A win for continuing to protect and restore the Sound and Straits.
This was a petition to appeal the CAO buffers. The opposition wanted to overturn the buffers that were put in place by CAO activities.
Interestingly enough, the Puget Sound Partnership did not get involved or file a friend of the court (amicas) brief. It would be thought that the main proponent of saving Puget Sound would take a stand on this.
Here’s the backgrounder from Tim Trohimovich of Futurewise::
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As you may remember, the Hood Canal Environmental Council, People For Puget Sound, West Sound Conservation Council, Kitsap Citizens for Responsible Planning, Judith and Irwin Krigsman, and Jim Trainer joined with Futurewise to appeal the Kitsap County critical areas ordinance update in 2006. While Kitsap County adopted good critical areas regulations in response to the advocacy of all of us, the regulations had two major weaknesses: small wetlands were not protected; and the marine buffers for the Urban, Semi-Rural, and Rural shorelines areas, which cover 68 percent of the county’s Hood Canal and Puget Sound shorelines, were not adequate to protect important marine resources. Among the species that required buffers wider than 35 foot wide buffers originally adopted for these areas was the threatened Chinook salmon which extensively use marine shorelines. Our appeal caused the county to protect all wetlands and to increase its marine buffers from 35 feet to 50 and 100 feet. The Growth Management Hearings Board concluded several years ago that these amendments complied with the Growth Management Act.
The county’s critical areas regulations, and our win, was challenged by a group, the Kitsap Alliance of Property Owners (KAPO). KAPO lost in superior court, but won in the court of appeals on the claim that a state law required these regulations to be included in shoreline master programs not critical areas regulations. After legislation clarified this issue, Kitsap County and our organizations won when the court of appeals reheard this case. KAPO appealed this win to the Washington State Supreme Court. Yesterday, the supreme court denied KAPO’s petition for review. This means that the supreme court will not hear KAPO’s appeal and that our court of appeals win is the final word in this case. Several groups including the Bainbridge Homeowners, Common Sense Alliance, Olympic Stewardship Foundation, Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW), and the so called Freedom Foundation filed briefs in the Washington State Supreme Court urging the court to hear this appeal and overturn our court of appeals win. The supreme court’s decision not to hear this case terminates KAPO’s appeal. Since the county has come into compliance, our case is completed too. A copy of the supreme court order is enclosed.
Kitsap County, after they brought their critical areas ordinance into compliance, was excellent in defending this appeal. If you have the chance, please thank the Board of County Commissioners and the Prosecuting Attorney.
And this follow up from Christopher Dunagan of the Kitsap Sun..
State Supreme Court rejects KAPO shorelines appeal
OLYMPIA — Washington State Supreme Court has declined to consider a challenge to Kitsap County’s Critical Areas Ordinance — including a requirement for 100-foot buffers along rural shorelines.
Christopher Dunagan 7/18 http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2011/jul/18/supreme-court-rejects-kapo-shorelines-appeal/
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Jefferson County SMP |
