Ecology Reviewing Chelan County Shoreline Master program

A comprehensive guide for land uses and developments on all shorelines within Chelan County is now available for public review and comment through the Washington Department of Ecology.

The new Chelan County Shoreline Master Program (SMP) reflects the local vision for appropriate shoreline development, public shoreline access, and environmental protection as required by the state Shoreline Management Act.

The master program represents a major overhaul of the county’s original SMP first adopted in 1975 and last amended in 1997. During the past 40 years, there have been significant changes in state regulations and local land use policies within the county prompting a major update.

Beginning in 2008, the county and many of its cities conducted workshops to capture citizen questions, concerns, goals and aspirations regarding shoreline uses, development and protection. Specifically, the process considered buffers, channel migration zone regulations and shoreline stabilization, along with local goals and policies.

Ecology will review the county’s proposed SMP to ensure it meets state laws and regulations to determine whether to:

• Approve the program as is.
• Approve the program with recommended changes
• Send the proposed program back to the county with required changes to meet statutory and rule requirements. Recommended changes may also be included with the required changes.

The public can submit comments until 5 p.m., May 16, 2018, and can do so online or by mail:

Lennard Jordan

Washington Department of Ecology

Central Regional Office

1250 W Alder St.

Union Gap, WA 98903-0009