Shoreline Critical Areas Code Update: Draft regulations available for public comment

Riparian Ecosystems Vol 1: Science Synthesis and Management Implications 2020 WDFW

Critical Areas Code Update:

Draft regulations available for public comment

The City of Shoreline’s draft critical areas code is available now for public comment.

Streams, wetlands, and landslide hazard areas are just a few of the natural areas that the City regulates for the benefit of public health, safety, and welfare. The State Growth Management Act requires the City to regulate these areas using the best available scientific information.

The City made its last major update to the Code in 2015. Since then, the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has published new guidance about how to protect streams using something called a Riparian Management Zone (RMZ). Because of this, Shoreline is updating its critical areas code.

What are RMZs?

These are areas on both sides of a stream that help keep the stream healthy. They provide:

• stream bank stability
• shade
• nutrients
• large woody debris
• filtering to help remove pollutants.

These functions are essential to stream health and impact wildlife like salmon. Because of this, the State requires the City to regulate RMZs. These regulations include limits on new development and protection for native vegetation and trees.

WDFW recommends RMZs in Shoreline extend 200 feet from each side of a stream. That is a significant increase from current rules, which vary between 45 and 150 feet.

What is Changing?

The City has been drafting critical areas regulations that are consistent with WDFWs recommendations while also balancing private property rights. Highlights of changes include:

• updated stream regulations reflecting the 200-foot standard widths of RMZs and methods of figuring out RMZ width
• updated list of allowed activities in critical areas and buffers
• updated critical areas report requirements.

To learn more, visit shorelinewa.gov/cao.

How Can I Get Involved?

The City has determined the draft regulations will not have an adverse environmental impact. On October 2, 2025, the City issued a State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) threshold determination of non-significance (DNS). This determination is open for public comment until October 16, 2025.

You can review the draft code and SEPA checklist at shorelinewa.gov/landuse. Submit your comments to Planning Manager Elise Keim at ekeim@shorelinewa.gov by 5:00pm on October 16, 2025.

The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on November 6, 2025, at 7:00pm. You can submit a public comment to Planning Commission via email at plancom@shorelinewa.gov or by attending the meeting in person at City Hall or online via Zoom.

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Comprehensive Plan Adopted - Shoreline 2044

The City of Shoreline is pleased to announce that on December 16, 2024, City Council voted unanimously to adopt the Comprehensive Plan with Ordinance 1026.

The Comprehensive Plan is a 20-year plan that articulates the community's vision and community values. 

The goals and policies included in this Plan provide a basis for the City's regulations and guide future decision making as well as address anticipated populations and employment growth and how facilities and services will be maintained or improved to accommodate the expected levels of growth.

We would like to thank everyone for their interest and participation over the past two years. The people of Shoreline are committed to making the city even better for the next generation.

The plan can be read here

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Public Hearing on LFP 2024 Comprehensive Plan Update - December 2, 2024

City of Lake Forest Park
PUBLIC NOTICE
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2024 – 7PM
ADOPTING THE 2024 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE

The City of Lake Forest Park City Council will consider the adoption of the 2024 Comprehensive Plan Update as the Comprehensive Plan for the City of Lake Forest Park. 

The Growth Management Act requires cities to review and evaluate comprehensive plans by December 31, 2024. The public hearing is intended to provide an opportunity for public testimony regarding the proposed 2024 Comprehensive Plan, which is available on the city website at www.cityoflfp.gov.

The public hearing will be conducted during the City Council’s special meeting on December 2, 2024. The meeting will begin at 7:00 P.M., and the public hearing will commence thereafter. 

The public hearing will be held in person. Instructions for how to participate in the public hearing may be found on the agenda for the meeting. Written testimony will be accepted prior to the meeting and distributed to the City Council, and verbal testimony will be accepted during the public hearing in person.

Written comments should be submitted to City Clerk Matt McLean at mmclean@cityoflfp.gov no later than 5:00 p.m. local time on the hearing date. Alternatively, a request to speak can be made by phone directly to the City Clerk at (206) 368-5540 before 5:00 p.m. on the meeting date.

Matt McLean
City Clerk
November 25, 2024

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Shoreline's 2024 Comprehensive Plan Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) available for review

The City of Shoreline is excited to announce the release of the 2024 Comprehensive Plan Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)! 

This document outlines how Shoreline can meet its 20-year growth targets for population, housing, and employment. The draft plan, called Shoreline 2044—Picture It! Plan It! Build It! includes important updates to city goals and policies to align with regional and state planning requirements.

