Seeking Silverdale and Central Kitsap

3 Responses to “Seabeck Marina Moving Forward”

1. Blue Light Says:
   November 20th, 2008 at 9:23 am

   Why don’t you look into why the area was zoned “conservancy” in the first place? The same effort that tried to have 14 Kitsap County watersheds listed as critical habitat for Puget Sound Chinook, also over-reached with shorelines designations. What else?

2. Brynn Grimley Says:
   November 20th, 2008 at 3:09 pm

   Blue Light,

   I just finished reading the county’s 28-page staff report on its “proposed Kitsap County shoreline management master program limited amendment.” This is the report the commissioners are scheduled to vote on Dec. 1 and the report that will be submitted to the Department of Ecology for review to determine if the classification should be changed from conservancy to rural.

   The report calls the conservancy classification an “anomaly.” Here’s what it says about why the amendment is being proposed:

   “The purpose of this requested change is to correct the anomaly of a conservancy shoreline designation in the area of past, existing and future marina activity, which is a prohibited activity in this environment.”

   The report cites historical information which shows the first marina was established in Seabeck in the 1930s. This marina also housed a small ferry service, which took people from the shores of Seabeck across Hood Canal to the shores of Brinnon and Port Gamble.

   The zoning designation of the land near the marina under Kitsap County zoning is Neighborhood Commercial, which allows 10 to 30 dwelling units per acre. The Kitsap Comprehensive Plan zones the area as Rural Commercial, which like Neighborhood Commercial, is meant to serve neighboring residences with quick shopping that is compatible with neighborhood uses.

   The shoreline that makes up Seabeck Bay has three shoreline environmental designations, according to the county. They include rural, conservancy and semi-rural. Here’s what the staff report says about this:

   “The Kitsap County Shoreline Management Master Plan designates the subject area’s shoreline as conservancy. The purpose of the conservancy environment is to protect, conserve and manage existing natural resources and valuable historic and cultural areas in order to ensure a continuous flow of recreational benefits to the public and to achieve sustained resource utilization…marinas are prohibited in the conservancy environments.”

   The report goes on to state that the Seabeck area has had a marina for more than 60 years along the waterfront, and has supported marine activity in that water area for more than 150 years. The point being, a conservancy classification, when created, was erroneous.

   The rural classification is more fitting, because of the existing uses in the area, as well as the existing commercial use on the land neighboring the water, according to the staff report.

   A look at the current shoreline classification is as follows: shoreline in front of Nick’s Lagoon is conservancy, but shoreline heading from Nick’s Lagoon to Misery Point is rural; the shoreline heading from Nick’s Lagoon toward the Seabeck General Store is rural, until it reaches the shoreline where the marina was built, that’s the conservancy designation; and then the shoreline heading toward Silverdale is classified as semi-rural.

   Hope this helps shed a little more light on the subject. The commissioners are set to discuss this Dec. 1 at their Monday night meeting.

3. Blue Light Says:
   November 21st, 2008 at 9:16 am

   I wonder how many property owners have had their investments wiped out by “anomalies”? I imagine most individuals do not have the financial where-with-all to force the county and Department of Ecology to correct their “mistakes”.

   Thanks for the follow-up, Brynn.