Book Description

The Washington Shoreline Management Act was passed by the State Legislature in 1971, and was adopted by voters in 1972. The Act’s purpose is to “prevent the inherent harm in an uncoordinated and piecemeal development of the state’s shorelines”. To achieve this, the Shoreline Master Program (SMP), developed by each local government to comply with the Act, is granted the freedom of flexibility in determining what key elements shall be incorporated into the local plan to accommodate varying conditions. This research paper is an examination of the content within the Bainbridge Island Shoreline Master Program. A set of criteria was created and applied to review Bainbridge Island’s SMP. In addition, a readability analysis was conducted on the individual sections of the document. The results of the study reflect a necessity to focus on the fact base, implementation, and monitoring, as these sections are the ones that consistently lack detail within the SMP. Incorporating this study into the current literature will improve communication between both the planners, and the public.