Why are critical areas ordinances often incorporated into local shoreline program updates?
A recent state Supreme Court decision (Futurewise v. Anacortes) decided that the shoreline master program solely regulates the shorelines and critical areas covered by the program, once Ecology approves it. Many existing master programs contain buffer requirements but are based on outdated conditions and science. Rather than repeat the work local governments have already done developing their critical areas ordinances under the state Growth Management Act, relevant portions of existing critical areas ordinances may be placed in updated shoreline master programs under the Shoreline Management Act.
