Clark County and the cities of Vancouver, Camas, Washougal, Ridgefield, LaCenter, Battle Ground and Yacolt are jointly working on an update to their respective, if they have one, Shoreline Master Programs (SMPs) as required by the Shoreline Management Act. Clark County first adopted it’s SMP in 1974 and it hasn’t been updated since that time. Vancouver more recently updated it’s SMP. But these updates are to come into compliance with changes required by the legislature and the Department of Ecology.
The City of Vancouver is hosting a website here dedicated to the SMP update. The state requires that Clark County and its cities adopt a revised SMP by December 31, 2011. Currently a work group is preparing a draft of the regulations that will implement the shorelines identified by the work group already for protection. The regulations will spell out in detail what types and intensity of development will be allowed in the shoreline areas.