The Shoreline Management Act (SMA)
Proposed by the Legislature in response to a citizen's initiative and ratified by Washington voters in 1972. The SMA was intended to protect and restore the valuable natural resources that the state's shorelines represent. In addition, the SMA was developed to plan for and foster all "reasonable and appropriate uses" that are dependent upon a waterfront location or which will offer opportunities for the public to enjoy the state shorelines: single family homes were specifically identified as a preferred shoreline use by the Legislature.
The City of Bonney Lake's first SMP was adopted in 1975 and was never subsequently updated other than minor revisions to the administrative provisions. In 2003, the Legislature mandated comprehensive updates to all local SMPs.
In order to facilitate that update, the City was awarded a grant by the Washington Department of Ecology in 2008 and subsequently initiated the update of its 1975 SMP in 2009. Over the next four years, staff worked with consultants, the Shoreline Advisory Committee, Cascade Water Alliance, the Department of Ecology, and the Planning Commission to develop an updated SMP that balances the environmental protections mandated by the state, private property rights, and recreational usage of the lake and shoreline. Key considerations within the SMP included conservation, public access, guidance for water-oriented recreational uses, and allowances for residential development. The City's resultant SMP became effective on October 16, 2014.
The SMP requires that property owners either obtain a permit or letter of exemption for all development activities within the shoreline area. You may download the application form from our Forms page on the permitting center page.
Find information on Shoreline Management in Washington State on the Shoreline Management page.
Find information on the current update of the Bonney Lake SMP on the SMP Update page.
For more information, contact staff in the Planning Division.