Local governments are required to prepare a detailed shoreline inventory and a program for managing shoreline development. This Shoreline Master Program (SMP) is the product of that effort in Sumner.
The Shoreline Management Act (SMA) was proposed by the legislature in response to a citizen’s initiative, and ratified by Washington voters in 1972. The SMA was intended to protect and restore the valuable natural resources that the state’s shorelines represent. In addition, the SMA was developed to plan for and foster all “reasonable and appropriate uses” that are dependent upon a waterfront location, or which will offer opportunities for the public to enjoy the state shorelines.