Chapter 16.08
SHORELINE MANAGEMENT
Sections:
16.08.010 Purpose.
16.08.020 Definitions.
16.08.030 Document adopted by reference.
16.08.040 Policy.
16.08.050 Substantial development permit.
16.08.060 Variances – Substantial developments.
16.08.065 Repealed.
16.08.070 Letters of exemption.
16.08.080 Repealed.
16.08.090 Repealed.
16.08.100 Repealed.
16.08.110 Repealed.
16.08.120 Repealed.
16.08.010 Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to implement the Shoreline Management Act of 1971 (Chapter 286, Laws of 1971, 1st Ex. Sess.) by regulating substantial development on shorelines of the city. (Ord. 404 § 1, 1974).
16.08.020 Definitions.
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, the following definitions and concepts apply:
A. “City engineer” means the city engineer or other designate of the mayor.
B. “Development” means a use consisting of the construction or exterior alteration of structures; dredging, drilling; dumping, filling, removal of any sand, gravel or minerals; bulkheading; driving of piling; placing of obstructions; or any project of a permanent or temporary nature which interferes with the normal public use of the surface of the waters overlying lands subject to this chapter at any state of water level.
C. “Ordinary high water mark” on all lakes, streams and tidal water is that mark that will be found by examining the bed and banks and ascertaining where the presence and action of waters are so common and usual, and so long continued in all ordinary years, as to mark upon the soil a character distinct from that of the abutting upland, in respect to vegetation, as that condition exists on June l, 1971, or as it may naturally change thereafter; provided, that in any area where the ordinary high water mark cannot be found, the ordinary high water mark adjoining fresh water shall be the line of mean high water.
D. “Person” means an individual, partnership, corporation, association, organization, cooperative, public or municipal corporation, or agency of the state or local government unit, however designated.
E. “Planning commission” means the planning commission of the city.
F. “Shoreline” means all of the water areas of the city, including reservoirs, and their associated wetlands, together with the lands underlying them, except:
1. Shorelines of statewide significance;
2. Shorelines on segments of streams upstream of a point where the mean annual flow is 20 cubic feet per second or less and the wetlands associated with such upstream segments; and
3. Shorelines on lakes less than 20 acres in size and wetlands associated with such small lakes.
G. “Shorelines of state-wide significance” means those shorelines described in Section 3 of the Shoreline Management Act of 1971, and its amendments, if any.
H. “Shorelines of the city” are the total of all “shorelines” and “shorelines of state-wide significance” within the city.
I. “Substantial development” means as defined by RCW 90.58.030(3)(e).
J. “Wetlands” or “wetland areas” means those lands extending landward for 200 feet in all directions as measured on a horizontal plane from the ordinary high water mark; and all marshes, bogs, swamps, floodways, river deltas and floodplains associated with the streams, lakes and tidal waters which are subject to the provisions of this chapter; areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas. Where the vegetation has been removed or substantially altered, a wetland shall be determined by the presence or evidence of hydric or organic soil, as well as other documentation of the previous existence of wetland vegetation such as aerial photographs. Wetlands are classed into types for the implementing of this ordinance. (Ord. 988 § 2, 2003; Ord. 639 §§ 4, 5, 1991; Ord. 404 § 2, 1974).
16.08.030 Document adopted by reference.
The Shoreline Management Master Plan as adopted and approved by the city council on the 23rd day of April, 1975, is made a part of this chapter by reference, and filed with copies of Ordinance 404A. (Ord. 404A § 12, 1975; Ord. 404 § 12, 1974).
16.08.040 Policy.
A. The legislature has found that the shorelines of the state are among the most valuable and fragile of its natural resources and that there is great concern throughout the state relating to their utilization, protection, restoration and preservation. In addition, it is found that ever-increasing pressures of additional uses are being placed on the shorelines necessitating increased coordination in the management and development of the shorelines of the state. The legislature further found that much of the shorelines of the state and the uplands adjacent thereto are in private ownership; that unrestricted construction on the privately owned or publicly owned shorelines of the state is not in the best public interest; and therefore, coordinated planning is necessary to protect the public interest associated with the shorelines of the state while, at the same time, recognizing and protecting private property rights consistent with the public interest. There is, therefore, a clear and urgent demand for a planned, rational and concerted effort, jointly performed by federal, state and local governments, to prevent the inherent harm in an uncoordinated and piecemeal development of the state’s shorelines.
B. It is the policy of the state to provide for the management of the shorelines of the state by planning for and fostering all reasonable and appropriate uses. This policy is designated to ensure the development of these shorelines in a manner which, while allowing for limited reduction of rights of the public in the navigable waters, will promote and enhance the public interest. This poli-cy contemplates protecting against adverse effects to the public health, the land and its vegetation and wildlife, and the waters of the state and their aquatic life, while protecting generally public rights of navigation and corollary rights incident thereto.
