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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGordon King Public Comment for SMP Update - 022024 ce:jourvej(oivir„),,elt 0) draft SMP update iterations 2/Zo/2N C( Date Shoreline High and type Natural Conserancy Residantial Intensity 21-Jul-2021 Priority Aquatic New geoduck (d)CUP (d)CUP (d)CUP (d)CUP Expansion<25% no CUP no CUP no CUP no CUP Coversion no CUP no CUP no CUP no CUP Aquatic New geoduck (d)CUP (d)CUP (d)CUP (d)CUP Expansion<25% no CUP no CUP no CUP no CUP Coversion no CUP no CUP no CUP no CUP 6-Oct-2021 Priority Aquatic New geoduck CUP CUP CUP CUP Expansion CUP CUP CUP CUP Coversion CUP CUP CUP CUP Aquatic New geoduck CUP CUP CUP CUP Expansion CUP CUP CUP CUP Coversion CUP CUP CUP CUP 18-Oct-2023 Priority Aquatic New geoduck CUP CUP CUP CUP Expansion CUP CUP CUP CUP Coversion CUP CUP CUP CUP Aquatic New geoduck CUP CUP CUP CUP Expansion CUP (d)CUP (d)CUP (d)CUP Coversion CUP (d)CUP (d)CUP (d)CUP 19-Feb-2024 Priority Aquatic New geoduck CUP CUP CUP CUP Expansion CUP CUP CUP CUP Coversion CUP CUP CUP CUP Aquatic New geoduck CUP CUP CUP CUP Expansion CUP CUP CUP CUP Coversion CUP (d)CUP (d)CUP (d)CUP Yesterday I opened the latest County iteration of the draft SMP update. I see that full CUP's are a special kind of hell reserved solely for most forms of geoduck aquaculture. If you look at the permitting tables on page 65 through 70 you will see that near shore activities such as boat launches, docks, piers, marinas, dredging, dredge disposal,filling and excavation, shoreline armoring and Port development, amongst others, need only a straight permit through to a discretionary CUP. Apparently the County and a small group of shoreline property owners do not see these activities being as significant a concern as a new or expanded geoduck farm. In 2020, as directed by WDOE,Jefferson County started with a SMP update draft that had reasonable approach to aquaculture. By late 2021 after hearing inaccurate NIMBY claims about the impact of geoduck farms the Planning Commission had converted this to the most restrictive permitting possible. After multiple meetings and many hours of deliberation the Planning Commission eased somewhat to a moderately restrictive version of geoduck permitting and now the BOCC has decided to make the new SMP permitting regulations, twice as restrictive as that to geoduck aquaculture. I find it hard to come up with an objective science based rational for the County's position.This county has the oldest median age of any in the state of over 60 years old. This demographic, who are by in large retired, apparently are the people that matter. The update as written will prevent young shellfish farmers from expanding into a rewarding form of shellfish aquaculture because the financial barrier of hosting a full CUP with a public meeting will be too high. Large companies such as the one I work for will still be able to afford the process. If it is implemented as written I must congratulate the shoreline property owners on their win for shoreline owners' property rights over renewable food production and an avenue for working families to succeed in an enterprise of their own. I can only hope that one day the real and already known ecological damage caused by removing vegetation, building roads, boat launches and houses around the shoreline, and as exists in the Shine neighborhood, will finally be admitted and action taken to mitigate this continuing harm. I understand where the Shine residents are coming from i.e.trying to look after what they see as their self-interests but at this point I am very disappointed in the Jefferson County leadership. The shellfish industry presented them with information backed by scientific research and instead they chose to believe unsupported inaccurate opinion from anti geoduck farm waterfront property owners.