Shoreline Plan Approved for Shoreline

The city of Shoreline has a new shoreline master plan, after the Department of Ecology signed off on the city's plan.

Cities and counties throughout the state are developing or updating their shoreline programs to meet regulations adopted by the Department of Ecology in 2003. The deadline is December 2014.

Shoreline sits on about four miles of Puget Sound shoreline, and the adopted regulations:

• Integrates shoreline regulations with the city’s growth management planning and zoning, floodplain management and critical areas ordinances as part of a unified development code.
• Establishes protective buffers, ranging from 20 to 200 feet, depending on the shoreline classification, with the flexibility to reduce buffers based on individual property circumstances.
• Limits the length of new residential docks and piers to the minimum necessary to prevent moored vessel from grounding.
• Encourages soft-bank erosion control methods and limits construction of new shoreline armoring, such as bulkheads.
• Includes a restoration plan that shows where and how voluntary improvements in water and upland areas can enhance the local shoreline environment.
• Helps support the broader initiative to protect and restore Puget Sound.

“Our community values a sustainable natural environment,” said Rachael Markle, Shoreline’s Director of Planning and Community Development, in a prepared statement released by the state Department of Ecology. “The completion of the city’s first shoreline master program is a tangible step toward ensuring the protection of the Puget Sound for generations to come.”

For more information on the new adopted rules and regulations, check out the Department of Ecology website and the city of Shoreline's shoreline master program website.