Critical Areas Ordinance and Shoreline Master Program Update

The City Council approved the Critical Areas Ordinance and Shoreline Master Program at its June 18, 2019 meeting. For the full text of the new code, please review the following documents:

• Final Adopted Critical Areas Code
• Final Adopted Critical Areas Code - Ancillary Changes
  
• City Council Adopted SMP
  

The Critical Areas Ordinance is scheduled to take effect July 29, 2019. The Shoreline Master Program follows a different process: It must be reviewed and approved by the Washington Dept. of Ecology before it can take effect. This is expected to be a 1-2 month process, but for the time being, the effective date is uncertain. Let’s Talk will be updated when an effective date is known. Until then, the existing SMP, adopted in 2015, contains the effective standards.

The Planning Commission’s Recommendation to the City Council for the Critical Areas Code and Shoreline Master Program is now available. The Planning Commission’s recommendation was developed after review and consideration of comments made by the public on the Public Hearing Draft.

• Planning Commission Recommendation - CAO

• Planning Commission Recommendation - SMP

Thanks to countless hours spent by the Planning Commission and community, a public hearing draft of the Critical Areas Ordinance and Shoreline Master Program are now complete and ready for review. Please see the "Resource Library" on this page to access the draft code documents!

The City has created a brief 6-minute video to inform the community about the Critical Areas and Shoreline Master Program update. Watch the video to learn more about critical areas and shorelines and why the city is updating the regulations.

Watch it here!

The Growth Management Act (RCW 36.70A) requires Washington’s counties and cities to review, evaluate, and update comprehensive land use plans, as well as updating development regulations using Best Available Science (BAS) to identify, designate and protect critical areas.

Mercer Island last updated its Critical Area regulations in 2005, and an update is due by summer, 2019. The City hired a consultant, ESA, to conduct an analysis of the Best Available Science as it pertains to the critical areas located in Mercer Island. ESA's findings are available in two reports here and here.

Mercer Island is home to 5 types of critical areas:

1. Wetlands
2. Watercourses
3. Fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas
4. Geologically hazardous areas
5. Critical aquifer recharge areas

ESA analyzed scientific research pertaining to the protection of these 5 types of critical areas and performed a gap analysis of the BAS findings and Mercer Island's current critical area regulations. At a high level, the BAS shows that the City should expand buffers around critical areas (buffers are a setback area around the critical area where development activities are restricted). The Planning Commission has been briefed on these findings and is considering the BAS as they develop draft code language.

The City is required by state law to periodically update its Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) and Shoreline Master Program (SMP). In addition to being a legal requirement, the periodic update provides an opportunity for the community to ensure its critical areas and shoreline codes are up to date with the latest science and in line with the City's current land use policies.

The process began with the City Council setting a scope of work, providing a framework for what will be covered over the course of this project. The City's Planning Commission has started on that scope of work, first reviewing the state laws pertaining to CAO and SMP updates, and next by reviewing the latest science on managing development in and around critical areas. Through review of scientific information, the City's comprehensive plan and public input, the Planning Commission will draft new code language for review and approval by the City Council.