C. The legislature has declared that the interest of all of the people shall be paramount in the management of shorelines of statewide significance. The Department of Ecology in adopting guidelines for shorelines of state-wide significance, and local government, in developing master programs for shorelines of state-wide significance, shall give preference to uses in the following order of preference which:
1. Recognize and protect the state-wide interest over local interest;
2. Preserve the natural character of the shoreline;
3. Result in long-term benefit over short-term benefit;
4. Protect the resources and ecology of the shoreline;
5. Increase public access to publicly owned areas of the shorelines;
6. Increase recreational opportunities for the public in the shoreline;
7. Provide for any other element as defined in Section 10(2) of the Shoreline Management Act of 1971 deemed appropriate or necessary.
D. In the implementation of this policy, the public’s opportunity to enjoy the physical and aesthetic qualities of natural shorelines of the city shall be preserved to the greatest extent feasible consistent with the overall best interest of the state, the city and the people generally. To this end, uses shall be preferred which are consistent with control of pollution and prevention of damage to the natural environment, or which are unique to or dependent upon use of the city’s shoreline. Alterations of the natural condition of the shorelines of the city, in those limited instances when authorized, shall be given priority for single-family residences, ports, shoreline recreational uses, including but not limited to parks, marinas, piers and other improvements facilitating public access to shorelines of the city, and industrial and commercial developments which are particularly dependent on their location on or use of the shorelines of the city and other developments that will provide an opportunity for substantial numbers of the people to enjoy the shorelines of the city.
E. Permitted uses in the shorelines of the city shall be designated and conducted in a manner to minimize, insofar as practical, any resultant damage to the ecology and environment of the shoreline area and any interference with the public’s use of the water. (Ord. 404 § 3, 1974).
16.08.050 Substantial development permit.
A. No substantial development shall be undertaken on the shorelines of the city without first obtaining a substantial development permit from the city in accordance with Chapter 14.70 BLMC.
B. Except as provided in BLMC 16.08.060, a substantial development permit shall be granted only when the development proposed is consistent with:
1. The policy of BLMC 16.08.040; and
2. The guidelines and regulations of the Department of Ecology; and
3. The city of Bonney Lake shoreline management master program.
C. The burden of proving that the proposed substantial development is consistent with the criteria which must be met before a permit is granted shall be on the applicant. (Ord. 988 § 2, 2003; Ord. 555 § 7, 1984; Ord. 404 § 4, 1974).
16.08.060 Variances – Substantial developments.
Substantial development permits may be granted which are at variance with the criteria which must be met before a permit is granted where, owing to special conditions pertaining to a specific piece of property, the literal interpretation and strict application of the criteria would cause undue and unnecessary hardship. Shoreline variances shall be processed as Type 5 permits (see Chapter 14.70 BLMC) except that, in accordance with RCW 90.58.140(10), the city shall not render a decision but rather shall forward a recommendation to the Washington Department of Ecology, which shall approve or disapprove. No such variances shall be granted unless:
A. Exceptional or extraordinary circumstances apply to the subject property or to the intended use thereof that do not apply generally to other properties on shorelines in the same vicinity;
B. The variance is necessary for the preservation and enjoyment of a substantial property right of the applicant possessed by the owners of other properties on shorelines in the same vicinity;
C. The variance will not be materially detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to property on shorelines in the same vicinity;
D. The variance will not adversely affect the city of Bonney Lake shoreline management master program. (Ord. 988 § 2, 2003; Ord. 404A § 5, 1975; Ord. 404 § 5, 1974).
16.08.065 Variances – Fees.
Repealed by Ord. 988. (Ord. 555 § 8, 1984).
16.08.070 Letters of exemption.
The city shall prepare a letter of exemption (Type 3 permit – see Chapter 14.50 BLMC) whenever a development is exempt from the substantial development permit requirements and the development is subject to federal permit requirements, in accordance with WAC 173-27-050. Applicants are advised that Puget Sound Energy requires a nonassignable permit for waterfront bulkhead for bulkheads on Lake Tapps. (Ord. 988 § 2, 2003; Ord. 404A § 5A, 1975; Ord. 404 § 5, 1974).
16.08.080 Review.
Repealed by Ord. 988. (Ord. 404 § 6, 1974).
16.08.090 Commencement of construction.
Repealed by Ord. 988. (Ord. 404 § 7, 1974).
16.08.100 Filing of rulings with state.
Repealed by Ord. 988. (Ord. 404 § 8, 1974).
16.08.110 Rescission of permits.
Repealed by Ord. 988. (Ord. 404 § 9, 1974).
16.08.120 Violation – Penalty.
Repealed by Ord. 988. (Ord. 404 § 10, 1974).