DEVELOPMENT DISPATCH: Clark County and Area Cities Proceed With Shoreline Management Updates

As we noted in a previous dispatch, Clark County and relevant area cities have begun a cooperative effort to update their shoreline management master programs, some of which have not been revisited since they were initially adopted in the 1970s.

If you own waterfront property along a river, lake, or certain streams in Clark County, the new shoreline management plans will determine how you can use and develop your property. In general, shoreline management requires both an additional land use permit process and compliance with certain shoreline development standards, such as setbacks measured from the water's edge.

Coming up in March are several public meetings, to which the community is invited to help develop a vision for Clark County shorelines. This process will inform the initial phases in the update, which include determining "shoreline jurisdiction" (or where the new shoreline plans will regulate development), and the classification of shoreline functions, ecosystem processes, public access opportunities, shoreline uses, and potential protection and restoration areas.

In the end, the new shoreline management plans must be made consistent with guidelines that the Department of Ecology adopted in 2003. We also expect that the new plans will reflect the latest in the status of the regulatory relationship between shoreline management and the Growth Management Act, which is currently somewhat uncertain. As explained by LeAnne Bremer in our February 4 Development Dispatch, House Bill 2924 was introduced in this legislative session in an attempt to resolve issues related to the overlapping regulations. If passed, HB 2924 will confirm that the Shoreline Management Act, and not the Growth Management Act, regulates development in critical areas, such as wetlands, within the shoreline jurisdiction.

For more information regarding the upcoming public meetings and the shoreline update process more generally, click here for the Web site maintained by the shoreline update partner communities.

Related Areas
Environmental and Natural Resources
Land Use