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Home My WebLink About05-14-2012 - Supplemental MaterialsRX.OYar&P.D5OSIJisS4.bae144 Wlvl44W-779I; 0e=Y1-9 Shoreline residents swamped by regulations Storm-water runofffrom public roads and highways is the single largest source ofcontamination to lakes, streams, rivers and the Puget Sound. Municipal wastewater is a close second, as large rain events often result in sewage over- flowing into our waterways. Current regulatory efforts, however; put an undue burden on shoreline property owners to solve a problem that is almost entirely not of their making. To restore the health of the Puget Sound, regulatory efforts need to focus GUEST OPINION Aaron Laing first and foremost on the primary sources of pollutants. While shoreline regulations play a role, bur- densome, complex regulations will undermine restora- tion efforts and divertfunding away from much- needed upgrades to regional stormwater treatment facilities. The state's Shoreline Management Act of 1971 re- quires cities and counties to work with the Department of Ecology to develop shoreline master programs (SMPs) to regulate the use ofshorelines within their boundar- ies. Under the law, local governments must update their SMPs according to the schedule set by the Legislature. Many Puget Sound jurisdictions either recently com- pleted or are in the process ofcompleting these updates. The ostensible purpose ofthe SNIP update is to ensure that shorelines have adequate protection based on the best available science. Unfortunately, the result has been the preparation and, in some cases, adoption of arcane, phone - book -sized regulations that do little to address wa- ter quality issues. For example, Bellevue's draft SMPis about 350 pages long and would effectively render much ofthe exist- ing development on the shores of Lake Washington, Lake Sammamish, Phantom Lake and Bellevue's many streams nonconforming. That is, manyexisting homes and landscaping would be prohibited underthe new code. Depending on the scope of repairs or improve- ments, homeowners could be required to remove land- scaping and place deed restrictions on their properties. Even mundane projects could require homeowners to hire expensive consultants and go through a complex permitting process. The effectwould be to restrict efforts to maintain existing homes and yards. New construction could be difficult, ifnotimpossible, depending on the site. The problem with such regulations is threefold. First, they place a disproportionate responsibility on shoreline property owners to maintain and restore the health of ourwaters, while ignoring the largest source of the prob- lem: contaminated storm -water runoff. Shore- line properties represent a virtual drop in the bucketwhenit comes to land area and imper- vious surface area in the Puget Sound water- shed. One need only drive over the Interstate 90 bridge during a rainstorm and observe the storm water discharging directly into Lake Washington to understand the source and scope ofthe true problem. Overregulating the shorelines will not solve the problem of rainwater washing harmful pollutants off of thousands of miles of roads and millions of acres of upland proper- ties that are not subject to such regulations. Second, costly, complex and unreasonable regulations create a disincentive for homeowners to go through the permitting process that might require reasonable mitiga- tion, such as infiltrating storm water from roofs instead of piping it straight into lakes and streams. Even worse, such regulations invite costly litigation. This is wasteful on many levels. Third, the Legislature acknowledged that restrictions could affect the fair market value of affected properties. The act thus requires that county assessors considerthe effect ofsuch regulations in making tax assessments. By adopting highly restrictive regulations, the assessed value of shoreline properties is diminished. This, in turn, could reduce tax revenues needed to upgrade regional wastewater and storm -water facilities. Ironically, highly restrictive shoreline regulations could have the effect of worsening water quality over time. The Shoreline Management Act does not mandate such results. The law callsfor balance. Local govern- ments and the Department ofEcology should be guided by the law's purpose and avoid adopting onerous regula- tions that do little or nothing to address the key threats to the Puget Sound. AARON LAINGis a land -use attorney at Schwabe, Williamson f(3 Wyatt. He can be reachedat alaing@sclitmabe.com. Marcus R. Donner