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City of Tukwila <br />Allan Ekberg, Mayor <br />UNFOR ATUONAK E OR/ANDUU <br />TO: Community Development and Neighborhoods <br />FROM: Jack Pace, DCDDirector <br />BY: Nmra/Gi$doff, Deputy DCDDinector <br />CC: Mayor Ekberg <br />DATE: June 11,2019 <br />SUBJECT: Shoreline Master Program Update <br />ISSUE <br />The City of Tukwila is required to periodically update its Shoreline Master Program and <br />associated regulations for compliance with changes to the Shoreline Management Act, <br />Department ofEcology guidelines, and legislative rules. <br />BACKGROUND <br />The Green/Duwamish River flows over 93 miles from the Cascade Mountains to Elliott Bay. <br />Approximately 13 miles of the river meanders through Tukwila's industrial district, urban center <br />and residential neighborhoods. The river system has undergone extensive changes over the <br />years as the population has increased dramatically, forests have been logged, levees have been <br />built, streams and rivers rerouted, and freeways, homes, shopping and manufacturing centers <br />constructed. As the impacts of human development have been recognized, State and Federal <br />agencies have developed regulations that require local jurisdictions to provide better <br />protection for remaining habitat, to control the collected storm water flowing directly into the <br />river, and to identify and restore areas where habitat restoration can succeed. This took on new <br />urgency when salmon were listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act in 1999. <br />The Green/Duwamish River in Tukwila is categorizedasaShoreline of the State. |nresponse to <br />the State Shoreline Management Act (SMA) and Federal requirements, Tukwila has adopted <br />three documents related to the river — the Shoreline Master Program (SMP), Shoreline Element <br />in the City's Comprehensive Plan, and zoning regulations in TIVIC Chapter 18.44 Shoreline <br />Overlay. <br />Most construction, grading or clearing within 200 feet landward of the ordinary high water <br />mark (OHWM) requires a Shoreline Substantial Development Permit which is reviewed by the <br />Washington State Department of Ecology after issuance by the City. The City's shoreline <br />development regulations balance economic interests, flood control, and residential <br />development with enhancement and stewardship of the ecological functions of the river. <br />The City of Tukwila completed a comprehensive update to its Shoreline Master Program in <br />2009, with additional revisions made in 2011.VVashington state law requires jurisdictions to <br />