ORD 2015-13 ADOPTING BIMC 2.35 PUBLIC WATER ACCESS COMMITTEE
ORDINANCE NO. 2015-13
AN ORDINANCE of the City of Bainbridge Island, Washington, repealing
Bainbridge Island Municipal Code Chapter 2.34, Road Ends Committee,
repealing Bainbridge Island Municipal Code Chapter 2.46, Harbor Commission,
and adopting a Bainbridge Island Municipal Code Chapter 2.35, Public Water
Access Committee
WHEREAS, the Road Ends Committee was created in 1992 in order to develop annual work
plans to implement recommendations for the appropriate utilization of the City’s road ends,
thereby assuring the public’s access to certain areas of the city’s extensive and unique shorelines;
and
WHEREAS the Harbor Commission was created in 1998 in order to act on all matters
pertaining to the harbors and waters of the city consistent with the provisions of the Bainbridge
Island Municipal Code and direction of the city council;
WHEREAS, the appointment of new members to the city’s committees and commissions is
to be completed by July 1st of each year, and
WHEREAS, the City desires to consolidate the Road Ends Committee and the Harbor
Commission because both groups also have a mission that shares focus on opportunities for
public access to, and engagement with, our community’s extensive and unique shoreline.
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Bainbridge Island finds that a valuable benefit
related to public access – both to and from the water – will be gained by joining the work of
these two groups;
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAINBRIDGE
ISLAND, WASHINGTON, DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Bainbridge Island Municipal Code Chapter 2.34, Road Ends Committee, is hereby
repealed in its entirety.
Section 2. Bainbridge Island Municipal Code Chapter 2.46, Harbor Commission, is hereby
repealed in its entirety.
Section 3. A new Chapter 2.35 of the Bainbridge Island Municipal Code, Public Water Access
Committee, is hereby adopted to read as follows:
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Chapter 2.35
Public Water Access Committee
Sections:
2.35.010 Created – Membership, appointment, term and compensation.
2.35.020 Vacancies – Removal.
2.35.030 Duties and responsibilities.
2.35.040 Meetings, officers, records and quorum.
2.35.010 Created – Membership, appointment, term and compensation.
A. There is created a public water access committee for the city, hereinafter called the
committee. The committee shall consist of seven voting members who shall be appointed by
the mayor and confirmed by vote of the city council.
B. Members shall not be employees or officers of the city or appointed to another city
committee, board or commission, except for specialized committees or task forces of limited
duration.
C. To establish the committee, initial committee appointments will include all current
members of the Road Ends Committee with unexpired terms and all current members of the
Harbor Commission with unexpired terms. This may create a Public Water Access Committee
that is temporarily larger than the permanent committee membership of seven. During this
transition period, all appointed members will be voting members. If the committee
membership during this transition period is greater than seven, a quorum will be a majority of
the currently appointed, voting members. Initially, committee members will be appointed for
terms for which the expiration date matches the expiration date of the member’s current
position on either the Road Ends Committee or Harbor Commission. In addition, current
members of either the Road Ends Committee or the Harbor Commission who hold position
terms that expire on June 30, 2015 and who are eligible for reappointment will be offered an
initial appointment to the new committee for a two-year term that expires on June 30, 2017.
In subsequent years, the number of committee vacancies will be adjusted as needed to achieve
the standard committee size of seven with staggered terms as described in BIMC 2.35.010(D).
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D. Members of the committee shall serve for a period of three years, commencing on July
1st and ending on June 30th three years later. Members shall be appointed to a position
number, and the terms are to be staggered, with no more than three positions expiring in any
given year. A member may be reappointed, and shall hold office until his or her successor has
been appointed and has qualified. No member shall serve more than three consecutive terms
unless the city council determines that special expertise is required, or there are no other
qualified applicants.
E. Members shall serve without compensation.
2.35.020 Vacancies – Removal.
Members may be removed upon a majority vote of the city council. In the event of a vacancy,
the mayor, subject to confirmation of the city council, shall make an appointment to fill the
unexpired portion of the term of the vacated position in accordance with the city’s
appointment cycle. Unexcused absence by any member from three consecutive meetings shall
constitute grounds for removal.
2.35.030 Duties and responsibilities. The public water access committee, working in
collaboration with the city, shall implement recommendations for the appropriate provision of
public access to water. The public water access committee shall:
A. Work to support awareness, management, and enhancement of public access to and
from the island’s waters and water dependent activities;
B. Actively seek opportunities for public engagement and public outreach to increase
awareness of public water access sites of all type (water access, water view, etc.);
C. Promote and coordinate opportunities to develop island-wide public water access sites,
especially road ends, as appropriate circumstances occur;
D. Develop and recommend new road end and harbor management policies as needed, for
island-wide water access sites;
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E. Coordinate with appropriate City staff to implement the public water access policies
and goals of the council through measures which include, but are not limited to,
recommendation of ordinances, regulations, and other means;
F. Initiate, manage, encourage, and support a program for community stewardship of
individual water access and road end sites throughout the community;
G. Actively seek to leverage city resources by identifying donation and grant
opportunities and assessing for alignment with City goals and priorities;
H. Enlist volunteers, neighborhood members, and community organizations to assist with
the implementation of approved plans and/or projects adopted by the city council;
I. Develop an annual work plan in collaboration with appropriate city staff, and submit
the proposed work plan to city council for review and approval each year, along with a
report on results of the prior year workplan;
J. Such other duties and responsibilities as may be assigned by the City Council
2.35.040 Meetings, officers, records and quorum.
A. The committee shall meet at least monthly. Meetings shall be open to the public and held
in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act (Chapter 42.30 RCW).
B. The committee shall select from among its members a chairperson for a one-year term at
the first regular meeting of each year.
C. For meetings consisting of a majority of the then serving voting members of the
committee, the committee shall provide public notice of the meeting and shall keep a record
of its meeting minutes. Minutes of each meeting, including a record of attendance, shall be
prepared by the secretary and approved and signed at a subsequent meeting. The minutes do
not need to reflect the actual discussion, but only the formal actions taken by the committee.
The approved meeting minutes shall be posted on the city’s web site.
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D. The city shall provide city email accounts to voting members and related training on the
use of email accounts, including personal computer privacy expectations while serving on the
committee.
E. A majority of the voting members then serving on the committee shall constitute a
quorum.
Section 4. This ordinance shall take effect and be in force five (5) days from its passage,
approval, and publication as required by law.
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL this 9th day of June, 2015.
APPROVED BY THE MAYOR this 10th day of June, 2015.
/s/
Anne S. Blair, Mayor
ATTEST/AUTHENTICATE:
/s/
Rosalind D. Lassoff, CMC, City Clerk
FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK: May 28, 2015
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL: June 9, 2015
PUBLISHED: June 12, 2015
EFFECTIVE DATE: June 17, 2015
ORDINANCE NUMBER: 2015-13
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