Learn more and review the DEIS here 

Public comments are open from October 15, 2024, to November 14, 2024. Join us in shaping Shoreline's future!

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Comment on Draft Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for City’s Comprehensive Plan Update

Comment on Draft Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for City’s Comprehensive Plan Update

Over the past year and a half, the City of Shoreline has been working with the community to update its Comprehensive Plan. You now have an opportunity to comment on the draft Plan and on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).

How to access draft Plans: The DEIS and draft Plan are available for public review on the Picture It: Shoreline 2044 project page from October 15 through 5:00 p.m. November 14.

Public Informational Meeting: A public informational meeting on the Plan and DEIS will be held on October 24, 2024, from 5:30pm to 7:00pm in the Council Chamber at Shoreline City Hall, 17500 Midvale Ave N.

Planning Commission and Public Hearing: Following the public informational meeting, the Planning Commission will hold a public hearing at their Special Meeting on October 24 at 7:00pm, also in the Council Chamber.

How to Comment: The DEIS and draft Plan are open for a 30-day public and agency comment period. Comments on the DEIS may be provided at the public meeting, public hearing, or submitted in writing to:

Steve Szafran, Senior Planner sszafran@shorelinewa.gov 

(Subject: Comp Plan DEIS Comments)

Comments are due by 5:00pm November 14, 2024

MORE INFORMATION
Picture It: Shoreline 2044

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LFP Councilmember responds to article on affordable housing in Lake Forest Park

LFP Councilmember Tracy Furutani
Photo courtesy City of Lake Forest Park

By Tracy Furutani, Councilmember, Lake Forest Park

I take exception to Oliver Moffat’s article “Barriers keep affordable housing out of Lake Forest Park and the city’s plan is late for review” (Shoreline Area News, October 7). I offer some significant corrections.

First, Lake Forest Park’s Comprehensive Plan Update – Housing Element is, in no sense, late. The state deadline for adoption of the update by the City Council is December 31, and the city of Lake Forest Park will easily meet that goal. The timeline laid out by King County for its cities does not indicate any other deadline.

Lake Forest Park’s Planning Commission has been working on the housing element of the update (and the other sections of the update) for a year and a half. They have held an open house and a public hearing, as well as a public survey, all in an effort to gain different perspectives of what LFP residents want to see for their city in 2044. The planning commissioners have worked with SCJ Alliance, a consulting firm that works with many local municipalities’ planning commissions in developing comprehensive plans and updates.

The example cited in the article, which states LFP needs to build 760 more units of affordable housing (164 of them for permanent supportive housing, or PSH) over the next twenty years to meet county targets, is used to browbeat LFP. Of course, the “760” figure is in the context of the 797 already-existing units of that housing stock within the city – thus, LFP would need to double that stock over the next twenty years!

LFP is not unique in that regard; Shoreline has 6531 units of the type described in the article, and needs to build 8969 of them in the next twenty years (more than double) to meet county targets. Kenmore has 2377 such units, and needs to build 2498 in the next twenty years (again, more than double). These figures are from the 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies document Appendix 4. Spoiler alert: NO city does much better for this type of housing.

Oh, and PSH? Shoreline has 89 such units, Lake Forest Park has 9, and Kenmore has none. We all can do better.

No LFP city staff or planning commissioner is quoted, or even cited, in the article. Many of the points I raise could have been clarified with one phone call. In fact, the residents of LFP worked with city staff to hold a well-attended housing forum last month to discuss these same legislatively-mandated changes in the comprehensive plan housing element. During that forum, potential solutions, such as community land trusts and shared housing, were introduced. I wish that some of that discussion could have been captured and presented in this publication.

Lake Forest Park is not exemplary in its allocation of housing types – racial covenants, redlining and other historical discriminatory practices have all played roles in the question of who gets to live where. But to pillory LFP specifically for an issued shared by all cities does a disservice not only to the hard-working LFP city staff, planning commissioners and residents, but to ALL city staffs, planning commissioners and residents who are trying to find solutions that allow housing for all.

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Comment on Draft Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for Shoreline’s Comprehensive Plan update

Graphic courtesy City of Shorelline

Over the past year and a half, the City of Shoreline has been working with the community to update its Comprehensive Plan. You now have an opportunity to comment on the draft Plan and on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). 

