The Anacortes Planning Department has approved the shoreline permit for Phase 1 of the Guemes Channel Trail — and expects the project to be completed by next summer at the latest.

The permit was approved after a site visit and second public hearing by the commission Sept. 24. Questions had been raised at the first public hearing Sept. 10 by Anacortes resident and geologist Ross Barnes, mainly concerning the height of the trail, which he said was too low.

A letter from Assistant City Engineer Eric Shjarback to the commission said the design engineer and geotechnical engineer agree on the trail elevation of 13 to 13.5 feet.

Shjarback pointed out the trail will go on an old railroad bed that “is in remarkable good shape” and has had no maintenance on it since it was closed in the mid-1960s.

The bed will be built up about a foot higher than it is now with gravel, crushed surface top coarse and asphalt.

A report by GeoEngineers for the city said the trail could be closed during bad weather or high tide season to address issues with the trail elevation and wave runup, Shjarback said.

“I would like to reiterate the fact that we are not designing a facility that demands 24 hour, 365 day per week accessibility,” Shjarback said. “We are upgrading an existing trail that is going to be one of the highlights of our community.”

Phase 1 begins at the end of the Edwards Way cul-de-sac in the San Juan Passage development and goes east 2,630 feet. Eventually the city hopes to extend the pedestrian and bicycle path from the end of the Tommy Thompson Parkway at R Avenue and Sixth Street to Washington Park.

The permit was approved with the conditions recommended by the city Development Review Group that included constructing native shoreline vegetation pockets approximately every 100 feet of the trail and having a biologist determine what trees and other vegetation need not be impacted by the project.

The city will now complete the design, work out the details and start coordinating with Gilbane Properties, which will be building the majority of Phase 1 near its San Juan Passage. The trail will be connected to a small park at the development with a 300-foot path.

The city will be working on the rest of the trail closer to downtown and is expected to go out to bid on its portion after the first of the year.

The city budgeted $250,000 in 2008 and 2009 for its portion of the project.