Under state law, buoys used for boat moorage on public waterways require a license and permits through several agencies, including one from the Department of Natural Resources.
Despite this over-arching state law, many living on the Lake Sammamish choose to eschew state rules to avoid the lengthy and confusing process it takes to get the necessary permits.
The issue has come up recently as the city of Issaquah works to update its shoreline master plan (SMP).
Citizens living along and near the lake expressed concern and had questions about the mooring requirements during a public meeting with city staff last week.
Residents living in the South Lake Sammamish neighborhoods were under the county’s shoreline jurisdiction until the land was annexed into the city three years ago, and this is the first time the shoreline plan has been updated since 1990.
Many residents expressed concern after a change was made in the draft Issaquah SMP which prohibited extended moorage without a lease or license from DNR.
Under state statues, upland adjacent residents, or people living on the lake, can have a buoy for free, but others not living directly next to the waterway need to get a license. Extended moorage on the lake requires a license from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
According to Derrick Toba, the assistant regional manager for aquatics with DNR, applicants seeking to license a buoy can choose to pay for a one year or a 5-year license. The single year license costs $125 and the 5-year is $500.
The city’s draft SMP wording was included after the city received complaints from South Cove and Greenwood Point residents about make-shift marinas offshore of private homeowner association parks.
The change to the draft wording sparked more concern again, with homeowners associations and other groups visiting the city’s Planning Policy Commission meeting last week to voice why the draft plan prohibition wouldn’t work.
The city also received numerous e-mails and other comments from citizen voicing opinions against the change. After hearing from the public, the city changed the hearing draft SMP again, this time noting that a license was needed for extended moorage on the lake.
But for many living on the lake, getting the license was just a formality.
“The regulation on this is not very strictly enforced,” said Brian Zue, a resident of Issaquah and a member of the Sammamish Beach Club Homeowner’s Association. “Its common practice (not to get a license).” He said his family moved to the area because of the access to the lake and that so far he was very thankful and happy that the city was willing to work with residents.
Due to the fact that various state and local agencies are involved in the process of getting a license and permit for a buoy, enforcement is spread across the board.
If the applicant did not get a shoreline exemption or permit, the local government is in charge of enforcing the rule; if there is not a hydraulic project permit then it’s the Department of Fish and Wildlife…and on goes the enforcement chain.
“Ultimately, if there is not a license, DNR gets involved,” said Toba. “First we’d notify the owner and try and get it under authorization, but if we can’t find the owner, or they don’t want to pay then it would be taken to a higher level.”
For the various homeowner’s associations scattered around the lake with private beach access, DNR considers that group a waterfront property owner according to Peter Rosen, an environmental planner with the city.
Therefore, the group falls into the ‘first is free’ category, but usually those groups comprise of many homeowners and need multiple buoys for boats.
Andy Zollers, the president of the Sammamish Beach Club Homeowner’s Association, said the DNR regulations are confusing and difficult to understand, especially when it comes to figuring out what needs to be permitted and where the permit comes from.
“DNR’s requirements are confusing and it’s important for us to understand what needs to be done so we can move forward,” he said. “We, as a community, haven’t gone out specifically breaking the rules, but we want to understand what we need to do to resolve this with the city.”
Anyone applying for a buoy on the lake can use a form called the Joint Aquatic Resource Permit Application to notify and start the process with other agencies which the applicant needs permission from to comply with the state law.