The DEIS shows the potential impacts of the Comprehensive Plan Update and the needed mitigation measures to address growth that may occur over the next twenty years. There will be several opportunities to provide comments.

How to access draft Plans

• The DEIS and draft Plan are available for public review on the Picture It: Shoreline 2044 project webpage from October 15 through 5:00pm November 14.
• Public Informational Meeting: A public informational meeting on the Plan and DEIS will be held on October 24, 2024, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber at Shoreline City Hall, 17500 Midvale Ave N.
• Planning Commission and Public Hearing: Following the public informational meeting, the Planning Commission will hold a public hearing at their Special Meeting on October 24 at 7:00 p.m., also in the Council Chamber.

How to Comment

• The DEIS and draft Plan are open for a 30-day public and agency comment period. Comments on the DEIS may be provided at the public meeting, public hearing, or submitted in writing to:
• Steve Szafran, Senior Planner sszafran@shorelinewa.gov (Subject: Comp Plan DEIS Comments)
• Comments are due by 5:00 p.m. November 14, 2024

The City will provide responses to the public comments in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) issued following the close of the public and agency comment period.

The Comprehensive Plan is the city’s primary policy document for guiding growth and development and covers a wide range of topics such as environment, land use, housing, transportation, parks and recreation, economic development, utilities, and capital facilities. 

The DEIS and draft Comprehensive Plan will be available for review from October 15 to 5:00pm November 14. Links to the documents can be found on the project webpage: Picture It: Shoreline 2044.

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Barriers keep affordable housing out of Lake Forest Park and the city’s plan is late for review

By Oliver Moffat

Zoning barriers are preventing new affordable housing in Lake Forest Park according to the draft 2024 Comprehensive Plan delivered to the city council at the September 26 meeting. 

The county provides expert reviews of housing plans to help cities comply with the states and county’s new housing rules, but Lake Forest Park’s plan is so late there probably won’t be enough time to fix any problems.

According to data in the draft Comprehensive Plan, less than 25 percent of households currently living in Lake Forest Park could afford to buy a median-priced home in the city today. Yet, amidst a housing affordability crisis and rising homelessness across the region, an average of only three units of affordable housing are built in Lake Forest Park each year while 22 units of moderate and high income housing have been built.

A graph from the draft Comprehensive Plan shows the number of new homes needed in Lake Forest Park broken down by income

To do its share in ending the region’s housing crisis, Lake Forest Park needs to build 760 new units of affordable housing over the next twenty years; most of that affordable to people earning less than 30% of the area median income. And 164 of those units should be Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) for people who would otherwise be homelessness, plus 166 units of emergency housing. The city only needs an additional 110 units of moderate and high income housing by 2044.

The affordable housing targets were assigned by King County’s Affordable Housing Committee (AHC) who sets the targets based on the total amount of housing needed across the county. Cities (such as Lake Forest Park) that have historically provided less affordable housing relative to other cities in King County were assigned a larger proportional share of affordable housing.

A graph from the draft Comprehensive Plan shows that not enough low-income housing is being built in Lake Forest Park

Expert staff at the county’s AHC are reviewing draft Comprehensive Plans for compliance with state’s new affordable housing rules. The county gave Bothell 6 recommendations about their draft housing plan in July and gave Kenmore 5 recommendations in September. Shoreline’s plan was still under review as of September 9. But Lake Forest Park has not yet submitted its Comprehensive Plan to the county for review. 

The county says it takes about two or three months to review a Comprehensive Plan which means the city might not get the feedback in time to fix any problems. At the September 26 meeting, city council members struggled to find a date on their calendars when they could all meet to hold a public hearing and approve the plan before the end of the year as required under state law.

Adopted in 2021, House Bill 1220, co-sponsored by local Representatives Shelley Kloba, Cindy Ryu and Lauren Davis requires cities across Washington to document barriers stifling affordable housing in their communities. Lake Forest Park filled out a checklist to document affordable housing barriers provided by the Washington State Department of Commerce.

On that checklist, the city says its minimum lot size, large setback requirements, building height limits, and hardscape restrictions make it difficult to build affordable housing. Large parcels near wetlands and on steep slopes have been zoned by the city as off limits to high density housing.

The city currently requires 1.5 parking spaces per unit for multi-unit homes which - in combination with lot size, setback, hardscape, and height restrictions - makes building affordable housing infeasible according to the city’s report. The parking mandates will also make building PSH and Emergency Housing especially difficult. And because the city doesn’t allow offices in residential neighborhoods, there will be no place for staff providing support services in Permanent Supportive Housing to work.

