DuPont Shoreline Master Program Update
Welcome to the City of DuPont Shoreline Master Program (SMP) Update information page. This webpage is designed to give readers an overview of the update process and provide links to documents for those who wish more detail. Additionally, the Washington State Department of Ecology SMP web page provides excellent information.
For further information, questions, or comments, please contact smpupdate@ci.dupont.wa.us.
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Latest News and Documents Added
DuPont Shoreline Master Program Updated dated January 2012
DuPont Shoreline Master Program Update Staff Reoprt dated 2/13/2012
Final Cumulative Impacts Analysis dated 1/11/12
DuPont Shoreline Master Program Update SEPA Decision - dated 1/13/12
Hearing Notice - DuPont Shoreline Master Program Update - 2/13/12
Final DuPont Shoreline Restoration Plan dated August 2011
Shoreline Jurisdictional Determination of Edmonds Marsh
Final DuPont Shoreline Analysis Report Dated February 2011
DuPont Shoreline Analysis Report Map Folio
DuPont Shoreline Master Program Update Frequently Asked Questions
Growth Management Act/Shoreline Management Act Comparison
Next Steps of the DuPont Shoreline Master Program Update
(Dated January 13, 2012)
On January 9, 2012, the DuPont Planning Agency reserved February 13, 2012 as the date to hold a public hearing on the proposed DuPont Shoreline Master Program (SMP) Update. That date was reserved and would be confirmed if the revised SMP Update cound be updated by January 12, 2012, the Cumulative Impacts Analysis could be updated by January 12, 2012, and the SEPA decision and Planning Agency hearing notice could be issued by January 13, 2012.
On January 11, 2012, the SMP Update and the Cumulative Impacts Analysis were revised. On January 13, 2012, both the SEPA decision and Planning Agency hearing notice were issued issued.
The Planning Agecy hearing on the DuPont SMP Update is confirmed for 7:00 PM, February 13, 2012.
As of January 13, 2012, Ecology is reviewing the revised draft SMP Update dated January 2012. Since they had few comments with the last review we presume they have minimal comments for this review. As such we are calling the draft SMP Update "Final" but if changes are needed, we will make them.
The draft DuPont SMP Update, Culimative Impacts Analysis, SEPA decision, hearing notice and staff report are posted on the City Shoreine Master Program Update webpage. You can follow the update process by going to the City website and tabbing to Planning Department. You can email comments and questions to smpupdate@ci.dupont.wa.us
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Dates for future citizen comment opportunities at important points in the Shoreline Master Program Update are highlighted in yellow on the bullet list of important dates and deliverables. Citizen comments on any topic are also heard at regular Planning Agency meetings so there are many opportunities to offer your comments.
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What is the Shoreline Management Act?
Washington's Shoreline Management Act was passed by the legislature in 1971 and affirmed by voters in 1972. The Act governs the use and development of Washington's shorelines and creates a unique partnership between local and state government. The Act strives to:
1. Protect the environmental resources of state shorelines.
2. Promote public access and enjoyment opportunities.
3. Give priority to uses that require a shoreline location.
Local governments develop programs based on the Act and state guidance, and the state ensures local programs consider statewide public interests.
What is a shoreline master program?
Shoreline master programs carry out the policies of the Shoreline Management Act at the local level, regulating use and development of shorelines. Local shoreline programs include policies and regulations based on state laws and rules but tailored to the unique geographic, economic, and environmental needs of each community.
Under the Act, each town, city and county with "shorelines of the state" must develop and adopt its own shoreline program. "Shorelines of the state" generally refers to rivers, larger lakes, and marine waterfronts along with their associated shorelands, wetlands, and floodplains.
At a minimum, the waterbodies designated as shorelines of the state are streams whose mean annual flow is 20 cubic feet per second (cfs) or greater, lakes whose area is greater than 20 acres, and all marine waters. All marine shorelines throughout Puget Sound are included under shoreline jurisdiction. All areas waterward of the extreme low tide throughout Puget Sound are also considered Shorelines of Statewide Significance.
City of DuPont
The City adopted its first Shoreline Master Program in 1975, and since then has approved five amendments (see list of documents below for links to amendment ordinances).
In 2009, the City obtained a grant from the Washington Department of Ecology to complete a comprehensive Shoreline Master Program update. Consultants Linda Bentley, ICF Jones & Stokes and The Watershed Company were hired to fulfill the work outlined in the grant agreement.
The first phase of the SMP update includes an assessment and determination of shoreline jurisdiction, i.e., which "shorelines," as defined by the SMA, exist in the City. In brief, the only shorelines in the City are the Puget Sound shoreline and an estuarine wetland known locally as Brackish Marsh, located at the downstream end of Sequalitchew Creek, just upstream of the railroad berm that parallels the marine shoreline. Since the wetland is connected to the Sound by a culvert that allows for inundation by marine waters at ordinary high water, the wetland is considered part of the marine shoreline waterbody (rather than an associated wetland), and the 200-foot shoreland jurisdiction extends outward from the wetland edge.
No other streams, lakes, or wetlands in the City of DuPont are considered part of shoreline jurisdiction. A detailed discussion of the entire jurisdiction assessment and determination process, including an evaluation of several waterbodies whose jurisdictional status was at first unclear, can be reviewed in full in the Analysis Report and map folio.
Background Documents
Ordinance 239 (1980)
Ordinance 387 (1989)
Ordinance 439 (1991)
Ordinance 95-521 (1995)
