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From:Reitz, Jillian (PSP)
To:Party of Record
Subject:Ecosystem Coordination Board letter to City of Renton
Date:Wednesday, August 14, 2024 5:05:50 PM
Attachments:image001.png
ECB Letter_PeriodicUpdates_Renton.pdf
Planning Commission,
Please see the attached letter from the Puget Sound Partnership’s Ecosystem Coordination Board to
the City of Renton with resources and recommendations for actions with respect to your
jurisdiction’s current periodic update processes, and associated updates to development
regulations.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you,
Jillian
JILLIAN REITZ
Boards Policy Advisor
Pronouns (she/her)
Cell: 360.742.2936
Email Address: Jillian.Reitz@psp.wa.gov
www.psp.wa.gov
1110 Capitol Way South, Suite 255, Olympia, WA 98501
Email communication with state employees creates a public record and is subject to disclosure upon request.
There is no expectation of a response to this email if received outside of normal business hours.
August 14, 2024
Planning Commission
City of Renton
1055 S. Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057
RE: CRITICAL AREAS ORDINANCE and/or COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PERIODIC UPDATE
Dear Planning Commission,
On behalf of the Puget Sound Partnership’s (PSP) Ecosystem Coordination Board (ECB), we
submit this letter with respect to your jurisdiction's current periodic update process, and
associated updates to development regulations. The Puget Sound Partnership’s Ecosystem
Coordination Board supports the Leadership Council in carrying out its duties, including
the development and implementation of the Action Agenda. The ECB is made up of 33
members, representing local, state, federal, and tribal governments, environmental and
business interests. This broad representation supports the ECB to provide cross-caucus
reporting and dialogue on priority issues, such as how to ensure the protection and
restoration of habitat for ecologically sustainable watersheds for the future of all species
through local periodic updates. This letter provides background on the priorities described
in the Action Agenda and the resources available to support Comprehensive Plans and
Critical Areas Ordinances to align with those priorities. While this letter does not respond
to materials produced as part of your comprehensive plan update, it does offer many
specific recommendations and resources that we believe will support the protection and
recovery of the Puget Sound.
The recovery of Puget Sound is vital to human wellbeing in the region, to sustain
threatened salmon, orcas, and numerous other species, and to preserve Puget Sound’s
ecosystem functions and values for current and future generations. But the Puget Sound
ecosystem is under increasing threats from the development of ecologically important
habitats, forests, farmlands, and other working lands, especially outside of urban growth
areas. The smart growth strategy in the 2022-2026 Action Agenda identifies a key
opportunity to “improve the implementation of the Growth Management Act within local
jurisdictions land use planning and decisions, and across jurisdictions to include the
protection of natural areas and working lands.”
New planning requirements, updated science, and learning from the past ~8 years of
Growth Management Act (GMA) implementation make this round of Comprehensive Plan
updates a critical juncture and inspiring opportunity in our region’s collective work to
recover Puget Sound. As you know, the Comprehensive Plan sets the stage for development
activities and decisions which all have an impact on how well we achieve our goals to
protect and restore Puget Sound. To support recovery of the Puget Sound, we recommend
that jurisdictions in the Puget Sound region make use of the many science-based resources
available to support development of Comprehensive Plan and Critical Area Ordinance
(CAO) amendments that protect natural areas and working lands.
Our collective understanding of the complex relationships between land cover,
development, and ecosystem health improves over time, and this is why cities and counties
must include current, best available science and information in their local land use
planning amendments during the periodic update. Fortunately, our state Departments of
Fish and Wildlife, Ecology, Natural Resources, and Commerce have been busy updating and
distributing science-based guidance to support local governments in this process. Cities
and counties should leverage these resources below, and other science-based resources, to
effectively amend their Comprehensive Plans and Critical Areas Ordinances:
• Local Integrating Organizations (LIOs) and LIO Ecosystem Recovery Plans
• Local Salmon Recovery Watershed Chapters
• Department of Fish and Wildlife’s current Priority Habitats and Species information
o Riparian Management Zone Checklist for Critical Areas Ordinances
• Ecology’s Wetland Guidance for Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) Updates
• Ecology’s Climate Resilience and Shoreline Management webpage
• Commerce’s Critical Areas Handbook and Checklist
To ensure smart growth in the Puget Sound region, the ECB recommends that jurisdictions
consider and take action on the following:
1) At key points in the Comprehensive Plan update process, review and apply the
Sound Choices Implementation Checklist. The checklist was developed by the
Puget Sound recovery community and is intended to help local jurisdictions make
updates to their comprehensive plans that align with Puget Sound recovery
strategies and actions.
2) Ensure your local planning department takes advantage of funding for
additional staff resources to incorporate salmon and Puget Sound recovery
into local planning by applying for the Salmon Recovery through Local
Planning Grant Program. Depending on funding availability, Washington State
Department of Commerce will hold a fall 2024 round of funding. For more
information contact angela.sanfilippo@commerce.wa.gov.
3) Understand how your local land use decisions will support region-wide efforts
to achieve positive trends in Regional Land Use Indicators. The Puget Sound
Partnership assesses the status and trends of threats through a set of regional land
use indicators.
4) Reach out to and involve local experts in Puget Sound recovery including Local
Integrating Organization members, Salmon Recovery Lead Entities, as well as your
local representative on the Ecosystem Coordination Board. For additional support in
facilitating connections with these local experts please reach out to
Laura.Rivas@psp.wa.gov.
As you help shape the future of the City of Renton at this pivotal moment in time, the ECB
requests that you take advantage of the valuable tools and resources included in this letter
to ensure we are doing all we can to support our local communities and Puget Sound
recovery. Thank you for considering our recommendations, tools, and resources.
Sincerely,
Julie Watson, Chair
Cc:
Bill Dewey, co-Vice Chair Ecosystem Coordination Board
Ellen Southard, co-Vice Chair Ecosystem Coordination Board
Dow Constantine, King County Executive and South Central representative
Megan Smith, King County, South Central representative
Mary Ann Rozance, South Central LIO Coordinator