At its Jan. 29 meeting, the Medical Lake Planning Commission got back to business after they voted to forward an ordinance to City Council that approves the amendments in the Shoreline Master Plan. The plan is a document that will guide development along Medical Lake’s shorelines as well as portions of West Medical and Silver lakes. It combines local plans for future development and preservation with new development ordinances and related permitting requirements.
The commission held a public hearing where Glenn Scholten, planning consultant, explained that the city received an updated draft of the plan that contained corrections and citations from the Washington state Department of Ecology (DOE).
Commissioner Wayne Ueda asked if the city has to report violations to the DOE. Scholten said the city is responsible for handling violations.
Commission Chair Lois Feken asked about a small section of Silver Lake within city limits. Scholten explained that Medical Lake is responsible for the wetland portion within city limits.
In 2007, the city of Medical Lake wanted control over regulating Medical, West Medical and a portion of Silver Lake. The city wrote their Shoreline Master Plan and submitted it to the DOE for review and comment.
“(When) We sent in our first draft (in 2008) we didn’t know what to expect,” Scholten said. “We went back-and-forth with DOE and then all of a sudden everything stopped for almost a year. Because of the two-year delay that they had, we had to go through the public process again.”
Following a second public process, the city met with DOE to discuss the plan. During this time, the city formed a Shoreline Restoration Committee and developed a “Medical Lake Restoration Plan.”
A second delay from DOE forced the city to conduct a third public hearing. Scholten added that DOE had a public hearing of their own in Spokane where they received comments from community members and public interest groups.
Scholten said DOE rearranged the plan and changed some of the definitions. One of the changes is that a development that falls in the shoreline enhancement overlay district — the area within 200 feet from the high water mark of the shoreline — with a market value over $6,416 requires a substantial development permit from the city.
According to Scholten, DOE also added sections regarding piers, docks, bounty facilities, vegetation movement, aquifer recharge areas, frequently flooded and flood hazardous areas, fiscal wildlife conservation areas and geography hazardous areas.
“There was also a bunch of citations they added in there,” Scholten said. “These are their edits and we feel they are fine. They make our plan a little deeper and a little better.”
Al Stover can be reached at al@cheneyfreepress.com.
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