Spokane’s updated Shoreline Master Program approved

Wed., July 28, 2010

Spokane is the largest city in Washington to date to have an updated shoreline master program. This approval puts the final stamp on a landmark effort that will significantly increase protection and restoration of water quality in the Spokane River and Hangman Creek. The updated shoreline master program guides construction and development in the city’s 53.7 miles of creek and river shorelines. It combines local plans for future shoreline development and preservation with new shoreline development ordinances and related permitting requirements. Now that Ecology has approved the city’s update, it becomes part of the overall state shoreline master program. Ecology has final approval authority for each city and county shoreline program as part of the state program. Shoreline master programs are the cornerstone of the state Shoreline Management Act passed by voters in 1972. The original city of Spokane SMP was adopted in 1975. This update is the first update since that time. It was accomplished three and a half years ahead of the deadlines set by the Washington Legislature, and the city won’t be required to update its SMP again until at least 2020. More than 70 cities and counties are currently updating their programs. Most haven’t done so comprehensively in more than 30 years. From 1978 through 2008, the state population has grown from about 3.8 million to an estimated 6.6 million people. All of Washington’s 266 cities and counties with shorelines must update their shoreline programs by December 2014. The old shoreline master programs need to be modernized, reviewed, and updated to address current conditions, apply new science and align better with current laws, such as the Growth Management Act and watershed plans. “I applaud the city of Spokane for its leadership and initiative in developing an excellent plan,” said Sara Hunt, who manages Ecology’s Shorelands and Environmental Assistance Program in Spokane. “This plan embraces the Shoreline Management Act principles of improved public and visual access to our shorelines and gives priority to water-dependent development crucial to the region’s economic vitality. It sets a firm foundation for protecting the environmental resources of these shorelines, where people love to play, live and work.” Spokane’s program includes two major shorelines — the Spokane River and Hangman Creek. The Spokane River within Spokane’s city limits includes 33.4 miles of shorelines and 855 acres. Hangman Creek’s 20.3 miles of shorelines includes 404 acres. Shoreline jurisdiction is considered to be 200 feet from the water line. The new Shoreline Master Program: * Provides shoreline regulations in one stop by integrating the city’s growth management planning and zoning, floodplain management and critical areas ordinances. * Includes a shoreline restoration plan. The city will be able to rehabilitate degraded areas of the shorelines along the Spokane River and Hangman Creek, both designated as shorelines of statewide significance in the Shoreline Management Act. * Requires buffers to protect public and private development investments in channel migration zones, or areas where rivers and streams meander over time. * Protects existing natural character and wildlife habitat and adopts new standards specifically designed to protect riparian and associated upland vegetation. To help local governments meet the 2014 goal, lawmakers have provided cities and counties with about $12 million since 2005 to modernize their shoreline regulations. “Modernizing the City of Spokane’s shoreline master program won’t take away anyone’s existing private property rights or require existing shoreline homes to be relocated,” said Spokane Mayor Mary Verner. “Rather, the updated shoreline program helps protect the economic and environmental health of our waters for everyone’s benefit.” For more information: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/sma/download/cityofspokane/index.html Ecology’s Web site: http://www.ecy.wa.gov

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