Shoreline Master Program Home
Join the Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) for a Public Hearing on the Shoreline Master Program (SMP) on Tuesday, May 16, 2023 at 5 p.m. Find hearing location details & documents below under BoCC Public Hearing May 16, 2023.
If you own waterfront property in unincorporated Thurston County, the Currrent SMP (Shoreline Master Program), adopted in 1990 spells out building and development rules, allowable land uses and zoning. An SMP Code Update Project is now underway. Find more information below.
Hearing Documents for the Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) Public Hearing
- Strikethrough Version of the SMP Draft document with proposed edits marked
- Clean Version of the SMP Draft document
- SMP Decision Matrix
- Planning Commission SMP Minority Report
- To learn about the SMP, visit the SMP Update Documents page to view the story map, fact sheets, maps and historical documents.
Hearing Location Details
- Date: Tuesday, May 16, 2023
- Time: 5 p.m.
- Location: 3000 Pacific Ave, SE, Suite 110, Olympia, WA 98501
- Get more details on BoCC hearings and metings, including disability accommodation information on the BoCC Meetings page.
- Learn more about the SMP update in the SMP Update story map
- See the options for Public Participation in the SMP Update project
- View the SMP Update Documents including fact sheets, maps, and historical documents.
- Why the county is updating its SMP: Washington's Department of Ecology requires counties to update their shoreline building and development regulations from time to time. A county SMP update project is nearing completion. Review the SMP documents to learn more about it, or visit the Public Participation page to submit a comment, read comments submitted by other or subscribe to our email list for update
The current shoreline rules adopted in 1990 and used as the current shoreline development policies for unincorporated Thurston County. The Current SMP applies to marine shorelines (Puget Sound), rivers with a flow greater than 20 cubic feet per second, lakes larger than 20 acres, upland areas within 200 feet of these water bodies, and the floodplains and wetlands associated with these shorelines.
| Q2 2023 | Board of County Commissioner (BoCC) Public Hearing Scheduled for May 16, 2023 at 5 PM | See documents in BoCC Public Hearing May 16 tab section above. |
| Q1 2023 | BOCC work session on March 7, 2023 | March 7, 2023 BoCC SMP Work Session recording on YouTube |
| BoCC work session on February 22, 2023. | February 22, 2023 BoCC SMP Work Session recording on YouTube | |
| February 22, 2023 Staff Report | ||
| Q3-Q4 2022 | Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) begin review of the draft SMP. | October 19, 2022 BoCC SMP Work Session recording on YouTube |
| October 19, 2022 Staff Report | ||
| Q4 2021 - Q3 2022 | Citizen advisory group, the Planning Commission, work sessions to review the SMP and prepare their recommendation for the BoCC. | |
| Q3 2021 | Planning Commission Public Hearing on October 20, 2021. | October 20, 2021 Planning Commission Public Hearing recording on YouTube |
| Q3-Q4 2021 | Public Hearing draft published; outreach and virtual open house. | |
| 2017-2021 | Planning Commission review of draft SMP. | |
| 2013 | Shoreline Characterization & Inventory and Shoreline Environment Designations Report issued. | |
| 2009 | Update of 1990 SMP begins: research, data, analysis, initial public outreach. |
Presentations
Start here! Whether you're new to the project or simply trying to make sense of the proposed changes, start with the story map. About a 10 minute read.
- Shoreline Master Program Update Story Map presentation (Interactive Web)
- Printable version of the Shoreline Master Program Update Story Map
Fact Sheets
- Overview of Proposed Changes
- Remodeling Expanding and Rebuilding
- Shoreline Designations
- What is an SMP
- Aquaculture
- Buffers and Setbacks | Proposed Buffers Chart 2022
- Environmental Protection
- CAO and SMP
- Shoreline Permits
- Additions to SMP Jurisdiction
- Agriculture
Maps
See where the current rules apply, where the proposed changes may take effect, and a side-by-side comparison of the two.
