Hearing examiner reviews request to impact interdunal wetland buffer for 463 Ocean Shores Blvd NW

The City of Ocean Shores hearing examiner held a hearing Jan. 21 on a reasonable use exception from Jim and Joel Fine to allow a single‑family residence and related improvements that would impact a Category 2 interdunal wetland buffer at 463 Ocean Shores Boulevard Northwest.

City staff presented the application and recommended approval only with mitigation measures that avoid, minimize and replace buffer habitat; the staff report and supporting exhibits were admitted into the record. Marshall Reed, the lead planner and shoreline administrator for the City of Ocean Shores, told the examiner the parcel is a 17,874‑square‑foot lot in an R‑1 single‑family zone and that the proposal would impact 2,887 square feet of wetland buffer. “The home footprint is a 3 story residence proposed, to limit the land footprint,” Reed said.

The applicant’s wetland consultant, Christian Fromuth of Agua Tierra Land and Water, described the site as a long, narrow lot with a portion previously cleared under a historic city clearing and grading permit (a prior converted area, or PCA). Fromuth said the proposal concentrates new impacts within that PCA, and uses on‑site buffer restoration and buffer averaging to offset the impact. He described the proposed on‑site mitigation area as 2,984 square feet and said the difference between historic cleared area and proposed new impact results in a net gain of about 97 square feet of restored buffer habitat. “That is correct,” Fromuth said when the examiner asked whether the plan results in no net loss.

Staff and the consultant described required long‑term protections, including permanent protective buffer fencing and signage, and noted any impacts to wetlands or buffers must be compensated in accordance with the city code and best available science. The staff report referenced applicable Ocean Shores Municipal Code standards for reasonable use exceptions, conditional uses, and wetland delineation and protection; the examiner admitted the exhibits and said he will issue a written decision within 10 business days of the record closing. “I intend to issue my decision on this application within 10 business days of the record closing,” the hearing examiner said.

No formal decision was made at the hearing; no vote occurred. No members of the public provided substantive testimony on the Fine application during the hearing portion for this matter.

The hearing record for this application remains open only for the admitted exhibits and testimony; the examiner will issue a written decision that will specify any conditions of approval or denial and any required permits or external agency approvals.