SURFSIDE ESTATES – In 2000 and 2001 alone, there were 47 new homes constructed in Surfside Estates, which has fueled the debate concerning building heights, the building setback line and possible loss of ocean views.

What sets Surfside Estates apart from other areas of the Peninsula is that the Surfside Estates Homeowners Association has covenants which limit heights for commercial and residential buildings to 16 feet to 28 feet. In addition, within Surfside Estates there are some properties which are described in the homeowners association covenants as “no limit” in regard to a height limit, and for these properties, the maximum height isn’t 28 feet like the rest of Surfside Estates, but at the 35 foot limit set by the county as specified in the county’s shoreline master program.

In addition, there are neighborhoods which are adjacent to Surfside Estates, such as Sea Dunes, which are not bound to the maximum height of 28 feet set by the Surfside Estates Homeowners Association covenants. These neighborhoods can build to the county’s 35 foot maximum height, possibly blocking the views of those already living in Surfside Estates.

In terms of how far west toward the dunes a home has been and can be built in Surfside Estates, this is dictated by a number of factors, including the building setback line.

“The building setback line varies on the Peninsula,” according to Brian Harrison, Pacific County Department of Community Development director. “In Seaview, the building setback line is measured 200 feet east of the 1968 SCL. For everything north of Long Beach on the Peninsula, including Surfside Estates, the building setback line is based on a formula.”

The building setback line is calculated for each and every lot based on a distance between the 1993 grass line and the 1889 line. Prior to the 1993 grass line, the county had the 1983 grass line and before that was the 1976 grass line. So, depending on when a house was constructed it will be further inland or further out. Each time the grass line has been assessed, the building setback line has moved further west, according to Harrison.

Each Surfside Estates homeowner’s deed ultimately dictates how far west a home can be built, though. These deeds can encompass a variety of ownership that is individually tied to each property. For instance, some own out to the seashore conservation line, some own to mean high tide line, while others own out to the 1889 line.

“If someone built their house in 1983 based upon the 1983 grass line, then they may find their neighbor will build based on the 1993 grass line 20 years later, thus blocking a neighbor’s view,” said Harrison. “And this does happen and will continue to happen.”

Harrison said this is another reason to look at freezing the building setback line in order to have more consistency and cited that the further the county pushes that line out, the more chance of contention, plus this sort of jagged line on the ocean front.

“It seems to make more sense to have a solid line,” said Harrison. “If someone has built a home there will be some confidence and reassurance for these people if there is permanent building setback line.”

But, no one should be able to build further out than the county’s building setback line until the county either takes action to amend that setback line or reassess the grass line, contended Harrison, who added that he doesn’t see either happening anytime soon. He said he certainly hopes that the county doesn’t amend either until it gets more information from the Washington Department of Ecology and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding a coastal erosion and accretion study. This is a report on and includes the areas of Ilwaco to Ocean Shores and beyond, he said.

At this time there isn’t any discussion at the county to reestablish the 1993 grass line and subsequently change the building setback line.

“I am not seeing enough accretion to justify this,” said Harrison. “In 1993 there was a lot of demand for us to reassess the grass line since there was a great deal of accretion between 1983 and 1993.”

When the county went out in 1993 and tried to find the 1983 poles or the 1976 survey monuments they were so lost only one was found, according to Harrison, who added that some of those poles were buried.

According to Rene Selig, who is on Surfside Estates Homeowners Association architectural committee, in terms of newer accretions, the county is deeding this land to the upland owners in Surfside Estates and these property owners have agreed not to build on the accretions beyond the 1889 line, which is the upland ownership line.