Under new state laws, cities are no longer allowed to require parking spaces for middle housing and ADUs within a half-mile walking distance of major transit stops. 

Sound Transit is building three major transit stops in Lake Forest Park along Bothell Way (SR 522) for the future Stride S3 rapid transit service that will provide fast, all-electric bus service from Bothell to Shoreline beginning in 2027. 

A map from a draft of the housing plan shows neighborhoods within walking distance of future transit stations 

A map from an earlier draft of the housing plan shows the half-mile radius of the S3 transit stops covering the Southern Gateway, Sheridan Beach, Sheridan Heights, Brookside Triangle and Town Centre neighborhoods. The city council has pushed back and tried to delay the project over residents’ concerns the bus line will “deforest” Bothell Way.

House Bill 1220 also requires cities to implement policies to undo racially disparate impacts in housing. According to an analysis commissioned by the city, Lake Forest Park is still less diverse than King County and census blocks where racial covenants were prevalent are still largely less diverse than other areas of the city. Like many suburbs across the United States, Lake Forest Park had racial restrictive covenants that remained legal until Congress passed the Fair Housing Act in 1968.

Whether or not the Lake Forest Park Comprehensive Plan’s housing policies will be adequate to meet state laws and address the housing crisis is hard to judge without the review and feedback from the experts at the county’s Affordable Housing Committee.

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Shoreline council discusses parking and hardscape mandates

By Oliver Moffatt

In a discussion about the draft Comprehensive Plan, some Shoreline council members voiced support for keeping hardscape maximums low and ending the city’s minimum parking mandates near transit

The Shoreline council reviewed an update to the draft 2024 Comprehensive Plan at the Monday September 30 meeting. This year’s update to the comprehensive plan includes compliance with the state’s Middle Housing law, which requires cities to allow higher density housing in residential neighborhoods previously zoned for single-family homes only.

A rendering of a fourplex with surface parking on a standard Shoreline single-family lot shows how developers could cover 61% of the lot with hardscape

Written by city staff and the Planning Commission, the draft comp plan would have allowed more hardscape (buildings and other hard surfaces like parking spaces) based on the number of dwelling units on a lot - allowing middle housing developers to cover over 60% of a lot with hardscape while single-family developers would be kept below a 50% limit.

Mayor Chris Roberts spoke against the plan to increase hardscape maximums based on the number of units. 

“We know we are in a housing crisis… and we know as a city… we want to increase our tree canopy. And so when I look at this code… it’s not possible… We can’t increase our tree canopy and also take our hardscape from a maximum of 50% right now… and say you can build to 60% or higher than 60%,” he said. “If we are trying to preserve trees… We have to keep that hardscape limit down…. We have to encourage developers to build around trees,” he added, “So I’m not concerned about the number of units… To me, a six bedroom house is the same as a six unit sixplex.”

A map from the July draft of the comprehensive plan shows neighborhoods within walking distance of transit that could see parking minimums eliminated

Under the new state law cities may not require on-site parking for middle housing developments located within a half-mile of a major transit stop. An earlier draft of Shoreline’s comp plan reviewed in July, ended minimum parking mandates in neighborhoods within walking distance of transit while still requiring property owners further from transit to pave parking spaces whether they want them or not. A map from that earlier draft showed most of the city within walking distance of transit.

“I have come around over the years, to being okay with parking limits being completely eliminated,” said council member Keith Scully at this week’s review. “We can’t have all three. We can’t have both density and hardscape limits and mandatory parking. And of the three, I would reduce parking. So I am okay with all the proposed parking limitation reductions. And I would be okay with going much further and making parking not mandatory on any new structures in these zones.”

If Shoreline removes all parking mandates, the city would join the cities of Spokane and Port Townsend who both removed minimum parking mandates in September.

Not everyone on the council is ready to end parking mandates in Shoreline.

At the July review of the earlier draft of the plan, council member Annette Ademasu said at the time, “I’m very concerned about opening the majority of the city to middle housing” and pushed back against the proposal to reduce parking mandates. “I am pretty upset with house bill 1110 that there are no parking requirements for half a mile of transit so I would urge the city to please, when ADUs are built, if there is no on street parking available, to require a parking space,” she said.

