Washougal hears shoreline master program and critical‑areas update; state 'best available science' will raise buffers and mitigation

City staff and consultants presented an update on the Shoreline Master Program (SMP) and related Critical Areas Ordinance at the Washougal City Council workshop on Feb. 24, explaining that new state guidance will require updates to local regulations and likely expand regulated areas and mitigation requirements.

Benjamin Knight, Community Development Director for the city, introduced the presentation and said the SMP update is tied to the city’s concurrent comprehensive-plan work and a Washington Department of Ecology grant that requires adoption by June 30. Ethan Spoo, a planner with DOWL, summarized the key changes the city expects to adopt to comply with state rules and “best available science.”

Spoo described three primary effects of the SMP update: protecting shorelines to a “no net loss” standard, promoting water‑oriented development where appropriate, and increasing public access where required. He said the SMP commonly covers a 200‑foot shoreline jurisdiction measured from ordinary high water and includes associated wetlands when those wetlands straddle the 200‑foot area.

On critical areas, Spoo and Knight discussed recent state “best available science” updates affecting riparian buffers, Oregon white oak habitat and wetlands. Spoo said the state guidance uses site‑potential tree height (the height of a mature native tree, often a Douglas fir at 200 years) as the basis for riparian buffers, which will generally increase buffer widths and expand the mapped riparian jurisdiction where land is undeveloped. He said that where property is already developed, the city expects to rely on existing exemptions and the standard permit/mitigation process rather than blanket prohibitions.

On oak habitat, the presenters said the state’s updated mitigation approach is more prescriptive. Spoo described replacement and temporal mitigation expectations and cited an example mitigation ratio discussed in the briefing: replacing a large, high‑quality oak may require a substantial number of new plantings (presenters discussed a high‑end example of 250 replacement saplings for certain large trees, plus preservation of other oak stands for temporal mitigation).

For wetlands, the presentation said state guidance offers three buffer/mitigation options ranging from simple (larger standard buffers) to more complex (smaller buffers if an applicant performs detailed site work). The presenters noted the state’s increasing preference for off‑site mitigation via wetland banks — professionally managed wetland credits — rather than on‑site created wetlands, and told council members that mitigation ratios for high‑quality wetlands can be large.

Staff noted several city projects tied to shoreline and access goals, including a Shepherd Road improvements grant of about $4.3 million to add sidewalks, bike lanes and access to the Sandy Swimming Hole, and early‑phase planning for Schmidt Family Park (roughly 18 acres, about 13 acres in the 100‑year floodplain), which the presenters said will likely emphasize lower‑intensity public access and restoration in floodplain and wetland areas.

Knight and Spoo said the city must update local code to meet state requirements and that the updates will likely result in more areas subject to review and higher mitigation costs for some private projects. They recommended further outreach, focus groups and a follow‑up council workshop in May, with Planning Commission review before the June adoption deadline.