State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA)
The SEPA review process identifies and analyzes environmental impacts associated with governmental decisions. These decisions may be related to issuing permits for private projects, constructing public facilities, or adopting regulations, policies, and plans.
The SEPA review process helps agency decision-makers, applicants, and the public understand how the entire proposal will affect the environment. SEPA can be used to modify or deny a proposal to avoid, reduce, or compensate for probable impacts.
King County completed their SEPA Checklist process for the proposed Beverage Ordinance on April 9, 2019. The County then issued a Determination of Non-Significance (DNS) on their SEPA Checklist on April 26, 2019. What this means is “the responsible [County] official finds that the Adult Beverage Ordinance does not pose a probable significant adverse impact to the environment.” In other words, the County is saying that allowing commercial development in our RA neighborhoods, on RA agriculture buffer lands, and on the APD farmland itself will have NO environmental impact. Zero. Nothing to see here. Move on.
Initial King County SEPA Checklist
Per SEPA process, FoSV submitted a response to the DNS, consisting of four letters (below), by the May 17, 2019 deadline. Note that many other individuals also sent response letters as well. Submitting a response allows us to challenge the SEPA DNS as part of our legal case with the WA State Growth Management Hearings Board, which we intend to do if necessary.