CITY OF DES MOINES SHORELINE MASTER PROGRAM

Des Moines Shoreline Master Program
POLICIES
1. Public access to the City’s shoreline should be addressed in the City’s Comprehensive Parks
and Recreation Plan.
2. Public access improvements should not result in a net loss of shoreline ecological functions.
3. Priority for access acquisition should consider resource desirability, availability and
proximity of population.
4. Shoreline development by public entities, including local governments, state agencies, and
public utility districts should include improvements or amenities to enhance or provide
public access as part of each development project.
5. Where appropriate, utility and transportation rights of-way on the shoreline should be made
available for public access and use.
6. Publicly owned street ends that abut the shoreline should be retained.
7. The Marina should be examined for its potential to provide additional public access
improvements to the Des Moines shoreline.
8. Where appropriate, shoreline recreational facilities and other public access points should be
connected by trails, bicycle pathways and other access links.
9. Public pedestrian easements and access points should be of a nature and scale that will be
compatible with the abutting and adjacent land use as well as natural features, including
aquatic life.
10. Appropriate signs should be used to designate developed, publicly owned shorelines.
11. Within the shoreline environment, pedestrian and non-motorized access should be
encouraged.
12. Access development should respect and protect ecological and aesthetic values in the
shorelines of the state.
13. Major public access improvements should be designed to meet Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA) standards, while maintaining existing shoreline habitats and ecological systems.
14. Public access to and along the water's edge should be available within publicly owned
shorelines that are tolerant of human activity where municipal liability is an acceptable risk.
None of the above policies should be construed to take precedence over the City’s obligation
to provide for the public safety, to maintain publicly owned properties or to protect the assets
of the City from unacceptable municipal liability.
GOAL
B. Public access development should respect rights of shoreline property owners.
POLICIES
1. Shoreline access and ancillary facilities should be designed and developed in consideration of
adjacent private properties.
Department of Ecology approval effective November 1, 2010
20 Adopted by City of Des Moines Ordinance No. 1502