For Kenmore, the issue has become, at least partly, one of building height restrictions.

For next door Bothell, the idea is, for now, to wait and see what everybody else does.

Following state law, like every other Washington city, both Bothell and Kenmore need to update local environmental regulations and development guidelines affecting any shorelines in their jurisdictions. But the two cities are at very different points in that process.

Following a timeline set by King County, Kenmore City Council is holding public hearings and approaching the closing stages of revamping its shoreline master plan.

According to Kenmore’s Web site, final approval by city legislators is due sometime this spring, though that approval is subject to review by the state Department of Ecology.

In Bothell, Senior Planner Bruce Blackburn — who is listed as that city’s project manager for its shoreline plan — said state ecology officials, noting the city sits in both King and Snohomish counties, advised the city to follow what seems to be a far different timetable for shoreline reviews set by Snohomish County.

Under the Snohomish guidelines, the city is at the very beginning of its review process with a final plan not due for another two years.

In Kenmore, Mayor David Baker said the city’s plans for the shores of Lake Washington probably are gaining the most attention. Concerned over blocking residential views of the lake, the city planning commission recommended buildings along the lakeshore be limited to 35 feet in height.

In contrast, Baker and others argue the shoreline along Lake Washington already is 25 feet lower than the nearest main street, that is Northeast Bothell Way. With that in mind, Baker said he might like to see height restrictions of 45 feet along the lakefront.

“With the lower restriction, I just don’t know what you’ve accomplished,” he said.

Baker specifically mentioned the height restrictions could affect plans for the very-much-stalled LakePointe development project, a 45-acre mixed used scheme on hold for several years.

This isn’t the first time building height restrictions have become an issue in Kenmore. The same question arose following a zoning change to certain areas of central Kenmore, a zoning change allowing more commercial development. Some property owners were pushing for 60-foot building heights, while the city ultimately adopted limits of 35 feet.

As now, the main point of contention was a concern over blocking views of Lake Washington. Baker added council as a whole has concerns about public access to the water.

“One of the problems we have here is, we are Kenmore on the Lake, but how do you get to the lake?” Baker asked. He said the revamping of the shoreline plan seems a perfect opportunity to gain increased access to the waterfront in the future. So what are the city’s next steps?

Council held a public hearing on its shoreline plan March 29. About nine people commented. Baker said city staff will study public and councilmembers’ questions, returning with answers sometime in the near future.

Staff already provided council with answers on 28 separate issues related to the overall plan, questions that covered everything from environmental setbacks to rules on marinas or docks.

In Bothell, Mayor Mark Lamb said his city’s planning process is too much in its infancy for any specific issues to have appeared. Blackburn agreed.

“It’s just impossible for me to predict what might happen at this point,” he added. But Blackburn also said the city will have some advantages over other municipalities in that it can sit back and see what happens elsewhere, watch for any missteps and plan its own strategy accordingly.

Lamb said the city has appointed a shoreline board consisting of local experts to deal with what he contends can be some very technical development and environmental questions. Blackburn said the group plans its first public hearing for June 3.

If both Lamb and Blackburn said no specific issues have surfaced so far in relation to Bothell’s shoreline plan, the city’s Web site mentions a couple of potential issues.

Those possible questions include water quality or temperatures in the Sammamish River, levees built to control flooding in the North Creek business park and a wildlife protection area created by council along a specific section of North Creek in 2006 and 2007.