DCLU has made available a report outlining ways Seattle and other local governments can incorporate incentives into local shoreline regulations that encourage voluntary restoration projects in some of our most degraded shoreline environments.

Called “The Shoreline Management Act Jurisdiction and Incentives For Shoreline Restoration Projects,” the report offers possible solutions to issues that may arise when property owners pursue voluntary shoreline restoration projects. In the past, property owners may have been reluctant to voluntarily restore shoreline areas because restoration that changes the ordinary high water mark would extend shoreline regulations to property currently outside Shoreline Management Act (SMA) jurisdiction.

This is a concern to property owners because of the additional requirements the SMA may impose upon lots or development within the shoreline district (generally within 200 feet of the shoreline), including limitations on allowed uses, special development standards, provision of view corridors, etc. One example of a restoration project that may currently be discouraged is a property owner who creates an estuary to enhance fish and wildlife habitat on what is now dry land. Additional upland areas could become regulated by the SMA.

The report identifies land use planning tools that may be useful in overcoming this disincentive. These include adopting provisions to facilitate fills related to restoration, allowing a range of uses on upland areas, developing restoration incentives through development standards, allowing integrated buffers, and conducting sub-area planning.