Okanogan County should require consultation with experts from state agencies on water, wildlife and geology to ensure protections for the public and the county’s critical areas, urged the two members of the public who testified at the planning commission’s hearing on the Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) on Monday (May 24).
Twisp resident Isabelle Spohn and Methow Valley Citizens Council Program Director Lorah Super both voiced concern that the requirement to consult with experts had been made optional in the current CAO draft.
The state requires counties to follow best available science in managing their critical areas, which include wetlands, fish and wildlife habitat, and geologically hazardous areas.
The county is still covered by a CAO from 1994, Okanogan County Natural Resource Planner Angie Hubbard said. The county worked on an update from 2009 through 2013, but the commissioners set it aside to focus on the comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance, and the new CAO was never adopted, Planning Director Pete Palmer said.
The county commissioners are eager to adopt a CAO because it has a direct impact on grant opportunities, Palmer said.
Before circulating the draft CAO for public comments, the county submitted it for review to the state departments of Fish and Wildlife, Ecology and Commerce. The county incorporated some of the agency input in the draft released to the public, Hubbard said.
Many CAO commenters also urged the county to regulate clearing and grading and to set standards for land-disturbing activities. Requirements would take into account the stability of foundations, slope, drainage and the potential for erosion or flooding. The commissioners support having a clearing and grading ordinance and plan to take that up after they’ve completed the other planning documents, Hubbard said.
While the commissioners heard verbal testimony from only two people, they received many written comments on the CAO. The CAO comment period is now closed. The planning commissioners will digest all the comments and take up the CAO at their meeting on Monday, June 28.
Comp plan under review
The comp plan and the accompanying environmental impact statement are currently undergoing legal review, Palmer said. Once that review is complete, it will go to the county commissioners for their review and a public hearing. There is currently no timeline for that step, she said.
