Open houses scheduled on draft Shoreline Master Programs

August 9, 2011

Contacts: Gordy Euler, Clark County Community Planning

(360) 397-2280 ext. 4968 or [email protected]

Marian Lahav, City of Vancouver Long Range Planning

(360) 487-7962 or [email protected]

Vancouver, WA – Open houses on the draft Battle Ground, Camas, Clark County, La Center, Ridgefield, Vancouver and Washougal Shoreline Master Programs (SMPs) are scheduled for August. They are open to the public, and will be from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on:

Tuesday, Aug. 23: Battle Ground Community Center, 912 E. Main St., Battle Ground

Wednesday, Aug. 24: Clark County Public Service Center, sixth-floor hearing room, 1300 Franklin St., Vancouver

The updated SMPs will guide development along larger creeks, rivers and lakes. The draft plans are available for review and comment at http://www.cityofvancouver.us/shorelineupdate/default.html.

Battle Ground, Camas, Clark County, La Center, Ridgefield, Vancouver, Washougal and Yacolt formed a coalition to prepare draft shoreline master program elements. Using the Washington Department of Ecology’s 2003 guidelines and a state grant, the jurisdictions pooled their technical expertise to develop consistent goals and policies. Each jurisdiction must adopt its own program by Dec. 1, 2011.

The Shoreline Management Act, a state law, requires that local jurisdictions prepare SMPs to promote uses that need to be located on water bodies, protect the environment and provide public access to shorelines. Most jurisdictions prepared their SMPs in the mid-1970s and are updating them for the first time.

For more information, visit http://www.cityofvancouver.us/shorelineupdate/default.html, or contact:

Gordy Euler, Clark County Community Planning at (360) 397-2280 ext. 4968 or [email protected] or Marian Lahav, City of Vancouver Long Range Planning at (360) 487-7962, or [email protected].

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