PORT TOWNSEND — Those who attend the city’s stormwater management plan open house Tuesday can voice their concerns about drainage, flooding and water quality in Port Townsend.
The open house will aim to identify stormwater priority areas, assistant city engineer Samantha Harper said.
The meeting will be from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the Cotton Building, 607 Water St.
Once completed, the comprehensive plan will address the city’s existing stormwater infrastructure, changes to chapter four of the Engineering Design Standards and municipal code Title 13 Article IV, and financing for stormwater utility, including capital projects.
Chapter four of the Engineering Design Standards outlines standards for stormwater management, and municipal code Title 13 Article IV covers utility latecomer agreements.
Harper said she hopes to create two maps that would allow attendees to visualize stormwater priority areas near their residences.
“I hope people come and start to get excited about stormwater utility in general,” she said. “More people can have input.”
A quorum of city council members or planning commissioners might attend, but Harper could not say how many are expected.
At the meeting, city engineers will look at a 1999 stormwater management plan draft that was never adopted and compare the 2005 and 2012 Department of Ecology Stormwater Management Manuals.
As part of the stormwater management plan process, the city will consider an amendment to the municipal code updating the manual from the 2005 version to the most recent 2012 edition, Harper said.
“We want to make sure we have the best manual,” she said.
A draft of the stormwater management plan likely will be available in December and move toward adoption in January or February, Harper said.
“The result of the plan will impact our citizens and our regulations,” she said.
She emphasized Tuesday’s meeting will not be the final opportunity for community members to provide input about the plan.
“Some people are more tangible and want to see something,” she said, suggesting some might wish to attend later meetings.
A calendar for the communication process can be found at stormwatermanagementplan.wordpress.com/communication-process.
Public comments regarding the scope of the plan will be accepted at sharper@cityofpt.us until Wednesday, completing a two-week comment period. As of Friday, Harper had received one comment, she said.
For updates, the public may subscribe to follow the stormwater management plan’s website by entering an email address on the bottom of the home page.
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Reporter Sarah Sharp can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56650, or at ssharp@peninsuladailynews.com.
