The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) is seeking public comment on Burien's recently updated shoreline master program, which is designed to protect the shorelines of Puget Sound and Lake Burien.

Ecology will host a community public hearing on the Burien shoreline program proposal on Dec. 8 in the Burien City Council Chambers at 400 SW 152nd St. The public hearing will be at 6:30 p.m.

Des Moines' shoreline plan has been approved by the state and went into effect Nov. 1.

The updated master program guides construction and development along the city's 6.7 miles of shorelines.

It combines local plans for future development and preservation with new development ordinances and related permitting requirements.

Under Washington's voter-approved Shoreline Management Act, Ecology must review and approve Burien's shoreline program before it takes effect.

Ecology is accepting public comment on Burien's shoreline program update through Dec. 17. Comments and questions should be addressed to Bob Fritzen, Department of Ecology, 1440 10th Street, Suite 102, Bellingham, WA 98225 or by email to bob.fritzen@ecy.wa.gov.

Burien's proposed program and related documents are available for review at:
* City of Burien website http://www.burienwa.gov/
* Burien Department of Community Development. - 400 SW 152nd St., Suite 300
* Burien City Library - 400 SW 152nd St.
* Ecology website: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/shorelines/smp/mycomments/burien.html

Ecology may approve the shoreline program as written, reject it or direct Burien to modify specific parts. Once approved by Ecology, Burien's shoreline program will become part of the overall state shoreline master program. Ecology also will help each local jurisdiction legally defend its shoreline program if necessary.

Burien's updated shoreline program was adopted by the city council after an extensive local process. The update began with a thorough inventory of existing land-use patterns and environmental conditions.
The city then prepared policies and regulations to preserve existing shoreline areas while protecting future residential development. Burien collaborated for more than three years with waterfront property owners, builders, real estate agents, environmental interests, tribes and state agencies.

Shoreline master programs are the cornerstone of the state Shoreline Management Act passed by voters in 1972. The programs help minimize environmental damage to shoreline areas, reserve appropriate areas for water-oriented uses, and reduce interference with the public's access to public waters and shorelines.

The law requires cities and counties with lakes 20 acres in size or larger to develop and periodically update their locally tailored shoreline programs.

In 2003, Ecology adopted new guidelines that establish the basic requirements for updating local shoreline master programs. The guidelines resulted from a negotiated settlement between business interests, ports, environmental groups, shoreline user groups, cities and counties, Ecology and the courts.

Burien joins a growing number of cities, towns and counties that have updated their shoreline programs using the 2003 guidelines. The state guidelines allow each town, city and county flexibility to customize the regulations to fit its local land-use circumstances and its vision of local waterfront development.

More than 30 communities have already updated their shoreline programs, with 70 updates currently under way. Most haven't done so comprehensively in almost 40 years.

Since 2005, the Legislature has allocated more than $15 million in state grants through Ecology to help more than 260 towns, cities and counties with regulated shorelines update their shoreline policies and regulations by December 2014. This includes $3 million earmarked by the Legislature in 2009 specifically to help municipalities throughout the Puget Sound region.