09/02/2009: "Steering Committee For CAO Outreach Plan Appointed"

On August 10 the County Council voted to begin a process with the San Juan Initiative to “Develop a public participation plan and bringing it to the County Council for review and approval” for the updating of the SMA (Shorline Master Program). The vote included a directive to staff to in draft a contract that would be acceptable to the council and the DOE (Department of Ecology) to accept the DOE offer of $400k for the shoreline update.

At the beginning of the August 25th meeting Councilmember Pratt took the staff and the rest of the council by surprise by making a motion to place on the “Consent Agenda” the appointment of a “steering committee to recommend the SJI portion of the CAO and SMP public outreach plan…”

The “outreach plan” Pratt had in mind was the one authorized at the August 10th meeting. Pratt’s motion would appoint the steering committee -the San Juan Initiative would use- to guide public input on the proposed changes to the SMA, including the Critical Areas portion of the shoreline regulations.

Placing an item on the consent agenda means that when the Council hold their regular scheduled Tuesday meetings, they vote to accept or reject, without discussion or public comment, the consent agenda.

Pratt included in her motion who believed the members should be: Amy Windrope, Staff for SJI; Patty Miller, Citizen Representative, Orcas Island; Susan Delendorf, Planning Commission Representative, San Juan Island; and a SJC Staff member of the County Administrator’s choosing.

Since this was news to the other members, and there had been no public discussion as to who the members should be, and no advertizing for members, the at first Council balked at making a second to the motion. They expressed some confusion and concern about placing the motion on the consent agenda, but a after some back-and-forth with Pratt, Councilmember Fralick said he could support the “San Juan Initiative portion to the public participation plan.”

With that statement, Councilman Rosenfeld seconded the motion, and the motion carried unanimously.