Shoreline Master Program Update

from Colin Maycock, AICP

The County Council’s first touch on the Shoreline Master Program (SMP) update with is scheduled to be held 10 am on September 16, 2013. The SMP regulates development and activities located 200 feet landward of the Ordinary High Water Mark (OHWM) and seaward to the county line or Canadian border.

The purpose of the Council’s first touch is to review and make comments on:

1. The Planning Commission’s recommended amendments to Section B, Element 3, of the San Juan County Comprehensive Plan,(the SMP);
2. The Planning Commission’s recommended amendments to San Juan County Code chapters 18.20; 18:50; and 18.80.110; and
3. The Planning Commission’s recommended amendments to the shoreline designation map.

The Council will not be taking public comments on the Planning Commission approved draft of the SMP at the first touch meeting. Public hearings, where public comments will be taken, will follow the publication of the draft ordinance.

The following documents are available on the County’s website for your review and consideration:

1. The Planning Commission’s recommended SMP goals and policies and the selection criteria for the different shoreline designations; https://www.sanjuanco.com/CDP/docs/SMP/SMP_GPs_2013-07-19_PC-_final.pdf
2. The Planning Commission’s recommended amendments to SJCC 18.20 definitions, 18.50, the regulations and 18.80 permit processes; https://www.sanjuanco.com/CDP/docs/SMP/Final_PC_underlined_Regulations-2013-07-19_-Final-TOC.pdf
3.  A map of the proposed shoreline designations; https://www.sanjuanco.com/CDP/docs/SMP/Final_PC_underlined_Regulations-2013-07-19_-Final-TOC.pdf
4.  A copy of the draft Cumulative Impact Analysis (CIA) of the proposed regulations in which the current regulations are compared to the proposal;
5. https://www.sanjuanco.com/CDP/docs/SMP/REVISED_DRAFT_San_Juan_County_CIA_(clean).pdf
6.  A copy of the Planning Commission’s recommended Shoreline Restoration plan; https://www.sanjuanco.com/CDP/docs/SMP/San_Juan_County_Shoreline_Restoration_Plan-2013-07-24.pdf
7. A copy of the Department of Ecology’s Aquacultural Siting Study (1986); https://www.sanjuanco.com/CDP/docs/SMP/Aquaculture_Siting_Report.pdf

A draft of the SMP amendments proposed by staff and the Prosecuting Attorney’s office will be available shortly.

State law requires the County to update its SMP (RCW 90.58.080(2)(iv)), and Washington Administrative Code (WAC) chapter 173-26 sets forth the appropriate procedure for carrying out that update.

Beyond meeting State requirements, the staff approached the SMP update with the goal of retaining the existing regulations where possible, while simplifying and clarifying the development regulations that apply in the shoreline.

To achieve this, redundancies have been reduced by eliminating or combining sections; clarifying development requirements; increasing the consistency in the use of terms; and eliminating unnecessary sections such as specific shoreline districts for Shaw Island and Eastsound however, many of the differences that the subarea shoreline districts are retained.

If you have any questions or comments please contact me at 360-370-7573 or by email at colinm@sanjuanco.com.