Beaches and dunes are the physical environments at the very edge of the sea. These are highly dynamic places in which sand and gravel are moved by wind, waves, and currents. Beaches and dunes serve as buffers between the energy of the ocean and the land. Beaches and dunes also provide the public with recreational opportunities and draw scores of visitors to Oregon each year.
Statewide Planning Goal 18: Beaches and Dunes focuses on conserving and protecting Oregon's beach and dune resources, and on recognizing and reducing exposure to hazards in this ever-changing environment. Goal 18 is central to the work of coastal communities in addressing the impacts of coastal hazards and future conditions of the ocean shore.
Local governments are required to inventory beaches and dunes and describe the stability, movement, groundwater resources, hazards, and values of the beach, dune, and interdune areas. Local governments must then apply appropriate beach and dune policies for use in these areas.
Goal 18 requirements include:
Prohibition Areas
Goal 18 prohibits development on the most sensitive and hazardous landforms along the coastal shoreline, including beaches, active foredunes, and other dune areas subject to severe erosion or flooding. This requirement has been instrumental in preventing unsuitable development on these critical landforms.
Shoreline Armoring
Goal 18 limits the placement of beachfront protective structures to shoreline areas that were developed prior to 1977. “Beachfront protective structures” refers to shoreline armoring techniques such as riprap and seawalls. This policy effectively places a cap on the amount of ocean shore that may be hardened and thus limits the cumulative impacts of such hardening.
Shoreline armoring can cause scouring and lowering of the beach profile, which can result over time in the loss of access to Oregon's public beaches. New developments must account for shoreline erosion through non-structural approaches, such as increased setbacks. In the face of increased ocean erosion occurring in conjunction with climate change and sea level rise, limiting hard structures and allowing natural shoreline migration is a critical policy tool for conserving and maintaining Oregon's ocean beaches.
Guidebook on Erosion Control Practices of the Oregon Coast
Dune Grading
Goal 18 includes specific requirements for foredune grading — the technical term for lowering dunes. Such grading is permitted in limited circumstances in association with existing development. It must be based on a dune system management plan, acknowledged by DLCD, that prescribes standards for maintaining flood protection, maintaining overall system sand supply, and post-grading sand stabilization (e.g. planting of beach grass). There are currently six official dune management plans in place in Oregon.
Ocean Shore Regulation
Oregon's ocean beaches are managed by the
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) which has an extensive permitting program for shoreline protection under
ORS 390.605 – 390.770, also known as the "Beach Bill." OPRD regulates activities affecting the ocean shorelands west of the statutory vegetation line or the line of established vegetation, whichever is most landward. This includes beachfront protective structures, stairways, walkways, or other structures than encroach on the public beach. OPRD’s permitted activities account for the Oregon Department of State Lands’ regulations on removal and fill activities. Permitted activities must be consistent with the Statewide Planning Goals, local comprehensive plans, and with the
OPRD Ocean Shores Management Plan.
Original Adoption: 12/18/76; Effective: 6/7/77
Amended: 10/11/84; Effective: 10/19/84
Amended: 2/17/88; Effective: 3/31/88
Read the full text version of Goal 18.
Administrative Rules that implement Goal 18:
OAR 660-034 – State and Local Parks Planning
OAR 660-035 – Federal Consistency
OAR 660-004-0022 – Interpretation of the Goal 2 Exception Process
Related:
Coastal Goals
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
Oregon Department of State Lands
Ocean Shores Management Plan