By Marianne Lincoln

Wednesday afternoon I had an interview with Debby Hyde from Planning and Land Services regarding the proposal for Pierce County shorelines. There is a proposed plan working its way through the process. There will be public hearings on it in March and the county is likely to have it before the council the week of April 7. When the County Council acts on it, it will become an ordinance or a resolution.

The Shoreline Master Program sprang from a referendum passed statewide in the early 1970’s. It required local jurisdictions to create policies and create maps of wetlands and shorelines.

The current changes affect lakes of more than 20 acres and creeks with flows greater than 20 cubic feet per second (cfs). The Clover-Chambers Creek waterway system fits this requirement as does Spanaway Lake. Bodies of water that fit the criteria and the 200 feet surrounding them fall under this protection.

The policies adopted by Pierce County in 1974 and 1975 covered public access, property rights and protecting the water. There have been virtually no changes to these rules since that time.

As far as construction goes, a lot has changed since that time. For example, steps to the beach were not common then. So they are considered unclassified and require a public hearing to be built. This is a great example of something that needs changing and will change through these rules.

The county is being required to update their code. There was state legislation that set new rules for updates. These RCW’s were presented to the Department of Ecology to fashion the administrative code (WAC’s). Actually bodies of water fall under multiple agencies in the state including the Department of Health and the Department of Natural Resources.

In 2012,Debra Hyde moved back into the Department of Planning and Land Services at the County to help get the shorelines regulation going. The County Executive had received a letter from DOE making it plain they needed o take action of the new rules. The Governor has the option to tell the county they are out of compliance . That could mean that income the county receives from the state could be withheld until they are in compliance.

The major change in the legislation is the “no net loss” rule. For the land, it can’t get any worse than it is, but it can get better. If you take something out, you have to put something back.

For people that already have developed land within the 75 foot proposed buffer, they can continue to use and maintain those amenities. If they want to expand those uses, there will be a different review process.

Currently on Spanaway Lake there are 40 parcels that are vacant and developable. These will be highly affected by the changes. In the county’s proposed new rules, they are trying to build in a way to average the buffer, based on the existing buffers of adjacent properties. In many cases, this may allow less than the 75 foot on a given property being developed. If a property is on a waterfront that is deemed a conservancy, like Alder Lake, there will be a 100 foot buffer.

Properties that are existing at the time the rules are passed are considered conforming and that will be grandfathered to the next owner of the property. If you have native trees, you will be required to keep them in the buffer.

If you have questions of concerns about your waterfront property, you are invited to send your inquiry with your parcel number to Debra Hyde through email at dhyde@co.pierce.wa.us