How is the Shoreline Master Program different from other King County land use plans and regulations?
The Shoreline Master Program protects natural resources, encourages land uses that require a waterfront location and encourages public access to public shorelines. The Shoreline Master Program must be consistent with the King County Comprehensive Plan and zoning regulations. King County’s critical areas regulations also apply to the County’s shorelines. However, the geographic scope of the critical areas regulations is broader, because they apply to all water bodies, not just the larger ones regulated by the Shoreline Management Act. The critical areas regulations also apply to other types of critical areas, such as wetlands, wildlife habitat, geologic hazard areas, flood hazard areas and critical aquifer recharge areas. The Shoreline Master Program applies to these areas only when they are located within the shoreline area. Because the critical areas regulations were recently updated, King County will rely on those regulations as much as possible in order to comply with the state’s Sh
