The Port Orchard City Council approved an update to the city’s Shoreline Master Program last week.

Outlined in a more than 200-page document, the Shoreline Master Program is intend to promote the responsible use and development of the Port Orchard shoreline consistent with the city’s comprehensive plan. The Master Program takes various environmental and protection issues into account while providing a guideline for future operations.

The State of Washington mandates that the city update its Master Program under the state’s shoreline management act.

James Weaver, Port Orchard’s Planning Director, said June 12 that the update is the culmination of three years of hard work by the planning staff.

The city was scheduled to approve the plan in April, but a last-minute letter from the Department of Ecology asked the city to perform some changes. The draft now complies with 99 percent of the DOE’s recommendations, Weaver said, with the remainder of the recommendations on shoreline buffers waiting to be accepted.

Ultimately, the DOE could require the city to make some changes to the Shoreline Master Program, but Weaver doesn’t see this happening.

The Program will go to the DOE for a final review.