Shoreline Master Program (SMP) Update

Dungeness Spit

Sekiu

Elwha River

Bogachiel River

On December 12, 2017, the Board of County Commissioners held a public hearing on the County Planning Commission’s recommended September 2017 Draft SMP to update and replace: (1) the existing 1976 SMP (last amended 1992); and (2) the SMP administrative procedures in Clallam County Code Chapter 35.01, Shoreline Management. The hearing was preceded by four regional public forums and three Board work sessions. The Board closed the public hearing on December 12, 2017 following receipt of comments. The Board held 16 work sessions to consider the Planning Commission’s recommendation and the public hearing comments received. On October 30, 2018 the Board adopted Resolution 91 to approve an updated Clallam County SMP (Oct. 2018) for submittal to the Washington State Department of Ecology for state review and approval.

Note: Many of our documents are in portable document format (PDF), and some are very large.

	October 2018 Shoreline Master Program (SMP)— Approval by the Board of County Commissioners

STATE REVIEW:

NEXT-STEPS

PUBLIC INPUT

Comment on Shoreline Master Program

Public Hearing has been continued to July 13, 2021 at 10:30 am and another at 5:00pm.

STATE ECOLOGY COMMENTS RECEIVED

Under the state Shoreline Management Act, RCW 90.58, the County and state Department of Ecology share joint authority and responsibility for the update and administration of the SMP. Pursuant to RCW 90.58.090, updates to the County’s SMP require approval by Ecology to be effective. The locally-approved SMP has been reviewed and the following comments have been received:

Upcoming BOCC Work Sessions will be conducted to discuss these changes and proposed action for final adoption of the SMP.

INFORMATION REGARDING CHANGES

Lake Sutherland Buffer – same 35’ reduced buffer width with changes to clarify internal inconsistencies and to ensure adequate mitigation for ‘no net loss’ (NNL); the tiered approach allows applicant to choose a preferred strategy:

ECY Attachment A Findings & Conclusions (especially pages 7, 15 – 18, and 25);
ECY Attachment B Required Changes –Item #8 ECY Discussion/Rationale
View Parcel Map

ORMA & MSP – add specific provisions required by this related law and to implement the state’s new Plan:
§ ECY Ocean Management webpage with links to ORMA (RCW 43.143) and our Ocean Management Guidelines (WAC 173-26-360);
§ ECY Marine Spatial Planning webpage with links to the WA State Marine Spatial Plan;

Background:

Clallam County is updating its Shoreline Master Program (SMP). The update is required by the Washington’s Shoreline Management Act (SMA), RCW 90.58, and must demonstrate consistency with the SMA and state SMP Update Guidelines (WAC 173-26). SMP’s includes goals and policies, regulations (e.g., use standards, buffers), and administrative procedures (e.g., permit process) for new development and uses.

Per the SMA, the SMP applies to: 1) all marine waters, reaches of rivers and streams where the mean annual flow is more than 20 cubic feet per second, and lakes and reservoirs 20 acres or greater in size that are within the jurisdiction of Clallam County; 2) areas within 200 feet from the ordinary high water mark or floodway of these water bodies; and 3) associated wetlands and river deltas. To consolidate regulations, the SMP would also apply to the full extent of the mapped 100-year floodplain and land necessary for buffers to protect critical areas (e.g., landslide hazard areas) that are overlapping or otherwise coincident with the shoreline jurisdiction pursuant to RCW 90.58.030 (2)(d). The City of Forks is considering the SMP for rivers inside the city limits.

This SMP Update and associated web pages contains information on the SMP Update process that includes, but not limited to:

SMP Supporting Documents such as the shoreline inventory and characterization, shoreline restoration plan, Cumulative Impacts Analysis/No Net Loss Report, State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) Threshold Determination and Environmental Checklist, and other supporting documents.