Presentation Abstract
This poster will identify mechanisms for limiting the impacts of residential development on the natural functions of marine shorelines.
First, it will share the results from two recent legal cases that successfully prevented the unnecessary bulkheading of a documented surf smelt spawning beach on San Juan Island. Friends of the San Juans appealed two local permit approvals to the Shoreline Hearings Board. The local permits authorized two-tiered armoring that extended nearly 20 total feet in height and would have removed most of the vegetation that shaded the beaches and supplied insects for juvenile Chinook salmon in an area identified as a highest priority for salmon recovery. These successful appeals required a significant effort to rebut applicant arguments that San Juan County beaches are built by sediments from the Fraser River and that long-term erosion rates do not include infrequent, episodic bank sloughing events.
Second, the poster will provide a case study showing that average shoreline parcels in San Juan County can accommodate a substantial amount of development while retaining vegetated shoreline buffers that provide ecosystem functions and reduce future armoring demand. Although courts have upheld San Juan County’s authorization under the Growth Management Act to concentrate significant development in shoreline buffers, this poster will explain how that level of development is inconsistent with the Shoreline Management Act and unnecessary for reasonable shoreline development.
Session Title
Protecting Natural Shoreline Functions with Existing Regulations and New Approaches
Conference Track
Shorelines
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2016 : Vancouver, B.C.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
2016 12:00 AM
End Date
2016 12:00 AM
Location
2016SSEC
Type of Presentation
Poster
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Shorelines--Law and legislation--Washington (State)--San Juan County; Stone walls--Environmental aspects--Washington (State)--San Juan County
Subjects – Names (LCNAF)
Washington (State). Shoreline Management Act of 1971
Geographic Coverage
San Juan County (Wash.); Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Included in
Fresh Water Studies Commons, Marine Biology Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons
Holding the line, to let shorelines move naturally
2016SSEC
This poster will identify mechanisms for limiting the impacts of residential development on the natural functions of marine shorelines.
First, it will share the results from two recent legal cases that successfully prevented the unnecessary bulkheading of a documented surf smelt spawning beach on San Juan Island. Friends of the San Juans appealed two local permit approvals to the Shoreline Hearings Board. The local permits authorized two-tiered armoring that extended nearly 20 total feet in height and would have removed most of the vegetation that shaded the beaches and supplied insects for juvenile Chinook salmon in an area identified as a highest priority for salmon recovery. These successful appeals required a significant effort to rebut applicant arguments that San Juan County beaches are built by sediments from the Fraser River and that long-term erosion rates do not include infrequent, episodic bank sloughing events.
Second, the poster will provide a case study showing that average shoreline parcels in San Juan County can accommodate a substantial amount of development while retaining vegetated shoreline buffers that provide ecosystem functions and reduce future armoring demand. Although courts have upheld San Juan County’s authorization under the Growth Management Act to concentrate significant development in shoreline buffers, this poster will explain how that level of development is inconsistent with the Shoreline Management Act and unnecessary for reasonable shoreline development.
