Shoreline Master Program (SMP) Input Requested. Kitsap County is requesting citizen input regarding the Shoreline Master Program (SMP) and more specifically regarding shoreline designations. The SMP website is where all the information resides along with it being the place to register citizen comments and input. http://www.kitsapshoreline.org/index.html
Our Concern Is That Illahee Residents Are Unaware of the SMP Update. We are concerned that many do not understand the SMP update process, much less the SMP designations that have been assigned to the Illahee area shorelines or that they have an opportunity to request changes to any SMP designation they do not think is appropriate.
Current SMP Shoreline Designations. For those who are aware of the Illahee Community Plan, there is a section in Chapter 4 that covers and explains the current SMP designation. We have copied that section and have linked the map showing the designations: http://www.kitsapgov.com/dcd/community_plan/subareas/Illahee/Final%20Plan/Final%20%20Chapter%204%20NATURAL%20SYSTEMS.pdf .
Saltwater Shorelines Environmental Designations
The Kitsap County Shoreline Management Master Program (Kitsap
County Code Title 22), adopted in 1999, set shoreline designations
and development requirements for Kitsap County shorelines. Kitsap
County will be undergoing an update to its Shoreline Plan by 2011.
Under this program, the Illahee community shoreline has been
assigned three designations: rural, semi-rural, and conservancy
(Figure 4.2). Note that these designations are not to be confused
with inland zoning designations. The shoreline designations are in
basic agreement with the Illahee shoreline geology and reflect the
land use zoning called for in the Illahee Community Plan.
The rural designation is designed to restrict intensive development
along undeveloped shorelines and to function as a buffer between
more urban-like densities. The majority of Illahee shorelines
(approximately two linear miles) are designated rural and reflect
areas of high bluffs at both ends of Illahee and the bay area
between the state park and the mouth of Illahee Creek.
The semi-rural designation is designed to “promote a multiple-use
shoreline area in which the scale of uses falls between that of the
rural and urban environments. Certain aspects of the natural
environment will be retained in conjunction with permitted uses.”
This designation was assigned to the area from the bottom of
Roosevelt Street north to where Wise Street intersects with Illahee
Road (approximately one-half mile in distance). It essentially takes
in the 1916 platted area of old, historic Illahee and provides less
restrictive shoreline uses than a rural designation.
The conservancy designation is designed to protect fish and wildlife
habitat and critical areas and includes a sub-element for parks,
recreational sites, or open space. In Illahee, the shoreline area of
Illahee State Park has a conservancy designation. Additionally, the
southern-most shoreline area of Illahee has been given the higher
conservancy designation, which follows the environmentally
sensitive shoreline of the Cheney Estate and Enetai Community.
Future SMP Designations? As part of the SMP Update currently in progress, the SMP designations are currently being reviewed and can be changed. The county is requesting comments regarding missing shoreline information or corrections to the shoreline information in the Draft Inventory and Characterization report that is available on line http://www.kitsapshoreline.org/index.html. The comment period end date is August 31, 2010.
Possible SMP Presentation at ICC 8/23 Quarterly Meeting? It has been suggested that the ICC see if someone from the county could go over the SMP Inventory and Characterization report as it relates to Illahee at the August 23rd meeting of the Illahee Community Club. We agree and will pass on that request this week.
ICC Quarterly Meeting Scheduled. We were informed yesterday that the ICC quarterly meeting has been scheduled for 6-8 pm at the Sylvan Way library for a Monday evening on August 23, 2010. All Illahee residents are encouraged to attend. We will pass on the agenda for the meeting when we get one.
Petersen Farm Day. We have also been asked to pass on information about the Petersen Farm Day on August 22 from 1-4 pm. They are trying to save the Petersen farm that borders the Clear Creek Trail. Attached is the brochure on the event and following is the Facebook link that explains more of the details regarding the farm: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Great-Peninsula-Conservancy/117703044907804?ref=ts
Jim Aho
