Attempt to discredit shoreline rules raises undue public fear

Their campaign had the unfortunate consequence of creating unwarranted anxiety and fear for hundreds of shoreline property owners.

We want to assure the public that under these new rules, they can rebuild their homes if they burn down, they can build homes that have a footprint of up to 2,500 square feet on small waterfront lots, and they now have an extra year to start building projects if their homes are destroyed. We'd also point out that public entities - not residential homeowners - must provide public access to shoreline areas under these regulations.

Since 2003, when a legislative mandate became effective, every city and county in the state is required to update its Shoreline Master Program to develop shoreline building rules that better protect habitat and water quality.

We believe that Whatcom County's rules - the first countywide program update in the state - are a success that should serve as the model for other cities and counties.

This master program combines planning policies and implementation strategies. It uses scientific data to establish an ecological baseline of the county's nearly 400 miles of marine and freshwater shorelines, and the upland areas that affect them. It comes with a restoration plan that shows where and how landowners can voluntarily improve the shoreline by changing the way they use their property.

Throughout the process, Whatcom County and the Ecology Department have been open and transparent with advisory group members and the broader public. No attempt was made to slip in last-minute changes. In fact, many of the concerns that were raised by the builders' and Realtors' groups just before a Sept. 9 hearing were about language carried over from former master programs, or that have been part of draft update documents for one to three years.

In its final review, Ecology Department officials did require some minor changes to the document that were necessary to make it comply with state law. All interested and participating parties were provided letters listing the required changes.

In light of a recent state Supreme Court decision related to critical areas ordinances, the County Council moved immediately to incorporate those changes and approve the Shoreline Master Program regulations. Without that quick approval, we believe some sensitive shoreline areas may have been stripped of environmental protection for several months.

There is room for fine-tuning and clarification in the master program, and the Ecology Department and Whatcom County have mechanisms to do that. We only wish that some of these concerns had been raised as part of our fruitful discussions during the review period.

Protecting the environment for the public and protecting the rights of individual property owners is always a difficult balance. We believe that the county's conscious effort to work with groups representing a broad spectrum of interests allowed us to achieve that balance in the Whatcom County Shoreline Master Program.

We hope to regain consensus among all our partners as we begin implementing these plans. Property owners should feel confident that they can build on or modify their properties while protecting our shorelines and Puget Sound.

Concerns that were raised at a Sept. 9, 2008, Whatcom County Council ordinance hearing are addressed in detail in a letter from Ecology Department shoreline planner Barry Wenger to Whatcom County Council Chairman Carl Weimer. Read the letter at www.ecy.wa.gov/news/2008news/2008-215.html, or request a copy from the council office by calling 360-676-6690.

Gordon White is shorelands and environmental assessment program manager for the Washington Department of Ecology.