(1) To preserve, to the fullest extent possible, the scenic, historic, and ecological qualities of the shorelines of Clallam County, in harmony with those uses which are essential to the life of its citizens.

(2) To provide property owners with clear guidelines and requirements for future shoreline development and provide fair and reasonable allowances for the continued use and enjoyment of private property.

(3) To ensure, at minimum, no net loss of shoreline ecological functions and processes, and to promote, where feasible, voluntary and collaborative efforts by government agencies, Tribes, businesses, property owners, and other citizens to restore shorelines that have been impaired or degraded in the past by non-natural events.

(4) To respect the rights of private property owners and the rights of citizens-at-large to use and enjoy shorelines of the State.

(5) To accommodate and give preference to water-dependent uses such as aquaculture and priority uses such as single-family residential uses when they are consistent with the goal of preserving shoreline ecological functions and processes, in accordance with the policy enunciated in RCW 90.58.020.

(6) To discourage development in areas where there is a documented risk of erosion, landslides, flooding, channel migration, or other health or safety hazards.

(7) To facilitate public access to public waters where it will not interfere with private property rights or irreparably harm the ecological quality of those shorelines.

(8) To maintain and protect water quality and quantity for the benefit of people, fish, and wildlife.

(9) To complement and contribute positively to salmon recovery efforts and promote healthy and sustainable salmon populations in the County’s lakes, rivers, and marine waters.

(10) To preserve shorelines for water-dependent and water-related commerce and industry that are essential to the County’s economy, and to discourage interference with established water-oriented use of shorelines.

(11) To channel future commercial and industrial use into shoreline areas already so utilized, or which lend themselves to such use.

(12) To discourage the establishment of new non-water-oriented uses on the shoreline except when they provide substantial public benefit with respect to public access and/or ecological restoration.

(13) To use sound, credible, scientific data and information when making decisions about shoreline use and development so that people, resources and property are protected. Credible scientific information includes but is not limited to the March 2012 Shoreline Inventory and Characterization Report (ICR) for WRIAs 17-19; the May 2012 WRIA 20 Inventory and Characterization Report (ICR); the Countywide Shoreline Restoration Plan; and the SMP Final Cumulative Impact Analysis and No Net Loss Report.

(14) To increase public awareness of sea level rise projections, and tsunami hazard areas and evacuation route maps in coastal areas.

(15) To inform citizens and property owners about information on potential climate change and sea level rise impacts such as the 2015 Climate Change Preparedness Plan for the North Olympic Peninsula, as amended, and the Projected Sea Level Rise in Washington State – A 2018 Assessment.