RESEARCHER Bonnie Graves RESEARCH INTERN Tess Cradick 206.876.5440 206.876.5438 206.876.5466 mdonner4ibizJournala.00m bonnlegraves@bizjoumals.com toadick@bizjournalaoom EDITORIAL INTERN Bethany Overland 206.8763434 boterland@bizJournakaeom l TECHFLASH.COM 1 TECHFLASH INTERIM EDITOR Greg Lamm 206.876.5435 01(811ASH INTERN Anthony James 206.876.5441 I ADMINISTRATION 1 greglammrabizjournals.com BUSINESS MANAGER Janice French 206.876.5403 ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE /CREDIT COORDINATOR Shu- Hsiang Wang 206.876.5405 DIRECTOR OF EVENTS AND SPECIAL PROJECTS MonicaAlquist 206.876.5404 EVENTS AND MARKETING INTERN Arin Carpenter aJa mcs@bLzjournalacom jfrench@biziournals.com swang@bizjournals.com ma! quist@blzjoumals. oom 206.876.5406 acarpenter@bizjournals.com DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS Angelynn Taleott GRAPHIC 0(5169ER5 Michael Alcantara Brian Readdy 206.876.5463 206.876.5454 206.876.5408 1 ADVERTISING 1 DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING Joe Hesiet 206.876.5447 DIRECTOR OF CUSTOM PUBLISHING Colleen Allison 206.876.5444 SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Howard Shalinsky 206.876.5445 ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Carlton Baxter Jennifer Fikao Rachel Laurluen Dean Smokoff 206.876.5443 206.876.5451 206.876.5449 206.876.5446 CLASSIFIED ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Mike Wall 206.876.5448 ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Martha Geoghegan 206.876.5450 ADVERTISING INTERN Caroline Seeley 206.876.5453 I CIRCULATION 1 ataIcou@bizjoumals. com malcantara@blalournals.com breaddy@biejournals.com jheslet@bizjournals.com callison@blzjournals. com hshalinsky@bizjournala.com cbaxtor@blzjoumala. com jfikso@bizjournals.com rlauritzen@bizjournalscom dsmokoff@blzjournals.com rmvall@bizjournals.com mgeoghegan@blejournals.com cseeley@bizjournalacom DIRECTOR OF CIRCULATION Sarah Schosboek 206.876.5456 sschosboek@bizjournals.00m COORDINATOR /ADMINISTRATOR Mike Smith 206.876.5417 mesmith@blejournals.com TOVvN OF HUNTS POINT FAIRWEATHER NATURE PRESERVE LEGEND Areas Tributary toj Fairweather Bay /Ci Areas Tributary to Parks Ponds and C Areas Directly Trib to Lake Washingto OVERLAKE GOLF COUNTRY CLUB CI I OF CLYI E HILL CITY OF BELLEVUE i CITY COUNCIL MEETING PUBLIC COMMENT SIGN IN SHEET Public comment is encouraged and appreciated. With the exception of public hearings, this is the only opportunity for the public to address the City Council on agenda items or any other city related business. In order to accomplish all business on the agenda and be respectful of everyone's time, council members will not be able to engage in dialogue with individual members of the audience and no immediate action will be taken on any public comment issue. Complete the following information and submit to the City Clerk prior to the meeting. When your name is called, proceed to the podium and state your name and address. Please limit your comments to 3 minutes. Name: Address: Phone: PLEASE PRINT LEGIBLY Lfo c - `f" C 4 -o 1. Public comments sign in sheet must be completed before speaking. 2. Public comment limited to three minutes per speaker. 3. No speaker may convey or donate his or her time to another speaker. 4. Comments shall be courteous and respectful at all times. 5. No person may use public comment for the purpose of campaign or advertisement. 6. This is not a question and answer time and council can not engage in conversation with the public. 7. Questions and concerns about operations should be addressed with city staff during regular business hours. 8. The presiding officer has the responsibility for enforcing these rules and may change the order of speakers so that testimony is heard in the most logical groupings. I WISH TO SPEAK to the City Council on the following agenda item and /or issue: 4, i 4L IN LIEU OF SPEAKING / request the City Clerk to include my written comments into the public record. Signature Required: 9.1(kk , r'yi'n Date: `mil l By signing, I acknowledge public comment period rules. Pursuant to RCW 42.56, this document is considered a public record. Disclosure may be required upon request. PUBLIC HEARING SIGN IN SHEET A Public Hearing is a specific time allowed for members of the public to provide input /testimony to the City Council on a particular subject which has been legally posted as a Public Hearing. Complete the following information and submit to the City Clerk prior to the meeting. When your name is called, proceed to the podium and state your name and address. Please limit your comments to 3 minutes. PLEASE PRINT LEGIBLY Name: i3O/3 i uj7bL, Pk/ Address: E (/,L e lgL A goer Phone: 4r ,`4C 3 1. Public hearing sign in sheet must be completed before speaking. 