Members of the Pierce County Council’s Community Development Committee have scheduled four meetings around the county to gather public input on changes to proposed shoreline development guidelines required by the state.
These meetings will address 18 amendments that resulted from a series of community hearings last spring. The Community Development Committee, chaired by District 5 Councilmember Rick Talbert, made changes to such areas as aquaculture practices, shoreline buffer provisions, and development around Lake Tapps Reservoir. Now the committee wants to gather feedback on those changes before sending a final version to the full County Council.
Here is the schedule of community meetings:
• Thursday, Jan. 29 – 5:30 p.m.
North Lake Tapps Middle School
20029 12th Street East, Lake Tapps, WA 98391
• Monday, Feb. 2 – 5:30 p.m.
Peninsula High School, Auditorium
14105 Purdy Drive NW, Gig Harbor, WA 98332
• Monday, Feb. 9 – 5:30 p.m.
Pacific Lutheran University, Scandinavian Cultural Center
12180 Park Avenue South, Tacoma, WA 98447
• Monday, March 2 – 1:30 p.m.
County-City Building, Room 1045
930 Tacoma Avenue South, Tacoma, WA 98402
Washington State law requires that Pierce County update its shoreline development regulations, which were adopted in the early 1970s. This affects approximately 12,000 properties near marine waters, rivers and certain streams, lakes, wetlands, and floodplains. Participants can testify, provide written materials or both.
Typical examples of development that will be reviewed for compliance with the updated shoreline regulations include: residential development and associated accessory uses, docks, piers and floats, bulkheads and retaining walls, boat launching ramps, recreational development, marinas and aquaculture uses.
More information, including a complete list of the 18 amendments to last year’s proposal, can be found online.
The full County Council is scheduled to vote on the changes March 10. Then it goes to the state Department of Ecology for review.
