BOCC Exhibits A-E ECY Approved SMP-Code Amendments

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Kittitas County Board of County Commissioners Shoreline Master Program Adopting Ordinance Kittitas County Shoreline Master Program Exhibit D | March 2016 | Page 282 of 339 7. New structural public flood hazard reduction measures, such as dikes and levees, shall dedicate and improve public access pathways unless public access improvements would cause unavoidable health or safety hazards to the public, inherent and unavoidable security problems, unacceptable and unmitigated significant ecological impacts, unavoidable conflict with the proposed use, or cost that is disproportionate and unreasonable to the total long- term cost of the use or development. 8. The removal of gravel for flood management purposes shall be consistent with an adopted flood hazard reduction plan and with the provisions of W AC 173-26, KCC 17B.06.070 Dredging and dredge material disposal and KCC 17B.05.120 Mining; and be allowed only after a biological and geo-morphological study shows that extraction has a long-term benefit to flood hazard reduction, does not result in a net loss of ecological functions, and is part of a comprehensive flood management solution. 17B.05.040 Public access. Public access includes the ability of the general public to reach, touch, and enjoy the water’s edge, to travel on the waters of the state, and to view the water and the shoreline from adjacent locations. Public access provisions below apply to all shorelines of the state unless stated otherwise. A. Policies. Pursuant to RCW 36.70A.480, the public access policies of the 2016 Kittitas County Shoreline Master Program shall be considered as policies of the Kittitas County Comprehensive Plan. B. Regulations. 1. Public access shall consist of a dedication of land or easement and a physical improvement in the form of a walkway, trail, bikeway, corridor, viewpoint, park, deck, observation tower, pier, boat launching ramp, dock or pier area, or other area serving as a means of view and/or physical approach to public waters and may include interpretive centers and displays. 2. New shoreline use and development by public entities, such as local governments, port districts, state agencies, and public utility districts, shall provide public access as part of each development project, unless such access is shown to be incompatible with the Program due to reasons of safety, security, or adverse impacts to shoreline functions and processes. 3. New shoreline use and development by private entities shall provide public access when: a. The development would generate a public demand for one or more forms of such physical or visual access; b. The development will impair existing legal access opportunities or rights; or c. The development is not a preferred shoreline use (e.g., non-water-oriented commercial or industrial development). 4. Public health and safety concerns associated with community or public access sites shall be adequately mitigated. 5. Efforts to implement the public access provisions of this Section shall be consistent with all relevant constitutional and other legal limitations on regulation of private property and the principles of nexus and proportionality. 6. Public access requirements on privately owned lands shall be commensurate with the scale and character of the use and/or development and shall be reasonable, effective and fair to all affected parties, including, but not limited to, the landowner and the public. 7. Where feasible, providers of shoreline public access shall: a. Locate and design public access improvements in a manner that is compatible with the natural shoreline character and avoids adverse impacts to shoreline ecological processes and functions; and b. Ensure public access improvements and amenities are safe, respect individual privacy, and avoid or minimize visual impacts from neighboring properties; and