A. 
The provisions of this program shall apply to all shorelines of the state in unincorporated Whatcom County, including all shorelines of statewide significance and all shorelands and collectively referred to herein as "shorelines." For the purposes of this program, jurisdictional shorelines are divided into segments or reaches. Each segment is assigned one or more shoreline environment designations pursuant to this chapter in order to provide for the management of use and development within shorelines.
B. 
The shoreline master program jurisdiction applies to all shorelines of the state and their associated shorelands. This includes:
1. 
All marine waters;
2. 
Rivers and streams with more than 20 cubic feet per second (cfs) mean annual flow;
3. 
Lakes and reservoirs 20 acres and greater in area;
4. 
Floodways and the entire 100-year floodplain;
5. 
All associated wetlands and river deltas associated with the streams, lakes, and tidal waters that are subject to the provisions of the Act;
6. 
Shorelands adjacent to these water bodies, typically within 200 feet of the ordinary high water mark (OHWM);
7. 
Buffers necessary to protect critical areas that are located within shoreline jurisdiction as described in this program;
8. 
Associated estuarine wetlands: the jurisdictional boundary shall extend 200 feet landward of the OHWM of the wetland;
9. 
Associated wetlands that extend greater than 200 feet landward of the OHWM of the shoreline: the jurisdictional boundary shall extend to the delineated edge of the wetland;
10. 
Critical areas designated pursuant to Chapter 36.70A RCW and located within shoreline jurisdiction shall be subject to the regulations of this program.
(Ord. 2024-047 § 2 (Exh. D))
A. 
As part of this program, there is one official Whatcom County shoreline environment designations map, which shall be in the custody of the planning and development services department and available for public inspection during normal business hours and on the Whatcom County website. Unofficial copies of the official map or portions thereof may be included or distributed with copies of this program.
B. 
The purpose of the official shoreline environment designations map is to depict graphically those areas of Whatcom County falling under the jurisdiction of this program, and the shoreline environment designations of those areas. The map does not necessarily identify or depict the lateral extent of shoreline jurisdiction nor does it identify all associated wetlands. The lateral extent of the shoreline jurisdiction shall be determined on a case-by-case basis based on the location of the ordinary high water mark (OHWM), floodway, floodplain, and presence of associated wetlands.
C. 
Where questions arise regarding the precise boundaries of any shoreline designation, the director will make the final determination following the guidance of WCC § 23.20.030 (Interpretation of official map boundaries) and 23.20.040 (Mapping errors). Appeals of such interpretations may be filed pursuant to WCC § 22.05.160 (Appeals).
D. 
All shorelines waterward of the OHWM shall be designated aquatic, except that in the Cherry Point management area the aquatic designation shall start waterward of the CPMA boundary (see subsection E of this section).
E. 
The Cherry Point management area is a geographic area lying between the eastern property boundary of Tax Lots 2.27 and 2.28 within the SE quarter of Section 11, Township 39 North, Range 1 West, as it existed on June 18, 1987, and the southern boundary of Section 32, Township 39 North, Range 1 East, extending waterward a distance of 5,000 feet and extending landward for 200 feet as measured on a horizontal plane from the OHWM. This area shall have the Cherry Point management area shoreline environment designation.
F. 
Upland shoreline environment designations shall apply to shorelands, unless specifically stated to be applied to the aquatic designation by this program.
G. 
Only one shoreline environment designation shall apply to a given shoreland area. In the case of designations running parallel to one another (as along the coast), designations shall be divided along an identified linear feature. Such linear features shall be clearly noted in the metadata associated with the official shoreline map.
H. 
All shorelines east of the Mount Baker National Forest western boundary are designated conservancy unless there are federal projects on federal lands.
I. 
All areas within shorelines that are not mapped and/or designated are automatically assigned a conservancy designation. Within urban growth areas, such shorelines shall be automatically assigned an urban conservancy designation until such time that the shoreline environment can be redesignated through a formal amendment.
(Ord. 2024-047 § 2 (Exh. D))
Where the exact location of an environment designation boundary line is uncertain, the official shoreline environment designations map will be used to determine the location of such line. When resorting to the shoreline environment designations map does not resolve the conflict, the following rules will apply:
A. 
