The Kent Council’s Planning and Economic Development Committee will consider an updated Shoreline Master Program plan for adoption Monday. The meeting takes place at 4:30 p.m. at City Hall, and is open to the public.
If approved by the three-member committee, the shoreline plan will go to the full Council for adoption on either Sept. 1 or Sept. 15.
The Land Use and Planning Board voted unanimously on Aug. 10 to recommend approval of the plan. The board voted down the plan July 27 because of concerns about a requirement for private property owners to provide more public access at Lake Meridian if they developed their land.
Public hearings were held during each of the last two Land Use and Planning Board meetings. There will not be a public hearing before the Planning and Economic Development Committee.
Staff revised the shoreline plan so that private property owners would not have to provide additional public access at bodies of water in the city if enough public access already existed, said Charlene Anderson, city planning manager, in a phone interview Monday.
Developers, however, would need to provide public access if the project interfered with existing public access.
City officials are required to update the Shoreline Master Program by the end of this year by the Washington State Shoreline Management Act.
In Kent, the Shoreline Master Program applies to the Green River, Lake Meridian, Big Soos Creek, Lake Fenwick, the Green River Natural Resources Area and portions of Springbrook and Jenkins creeks. Shoreline jurisdiction extends 200 feet landward of these bodies of water.
The Shoreline Master Program addresses policies and regulations aimed to protect shorelines while allowing for appropriate water-oriented activities, access and development.
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