News Release 2002-1
January 10, 2002
State Board Orders 100-Foot Setback for Barged House
On January 2, 2002, the Shorelines Hearings Board (SHB) upheld San Juan County Permit Center's enforcement of a 100-foot setback for the house that was barged into Davison Head on San Juan Island.
In March 2000, the property owners, James E. and Mary E. Jacobs, removed all trees and other vegetation between the building site and the shoreline and graded the shoreline without a permit. The Jacobs then moved the house to a location 84 feet from the top of the bank of the shoreline.
County shoreline regulations allow a 50-foot setback from the shoreline for houses if there is natural screening between the house and the shoreline. If no natural screening exists or, it has been removed, the required setback increases to 100 feet.
The property owners asked the SHB to allow the house to remain at its current location, 84 feet from the top of the bank of the shoreline.
In a 3-2 decision, the SHB found that the County's requirement of a 100-foot setback was appropriate, given the property owners' removal of the natural screening between the house and the bank. The SHB also upheld the County's denial of a variance to the 100-foot setback requirement finding that the 100-foot setback did not prevent the owners from keeping their house on the property. The SHB also said that any hardship incurred by the owners, as a result of the 100-foot setback, was a result of their own actions in clearing the natural vegetation and, that granting the variance would make the County's 50-foot setback requirements meaningless.
"Our shoreline regulations are in place to protect our shoreline environment," said Deputy Prosecutor Alan A. Marriner. "It is important for all of San Juan County's residents to follow these rules."
A copy of the Shoreline Hearings Board decision is available at the San Juan County Prosecuting Attorney's Office and at the website for the Shorelines Hearings Board http://www.eho.wa.gov/FinalOrders.asp?Year=2002.