Shoreline Master Program Update
by Jim Marthaller • Planning Director, Pend Oreille County
Pend Oreille County has received a grant from the Washington State Department of Ecology to update the County’s Shoreline Master Program. Joining the County as partners in this project are the Kalispel Tribe, the Pend Oreille Public Utility District, and the cities and towns, of Newport, Cusick, Ione, Metaline, and Metaline Falls. In addition, we anticipate the active involvement of numerous resource agencies, shoreline interest and user groups, property owners, and the general public.
The steps in the update process will include:
- An evaluation of the existing plans, permits, and regulations;
-An assessment of existing shoreline conditions;
-Data gathering and analysis;
-Identification and prioritization of key shoreline management issues;
-Development of new goals and policies;
-Preparation of revised regulations; and
-Adoption of new shoreline maps.
Recently, a meeting was held in Cusick to discuss the following items: a review of the Scope of Work, Project Timelines, and Deliverables; an introduction of the regional partners and a review of project roles and responsibilities; identification of key stakeholders and shoreline user and interest groups; and identification of the basic goals including protection, preservation, utilization, restoration and mitigation.
As part of the vision contained in the County’s recently approved Comprehensive Plan, the Shoreline Master Program’s success depends on the involvement of everyone in the county. Public meetings, seminars and workshops to get the process underway are scheduled for the third Thursday of every month at the Cusick Community Center at 7:00pm.