A long look at island shorelinesShould projects be put on hold while the city mullsnew regulations?

With a review of local shoreline regulations under way, and goaded by opponents of new docks in Blakely Harbor, the city has imposed an emergency moratorium on some waterfront development.The moratorium went into effect Sept. 3; the city council is expected to hold a public hearing in early October, at which time it could modify or repeal the measure.Planning officials say the move will give them time to consider new regulations being driven by state and federal agencies. We are in the process of developing new shoreline regulations, and are seeing an increase in permit applications, said Planning Director Stephanie Warren. We want to do that work without reviewing permits.

With a review of local shoreline regulations under way, and goaded by opponents of new docks in Blakely Harbor, the city has imposed an emergency moratorium on some waterfront development.The moratorium went into effect Sept. 3; the city council is expected to hold a public hearing in early October, at which time it could modify or repeal the measure.Planning officials say the move will give them time to consider new regulations being driven by state and federal agencies. We are in the process of developing new shoreline regulations, and are seeing an increase in permit applications, said Planning Director Stephanie Warren. We want to do that work without reviewing permits.The moratorium suspends applications for shoreline substantial development permits, exemptions or variances. Exempt from the moratorium are normal maintenance and repair of homes and structures, emergency repairs, and permits for single family residences and their normal appurtenances.While the thrust of the moratorium is to freeze the construction of new docks or bulkheads, according to council members who favored the measure, the effects are somewhat broader. Any near-shore structure not specifically exempt would be affected, including swimming pools, beach stairs or accessory dwelling units, according to city planner Libby Hudson.The Aug. 22 vote to impose the moratorium was 4-1, with council members Lois Curtis, Christine Nasser, Michael Pollock and Norm Wooldridge in favor, and Merrill Robison opposed. Liz Murray and Jim Llewellyn were absent.The planning department requested the moratorium, Pollock said, to ward off a possible flood of applications sparked by real-estate agents.A number of local real estate agents were handing out a flyer…warning that future shoreline regulations might prevent building a home or repairing a dock, he said. The planning department was concerned there might be a run on applications, which we did not want to see.I don’t see this as a ‘no’ to docks or bulkheads, just a delay while we study how to do those things in a good manner.The moratorium was enacted under provisions of state law that allow a council to act first, then hold a public hearing within 60 days. The moratorium took effect Sept. 3, and will expire next September unless the council extends it.The planning department has developed a time-line that calls for new regulations to be out by September 2002. But any new regulations must be reviewed and approved by the state Department of Ecology, a process that takes between two and six months. In her supporting memo to the council, Warren said that an extension might be required to accommodate Ecology’s review time.Robison said his main objection to the freeze was the lack of public notice – the item was not on the agenda for the meeting.Because this isn’t an emergency, I didn’t think we should do it without giving the public notice, he said. Earlier in August, the council considered and imposed a moratorium on dock and bulkhead construction in Blakely Harbor in response to neighborhood objections to two dock applications, the first in that harbor in many years.Neither the island-wide moratorium nor the Blakely Harbor moratorium, which the council repealed when it passed the broader measure, affect two pending Blakely dock applications.