Many communities in Washington already have more parking spaces than residents - leading to more driving and greenhouse gas emissions according to the Municipal Research and Services Center. Planning experts say minimum parking mandates increase the cost of building residential real estate which contributes to less affordable housing. Parking spaces also make neighborhoods hotter through the heat island effect and can send dirty stormwater runoff into streams, lakes, and Puget Sound

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Public Hearing - 2024 Periodic Update Draft of the Comprehensive Plan in Lake Forest Park

Tuesday, August 13, 2024, 7pm Public Hearing - 2024 Periodic Update Draft of the Comprehensive Plan

The City of Lake Forest Park’s decennial Comprehensive Plan periodic update is well under way, now halfway through its second year. 

The active update effort is required by state law to address recent legislative changes, new King County Countywide Planning Policies (CPPs), and the Puget Sound Regional Council's (PSRC) VISION 2050. 

Collectively, there are new requirements and policies that change the ways we plan for housing and land use, transportation, address the needs of vulnerable residents, and incorporate climate planning. 

As a member of the Lake Forest Park community, we value your insight and ideas about the city.

The City's Planning Commission is holding a public hearing for the community on Tuesday, August 13, 2024, at 7pm in the Council Chambers at City Hall. 

The public hearing is an opportunity to formally provide public comment and feedback to the Commissioners on draft amendments to the Comprehensive Plan prior to their required recommendation to City Council. 

The Commission has reviewed the existing goals and policies in the adopted 2015 Comprehensive Plan and included draft amendments to each element in the Plan. 

This Fall, the City Council will receive the Commission's recommendation, review and consider the draft amendments, hold an additional public hearing, and take action to adopt an updated Plan.

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Planning Commission discusses Middle Housing at July 18, 2024 meeting

Shoreline Planning Commission

By Pam Cross

The Planning Commission Regular Meeting of July 18, 2024 was held in the Council Chamber using a hybrid format where both in-person and online attendance is allowed.

Staff Presentation by:

• Elise Keim, Planning Manager
• Steve Szafran, Senior Planner
• Emily Larson, Otak

Study Item 6-1(c) 2024 Comprehensive Plan Update - Middle Housing Public Participation Summary and Draft Regulations

• Staff Report - Middle Housing Public Outreach and Draft Code

Public Comment (letters)

• Jennifer Prescott
• Marc Mignogna
• Pam Cross
• Boni Biery
• Christian Fulghum
• Yonas Seifu

During the 2023 legislative session the Washington State Legislature passed House Bill 1110, also known as the Middle Housing bill, which requires cities to allow middle housing in low-density residential zones within six months of their comprehensive plan adoption. 

With this new state mandate Shoreline again pursued grant funding to update the city’s zoning code to allow middle housing in compliance with HB 1110. (Staff Report; emphasis added)

Middle Housing has been before the Planning Commission five times. In opening comments, commissioners talked about how they approached these discussions. 

We don’t want our city to become a bunch of really big buildings with some pathways in between. And since we are still growing, we need to keep people’s wants and needs front and center so they want to continue to live here, and the next generation will want to stay here too. 

In order to foster communication to determine a shared vision, there was a lot of public outreach. As a part of that they prepared an informational handout briefly summarizing middle housing.

• Informational handout

Feedback

One thing that people were skeptical about is whether middle housing is going to move the needle on affordable housing. There appears to be a preference for lower height and smaller buildings in residential neighborhoods. 

Based on this preference, staff are looking at a form-based residential code rather than the current units-based code. “The code will focus on building height, width, and depth” as well as pedestrian and vehicle access.

Per HB 1110 no on-site parking is required for middle housing within ½ mile of a major transit stop. Staff is proposing 0 stalls per unit in accordance with HB 1110, and 1 stall per unit for those farther than 1/2 mile of a major transit stop.

Proposed permitted housing types

NR-3 includes those areas that are currently zoned R4 and R6, and are further from transit.

Further discussion covered zoning (allowed uses and set-backs); fire requirements (for access, required hydrants, fire impact fees); potential side sewer upgrades; curb and sidewalk requirements; electricity to be underground.

Sprinklers are already required for new residential buildings and unit conversions. Middle housing will be subject to the same rules as single family dwellings.

*AMI is Area Median Income.

The above reference to Affordable Housing makes it clear that Middle Housing is not synonymous with Affordable Housing.

If a builder/owner/developer includes 1 or 2 units of affordable housing, they are able to build additional units as shown above.

Per HB 1110 middle housing cannot have any standards more restrictive than those standards for detached housing. 