- 1990 SMP - Current
- 2022 SMP - Proposed Updates
- 1990 & 2022 Side-by-side comparison SED Map
- Shoreline Environmental Designations - Proposed Updates (Interactive Web)
SMP Project Documents (in date order)
- August 3, 2022
Planning Commission Recommendation documents
- October 20, 2021
Planning Commission public hearing
- August 2021
Planning Commission SMP Public Hearing Draft Documents- Shoreline Master Program Public Hearing Draft (Clean copy)
- Planning Commission Public Hearing Draft (With edits marked)
- Inventory & Characterization Report
- Inventory & Characterization Supplement
- Shoreline Environmental Designations (SED) Report (linked below in "2013 and later")
- Shoreline Environmental Designations Report Supplement
- October 21, 2020
Full SMP Draft, Appendices and Maps previously submitted to Planning Commission:- Full SMP Draft
- Appendix A - Environmental Designations Report
- Draft Appendix-B-C-D Combined - No Net Loss, Restoration & Channel Migration Zone Report
- Cumulative Impacts Analysis Report
- Inventory & Characterization Report
- All supporting documents and maps
- Maps Development Capacity Map | Designations Map | Minimum Jurisdiction Map
2013 and later
Draft Documents for the Updated Shoreline Inventory & Characterizations Report
Draft Inventory & Characterization Report
Appendices
Appendix A: Reach Analysis Matrix
Appendix E: Literature Cited in Chapter 3 and Appendix F
Appendix F: Ecosystem-wide Processes Characterization Methods
Appendix G: Streams Not Meeting 20 cubic feet per second
Maps
Map 1 Shorelines of the State and Shorelines of Statewide Significance
Map 2 Shoreline Jurisdiction Changes
Map 3 Proposed Shoreline Jurisdiction and Reach Breaks
Map 4 Proposed Jurisdiction and Reach Breaks: Northeast Thurston County
Map 5 Proposed Jurisdiction and Reach Breaks: Northwest Thurston County
Map 6 Proposed Jurisdiction and Reach Breaks: South-central Thurston County
Map 7 Proposed Jurisdiction and Reach Breaks: Southwest Thurston County
Map 7a Proposed Jurisdiction and Reach Breaks: Southeast Thurston County
Map 8 Water Resource Inventory Areas (WRIAs)
Map 10 Topography and Hydrology
Map 14 Coastal Processes Important Areas
Map 15 Coastal Processes Alterations
Map 16 Hydrology Important Areas
Map 17 Hydrologic Processes Alterations
Map 18 Sediment Processes Important Areas
Map 19 Sediment Processes Alterations
Map 20 Water Quality Processes Important Areas
Map 21 Water Quality Processes Alterations
Map 22 Large Woody Debris Processes Important Areas
Map 23 Large Woody Debris Processes Alterations
Map 23b Local Habitat Assessment – 2008
Map 24 2012 Aerial Photos and Reaches
Map 27 Built Environment by Basin 2006
Map 28 Forest over by Basin 2006
Map 29 Critical Areas Biological
Map 30 Critical Areas Critical Aquifer Recharge Areas
Map 31 Critical Areas Hydrologic
Map 32 Critical Areas Geologic
Map 36 Commercial Shellfish Growing Areas
Map 38 Nationwide Permit 48 Parcels
Map 39 Current Land Use - Thurston County Office of the Assessor
Map 40 Current Land Use - Buildable Lands 2011
Map 41a Future Land Use - Buildable Lands 2011
Map 41c Future Development Potential
Map 42 Registered Historic Districts and Properties
Map 43 Public Access and Public Lands
Map 44 Existing Shoreline Environment Designations
Map 45 PSNERP Beach Management Recommendations
Map 46 PSNERP Coastal Inlet Management Recommendations
Map 47 PSNERP Barrier Embayment Management Recommendations
Map 48 PSNERP River Delta Management Recommendations
Map 49 WRIA 11 Puget Sound Water Flow Management Recommendations
Map 50 WRIA 13 Puget Sound Water Flow Management Recommendations
Map 51 WRIA 14 Puget Sound Water Flow Management Recommendations
Map 52 WRIA 23 Puget Sound Water Flow Management Recommendations
Map 53 Preliminary Shoreline Environment Designations
Map 54 Preliminary Shoreline Environment Designations: Northeast
Map 55 Preliminary Shoreline Environment Designations: Northwest
Map 56 Preliminary Shoreline Environment Designations: South-central
Map 57 Preliminary Shoreline Environment Designations: Southeast
Map 58 Preliminary Shoreline Environment Designations: Southwest
- Comment on the SMP by compieting & submitting the Shoreline Master Program Comment Form.
- Subscribe to the Community Planning mailing list for occassional email updates using the sign-up form. You'll receive all departmental updates, not just SMP news.
- See public comments submitted by others about the SMP:
- Comments Received August 10, 2021 - October 22, 2021 (After the Oct 20 2021 Public Hearing)
- Divided due to the file sizes
- Comments received before the August 13, 2021 launch of the SMP update virtual open house.
- 1_SMP Comments Provided to Planning Commission Dec 6, 2017
- 2_SMP Comments Provided to Planning Commission Mar 7, 2018 - Part 1
- 3_SMP Comments Provided to Planning Commission Mar 7, 2018 - Part 2
- 4_SMP Comments Provided to Planning Commission Nov 7, 2018
- 5_SMP Comments Provided to Planning Commission Dec 19, 2018
- 6_SMP Comments Provided to Planning Commission Mar 20, 2019
- 7_SMP Emails Received Since Mar 6, 2019
- 7a_Addl SMP Comments since Mar 6, 2019
- 7b_SMP Addl Comments received 04-18-2020 - 03-05-2021
- 7c_SMP comments received 3-15-21 - 8-12-21
- 8_Written Public Comment Provided At Planning Commission Meetings
- 9_Planning Commissioner Comments from PC Website
- A-27 - Public Comments_Matrix
- Ecology Comments SMP Chapter 19-400 (Aug 7, 2019 comments)
- Ecology Comments SMP DRAFT Jul 2018 Version (submitted March 2019)
- SMP Comments-from-10-17-17-SMP-Meeting (PDF)
- Thurston County SMP Comment Matrix (8-2021)