SB 301

Under current law, a county must enact a shoreland zoning ordinance for

shorelands in its unincorporated area. Current law defines a shoreland as an area

within a certain distance from the edge of a navigable water. If a county does not

enact a shoreland zoning ordinance or if the Department of Natural Resources (DNR)

determines that the county has enacted an ordinance that fails to meet certain

standards, then DNR must adopt a shoreland zoning ordinance for the county.

This bill provides that a county shoreland zoning ordinance enacted by a county

or adopted by DNR for a county does not apply to areas meeting certain criteria.

Under the bill, a shoreland zoning ordinance does not apply if the majority of the

buildings and structures in the area have been used since January 1, 1990, to conduct

the affairs of small business, if all of the roads in the area are paved, if the area

receives public water and sewer service, and if the area meets all other requirements

specified by DNR by rule. The bill requires that every county that enacts a shoreland

zoning ordinance include a provision in the ordinance that identifies areas that are

exempt from the ordinance based on the specified criteria. The bill provides that, if

DNR determines, after notice and hearing, that an area identified in an ordinance

as exempt does not meet the specified criteria for exemption, the ordinance applies

to that area.