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Governor Chris Gregoire signs FHA bill into law on April 29, 2011. From l to r : Tom Clingman, Department of Ecology, Nick Federici, FHA Lobbyist, and Lake Union houseboaters, Marty Greer, Amalia Walton with daughter Lilian, Lon Marie Walton and Melissa Ahlers. |
Last year, the City of Seattle undertook to revise its Shoreline Management Plan. The FHA was involved from the beginning, and though the City was receptive to FHA's concerns, the potential impact of some of the changes spurred the FHA to further action. Lead by Amalia Walton and the Association's Legislative Committee, the FHA drafted a bill seeking to revise Washington's law to ensure the long-term vitality of our floating community. Working with the City, the State, and thanks to the strong support of legislators Jamie Pederson, Ed Murray, Frank Chopp, Dave Upthegrove, Jeanne Kohl-Wells and others, the bill passed both the house and the senate! The bill, which makes explicit the legislature's goal of allowing the "continued use, improvement and replacement" of houseboats, becomes law on July 22, 2011.
Because much of what we all value about our community is its architectural and aesthetic diversity, and because the SMP places uniform regulations on our unique homes, the FHA continues to closely review the proposed language. We have been encouraged by the City's continued willingness to make changes based on our input. The FHA submitted formal comments on May 28, 2011, and will have another opportunity later this summer as the City has agreed to accept additional comments after making changes in response to the first round. The FHA's comments are, and will be, available on our website.