Public meetings start on shoreline program

The first public meetings on the update of Wahkiakum County's Shoreline Program started this week with a small group of citizens giving input Tuesday in Cathlamet.

Called visioning workshops, the meetings' agenda includes presentations from planners about the process and its goals and finishes with discussions of what citizens would like to see happen on county shorelines.

Another meeting was held last night (Wednesday) in Skamokawa after The Eagle went to press.

Two more meetings are scheduled March 3, 6:30 p.m., at the Grays River Valley Center in Rosburg and March 4, 6:30 p.m., in the River Street Meeting Room, Cathlamet.

"Information is what we need to write your plan," said Ryan Carter, a planner working for the Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce (CREST). CREST is handling the update for Wahkiakum County.

"We need comments on shoreline uses, development, on what is an appropriate mix for development along shorelines, and what people think are non-conforming uses," he said. "What about the shorelines do you value?"

The updating process starts with the development of an inventory of current shoreline uses and characteristics, said Michelle McConnell, a shoreline planner with the Washington Department of Ecology. This, she said, is a baseline snapshot of natural and human components of the county's shorelines.

Then come the visioning workshops to gather public comments. From there, the county's shoreline advisory board and the consultants will develop goals and policies, check compatibility with the county's comprehensive plan and with state shoreline law, revise as needed, and present a draft to the public for more input.

Discussion at the first meeting focused on Cathlamet and Puget Island. Participants said they would like to see more public access to the Columbia. Mayor Dale Jacobson suggested the town's old sewer lagoons could be filled in and developed into a family-friendly park.

"Residents of the area should be able to access the river," said Cathlamet resident Jim Kolberg.

The group also discussed preservation of existing access areas, shoreline protection, and, without reaching conclusions, appropriate levels of development along the shorelines.