Waterfront areas could see tighter restrictions on development.

The entire shoreline of Bainbridge Island could receive a fresh coat of environmental protections.

Spurred by a lawsuit, the city is working to ratchet up shoreline buffers that could make new development difficult for waterfront property owners.

“One hundred percent of the island’s shoreline could be considered a ‘critical area,’” said city planner Steve Morse.

Because all of the island’s shores are considered habitat for chinook salmon and other threatened species, the city may amend the Critical Areas Ordinance to create a new overlay of marine area protections.

Scheduled to consider drafting new shore regulations at Wednesday’s public meeting, the City Council instead opted to pull the discussion behind closed doors because the issue is under litigation.

The Suquamish Tribe filed a petition with the Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board last year challenging the legality of the city’s CAO. The tribe asserted that the CAO did not provide adequate protections for the island’s marine areas.

Initially set for a hearing last summer, the tribe agreed to a number of extensions while the city assessed concerns that “best available science” was not used in crafting the city’s shoreline protections.

A resulting city-commissioned report by Battelle Marine Science Laboratory concluded that city rules did not meet scientific standards mandated by the state.

Using the Battelle report’s findings, city planners recommend that the council consider revising the CAO to “address the identified deficiencies,” according to a city memo.

Costs related to the changes could range around $60,000 to pay for a scientific review, public notices and other outreach.

Morse stressed that the details of possible new protections are unclear.

Other jurisdictions surrounding Bainbridge – including King, Snohomish and Kitsap counties –have crafted shoreline protections that meet state requirements and address concerns expressed by the tribe.

In Kitsap County, critical area rule revisions have led to 100-foot buffers along some shores.

The county’s shoreline buffers come with protections similar in scope to those protecting the island’s inland critical areas, according to Morse.

“A buffer near the shore of 100 feet would probably be regulated like a wetland,” he said.

The proposed new rules likely wouldn’t impact existing buildings but may restrict new construction near shorelines, he said.

“This would mainly affect new development,” Morse said. “If you look at Seattle (regulations), there’s no impervious surfaces unless they’re mitigated in some way.”

According to Morse, only 20 percent of the island’s shoreline remains undeveloped.

With council support, Morse believes new regulations could be in place by late winter. The other option is to fight the tribe in court.

“We can either work with (the tribe) to make things work or go to the growth hearings board and see what happens,” he said.