New Shoreline Regulations

New Shoreline Regulations Restrict Property Rights
Jim McCune
Pierce County Council, Dist. 3

Pierce County is in the process of updating its Shoreline Master Program (SMP). This program includes regulations that apply to anyone who owns property near lakes, rivers and streams in Pierce County. New uses near the water, like docks, bulkheads and other shoreline stabilization could be considerably more difficult to build, depending on what policies your city or county adopts.

SMPs are adopted under rules established by the Department of Ecology (DOE) to implement the Shoreline Management Act (SMA), which was enacted by voters in 1971 (Initiative 43). The goal of the Act is to “prevent the inherent harm in an uncoordinated and piecemeal development of the state’s shorelines”. Local jurisdictions update their plans though a public process and must incorporate the rules set forth by DOE. Ecology then reviews the plans and has final approval rights over the new regulations. In Pierce County alone, the DOE had 14 pages of comments for the County to incorporate before it approves their SMP. By law, this process is to be repeated every eight years. Ecology staff answers directly to the Governor and takes their direction from the legislature.

It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to articulate precisely how these regulations will affect property owners, as the system is set up to address each parcel individually. In essence, the proposed regulations would create additional restrictions on development. Shoreline property owners are best advised to share any land use changes with Planning and Land Service (PALS) before investing their time and finances.

New regulations mean increased buffers around bodies of water, including related streams and wetlands, in which some land uses are restricted or even prohibited. Vacant lots will be affected the most by the proposed SMP buffers.

Currently, Spanaway Lake, Lake Tapps and other Pierce County lakes (La Grande Reservoir, Ohop, Alder, Silver, Clear, Harts, Little, Tule, Kreger, Rapjohn, Tanwax, Kapowsin, Morgan, Whitman, Mud, Cranberry) will be subject to the regulations that include buffers and other land use restrictions. Lake Tapps and Spanaway Lake property owners are organizing to make sure they understand how these regulations may impact them.

Council Chair Dan Roach and I have been attending neighborhood meetings to encourage property owners to acquire the necessary knowledge to defend their property rights. We’ve also been monitoring future suggestions made by consultants to the county, which may include the formation of Lake Management Districts and Watershed Investment Districts – meaning new property taxes for water protection and management mandates.

It is absolutely essential that property owners become engaged with their governments—local, county, state and federal. Through legislation and initiatives, land use has become a community, visioning process rather than a constitutionally protected right. To stay updated on the County agenda, please send me an email to jmccune@co.pierce.wa.us or sign up for notifications on the County’s Interested Party’s List (IPS) at http://online.co.pierce.wa.us/cfapps/Internet/mail/view/MailingLists.cfm?department_id=31.