Households along shorelines are finding themselves subject to policy hindering their ability to acquire insurance or face difficulties selling their home. The Senate unanimously passed legislation today, sponsored by State Senator Kevin Ranker, D-San Juan Island, to help families in this effort.

Under local shoreline master programs along Washington’s coastline, if a shoreline buffer changes over time, residential structures already in existence could be defined as “nonconforming use.”

For residents, this can spell an increase in premiums and can even affect the marketability of a home for sale on the market.

Senate Bill 5451 simply removes the designation “nonconforming use” from residential shoreline evaluation.

The bill is narrowly tailored out of ecological considerations. It would not affect any ecological and environmental protections found within any shoreline master program, as programs clearly state what can and can not be done.

Said Ranker, “Our goal is to streamline a policy that has proven itself harmful to families up and down Washington’s coastline – and to do so without environmental degradation. With this narrowly crafted legislation, we have achieved that goal.”

The bill now heads to the House of Representatives for further consideration.