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Shoreline Council weighs major rewrite of critical-areas code that would expand 200-foot riparian zones
Summary
Council heard a staff presentation and public comment on Ordinance 1045, a Critical Areas Code update that applies WDFW guidance to create 200-foot riparian management zones in Shoreline — a change staff says would affect about 1,900 properties. Council asked staff to return with clarifications on native-planting requirements, how 'physically separated' areas would be treated, and whether the Deer Creek wellhead protection area should be designated as a CARA.
Shoreline — The Shoreline City Council on Nov. 24 received a staff briefing and public testimony on Ordinance 1045, a comprehensive update to the city's Critical Areas Code that would adopt Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) guidance and regulate riparian management zones using "site potential tree height." Planning Manager Elise Keim said WDFW's method yields a site potential tree height of 200 feet for Shoreline, translating to a 200-foot riparian management zone (RMZ) on each side of mapped streams and an estimated increase from about 1,400 to roughly 1,900 impacted properties.
Keim framed the update as a routine, state-encouraged periodic review under the Growth Management Act, but said the substantive change is the shift from variable buffers (previously keyed to fish presence) to RMZs based on tree height. "This is a pretty big increase in regulated critical areas in Shoreline," Keim said, noting the commission recommended using WDFW's RMZ width while retaining flexibility for developed properties.
Why it matters: Riparian zones influence stream health, pollutant removal and habitat function. Expanding regulated areas changes what property owners must show when seeking development approvals and may trigger planting, invasive-species removal and monitoring as conditions of any reduction.
Key proposals and staff policy tools
- RMZ…
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