Waterfront Property Rules are Being Revised by Local Jurisdictions

 There are seven jurisdictions in Thurston County that have shorelines which have local and state management under the Shoreline Management Act (SMA). These seven jurisdictions have individually adopted a single regulatory and policy document which is called a Shoreline Master Program (SMP). Each local jurisdiction is now in the process of reviewing and revising the SMP to better fit local needs and development codes. Thurston Regional Planning Council used guidelines from the Department of Ecology to prepare a draft SMP as a starting point for all seven local jurisdictions.  Each local SMP will be reviewed and revised by the jurisdictional planning commission, taking into consideration public comment before recommending adoption by the city council/county commission.  The SMP will then be given to Department of Ecology for final review and adoption. The seven jurisdictions are: Thurston County, Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater, Yelm, Tenino and Bucoda.

 The SMP dictates what development can happen in the 200 feet from a water body’s edge.  To put this in perspective; a hockey field is 200 feet and a football field is 300 feet. The SMP priority is to balance development and economic activity with public access, enjoyment of shorelines, water related activity and no net loss of ecological function and restoration of degraded aquatic and marine habitat of shorelines.  The SMP includes regulations about the distance from the water and the height landowners can build and landscape from marine waterways, lakes, rivers, streams and flood plains.  It also includes regulations for landowners who are remodeling existing structures.

Each jurisdiction is at a different stage in the process but all SMPs are due to the Department of Ecology in December of 2011.  The City of Lacey Planning Commission is close to the end of the process and will be sending a document to the city council for approval in the near future.  The City of Olympia is ramping up and the Planning Commission has scheduled a series of meetings over the next couple of months.  The City of Tumwater planning commission will begin the process late spring or early summer and Thurston County will be holding workshops and public meetings this spring.  

Click here for additional information concerning Shoreline Master Program.