HomeMy WebLinkAbout30 2015-06-03JEFFERSON COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Memo
To: Carl Smith, DCD Director
From:Your Name] G0.
cc: Anna Baucher, Assistant Planner
Date: June 3, 2015
Re: COM??-00??? Squamish Harbor/Shine Road Aquaculture (Geoduck)
Aquaculture Review under Jefferson County Shoreline Master Programs
Under the Jefferson County Shoreline Master Program (SMP) adopted in 1989, including subsequent
revisions, aquaculture permitting was not required by the Department of Community Development(DCD).
Any aquaculture proposal that was approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) or the
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) prior to the effective date of the current SMP
February 21, 2014) is considering to be a non-conforming use or development (i.e., the proposal
conformed to Jefferson County regulations at the time of federal and/or state permitting, but no longer
complies with the current SMP). Any aquaculture activity that was not permitted by the Corps and/or
WDFW prior to February 21, 2104 is subject to the current SMP permitting requirements.
Squamish Harbor Aquaculture
DCD has received complaints from property owners in the vicinity of Shine Road, which is adjacent to
Squamish Harbor. The complaints include, but are not limited to, placement of unpermitted geoduck
tubes in the tidelands, dislodged geoduck tubes deposited along the shoreline after heavy storms, and
unpermitted alteration of adjacent riparian habitats.
DCD has been in contact with the Corps because this agency has also received complaints from the
residents in the vicinity of Shine Road and Squamish Harbor. Conversations between DCD and the
Corps indicates that the Corps will be going to the project area this summer to see if one of the permittees
BDN) has installed geoduck tubes outside of area permitted and to determine if adjacent riparian areas
have been altered.
Aquaculture activities approved by applicable state and federal permitting agencies prior to February 21,
2014 would be considered conforming under the current SMP. However, any activities beyond what was
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approved by federal and/or state agencies as well as any new aquaculture development would be
required to comply with the current SMP. The shoreline designations for the segment of the shoreline
where the geoduck tubes were placed are aquatic below ordinary high water mark(OHWM) and single-
family residential above OHWM. Based on these designations, geoduck aquaculture would be permitted
as a conditional use permit(Conditional discretionary) and would be subject to the regulatory
requirements of JCC 18.25.440.
The aquaculture regulations allow for ongoing maintenance, harvest, replanting, and restocking of
cultivated species under JCC 18.25.440(4). This section also states that any expansion of the farm area
by more than 25 percent requires a new permit. Based on this, any expansion of more than 25 percent
beyond what was legally permitted by other regulatory agencies on February 21, 2014 would require a
pre-application meeting and a conditional use permit from DCD. Coordination with the Corps will be
required to determine the amount, if any, of geoduck aquaculture expansion that has occurred in
Squamish Harbor beyond what was permitted by that agency.
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