewer District “does secondary treatment so no raw sewage goes into Puget Sound” from the Burien area.

Any decision on whether to increase the level of treatment to remove metals from sewage water would be up to the sewer district, which is a separate governmental entity, Keene said.

Councilman Jack Block Jr. said he hopes “the passion we’ve seen here” will now translate into a shoreline stewardship program organized by the Burien Marine Homeowners Association (BMHA).

The BMHA, established to represent private property rights during the SMP review, and the Lake Burien Shore Club have been involved with the city throughout this process.

A major point of controversy, included in the original SMP update sent to the council, was a proposal to expand the existing 20-foot setback from the ordinary Puget Sound high-water mark to a 50-foot buffer plus an additional 15-foot buffer for any new development.

Council members voted to retain the 20-foot setback and rejected the expanded buffer by a 4-3 vote on Aug. 16. However, the expanded buffer does apply to non-residential areas along the marine shoreline – primarily Seahurst Park.

Shaw objected to the council’s decision to impose a 20-foot buffer plus an additional 15-foot setback around Lake Burien, which is part of the new SMP.

Repair and replacement of bulkheads and shoreline vegetation were also points of controversy during the final weeks of council review, but citizens, city staff and council members found an uneasy balance on these issues.

Plaguing the process until earlier this year was a requirement that shoreline management be based on the “best available science.”

Responding to difficulty in applying this nebulous standard – the criteria required by the state’s Growth Management Act for regulating critical areas – the 2010 Legislature changed the criteria for shorelines to “no net loss of ecological function.”

The determination of when “net loss” is calculated – at the time a new SMP is adopted or retroactively to when development first altered a shoreline – was a question council members wrestled with.

In the end, they accepted with some dissent the principle that any net loss of shoreline ecological function will be based on future impacts of waterfront development.

Michael Noakes, president of the BMHA, earlier told the B-Town Blog, “At the end of the day, we are pleased with the progress that’s been made. We stand ready to help the council support this document with the [state Department of Ecology].”

by Ralph Nichols

If, as anticipated, the city council adopts an updated Shoreline Master Program (SMP) for Burien tonight (Monday, Sept. 27), its final approval will mark the end of an arduous two-year process.

Council members agreed at their last meeting to place the revised SMP on tonight’s consent calendar. Not everyone likes everything in this draft, but three council members must vote to remove the proposal for further discussion.

Even affirmative council action won’t end the review of Burien’s plan, however. It will then go to the state Department of Ecology, which will evaluate the document, then give it a final thumbs-up or thumbs-down.

Ecology will hold its own public hearing during the second phase of this process. The city council earlier held two public hearings on the draft SMP.

Burien’s lengthy process to revise its SMP originated with the Washington Shoreline Management Act, which voters statewide approved in 1972. It required local governments to write comprehensive plans to regulate development and other activities along both marine and freshwater shorelines.

In 2003, the Legislature mandated that all local SMPs be updated by 2014 – a process involving more than 260 cities, counties and other jurisdiction. To date, only about 30 updated plans have been completed, and reviewed and approved by Ecology.

The Burien Shoreline Advisory Committee spent more than a year developing proposed changes to the city’s SMP, then sent it to the planning commission in January. After three months of review and taking public comment, the commission forwarded its version of the document to the city council.

Council members said on Sept. 13 they wanted to see the draft of a final set of changes before adopting a new SMP. They also wanted all members to be present for the vote. Jack Block Jr. was absent from that meeting.

Michael Noakes, president of the Burien Marine Homeowners Association, which has actively guarded private property rights during this process, later told The B-Town Blog, “At the end of the day, we are pleased with the progress that’s been made. We stand ready to help the council support this document with the [state Department of Ecology].”

If the SMP gets final approval, lawmakers will finally return to a normal flow of city business, which includes a discussion of 2011 legislative priorities on tonight’s agenda – and writing the 2011-12 biennial city budget during the next couple of months.