Staff are proposing to repeal Single Family Detached Residential Design regulations and replace it with Neighborhood Residential Design regulations. These are zone-based design standards and would also apply to any detached housing that occurs in these zones. 

With that in mind, staff are proposing a light-touch on design standards and focusing on those standards that have public support and promote the city’s vision. (Staff report)

Go to this link FAQ HB 1110 to see a quick interpretation of this complicated HB 1110 prepared by the Washington Association of Cities

Middle Housing is scheduled to come before the City Council on July 29, 2024 as a Discussion Item. There will be no action taken at the meeting but I expect councilmembers will have questions. It will be interesting to hear what they have to say.

 

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Bothell plans higher density citywide in draft Comprehensive Plan

By Oliver Moffat

The Bothell Planning Commission presented the City Council with its recommended Comprehensive Plan at the Tuesday, July 9 meeting. The draft of the Land Use Element of the plan would increase density in neighborhoods across the city that are currently low density and allow some taller multifamily buildings downtown.

A map from the Bothell draft Comprehensive Plan shows areas of change where low density neighborhoods would be rezoned to medium density

In devising the plan, the Planning Commission considered three options. The first option would have taken no action but would not have complied with state laws passed in 2023 requiring cities to allow Middle Housing and Accessory Dwelling Units in residential neighborhoods.

The second option, called the “Neighborhoods” alternative, would spread growth throughout the city and allow increased density across the city. And the third option, called “Centers”, would have concentrated growth into high density neighborhoods where transit is expected in the future.

A table from Bothell’s draft Comprehensive Plan shows the city needs 12,782 new homes and 18,205 new jobs in the next twenty years

The Planning Commission chose to recommend a hybrid between the “Neighborhoods” and “Centers” options. The recommendation would allow smaller lot sizes, more units per lot and allow townhouses, multiplexes, and smaller apartment buildings in neighborhoods across the city where that level of density is currently not allowed. The recommendation also would allow increased density and taller buildings in Mixed-Use zones.

The Puget Sound region is facing a housing affordability crisis and expects 1.8 million new residents by 2050 according to the Puget Sound Regional Council.

According to data from the draft plan, Bothell needs 12,782 new homes in the next twenty years and more the three quarters of those homes need to be affordable to people making less than the average median income.

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LFP Leadership plan to attend the Comp Plan Open House on July 16, 2024

Lake Forest Park Planning Commission in a recent session

Lake Forest Park has issued notice that a quorum of the city council, as well as the Planning Commission, Climate Action Committee, Tree Board, and Parks & Recreation Advisory Board plan to attend the Comprehensive Plan Open House on July 16, 2024.

City of Lake Forest Park Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update Open House

Tuesday, July 16, 2024, 4:00pm – 7:00pm

Third Place Commons 17171 Bothell Way NE, Lake Forest Park WA 98155

The City of Lake Forest Park’s decennial Comprehensive Plan periodic update is well under way, now into its second year.

The active update effort is required by state law to address recent legislative changes, new King County Countywide Planning Policies (CPPs), and the Puget Sound Regional Council's (PSRC) VISION 2050. 

Collectively, there are new requirements and policies that change the ways we plan for housing, address the needs of vulnerable residents, and incorporate climate planning. 

The open house for the community is hosted by the City's Planning Commission. The open house is an informal setting to learn about the update, ask questions, and give feedback to the Commissioners as a check-in at this point in the process. 

The Commission has reviewed the existing goals and policies in the adopted 2015 Comprehensive Plan and made draft amendments to each element. 

Before the Commission holds a noticed public hearing and makes a recommendation to the City Council, the open house is an opportunity to update and check in with the community on this important effort.

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Lake Forest Park Open House for Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update – July 16, 2024

The City of Lake Forest Park’s decennial Comprehensive Plan periodic update is well under way, now into its second year. 

The active update effort is required by state law to address recent legislative changes, new King County Countywide Planning Policies (CPPs), and the Puget Sound Regional Council's (PSRC) VISION 2050. 

Collectively, there are new requirements and policies that change the ways we plan for housing, address the needs of vulnerable residents, and incorporate climate planning. 

As a member of the Lake Forest Park community, we value your insight and ideas about the city. The city is holding an open house for the community, hosted by the City's Planning Commission, at Third Place Commons, Tuesday, July 16, 2024, 4:00pm - 7:00pm. 

