FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 15, 2009
09-112
Legal decisions bolster state, local efforts to update shoreline rules
OLYMPIA - Recent legal decisions have bolstered efforts by the
Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) to help cities and counties
across the state update their locally tailored land-use plans and
development regulations for shoreline areas.
The Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board upheld
Whatcom County's Shoreline Master Program in response to challenges by
local citizens and development interests. In a companion case, the
Skagit County Superior Court also refused to invalidate Whatcom County's
Shoreline Master Program. The parties have 30 days to appeal these
decisions.
Whatcom County was the first county in the state to overhaul its
Shoreline Master Program using guidelines Ecology put in place more than
six years ago. Ecology also has approved revised Shoreline Master
Programs for the cities of Chewelah, Marysville, Monroe, Orting, Port
Townsend and Sultan, and the towns of Coupeville and Darrington.
Under state law, Washington's remaining 249 cities and counties
with shorelines have until 2014 to update their current shoreline
programs.
Although more than 70 cities and counties are in the process of
revising their programs, most haven't done this comprehensively in more
than 30 years. From 1978 through 2008, the state population has grown
from about 3.8 million to an estimated 6.6 million people.
"First, I would like to say congratulations to Whatcom County.
People from across the county worked together on an outstanding master
program update, and I'm gratified that their efforts were upheld by the
judiciary," said Ecology Director Jay Manning.
"All over Washington, beaches and stream banks have been eroded,
flood damage has increased, habitat has been destroyed and species are
being lost. If we hope to protect the economic and environmental health
of our waters - including Puget Sound - it is imperative we work
together with local communities to update our Shoreline Master
Programs."
Manning said Shoreline Master Programs are the cornerstone of
the state Shoreline Management Act, passed by voter referendum in 1972.
Individual cities and counties are required to develop locally-tailored
programs that minimize environmental damage to state shoreline areas,
reserve appropriate areas for water-oriented uses and reduce
interference with the public's access to water.
Ecology has final approval authority for each city and county
shoreline program, which becomes part of the overall state Shoreline
Master Program.
"The state guidelines we adopted in 2003 are intended to help
each municipality understand the scope, criteria and issues its
individual Shoreline Master Program needs to address under the law,"
said Gordon White, who manages Ecology's Shorelands and Environmental
Assistance Program. "However, each city and county still maintains the
flexibility to customize the regulations to fit its local land-use
circumstances and vision of local waterfront development."
Every city and county shoreline program update starts with a
thorough inventory of existing land-use patterns and environmental
conditions that must be protected to sustain future economic development
while preserving existing shoreline resources.
White said the Shoreline Master Program process often takes time
to complete successfully. It is designed to bring diverse local
interests to the table to work collaboratively together. For example, it
took Whatcom County five years of hard work to update its final
Shoreline Master Program and included groups representing waterfront
property owners, builders, realtors, farmers environmental interests,
local governments, tribes and state agencies.
Starting July 1, 2009, Ecology will provide $7.5 million in
state grants to 77 cities and counties to help them begin updating their
Shoreline Master Programs - including $3 million earmarked by the 2009
Legislature to specifically help municipalities throughout the Puget
Sound region revise their state shoreline programs.
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Media contact: Curt Hart, 360-407-6990; cell, 360-480-7908
([log in to unmask])
Information about shoreline master programs:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/sma/guidelines/index.html
Ecology's Web site: http://www.ecy.wa.gov
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