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Policies and Plans

Coastal Goals

The comprehensive plans and land use regulations for coastal communities address Goal 16, Estuaries; Goal 17 Coastal Shorelands; and Goal 18 Beaches and Dunes. Ocean Resources are covered by Goal 19, which is the responsibility of the state and federal governments rather than local communities. The Coastal Goals page provides an overview of these planning goals and how they are implemented by coastal communities.

Estuary Planning

The aim of Oregon Statewide Planning Goal 16 is to protect the long-term values, diversity, and benefits of estuaries and associated wetlands. At the same time, the goal directs local governments to provide for appropriate restoration and development of these resources. The goal relies on a classification system that specifies the level of development allowed in each estuary.

Learn more about Oregon's estuaries and the management units that are used in local land use planning.

Ocean Planning

Ocean planning in Oregon is focused on protecting marine resources and the ecological functions that provide long-term economic and social benefits for all Oregonians. Maritime activities, like fishing, recreation, tourism, transportation, scientific research and education, traditional cultural practices, and sight-seeing are important to the State and local economies. The ocean is a large, publicly owned area where many different uses are supported. The goal of ocean planning is to reduce conflict between these wide ranging activities and ensure that they are carried out in a sustainable manner.

The Ocean Planning page provides publications and resources to support ocean planning activities in Oregon including the Ocean Plan and the Territorial Sea Plan. This page also includes brief descriptions of related special topics such as rocky shores management, oil and gas leasing, marine reserves, and marine renewable energy.

Tsunami Planning

The greatest hazard facing the Oregon coast is a Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) earthquake and tsunami that could occur at any time. It is important that all Oregonians understand and are prepared for this. The Oregon Coastal Management Program (OCMP) is coordinating with coastal communities to help them prepare for a local Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) tsunami through land use planning.

Learn about tsunami work happening now on the Oregon coast.

Enforceable Policies

OCMP is made up of 40 partners at the county and city level and 11 state agency partners. Each local entity has documents governing how they operate and guiding how they administer land use in their community. Each state agency has chapters of statutes guiding operations and helping them administer state law. These documents include comprehensive plans and land use regulations, state statutes, and statewide planning goals. DLCD incorporates the documents in their entirety into the Program.

Within the various statutes, goals, plans, and ordinances only certain elements meet the criteria to be used for federal consistency review. These special policies are called enforceable policies. This page provides the answers to frequently asked questions about enforceable policies and lists of the policies by type and location.

Program Correspondence

The Program Correspondence page provides important letters that may be of interest to our network partners or the interested public. The letters are exclusively from the OCMP Program Manager, the DLCD's Director’s office, letters written jointly with other state agencies, and in some instances the Governor's office.