Public comment period related to SMP periodic review: Sept. 19 to Oct. 19, 2022
We are seeking public comment on the city of Montesano’s proposed amendment to its shoreline master program (SMP).
Montesano and Ecology are working together to combine the comprehensive update and periodic review processes for the city’s SMP. The city locally adopted a comprehensive update of their SMP in 2016 and submitted the update to us for review and approval. We held a state comment period in early 2017 but, due to staffing issues at the city and Ecology, we haven't issued a final decision. A summary of comments was received and the city's responses are available below.
Montesano has now placed its comprehensive update on hold in order to complete a mandatory periodic review of the SMP per WAC 173-26-090. The draft periodic review amendment proposes changes to the 2016 locally-adopted SMP to ensure it is current with changes in state law, city plans and regulations, and other changed circumstances. The amendment also addresses issues identified by us during our initial state review of the locally-adopted comprehensive SMP update. The city has elected to use the optional joint review process for their periodic review, as allowed under WAC 173-26-104.
Information and documents related to the periodic review amendment and process may be found on the city’s SMP project web page.
Our combined final review and decision
After local adoption of the periodic review amendment, Montesano will submit the amendment to us per WAC 173-26-110. We will then formally review the comprehensive update and periodic review amendments together. We will decide if Montesano’s proposed program update meets the requirements of the Shoreline Management Act and the Shoreline Master Program Guidelines. Based on the comparison we will decide whether to:
- Approve the program as is.
- Approve with recommended changes.
- Send the proposed program back to the city with required changes to meet statutory and rule requirements. Recommended changes may also be included with the required changes.
Public comment period for the periodic review
Opens: Sept. 19, 2022
Closes: Oct. 19, 2022
All interested parties are invited to provide comment during this public comment period. There are several ways to provide comments. You only need to submit your comments once.
Submit written comments and questions to:
Mike Olden
Montesano City Hall
112 North Main Street
Montesano, WA 98563
molden@Montesano.us
Joint public hearing will be held on Sept. 21, 2022, at 6 p.m. at the Montesano City Hall, council chambers. Please see the city's SMP webpage for more details.
Comments provided to the city will be reviewed by both the city and Ecology; no need to send duplicates. At the conclusion of the comment period, the city will prepare a response to comments and determine if changes are needed. Public comments and city responses will be shared with us.
Public comment period for SMP comprehensive update
We previously held a public comment period on Montesano’s locally-adopted comprehensive update to their SMP. The period for public comment was from Jan. 30 through March 1, 2017. We used mail and email to notify those who had expressed prior interest. We also issued a news release to encourage public participation and comment. We received written comments from three different individuals and/or organizations. Comments focused on the proposed shoreline designations, the local SMP update process, and riparian buffers. Ecology prepared a summary of public comments and sent this to Montesano on March 3, 2017. Ecology received the city’s response to comments (below) on April 24, 2019.
Documents related to comprehensive update