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COMMUNITY PLANNING BUILDING INSPECTION PLAN REVIEW ADMINISTRATION PERMIT SERVICES CODE ENFORCEMENT FIRE INVESTIGATION
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KITTITAS COUNTY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
411 N. Ruby St., Suite 2, Ellensburg, WA 98926
CDS@CO.KITTITAS.WA.US
Office (509) 962-7506
Fax (509) 962-7682
“Building Partnerships – Building Communities”
KITTTIAS COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
STAFF REPORT
TO: Kittitas County Board of County Commissioners
FROM: Dan Carlson, AICP, Community Development Services Director
RE: Proposed Amendments to Kittitas County Shoreline Master Program (SMP)
HEARING DATE: November 20, 2018
I. SUMMARY OF PROPOSED AMENDMENTS
The proposed amendments are to Section 3.7 of the SMP, the Historic/cultural element. The amendments
would include adoption of policies and regulations for identifying, protecting, and preserving cultural,
archaeological, and historic resources. The proposed regulations establish notice and comment requirements
for cultural resource review and criteria for archeological survey requirements. The amendments would also
include additional definitions.
II. BACKGROUND
On February 22, 2016, the Department of Ecology approved the County’s Shoreline Master Program.
Subsequently, the Yakama Nation petitioned the Growth Management Hearings Board for review of the
SMP, challenging the adequacy of the SMP’s provisions dealing with cultural, historical, and archeological
resources. Kittitas County, the Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE), and the Yakama Nation
have engaged in a series of settlement negotiations and have developed proposed SMP amendments that
address the respective concerns of all parties and that meet or exceed the requirements of the Shoreline
Management Act and other applicable regulations. The proposed amendments were included in a settlement
agreement that was executed by all parties on May 3, 2018. In the settlement agreement, Kittitas County
agreed to take all actions necessary to adopt the proposed SMP Amendments using the optional joint review
process outlined in WAC 173-26-104.
On August 28, 2018, the Kittitas County Planning Commission conducted a joint public hearing in
accordance with WAC 173-26-104(2)(c)(ii). The Planning Commission recommended approval of the SMP
amendments with one revision.
On October 1, 2018, Kittitas County staff submitted the proposed SMP amendments, comments, and county
response to DOE in accordance with WAC 173-26-104(3). On October 3, 2018, DOE issued a written
statement of initial concurrence for the SMP Amendments. If the Board of County Commissioners approves
the amendments at the public hearing, the County would need to formally adopt the SMP amendments
through resolution or ordinance and send the SMP amendments to DOE for final approval in accordance with
WAC 173-26-110.
III. PUBLIC NOTICE
Notice of the joint review process was provided in accorda nce with WAC173-26-104(2)(c)(i) on June 8,
2018 and August 3, 2018. A joint public hearing was conducted before the Kittitas County Planning
Commission in accordance with WAC 173-26-104(2)(c)(ii) on September August 28, 2018. A 30-day public
comment period closed on September 4, 2018. Notice of the Board of County Commissioners public hearing
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was published in the Daily Record on October 18, 2018 and October 25, 2018.
IV. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Kittitas County issued a Determination of Nonsignificance (DNS) for the SMP on May 28, 2014 in
accordance with WAC 197-11-340(2).
V. AGENCY AND PUBLIC COMMENTS
A. Agency Comments
No written public comments regarding the proposed amendments have been received. During the
Planning Commission public hearing, representatives from the Yakama Nation and DOE provided
comments. Tony Aronica, legal counsel for the Yakama Nation, commented that he was representing the
Yakama Nation at the hearing. Lennard Jordan, DOE Senior Shoreline Planner, commented in support
of the proposed amendments.
B. Public Comments
No public comments had been received at the time of issuance of this staff report.
VI. ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATION
A. Staff Recommendation
The proposed amendments to the SMP include policies and regulations for identifying, protecting, and
preserving cultural, archaeological, and historic resources. The proposed amendments are a result of a
series of negotiations between Kittitas County, the Department of Ecology, and the Yakama Nation. The
amendments would address the respective concerns of all parties and would meet or exceed the
requirements of the Shoreline Management Act and other applicable regulations. Therefore, staff
recommended that the Planning Commission recommend approval of the proposed SMP amendments to
the Board of County Commissioners.
B. Planning Commission Recommendation
The Planning Commission at their August 28, 2018 public hearing recommended appr oval of the SMP
amendments, with the recommendation that the word “undiscovered” be removed from the last sentence
of Section 5.1.