Shoreline Master Plans: The Winds of Change are Blowing Across Your Lake
Posted By Dwight on December 17, 2009
First, a little background on what stirred these breezes up in the first place.
Over six years ago, the State of Washington initiated a new generation of shoreline management guidelines, requiring each municipality to create a plan that balances shoreline development with ecological preservation.
As a resident of Lake Sammamish and Builder on the Lake, I have been actively involved in the City of Sammamish’s Shoreline Master Plan (SMP), and have kept my eye on the plans being developed by surrounding cities.
If you have a home on a lake, the SMPs will hit you where you live—especially if you are thinking of building a new house or remodeling your existing structure.
Each SMP has its own set of complexities that make a thorough discussion here impossible. Instead, here’s a roundup of where our local cities stand on revising their regulations; click on the links for each city to find out more detailed information.
And if you would like to discuss anything in particular with me, please call 425-868-4217 or send me an e-mail via the link above. I will update this information as developments emerge.
The City of Bellevue’s SMP will impact Lake Washington, Lake Sammamish, Phantom Lake, Kelsey Creek and Mercer Slough. Throughout the first half of 2010, the city will complete its Shoreline Environment Designation, Policy and Regulation Development, and a Cumulative Impacts Analysis and Restoration Plan, and then submit the new SMP to the State Department of Ecology next summer. For more information click here.
Issaquah is continuing public hearings on its SMP, and will hold the next one on January 14, 2010. Shorelines in Issaquah’s jurisdiction are Lake Sammamish, the main stem of Issaquah Creek, and East Fork Issaquah Creek. For more information click here.
On December 1 Kirkland’s City Council formally adopted its new SMP for submission to the State Department of Ecology for approval. To find out what is in the plan click here.
The City of Redmond’s SMP was put into effect in August and impacts parts of Lake Sammamish, the Sammamish River, Bear Creek and Evans Creek. You can read the plan in its entirety here.
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