Request for Proposals- Comprehensive Plan Update
Goal 16: Estuarine Resources
Goal 17: Coastal Shorelands
1.2: Goal 16: Estuary Planning in Oregon and Clatsop County
Oregon’s Estuary Management Plans were first adopted in the 1980s and act to guide development and conservation within these important locations. The Oregon Estuary Plan Book, published by the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) in 1987, identifies two major estuaries in Clatsop County as defined by OAR 660-017-0015:
- Columbia River (Deep-draft Development Estuary)
- Necanicum River (Conservation Estuary)
Additionally, the Oregon Estuary Plan Book also identifies Ecola Creek as a minor Conservation estuary.
Plans and inventories for these three estuaries were originally prepared and adopted in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Columbia River Estuary Management Plan was amended in 1990 (Ordinance 90-13), along with concurrent amendments to Goal 16. A companion Dredged Material Management Plan for the Columbia River Estuary was adopted in 2005. The Necanicum River Estuary Inventory was amended in 1984 (Ordinance 84-01). The Ecola Creek Inventory was amended in 1992 (Ordinance 92-05). Consequently, the policies contained in Clatsop County Comprehensive Plan Goals 16 (Estuary Resources) and 17 (Coastal Shorelands) are now more than 30 years old and require review and updating to address climate change, sea level rise, and regulatory changes.
1.3: Goal 17: Coastal Shoreland Planning in Oregon and Clatsop County
Statewide Planning Goal 17 outlines planning and management requirements for the lands bordering estuaries (as well as lands bordering the ocean shore and coastal lakes). In general, the requirements of Goal 17 apply in combination with other planning goals to direct the appropriate use of shoreland areas. Provisions in Goal 17 specifically focus on the protection and management of resources unique to shoreland areas; examples of such resources include areas of significant shoreland habitat, lands especially suited for water-dependent uses, lands providing public access to coastal waters, and potential restoration or mitigation sites.
Goal 17 use requirements direct that shorelands "especially suited for water-dependent use" be protected for such uses, and that local zoning regulations prevent the establishment of uses that would preempt the availability of such lands for water-dependent development. In 1999 LCDC adopted an administrative rule to provide additional guidance for implementing this Goal 17 requirement. Known as the water-dependent shorelands rule, OAR 660, Division 37 establishes a methodology for calculating the minimum amount of shorelands to be protected for water-dependent and also provides more detailed guidance on the qualifications of shorelands suitable for water-dependent uses, as well as suggested land use regulations and standards appropriate for the protection of these shoreland sites.
Clatsop County’s Goal 17 has not been amended since its original adoption in 1980. In 2023, Clatsop County completed a DLCD project to update waterway public access policies. These final policies will need to be incorporated into this update.