Pierce County Shoreline Master Program: Locally Initiated Amendment

On Oct. 21 2025, we approved Pierce county's locally initiated amendment to their shoreline master program (SMP).

The amended SMP is effective Nov. 4, 2025, 14 days after we provided notice to the county that their SMP was approved.

The locally initiated amendment was adopted by Pierce County Council on Dec. 10, 2024. The amendment is intended to align the SMP with recent and concurrent changes to the County’s critical areas regulations. The County adopted an updated critical areas ordinance (CAO) on Dec. 3, 2024. The proposed SMP amendment incorporates by reference this new CAO for application in shoreline jurisdiction. Our changes focus on ensuring the incorporated critical areas regulations are consistent with the SMP Guidelines and function as intended when implemented through the SMP.

On July 30, 2025, we provided Pierce county with required and recommended changes to the county’s proposed locally initiated amendment to their SMP. The county incorporated all of our required and recommended changes prior to adoption. The changes are based on our review of whether the amendment complies with state laws and rules, and a public comment period held Feb. 10 to March 13, 2025.

Email notices were used to notify interested parties of the public comment period. No comments were received.