Around The Island | Feb. 6
Published 4:54 pm Thursday, February 5, 2009
Open harbor marina open for comment
The Department of Ecology has opened a comment period on proposed changes to Bainbridge’s Shoreline Master Program, which will allow for an open-water marina in Eagle Harbor.
City staff, the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Ecology have been working on establishing an open-water marina in an attempt to regulate, and codify, buoyed and live-aboard vessels currently residing in Eagle Harbor.
The open-water marina would be established in the middle harbor zone.
Live-aboards would be required to reside within the marina’s boundaries and would have to adhere to state and local marina regulations. They also would have to pay all costs associated with permitting and environmental determinations relating to mooring within the marina.
The city and Department of Natural Resources officials are still trying to work out specifics relating to grandfather clauses for boats and bouys currently in the harbor and what types of open-water moorage will be acceptable to both state and local regulators. The amendment does not allow for new live-aboard vessels to join the open-water marina.
If established, the open-water marina would be the first of its kind in the state.
A public hearing on the matter will not be held, but DOE will accept written comments until Feb. 23. Send comments to Barbara Nightingale at: bnig461@ecy.wa.gov. Proposed changes can be viewed on the city’s Web site. Search for: Ordinance 2007-16.
Meet the media at press panel Sunday
Journalists are used to dishing out the questions.
But this Sunday, island residents will have the chance to meet members of the local media and do some questioning of their own.
Co-sponsored by the Bainbridge branch of the Kitsap Regional Library and the Association of Bainbridge Communities, Meet the Media: How do Bainbridge Islanders Get Their News?, is a discussion on the relationship between citizens and the press.
A roundtable discussion will be moderated by columnist and former Seattle Weekly editor Knute Berger.
Panelists include the editors from the Bainbridge Review and Kitsap Sun, the news director for BITV, Bainbridge blogger Althea Paulson and Bill Richardson of Crosscut.com.
The event takes place 4-6 p.m., Feb. 8 at the Bainbridge Public Library.
The discussion is free and open to all members of the public. Contact the library for more information: 842-4162.
Field project set for ground breaking
A ground breaking ceremony for two new artificial turf fields at Battle Point Park will be held 3 p.m., Feb. 8 at the park’s existing fields.
A reception will follow at the Transmitter Building. Parking is available at the Kids Up Playground.
The project to replace the park’s sand and rubber fields with FieldTurf fields is a partnership between the Bainbridge Metropolitan Park and Recreation District and island sports clubs.
