By SCOTT RASMUSSEN
County Reporter
Turns out it wasn’t jetty after all. But whether a Lopez property owner is off the hook for stockpiling boulders and rocks on the shoreline of Lopez Sound remains to be seen.
Prompted by complaints, state and local officials are investigating but have yet to determine if that stockpile constitutes a violation of shoreline rules. The property owners, San Juan County Code Enforcement Officer Jeff Wasnick noted, were granted an exemption in May, 2006 that allowed construction of a rock and log bulkhead as a means of reinforcing a bank on their waterfront parcel.
Still, Wasnick said that questions need to be resolved about using the beach as a staging area and about the manner in which the project has played out. Officials of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, which shares authority in issuing permits on most local shoreline projects, such as bulkheads, marinas and docks, are taking part in the investigation and its issuing of so-called hydraulic permits could come into play.
“We do have some issues with it,” Wasnick said of the project. “But there’s times when using the beach is allowed under Fish and Wildlife’s hydraulic permitting when you can’t get to the shoreline anyway else.”
Local officials began receiving questions in mid-November about large-scale projects on two neighboring waterfront parcels at Lopez Shores. In one, a failing retaining wall was replaced by Bonneville Power Administration and a gravel road punched in at its substation on Lopez Sound. Next door, the Bumstead family were preparing to bolster a steep bank located on their beach-front property. Both were granted an exemption from the standard shoreline development permit which enabled the projects to proceed.
Though many factors can go into determining what’s exempt and what is not, Senior Planner Julie Thompson said local regulations still apply to those that are exempt. For example, she said, an exemptions doesn’t allow excavation work to be performed that under normal circumstances would require a clearing and grading permit.
“If you have an exemption that doesn’t mean you’re not subject to the rules,” she said.
In 2006, the Community Development and Planning Department issued 100 shoreline exemptions and last year 89 were approved. Most were issued either for maintenance or repair of an existing structure – or those considered “grandfathered” – and installation or replacement of mooring buoys, which requires approval of the state Department of Natural Resources as well.
By the end of December, questions evolved into complaints when a barge laden with boulders deposited its load at the water’s edge near the Bumstead property. At that time, neighbors, according to CDPD files, noted that heavy machinery also began circulating back and forth along the beach well after dark. Some feared that a jetty was being built that would disrupt the tides and reshape the beach.
Along with representatives of Fish and Wildlife’s enforcement branch, Wasnick was on site in January to investigate.
According to Darrel Heen of Lake Tapps Construction, a general contractor building a home for the Bumsteads, unexpected circumstances developed at Lopez Shores. Boulders and rocks had to be used to reinforce an existing spit in order for the bulkhead material to be off-loaded. The spit will be restored to its original position and Fish and Wildlife has already indicated its satisfied with the cleanup that’s underway, Heen said.
“There’s a few minor details that need to be worked out but there’s no strong issues pending,” he said. “Fish and Wildlife is pleased with the condition of the beach.”
Wasnick acknowledged that boulders and rocks at the water’s edge have been removed and apparently were used in preparation for the bulkhead’s assembly. However, he said it’s unclear whether that part of the project was covered by the exemption.
As to what happens next, Wasnick said state and local officials are developing a coordinated approach that addresses the concerns of both with regard to “what steps are going to be taken”.
