The City of Renton is near the end of a years-long review of its regulations designed to protect the shorelines of such key state waters as Lake Washington and the Cedar River.
The complex regulations in the Shoreline Master Program dictate rules related to residential, commercial and recreational activities within a certain distance from a shoreline or on the water itself.
Besides the lake and Cedar River, the city’s regulations cover Springbrook Creek, a tributary of the Green River, and May Creek, which feeds into Lake Washington in north Renton.
They’re also controversial, often because the science that give the rules credibility is sometimes questioned. A council committee decided not to hear from one expert, suggested by an attorney representing a major landowner along the Cedar River.
“I’ve heard the people who are important to me,” said council member King Parker at a recent meeting of the council’s Planning and Development Committee. He was referring to Renton’s residents.
The committee is now awaiting “wish lists” from attorneys representing residents or property owners affected by the regulations.
“I want them to finalize what they think they really need to make them happy,” said Terri Briere, who chairs the committee.
So far, she said, attorneys are offering complaints about the regulations but not solutions.
Those raising the most questions include residents living along Lake Washington and representatives of the Riviera Apartments on the Cedar River and the owners of the former Stoneway site on State Route 169 near the Renton Community Center.
Typically, the property owners are expressing concerns about the width of setbacks from a sensitive area, which could limit the scope of building.
The Stoneway property owners are concerned they will have to redesign a large bulkhead to make it more natural when they choose to redevelop the property, Briere said.
Still, she is optimistic.
“I think we are making progress,” she said. The first step for the committee was “to get up to speed” on the recommendation from the Renton Planning Commission.
Now, the committee is dealing with specific questions or concerns raised by City Council members and the public.
“We will get to a happy medium somewhere,” she said. But, she added, “not everyone will be happy.
The rules cover such uses as docks and bulkheads, public access to public waterways and the size of buffers or setbacks designed to protect those waterways from development encroachment.
The number of non-conforming existing uses (meaning they violate the regulations) increases under the proposal, but the regulations allow for some improvements not allowed for non-conforming uses elsewhere.
Even the expansive lawns at Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park are likely a non-conforming use.
The new regulations would only apply to new construction or uses. However, the regulations are triggered for existing structures undergoing such things as a major renovation.
The new regulations were extensively reviewed by the Renton Planning Commission, which held public hearings. The commission approved a fifth draft of the regulations on April 7.
The council is still talking about whether to hold its own public hearing on the Shoreline Master Program. If it doesn’t, Briere points out that the public can still comment on the regulations during the council’s audience comment periods.
“It has been going on for a long time,” she said of the review.
The city’s Shoreline Master Program is required under the state’s Shoreline Management Act adopted in 1972. Each city and county was then obligated to adopt regulations to enforce the act.
The city has updated its program periodically, after its initial adoption in 1972. The state Department of Ecology has yet to approve a major effort to coordinate the program with the city’s critical-areas regulations the City Council approved in 2005.
The city – like many other cities and counties – missed a state deadline of Dec. 1, 2009, to finish the update. Now, it’s likely the proposal will go to the ecology department late this year for more public hearings and final state approval.
Donald “Buzz” Dana bought property in 1970 along Ripley Lane just north of the new Seahawks headquarters on Lake Washington. He was been dealing with local and federal shoreline regulations ever since.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permitted his dock and bulkhead. A bulkhead protects his two homes and an underground sewerline that serves five homes on his street.
Tied to his dock is a tugboat, which he restored.
He is one of dozens of residents, property owners and lawyers who have testified or commented in writing or at public hearings about the proposed regulations.
Dana is hoping the City Council will use some common sense in adopting the final version of the regulations. For example, he fears that under certain circumstances he wold have to remove all or part of the bulkhead protecting his property – and that sewerline.
“If that bulkhead was gone, the first thing that would get washed away is the sewer line,” he said. The homes all sit on pilings, but he said he would need hip boots to get into the house.
But Briere said the only way a bulkhead could be removed is following an engineering study that shows it’s not needed to protect something, such as a sewer line or homes.
“That all needs to be protected,” she said.
Dana said just one agency should oversee the state’s shorelines, suggesting the Army Corps of Engineers.
“I will live by the rules and laws,” he said. “But they need to be clear and concise, with no room for interpretation.”
And, he said, the one set of regulations should apply to everyone who lives on the lake, no matter their city or county.
Alex Pietsch, the administrator of the city’s Department of Community and Economic Development, said Renton is in a similar position as other cities in the state in missing the state’s deadline to finish the update.
“We are technically behind and in violation of the law,” he said. But, the state also knows the city is making progress on the new regulations.
A $200,000 state grant is covering part, but not all of the city’s costs, including a consultant’s report, to do the update. But the city still plays staff time, including for planner Erika Conklin, who as project lead has worked almost full-time on updating the regulations.
City officials say they are trying to find a balance that protects the environment and the rights of private property owners.
Through negotiations with the state, the city has added flexibility to its property regulations, including setbacks of 10 feet on some small properties. While some have suggested the city slow down the review process, Pietsch said he fears the city could lose some of the flexibility in the new regulations.
King County
A King County Council committee is reviewing the county’s Shoreline Master Program.
Information about the work of the Environment and Transportation Committee and the county’s shorelines program is available on the county’s Web site.
The county’s regulations apply in unincorporated areas, including those east of Renton and Skyway and West Hill.
Voters approved the Washington state Shoreline Management Act in 1972, which requires that each county and city adopt a Shoreline Master Program and regulations.
The regulations, according to the act, are designed to “prevent the inherent harm in an uncoordinated and piecemeal development of the state’s shorelines.”
City of Renton
The City of Renton’s Web site has extensive information on the city’s Shoreline Master Program and the current review.
The City Council’s Planning and Development Committee will meet at least one more time for its review of the city’s Shorelines Master Program. The meetings are at 3 p.m., typically in the council’s Conference Room on seventh floor, City Hall. The next one is June 24.
The committee then will make a recommendation on the revisions to the full City Council.
State assistance
The Washington state Department of Ecology has launched a new Web site designed to help the public, local governments and the media better understand and get involved in the process of updating shoreline master programs (SMPs).
Washington has about 28,000 miles of shorelines – more than the distance around the globe. In 1972, voters approved the state Shoreline Management Act, which established a bill of rights regarding Washington’s shorelines.
The act has three basic goals – protect the environmental resources of state shorelines, promote public access and enjoyment opportunities, and give priorities to uses requiring shoreline location, according to an ecology department press release.
It largely relies on locally tailored land-use policies and regulations called shoreline master programs – adopted by more than 260 towns, cities and counties with marine or freshwater shorelines and approved by the ecology department – to achieve the goals of the act.
The update process is designed to bring diverse local interests to the table to work collaboratively. The guidelines also require local jurisdictions and the state to ensure the regulations do not infringe on private property rights.
