Hearing Examiner Hears Four Wetland Buffer RUE Requests in Ocean Shores; Decisions Deferred

Peragan Sorder, the hearing examiner the city selected to take land‑use evidence, opened an Ocean Shores Hearing Examiner session on March 31, 2026, to consider four reasonable‑use exception (RUE) applications seeking authorization to impact critical‑area wetland buffers.

City planner Michelle Mahia presented staff reports and recommended conditions for each application. Staff said each parcel is zoned R1 (single‑family residential), that off‑site category 3 wetlands and their standard buffers encumber the lots, and that the proposed development would therefore require an approved reasonable‑use exception under Ocean Shores Municipal Code (OSMC) 17.16.020. Staff also confirmed public notice was provided to owners within 300 feet and to the Daily World as required by OSMC 17.52.090.

RUE26001 (408 North Bair Loop SW) — Applicant Rusty Cole Staff said the property is roughly 0.17 acre and presented plans showing a building footprint sited to minimize buffer impacts. Staff reported the proposal would impact approximately 3,680 square feet of wetland buffer and recommended mitigation by purchase of credits from the city’s Weatherwax wetland mitigation bank, delineation…