Restrictions in a county shoreland zoning ordinance on activities within the shoreland setback area

This bill codifies into law current DNR shoreland zoning standards that require a setback of 75 feet from the OHWM to the nearest part of a building or structure.

The bill also codifies into law current DNR shoreland zoning standards that provide that, if principal structures exist on adjacent lots and within 250 feet of a proposed principal structure in both directions along the shoreline, the setback distance may be reduced to the average of the setbacks on each adjacent lot, but no less than 35 feet. The bill also provides that if principal structures exist on adjacent lots and within 200 feet of a proposed principal structure in both directions along the shoreline and both are set back more than 75 feet from the OHWM at the setback that was required at the time each was built, the county shoreland zoning ordinance may establish a setback equal to the average of the distance the neighboring principal structures are set back from the OHWM.

This bill codifies into law current DNR shoreland zoning standards that exempt from the general setback requirements the construction of boathouses located entirely above the OHWM, open-sided and screened structures, fishing rafts, broadcast signal receivers, utility facilities, water towers, pumping facilities, private wastewater treatment systems, and walkways, stairways, and rail systems necessary to provide pedestrian access to the shoreline.

Current law generally prohibits the enactment of a county shoreland zoning ordinance that prohibits or regulates the maintenance, repair, replacement, restoration, rebuilding, or remodeling of all or any part of a nonconforming structure if that activity does not expand the structure's footprint. For purposes of this restriction, nonconforming structures are those that existed lawfully before enactment of the county shoreland zoning ordinance but that no longer conform with one or more parts of the ordinance that apply to elements including setback, height, lot coverage, and side yard. The bill expands this prohibition to any of the structures that are exempt from the general setback requirements and that were constructed legally, but allows an ordinance to restrict those activities from expanding such a structure beyond the three-dimensional building envelope of the existing structure.

Under this bill, if DNR shoreland zoning standards regulate impervious surface area and if those standards allow a greater amount of impervious surface on areas for highly developed shorelines than areas with shorelines that are not highly developed, the standards must require an area with highly developed shorelines to include at least 500 feet of shoreline and must require that the area either be composed of a majority of lots with more than 30 percent impervious surface area, as calculated by DNR; be composed of a majority of lots that are less than 20,000 square feet in area; or be located on a lake and served by a sewerage system. This bill also requires DNR shoreland zoning standards to prohibit a roadway or sidewalk from being considered an impervious surface.