VMICC Land Use & Natural Resources Committee Report
July 25 Ð Claire Dykeman of King County DDES met with the committee to discuss and to 
directly solicit feedback on the "proposed updates" to the King County Critical Areas Ordinance.  
Claire had been meeting with all of the unincorporated areas to gather specific feedback on the 
proposed updates and changes to the Critical Areas Ordinance.  The meeting was conducted as 
an "informal focus group" for the purpose of learning whether or not "proposed changes" to the 
CAO would have perceived negative or positive impacts. The general areas for discussion 
included but were not limited to the following topics:
o Increasing the amount of vegetative retention and limiting impervious surfaces on 
any given property parcel to regulate the rate and volume of storm water runoff.
o Increase the buffer on all fish non-fish bearing waterways to better protect 
salmon.
o Make wider buffers in designated salmon migration streams and rivers.
o Adopt the state classification system for wetlands, which would include functions 
and values as opposed to the current County system of size and vegetation type.
o Adopt new rule for wildlife protection to include species that "shall be" and 
"should be" protected and create wildlife corridors for species that "shall be" 
protected.
The discussion was quite lively and a number of opinions and interpretations were provided.  The 
overall consensus was that the Vashon-Maury island community prefers a holistic approach to 
the CAO while seeking a balance to maintain a livable community that does not "tax" 
homeowners off the island. 
In seeking to keep this balance a number of proposals were put forth to create a "financial 
incentive" for home/property owners to preserve and maintain their lands in a natural state 
and to assist in the recovery of endangered and/or threatened species and ecosystems. 
Claire is to provide a summary report of her findings and the responses from all of the 
unincorporated area meetings. 

____________________________________________________________________________________________
_
September 6 Ð Susie Kalhorn, the VMICC representative to WRIA 9 emailed the committee 
membership, as well as additional individuals in the community, seeking their input on the 
proposed "Salmon Conservation/Recovery Strategy" which would be focused on the "listed 
species" with an eye to developing "multi-species" benefits.  
In short, this mean that any salmon recovery activity conducted and funded by King County would 
only be directed at the specific salmon that are listed as "endangered" in the Puget Sound with an 
attempt to create recovery/conservation strategies to help other species.
The response that Susie received from community members was strongly in favor of the 
"multi-species ecosystem" approach and she conveyed that consensus to the WRIA 9 
planning committee.  


In SusieÕs own words:
Most of you were emphatic that the planning efforts should not solely focus on Chinook and that 
the work should be a multi-species ecosystem approach.  I expressed your opinions at the meeting 
and, after asking some clarifying questions, voted to adopt a "WRIA 9 Habitat Plan Approach" 
that was proposed by the WRIA 9 planning committee.  
 
The focus of the plan's action will be to protect and restore fish habitat by restoration of 
"ecosystem processes."  The idea is to really focus on "processes" as opposed to species with the 
assumption that if the ecosystem processes (i.e. water quality, water quantity, flow rates, woody 
debris recruitment, sediment transport, nutrient loading, etc.) are in tact, it will be to the benefit of 
all aquatic species. If it isn't possible to restore the naturally functioning ecosystem processes (and 
certainly this is the sticky question), then the actions will target improving habitat for listed 
species while taking the needs of other species into account.
 
Since the planning effort is designed to focus on ecosystem processes, I asked if WRIA 9's interest 
in Vashon-Maury then expands beyond the nearshore to Island-wide (i.e. the uplands and non-
Chinook streams).  Laura Blackmore, who was summarizing the proposal, assured me that it 
did as the uplands and small streams are necessary components in preserving a healthy nearshore.  
With Laura's explanation, I was comfortable voting for the proposal.



Submitted September 16, 2002
Patrick Booth, Land Use & Natural Resource Committee Chair