League members who care about the management of Washington’s more than 28,000 miles of shoreline have an opportunity this month and in November and December to influence state requirements that all jurisdictions will have to adhere to in coming years.
League member Ann Aagaard, an author of the LWVWA’s recent shoreline study, said League members who were involved in the study, read it or participated in the consensus process will be a step ahead of other attendees at one or all three of the public meetings that will be held in connection with rulemaking proceedings.
The open houses, hosted by the state Department of Ecology, are set for Oct. 21, Nov. 18 or Dec. 16 on Zoom.
“They’ll already have an introduction to these issues,” Aagaard said.
But Aagaard added that even if an attendee isn’t familiar with the study, material presented at the open houses will not be overly technical or mystifying. “It’ll be informal and pleasant.”
After the two-year study, “The Shoreline Management Act at 50+ Years,”was completed in 2023, state League members adopted positions related to how our shorelines should be cared for.Those positions, Aagaard said, will be the basis of League advocacy during the rulemaking proceedings.
Counties throughout the state are preparing updates to their individual General Plans, where rules on a range of issues, including shoreline management, are set and which jurisdictions are required to adhere to.
Register for the open houses here.
