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By Buddy Rose
Business to Business
Port of Chehalis director Jim Rothlin told Port commissioners at their regular meeting on Jan. 14 that re-zoning of the Curtis Industrial Park will finally be possible following the long-awaited ruling of Lewis County’s Growth Management Act (GMA) compliance by the Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board last month.
Rothlin said the favorable Dec. 30 ruling by the GMA board clears the way for the port to propose to the county that they change the zoning at the Curtis site to a Limited Area of More Intensive Rural Development (LAMIRD).
He added that the county is scheduled to hold a public hearing on Jan. 25, after which they intend to lift the development moratorium. That will then make it possible to change the zoning, he added.
In other business at the Jan. 14 meeting, Rothlin reported that a meeting has been scheduled for the with officials from National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to discuss fish issues associated with the Programmatic Wetlands Mitigation Plan.
Rothlin also said he will be meeting with the state Department of Ecology (DOE) in regards to a 401 water quality certification for the programmatic wetlands project. Issuing the 401 certification means that DOE anticipates the applicant’s project will comply with state water quality standards, and is necessary prior to the Corps of Engineers granting of their regional general permit for the wetlands project, he noted.
Rothlin reported that Phase II plantings of bare-root stock at the Pleasant Valley Wetlands Mitigation site are scheduled to occur in February. He said 12,000 bare root plants and trees have been ordered for the plantings.
The director also reported that packets containing a letter and land use agreement for private crossings along the Curtis Rail Line have either been hand-delivered or mailed to all landowners with crossings on port property. As previously discussed, noted Rothlin, the landowners have been given the option of entering into the land use agreement with the port or doing nothing.
Rothlin added that final repairs to damage along the Curtis Rail Line from last year’s flood event are awaiting the opening of a window of opportunity for work on projects that affect fish and fish habitat. That window opens in June, he said.
Commissioners elected officers for 2010. They will remain the same as in 2009, with Mark Giffey as president, Daryl Lund as vice-president and Ken Kostick as secretary.
The commissioners also passed a resolution authorizing Jim Rothlin to act as port representative for Federal Emergency Management Administration or other emergency funding applications during 2010. Port Operations Director Rick Rouse was designated as the alternate.
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