The open house is an informal setting to learn about the update, ask questions, and give feedback to the Commissioners as a check-in at this point in the process. 

The Commission has reviewed the existing goals and policies in the adopted 2015 Comprehensive Plan and made draft amendments to each element. Before the Commission holds a noticed public hearing and makes a recommendation to the City Council, the open house is an opportunity to update and check in with the community on this important effort.

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Transportation and Middle Housing discussed at the May 20 Shoreline Council meeting

The locations of three new projects added to the Transportation Improvement Plan are marked on a map

By Oliver Moffat

At the May 20 meeting, the city council approved a new Transportation Improvement Plan with some amendments, discussed Electric Scooter and Bike Sharing, and provided feedback on the Comprehensive Plan.

Every year, the city council is required to approve a list of transportation projects for the subsequent six-years. The city council made three amendments to the Transportation Improvement Plan before approval: an unfunded bike bridge to Edmonds over SR 104, proposed improvements to Firlands Way, and splitting the 185th project into separate east and west projects.

Regional bike advocates lobbied the city council to build a non-motorized bridge over SR 104 where a one mile gap in the Interurban Trail between Shoreline and Edmonds drives cyclists onto busy streets. The city council agreed to pitch in $40,000 to study the project but (given staffing shortages) the city did not sound eager to commit to yet another big bike bridge project.

One block to the east of the CRISTA retirement community and one block west of the new Canopy apartment complex is Firlands Way N. A citizen-initiated proposal could convert the road with 90 feet of city-owned right of way into a six acre, tree-lined pedestrian friendly public space. 

The proposal could be both a transportation project and a park project and bring badly needed open space to the rapidly urbanizing neighborhood near Aurora. The city council added a plan to study the Firlands Way proposal to the transportation plan.

After hearing safety concerns about 180th Street from residents in North City, council member Eben Pobee sponsored an amendment to separate the 180th and 10th Ave segments of the 185th corridor project into a distinct project called the “North City Light Rail Connector”. 

Largely symbolic, the name change doesn’t increase the priority or funding for the project, but raises the visibility of a smaller project that was previously buried inside a larger project.

 A screenshot shows council member Betsy Robertson saying “All those folks who don’t want to see the additional housing, they are all comfortably housed.”

Although it wasn’t on the agenda, the topic of what kinds of Middle Housing the city should allow came up while discussing the Comprehensive Plan.

Mayor Chris Roberts said he wants to “double down” and “embrace middle housing of all types” not just meet the minimum density rules required by state law. “I hope the planning commission brings back policies that give us the big version of what middle housing could look like in Shoreline. And then we can work with our affordable housing developers to say ‘okay, what do you need’ and how do we get really truly affordable housing in our city,” said Roberts.

Council member Annette Ademasu disagreed with the push for more middle housing. “I’m hearing from people out there… they don’t want to see corner to corner… townhomes. They would rather see more green space interspersed when we are looking at middle housing,“ said Ademasu.

“All those folks who don’t want to see the additional housing, they are all comfortably housed,” council member Betsy Robertson said in response. “And we have a housing crisis and we need to add more units. And Shoreline is committed to doing that,” said Robertson.

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LFP residents: Take the community survey for the Comprehensive Plan periodic update

The City of Lake Forest Park’s decennial Comprehensive Plan periodic update is under way. 

The active update effort is required by state law to address recent legislative changes, new King County Countywide Planning Policies (CPPs), and the Puget Sound Regional Council's (PSRC) VISION 2050. 

Collectively, there are new requirements and policies that change the ways we plan for housing, address the needs of vulnerable residents, and incorporate climate planning. 

As a member of the Lake Forest Park community, we value your insight and ideas about the city. The city is conducting a community survey and your responses to the short series of questions will help guide planning efforts. 

Please participate in this survey and indicate what does or does not reflect your impressions of Lake Forest Park and your hopes for the city's future.

Click here to take the survey until April 17.

Sign up here to receive Comprehensive Plan Updates by email or text.

Here is the link to view Planning Commission agendas.

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Opportunity to comment on Shoreline's Comp Plan online

Comprehensive Plan Update

Online Open House closes December 10; provide your input!

Shoreline is working to update its 20-year Comprehensive Plan - the vision for the city’s future.

Your input can help bring Shoreline’s future into focus.

The online survey is closing soon! Take the survey by Sunday, December 10, 2023.

The survey closes on Sunday, December 10 and is available in English, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Amharic, and Tigrinya! 

