Opinion ID: 2595071
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The SMA Precludes Local Moratoria on Shorelines

Text: ¶ 30 The SMA was enacted by vote of the people in 1971 as Initiative 43B. The vote reflected the decision of the voters choosing between a citizen initiative and the legislature's alternative ( see WASH. CONST. art. II, § 1). See Geoffrey Crooks, The Washington Shoreline Management Act of 1971, 49 WASH. L.REV. 423, 424-25 (1974). The people of this state thus made the SMA the explicit source of procedures concerning shoreline development. The notion that local governments do not have separate power to issue moratoria on development of state shorelines is reflected in the provisions of the SMA, which delegate only specified powers to local governments. See RCW 90.58.010 through .920. Under the plain terms of the SMA, there is no provision for cities to adopt moratoria. Thus, such moratoria on shoreline development conflict with the general laws of the state. ¶ 31 The SMA embodies a legislatively-determined and voter-approved balance between protection of state shorelines and development. The state has developed shorelines through improvement of parks and ramps, construction of bulkheads, ferry docks, etc. As part of our careful management of shorelines, property owners are also allowed to construct water-dependent facilities such as single-family residences, bulkheads, and docks. Imposition of a total moratorium conflicts with this regulatory system established by the SMA. ¶ 32 The SMA also recognized there is an important function performed by structures that protect shorelines. The legislature's 1992 amendments to the SMA further emphasized this need for certain shoreline structures to provide for the protection of shorelines. This conclusion is illustrated by the SMA's provisions requiring prompt adoption of SMPs and shoreline structure permit processing. ¶ 33 The SMA contains an express preference for issuing such permits. RCW 90.58.100(6). Thus, the SMA also requires that all SMPs contain methods to achieve effective and timely protection for shoreline landowners. Id. SMPs must provide for the issuance of substantial development permits for shoreline protection, including structural methods such as construction of bulkheads. . . . Id. Permit application to local governments must be processed in a timely manner. See id. ¶ 34 A permit for substantial development on shoreline shall be granted when development is consistent with the applicable SMP and provisions of the SMA. RCW 90.58.140(2). This is a mandatory provision included in each city-adopted SMP before Ecology approves: [e]ach master program shall contain standards governing the protection of single family residences and appurtenant structures against damage or loss due to shoreline erosion. RCW 90.58.100(6) (emphasis added). ¶ 35 The desirability of some shoreline structures is further evidenced by the requirement that SMPs include exemptions from permitting requirements for certain structures. See RCW 90.58.030(3)(e). Activities exempted from the substantial development permit requirement include the installation of a protective bulkhead for a single family home, maintenance and repair of existing structures, and construction that is necessary for agricultural activities. See RCW 90.58.030(3)(e)(i)-(iv). ¶ 36 As previously noted, our constitution provides that all local police power measures may not conflict with the general law of the state. See WASH. CONST. art. XI, § 11; HJS Dev., 148 Wash.2d at 482, 61 P.3d 1141; Lenci, 63 Wash.2d at 670, 388 P.2d 926. Of course, this rule equally applies to procedures found in the SMA. ¶ 37 In direct conflict with this constitutional principle, the City's moratoria on processing applications prohibits what state law permits. See HJS Dev., 148 Wash.2d at 482, 61 P.3d 1141; Rabon v. City of Seattle, 135 Wash.2d 278, 292, 957 P.2d 621 (1998). Without amending the 1996 SMP, which received the required approval from the Department of Ecology, the City imposed moratoria blocking developments which the SMP approved. See RCW 90.58.090 (a master program or amendment proposed by local government shall be effective when approved by the Department of Ecology). The SMA's statewide mandates, and the coordinated system established by that act, are thwarted by the City's rolling moratoria. ¶ 38 This court has frequently held that local governments possess only those powers expressly delegated or found by necessary implication. See J-R Distributors, 90 Wash.2d at 726, 585 P.2d 784; see, e.g., Lauterbach, 49 Wash.2d at 554, 304 P.2d 656; Pac. First Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass'n v. Pierce County, 27 Wash.2d 347, 353, 178 P.2d 351 (1947); State ex rel. Hill v. Bridges, 87 Wash. 260, 261, 151 P. 490 (1915). Where there is doubt as to the existence of a state power arguably conferred to a local government, this court will construe the question against local government and against the claimed power. See J-R Distributors, 90 Wash.2d at 726, 585 P.2d 784. Here, because the SMA is the exclusive source of shoreline development regulation and because the SMA makes no affirmative grant of moratoria authority, local governments do not have implied power to adopt moratoria. The City's imposition of moratoria was ultra vires and in conflict with the SMA's regulatory framework. ¶ 39 The City's moratoria also violate the principles of Washington Constitution's article XVII, section 1 and the public trust doctrine. The authors of our constitution would be surprised by the City's claim of power, as would the voters who approved the SMA. ¶ 40 The City's argument about implied or inherent power is further undermined by the legislature's adoption of comparable statutes that do contain an express grant of moratoria authority. See Sheehan v. Cent. Puget Sound Reg'l Transit Auth., 155 Wash.2d 790, 797, 123 P.3d 88 (2005). In 1992, the legislature expressly authorized moratoria under multiple statutes: chapter 35.63 RCW (planning commissions); chapter 35.22 RCW (first class cities); chapter 35A.63 RCW (planning and zoning in code cities); chapter 36.70A RCW (growth management); chapter 36.32 RCW (county commissioners); and chapter 70.05 RCW (local health departments). Strikingly, the legislature did not grant local government moratoria authority in its 1992 amendments to the SMA. This confirms our judgment that such moratorium power does not exist where it is not expressly granted. ¶ 41 Either the legislature or the people could have conferred moratoria authority to local governments by affirmative enactment. Neither chose to do so when adopting the SMA, or later.