Lawmakers Hear About Floating Homes
See related New FHA Lobbyist.
The 2010 Regular Legislative Session concluded on March 11. Unfinished work, however, necessitated a week long Special Session, which began on March 15.
One of the many items left unresolved during the Regular Session was the clarification we have sought for the last two years regarding local authority over shoreline management plans pertaining to floating homes. We have once again been fighting to clear up state law and local interpretation in such a way that it would allow current floating home owners and occupants to continue their traditional way of life without undue regulatory interference from the City of Seattle and the State of Washington. This year, as in previous years, the City of Seattle opposed our efforts to limit or revise their authority over such decisions, particularly as they have been in the middle of revising their local Comprehensive Plan amendment.
During this just-concluded Regular Legislative Session, we negotiated with the City and a number of environmental groups whose priority is to protect the shorelines and marine habitat, but were not able to reach agreement with those organizations. When the City's Department of Planning and Development temporarily withdrew their Comprehensive Plan Amendments for review by the new City Administration in February, the perception among many at the City and in Olympia was that further action on their part was not needed because the immediate threat was resolved. However, we remain very concerned because the City is soon to re-issue these regulations, and we have no assurances that the proposed Comprehensive Plan Amendments won't remain just as restrictive as when they were originally issued.
The good news is that we continue to meet with elected officials in Olympia and at City Hall to ensure that the language of these new regulations does not harm the floating home neighborhood in Seattle. We are optimistic that we will get a positive result in the end.
In order that we not miss out on any crucial announcements, Sheri Greaves attended a hearing of the City's Built Environment Committee in February, even though the amendments to the Comprehensive Plan regarding shoreline management had been withdrawn from the agenda. No reason was given for the withdrawal, although we later learned that DPD was months behind in their process. In general, Amendments to the City's Comprehensive Plan can only be brought to the Council once a year, however, SMP amendments are an exception to that rule and can be brought up at any time.
We have written letters to all City Councilmembers explaining our concerns with DPD's proposed changes and have also met with Councilmember Jean Godden to discuss our need for more transparency and better communication from DPD during the SMP revision process. Councilmember Godden graciously offered to contact DPD and ask that they make their process more accessible to the public and especially to the houseboat community. She was extremely attentive, took copious notes and seemed ready to help should we need it in the future.
A final bill in the State Legislature that our lobbyist, Nick Federici, is watching closely is the same bill that was introduced in last year's session to change the method for calculating lease rates for marinas on State aquatic lands. The wording was vague enough that floating home moorages could have been considered "marinas" under that bill, but our lobbyist at the time, Mike Ryherd, managed to get floating homes exempted from the definition of marina. The bill was brought up again in this session, with the exemption intact, however, a new development is the addition of a proviso asking that the Department of Natural Resources "review the statutory method for determining aquatic lands lease rates for private marinas, public marinas not owned and operated by port districts, yacht clubs, and other entities leasing state land for boat moorage." Even with the exemption in this specific bill, a review could open up a can of worms for any lessee of State aquatic lands, so Nick and other lobbyists for potentially affected entities have managed to get a phrase included in the bill that says,"the review shall include a stakeholder process." Thus, we are hoping to have ample time for public input if a study arises that might change our lease rates.