New SMP boat regs too lax, critics say

Concern over the city's plans to update its Shoreline Master Plan bubbled over at an Oct. 22 Planning Policy Commission meeting, with several residents objecting to the "vague" new language in the regulations.

City of Issaquah Environmental Planner Peter Rosen presented commissioners with a set of proposals that would establish standards on mooring buoys, docks, and building on wetlands, near local streams, and on the shores of Lake Sammamish.

But much of the focus centered on the buoys as the advisory body tried to gauge how restrictive they should make an already complicated permitting process.

Boaters seeking a moorage buoy are required to go through the city, the Army Corps of Engineers, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

"It would be interesting to hear from someone who has gone through the process," said Planning Commissioner Ira Levin.

Members of the public, some of whom attended city-sponsored meetings with home owner associations in the Greenwood Point and South Cove neighborhoods in October, pressed for stronger standards than those proposed.

They hope this will keep boaters and swimmers separated by a safe distance, even if that meant restricting boat moorage altogether.

Don Meyer, a South Cove neighborhood resident and member of the “Save Our South Cove Beach” campaign, said he feared new regulations would allow the installation of mooring buoys there.

He said South Cove had intentionally designed its beach area for recreational swimmers, including improvements such as a floating dock, a sand beach and roped off swim area that covers the entire waterfront there.

He acknowledged the local homeowner's association ultimately controlled how the beach, which is privately owned, is used. But he feared for the safety of swimmers, as motorized boats approached the South Cove swimming area.

"Safety is paramount and must not be left to the whims of the current HOA," he said.

Not far from South Cove, Sammamish Beach Club resident Lee Garth Green took the opposite view.

"Adding severely restrictive criteria ... is a bad idea," he said.

He agreed with Rosen’s proposed SMP buoy updates. He believed the proposed regulations would provide property owners with guidelines regarding buoys while still ensuring safety and the protection of natural resources.

"The Issaquah Planning Policy Commission must take into account that the Shoreline Master Program update will affect individuals as well as community private beaches," he said.

Another South Cove resident, Debbie Batteiger, said the Sammamish Beach Club has a much larger lakefront, and sharing uses wouldn't be suitable at South Cove. She thought the beach's popularity with children and teenagers over the summer made mooring a speedboat there a non-starter.

"Against association rules, there are usually teenagers swimming in the dark," she said. "Who would be responsible for policing these matters?"

The next City of Issaquah Planning Policy Commission meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Dec 10 at City Hall South.

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