Boundaries indicated as approximately following the center lines of streets, highways, alleys, other roadways, or railroads shall be construed to follow the nearest right-of-way edge;
B. 
Boundaries indicated as approximately following lot, fractional section, or other subdivision lines shall be construed as following such subdivision lines;
C. 
Boundaries indicated as approximately following any lines of corporate limits or other local government jurisdictional lines shall be construed as following such lines;
D. 
Boundaries indicated as parallel to or extensions of features identified in subsections A through C of this section shall be so construed; and
E. 
Boundaries between parallel environment designations along the shoreline shall be construed as the top of the bluff or vegetation line that distinguishes existing development from the critical area abutting the shoreline.
(Ord. 2024-047 § 2 (Exh. D))
Some mapping errors may be adjusted prior to a master program amendment to assign the appropriate designation to that area by the following methods:
A. 
The common boundary descriptions and the criteria in RCW 90.58.030(2) and Chapter 173-22 WAC supersede the map when there are mapping error conflicts, other than those with a solution provided in this section.
B. 
In the event that a parcel was inadvertently assigned more than one designation, the more restrictive designation shall apply.
C. 
In the event that a parcel on the boundary between two designations appears to be a mapping error based on the criteria in this section, the county shall apply the most appropriate of the two designations, until such time as the map can be formally corrected consistent with WAC 173-26-100 and WCC § 23.10.090 (shoreline master program amendments).
D. 
In the event of an environment designation mapping error where the master program update or amendment record, including the public hearing process, is clear in terms of the correct environment designation to apply to a property, the county shall apply the environment designation approved through the master program update or amendment process and correct the map.
E. 
If the environment designation criteria were misapplied, but the update or amendment record, including the public hearing process, does not clearly show that a different designation was intended to be shown on the map, a master program amendment may be obtained consistent with WAC 173-26-100 and WCC § 23.10.090 (shoreline master program amendments). This process is intended to allow for reasonable corrections to the shoreline environment designation process. Such process shall include early consultation with the Department of Ecology and other agencies with jurisdiction, affected tribes, and appropriate public notification prior to local approval. Current designations are reflected in the shoreline environment designations map located pursuant to this chapter.
(Ord. 2024-047 § 2 (Exh. D))
A. 
Development, use, and activities within each designated shoreline environment shall occur consistent with this program, including but not limited to: the shoreline environment designation purpose, designation criteria, and policies found in Whatcom County Comprehensive Plan Chapter 11 (Shorelines); the general policies and regulations contained in Chapter 11 (Shorelines) and Chapter 23.30 WCC (General Regulations), and the use and modification policies and regulations provided in Chapter 11 (Shorelines) and Chapter 23.40 WCC (Shoreline Use and Modification Regulations), subject to the provisions of WCC Title 20 (Zoning) and other applicable land use regulations where more restrictive.
B. 
Shoreline environment designations in Whatcom County include the following:
1. 
Urban.
2. 
Urban Resort.
3. 
Urban Conservancy.
4. 
Shoreline Residential.
5. 
Rural.
6. 
Resource.
7. 
Conservancy.
8. 
Natural.
9. 
Aquatic.
10. 
Cherry Point management area.
(Ord. 2024-047 § 2 (Exh. D))
In accordance with the criteria of RCW 90.58.030(2)(e), the legislature designated the following shorelines of unincorporated Whatcom County, including the shorelands and associated wetlands as therein defined, as having statewide significance:
A. 
Lakes:
1. 
Lake Whatcom;
2. 
Ross Lake; and
3. 
Baker Lake.
B. 
Rivers:
1. 
Nooksack River: its mainstem downstream to Bellingham Bay, its North Fork upstream to the mouth of Glacier Creek, and its South Fork upstream to the mouth of Hutchinson Creek.
2. 
Skagit River: upstream of the Whatcom/Skagit County line to the point where the mean annual flow is measured at 1,000 feet per second or more, approximately, at the confluence of Newhalem Creek.
C. 
Marine:
1. 
Birch Bay from Birch Point to Point Whitehorn.
2. 
All other marine waters, water columns, and bedlands waterward of extreme low tide.
(Ord. 2024-047 § 2 (Exh. D))