PRESS RELEASE - City Hosts Future of Our Shorelines Open House
Attendees to the open house will learn about planning for the future of Port Townsend’s shorelines
PORT TOWNSEND – City staff, consultants, and community advisors will host a public open house for the City’s Shoreline Master Program Update on Thursday, February 20, from 5:30 to 7:30 at the Cotton Building, 607 Water Street.
This open house is an opportunity to speak with City staff and community members in a casual setting, sharing questions, concerns, priorities, ideas, and thoughts about the future of our shorelines.
The Shoreline Master Program (SMP) is a plan containing both policies and regulations that apply to shoreline areas (generally the water area and 200-feet inland). In Port Townsend, shorelines include Port Townsend Bay, Admiralty Inlet, Straits of Juan de Fuca, Kah Tai Lagoon, and Chinese Gardens Lagoon. The SMP is intended to provide for environmental protection, appropriate development, and public access. The City and State Department of Ecology jointly administer the Shoreline Master Program.
The City of Port Townsend is undertaking a periodic review of its Shoreline Master Program (SMP), as required by the Washington State Shoreline Management Act (SMA), RCW 90.58.080(4). The SMA requires each SMP be periodically reviewed and revised, if needed. The review ensures the SMP stays current with changes in laws and rules, remains consistent with other City plans and regulations, and is responsive to changed circumstances, new information and improved data. Corresponding amendments may be required in Port Townend Municipal Code (PTMC) Chapters 19.05 Critical Areas and 20.01 Land Development Administrative Procedures.
Thanks to a grant from the Department of Ecology’s Shoreline Competitive Grants Program, we are rebooting the SMP Periodic Review. This grant will allow us to complete the SMP periodic review and expand the original scope to include streamlining the permitting process and merging the Waterwalk with Sea Level Rise (SLR) and King Tide Adaptation
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To learn more about the Shoreline Master Program Update: https://engage.ahbl.com/port-townsend-smp-update
For background on the origin of Shoreline Master Programs and the Shoreline Management Act, see:
Listen to Brewocracy Now! on KPTZ 91.9 February 20, 2025 for a conversation between Planning and Community Development Director Emma Bolin and radio host Taylor Clark discussing the Shoreline Master Program: https://kptz.org/podcasts/brewocracy-now/