2. Public testimony is limited to three minutes per speaker. 3. No speaker may convey or donate his or her time to another speaker. 4. Comments shall be courteous and respectful at all times. 5. No person may use public comment for the purpose of campaign or advertisement. 6. This is not a question and answer time and Council can not engage in conversation with the public. 7. No further testimony will be taken once the public hearing closes. 8. The presiding officer has the responsibility for enforcing these rules. WISH TO SPEAK to the City Council on the following agenda item and /or issue: 1%69-- - - /7?(„-.-0,1.t n IN LIEU OF SPEAKING / request the City Clerk to include my written comments into the public record. Signature Required: r A I 1, , 1,..401 s/ By signing, I acknowledge public comment rules presented on this form. Pursuant to RCW 42.56, this document is considered a public record. Disclosure may be required upon request. Date: d % PUBLIC HEARING SIGN IN SHEET A Public Hearing is a specific time allowed for members of the public to provide input /testimony to the City Council on a particular subject which has been legally posted as a Public Hearing. Complete the following information and submit to the City Clerk prior to the meeting. When your name is called, proceed to the podium and state your name and address. Please limit your comments to 3 minutes. Name: Address: Phone: PLEASE PRINT LEGIBLY Ziky" ( 3ki « L',11-kcpu21 Vra 1. Public hearing sign in sheet must be completed before speaking. 2. Public testimony is limited to three minutes per speaker. 3. No speaker may convey or donate his or her time to another speaker. 4. Comments shall be courteous and respectful at all times. 5. No person may use public comment for the purpose of campaign or advertisement. 6. This is not a question and answer time and Council can not engage in conversation with the public. 7. No further testimony will be taken once the public hearing closes. 8. The presiding officer has the responsibility for enforcing these rules. WISH TO SPEAK to the City Council on the following agenda item and /or issue: IN LIEU OF SPEAKING / request the City Clerk to include my written comments into the public record. Signature Required: By signing, I acknowl-dge public comment rules presented on this form. Pursuant to RCW 42.56, this document is considered a public record. Disclosure may be required upon request. Date: S C(( 2 PUBLIC HEARING SIGN IN SHEET A Public Hearing is a specific time allowed for members of the public to provide input /testimony to the City Council on a particular subject which has been legally posted as a Public Hearing. Complete the following information and submit to the City Clerk prior to the meeting. When your name is called, proceed to the podium and state your name and address. Please limit your comments to 3 minutes. Name: Address: Phone: 0, I WISH TO SPEAK to the City Council on the following agenda item and /or issue: PLEASE PRINT LEGIBLY rk- L . Ne)av\ r 33 ve ito+ pc4 1. Public hearing sign in sheet must be completed before speaking. 2. Public testimony is limited to three minutes per speaker. 3. No speaker may convey or donate his or her time to another speaker. 4. Comments shall be courteous and respectful at all times. 5. No person may use public comment for the purpose of campaign or advertisement. 6. This is not a question and answer time and Council can not engage in conversation with the public. 7. No further testimony will be taken once the public hearing closes. 8. The presiding officer has the responsibility for enforcing these rules. Q am/k sk-- Feirc, 61-a_ t.s 84-kk 5` c-0mwie.045 IN LIEU OF SPEAKING / request the City Clerk to include my written comments into the public record. Signature Required: By signing, I acknowledge public comment rules presented on this form. Pursuant to RCW 42.56, this document is considered a public record. Disclosure may be required upon request. 500,000 450,000 400,000 350,000 300,000 250,000 200,000 150,000 100,000 50,000 200420115aes Tax By Month I i A A A illketa. AA IT i 14.10:11. ( AlillykV1117.1"4, IiihiAliZik iia P11*--1111•- 1111"-----.-4111iPti '41.4644'41/44N P.- - ------ , - 41.%; 191kWAIIII. 1.41- -'11 „„h- - • 4 A I January February March April May June July August September October November December 2004 2005 2000 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011