Ecology Invites Comments on Concrete Shoreline Program (USA)

The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) is seeking public comment on Concrete’s recently updated shoreline master program.

The proposed updated shoreline program will guide construction and development in the town’s 1.5 miles of shorelines along the Skagit and Baker rivers and Lake Shannon. It combines local plans for future development and preservation with new development ordinances and related permitting requirements.

Concrete’s locally tailored shoreline program is designed to help minimize environmental damage to shoreline areas, reserve appropriate areas for water-oriented uses, and protect the public’s right to public land and waters.

Under Washington’s 1972 voter-approved Shoreline Management Act, Ecology must review and approve Concrete’s proposed shoreline program before it takes effect. More than 200 local governments statewide are in the process of, or soon will be, updating or developing their shoreline programs.

Ecology will accept public comment on Concrete’s proposed shoreline program through August 16th.

Concrete’s proposed updated master program:

– Integrates shoreline regulations with growth management planning and zoning, floodplain management and critical areas ordinances as part of a unified development code;

– Establishes protective buffers with the flexibility to reduce buffers based on individual property circumstances;

– Encourages soft-bank erosion control methods and limits construction of new shoreline armoring such as bulkheads;

– Includes a restoration plan showing where and how voluntary improvements in water and upland areas can enhance the local shoreline environment;

Washington’s cities and counties with regulated shorelines must update their programs by December 2014.

[mappress]

Press Release, July 4, 2013