• English: bit.ly/shorelinecompplan
• Spanish: https://bit.ly/shorelinecompplan-esp
• Simplified Chinese: https://bit.ly/shorelinecmpplan-chi
• Amharic: https://bit.ly/shorelinecompplan-amh
• Tigrinya: https://bit.ly/shorelinecompplan-tig

To stay informed about the plan for Shoreline’s future, sign up for project updates here.

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Presentation on Shoreline Comp Plan at The Blakely at Echo Lake on Thursday November 9, 2023

More information here and here

A presentation regarding the City of Shoreline 2024-2044 Comprehensive Plan will be held at The Blakely at Echo Lake on Thursday, November 9, 2023 at 4pm.

The facilitators of the meeting will be:

• Elise Keim, Senior Planner at the City of Shoreline
• Frana Milano, Senior Associate, at Stepherson and Associates, an outreach organization appointed by the City of Shoreline
• Syd Frederickson, Community Director, at The Blakely at Echo Lake
• Nataline Chew, tenant, at The Blakely at Echo Lake

The Blakely at Echo Lake is part of the South Echo Lake complex, 1140 N 192nd St, Shoreline, WA 98133.

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Public Hearing Thursday for Transportation Element (TE) for Shoreline's Comprehensive Plan

TRANSPORTATION ELEMENT (TE)

Chance to comment on Shoreline's transportation policies and projects

The Transportation Element (TE), the regulatory piece of the TMP, must be adopted into the City’s Comprehensive Plan (Comp Plan) per State requirements. 

A Public Hearing for TE adoption is this Thursday, October 6, 2022.

The staff report for the Planning Commission October 6 meeting and Public Hearing describes the amendment process and an overview of the TE (the actual final draft TE is Amendment #1 – pdf pages 28-110).

This final draft TE is a new document being shared; it contains several components that have been shared previously with the public such as transportation vision, goals, and modal networks. 

New since the last public outreach this past spring, the TE contains a list of policies and project ideas (these project ideas do not represent complete projects but rather segments that could be developed in the future). 

The TE also contains a discussion of potential funding and a financially constrained project list for the next 20 years.

To find out how to attend the Public Hearing and/or comment on the TE amendment, visit the City’s calendar page for October 6, 2022.

This is an opportunity to comment (on record) regarding the information contained in the TE. 

Other than possible minor amendments, this process occurs about every 10 years. The final TMP is still being developed and will be a more user-friendly guide for implementing the TE. The TMP process is scheduled to conclude in early 2023 with a final public outreach process.

For any additional questions regarding the TE/TMP, please contact:

Nytasha Walters, Transportation Services Manager
nwalters@shorelinewa.gov  206-801-2481

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Op-Ed: Amend the Development Code to protect trees

Op-Ed submitted by Shoreline resident Susanne Tsoming, on behalf of Save Shoreline Trees Advisory Board

When Shoreline became a city in 1995, it had to conform with the State required mandate that all cities develop and adopt a comprehensive plan (Comp Plan). This plan guides Shoreline’s growth management decisions and provides a common vision for the future.

Shoreline adopted its first Comp Plan in 1998 in response to Washington State Growth Management Act requirements. It is periodically updated and the current Comp Plan was adopted on 12/10/2012 (2012 Comp Plan) by City Ordinance 649.

Comp plans are (1) comprehensive, (2) general, and (3) long range. The City’s Comp Plan confirms that the larger community has an interest and right to participate in the planning process of the City and is “vital to shaping the future.” 

Among the numerous goals in the City’s 2012 Comp Plan, one of them is to protect our natural environment. Goal NE X states that Shoreline is to maintain and improve the City’s tree canopy. 

In accordance, to better protect and preserve our community’s mature trees and urban forest canopy, Save Shoreline Trees (saveshorelinetrees.com) submitted 11 code amendment proposals. Several of them are new and updated tree definitions and others concern the protection and preservation of our tall mature conifer and native trees. 

One proposed Development Code amendment is to add to Subchapter 5, SMC 20.50.290, “Tree Purpose.” The Tree Purpose describes the functions and benefits of trees. 

Should this, or any of the other 10 proposed code amendments, be approved by Council, the City’s ‘tree codes’ will acknowledge our trees as valued and important elements to our natural environment. 

We await the Planning Commission and Council’s review this year of these proposed code amendments.

CORRECTION: Headline should have read Amend the Development Code

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