205 W 5th Ave Ellensburg, WA 98926-2887
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Kittitas (pronounced 'KITT-i-tass') County is located in central Washington State. It spans from the lush forested Cascade Mountains to the upper Yakima River Valley plains and the Columbia River.
The Washington State Shoreline Management Act (RCW 90.58) and its associated rules (WAC 173-26) require local governments adopt shoreline master programs (SMPs) with policies and regulations that apply to development near shorelines.
The original Kittitas County SMP was adopted in 1975. At that time, the City of Ellensburg, City of Cle Elum, and Town of South Cle Elum (all of which have shorelines), did not adopt their own master programs, and instead utilized the Kittitas County SMP. In 2011, an interlocal agreement was entered into by Kittitas County, the City of Ellensburg, City of Cle Elum, and the Town of South Cle Elum, to update the existing regional SMP, and create separate master shoreline programs for each jurisdiction. The updated Kittitas County Shoreline Master Program was approved by the Department of Ecology in 2016. The state Shoreline Management Act requires local jurisdictions to periodically review their comprehensively updated Shoreline Master Program every eight years. In accordance with this, Kittitas County completed a review and update in 2021. The updated Kittitas County Shoreline Master Program was approved by the Department of Ecology September 14, 2021.
The Washington State Legislature provided grant funding through the Washington Department of Ecology for local governments to update their shoreline master programs. In June 2020, Kittitas County was awarded grant funding from the Washington Department of Ecology for this update.
Links to supporting grant documents are provided below:
SMP Grant Agreement
Public Participation Program
