Shoreline Meeting to be Held

WALLA WALLA -- Walla Walla County and the cities of Prescott, Waitsburg and Walla Walla will hold a public information meeting Tuesday evening to provide information on the upcoming update of each jurisdic- tion's Shoreline Master Program. The meeting will be held in the County Commissioners' chambers in the Walla Walla Public Health and Legislative Building at 6:30 p.m.

A brief presentation with time for general questions, from 6:30 to 7:15, will be followed by an informal open house from 7:15 to 8:30. Preliminary shoreline jurisdiction maps will be posted and project and Washington Department of Ecology staff will be available to answer questions and provide additional information.

Walla Walla County Commissioner Greg Tompkins, who represents the county on the project management team, said he "urges property owners and citizens to come to this meeting to learn first-hand about the pro- cess and determine if their property will possibly be impacted during this update."

Shoreline Master Programs were first adopted in Washington in the 1970s. In Walla Walla County, they affect properties within 200 feet of the following wa­terways: Dry Creek, Mill Creek, Whetstone Hollow Creek, the Walla River, Touchet River, Snake River and Columbia River.

Tuesday's meeting is intended to let local resi­dents know about the basic requirements of the Shore­line Management Act and Shoreline Master Programs, properties that are affected and the process for updating county and city Shoreline Master Program regulations.

In 2003 the State updated regulations for shorelines. The Washington State De­partment of Ecology is mak­ing grant funds available to Walla Walla County and Cities of Prescott, Waitsburg and Walla Walla to update their Shoreline Master Pro­gram regulations by June of 2016 for consistency with the State regulation.

To more efficiently use the grant funds, the four ju­risdictions have entered into an intergovernmental agree­ment and formed a project management team with a representative from each ju­risdiction to oversee prepa­ration of a regional update that reflects the vision and interests of each jurisdiction. Walla Walla County is acting as the grant manager.

Tuesday's meeting will be the first of many public meetings and hearings over the next 2½ years. Addi­tional information about Shoreline Master Programs and the update process is available online at http://bit. ly/1hfzwAt.