Private docks and buoys

AN ACT Relating to authorizing additional use of certain private 1
recreational docks and mooring buoys; and amending RCW 79.105.060 and 2
79.105.430. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
Sec. 1. RCW 79.105.060 and 2025 c 151 s 1 are each amended to 5
read as follows: 6
The definitions in this section apply throughout chapters 79.105 7
through 79.145 RCW unless the context clearly requires otherwise.8
(1) "Aquatic lands" means all tidelands, shorelands, harbor 9
areas, and the beds of navigable waters. 10
(2) "Beds of navigable waters" means those lands lying waterward 11
of and below the line of navigability on rivers and lakes not subject 12
to tidal flow, or extreme low tide mark in navigable tidal waters, or 13
the outer harbor line where harbor area has been created.14
(3) "First-class shorelands" means the shores of a navigable lake 15
or river belonging to the state, not subject to tidal flow, lying 16
between the line of ordinary high water and the line of navigability, 17
or inner harbor line where established and within or in front of the 18
corporate limits of any city or within two miles of either side.19
(4) "First-class tidelands" means the shores of navigable tidal 20
waters belonging to the state, lying within or in front of the 21
H-2806.1
HOUSE BILL 2395
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Representatives Peterson and Reed
Read first time 01/13/26. Referred to Committee on Environment &
Energy.
p. 1 HB 2395
corporate limits of any city, or within one mile of either side and 1
between the line of ordinary high tide and the inner harbor line; and 2
within two miles of the corporate limits on either side and between 3
the line of ordinary high tide and the line of extreme low tide.4
(5) "Harbor area" means the area of navigable waters determined 5
as provided in Article XV, section 1 of the state Constitution, which 6
shall be forever reserved for landings, wharves, streets, and other 7
conveniences of navigation and commerce. 8
(6) "Improvements" when referring to state-owned aquatic lands 9
means anything considered a fixture in law placed within, upon, or 10
attached to aquatic lands that has changed the value of those lands, 11
or any changes in the previous condition of the fixtures that changes 12
the value of the land. 13
(7) "Inflation rate" means for a given year the percentage rate 14
of change in the previous calendar year's consumer price index for 15
all urban consumers, all items, for the Seattle metropolitan area as 16
calculated by the United States bureau of labor statistics or its 17
successor agency. For purposes of this subsection, "Seattle 18
metropolitan area" means the geographic area sample that includes 19
Seattle and surrounding areas. 20
(8) "Inner harbor line" means a line located and established in 21
navigable waters between the line of ordinary high tide or ordinary 22
high water and the outer harbor line, constituting the inner boundary 23
of the harbor area. 24
(9) "Log booming" means placing logs into and taking them out of 25
the water, assembling and disassembling log rafts before or after 26
their movement in waterborne commerce, related handling and sorting 27
activities taking place in the water, and the temporary holding of 28
logs to be taken directly into a processing facility. "Log booming" 29
does not include the temporary holding of logs to be taken directly 30
into a vessel. 31
(10) "Log storage" means the water storage of logs in rafts or 32
otherwise prepared for shipment in waterborne commerce, but does not 33
include the temporary holding of logs to be taken directly into a 34
vessel or processing facility. 35
(11) "Nonwater-dependent use" means a use that can operate in a 36
location other than on the waterfront. Examples include, but are not 37
limited to, hotels, condominiums, apartments, restaurants, retail 38
stores, and warehouses not part of a marine terminal or transfer 39
facility. 40
p. 2 HB 2395
(12) "Outer harbor line" means a line located and established in 1
navigable waters as provided in Article XV, section 1 of the state 2
Constitution, beyond which the state shall never sell or lease any 3
rights whatever to private persons. 4
(13) "Person" means any private individual, partnership, 5
association, organization, cooperative, firm, corporation, the state 6
or any agency or political subdivision thereof, any public or 7
municipal corporation, or any unit of government, however designated.8
(14) "Port district" means a port district created under Title 53 9
RCW. 10
(15) "Public utility lines" means pipes, conduits, and similar 11
facilities for distribution of water, electricity, natural gas, 12
telephone, other electronic communication, and sewers, including 13
sewer outfall lines. 14
(16)(a) "Qualified recreational vessel" means a vessel used 15
solely for nonresidential, nonindustrial recreational boating 16
purposes, and includes vessels:17
(i) That are privately owned;18
(ii) Operated under bareboat charters;19
(iii) Operated as part of a timeshare, fractional ownership, or 20
boat-club arrangement; or21
(iv) Registered or documented as commercial vessels when used 22
exclusively for such recreational purposes and not engaged in 23
passenger-for-hire service, industrial service, or use as a residence 24
during the period of moorage.25
(b) "Qualified recreational vessel" does not include vessels used 26
as a place of residence, vessels providing passenger-for-hire 27
service, or vessels engaged in industrial or commercial operations.28
(17) "Real rate of return" means the average for the most recent 29
ten calendar years of the average rate of return on conventional real 30
property mortgages as reported by the federal home loan bank board or 31
any successor agency, minus the average inflation rate for the most 32
recent ten calendar years. 33
(((17))) (18) "Recreational moorage sharing" means the temporary, 34
nonresidential use of a privately-owned dock or mooring buoy located 35
on state-owned aquatic lands by a qualified recreational vessel.36
(19) "Second-class shorelands" means the shores of a navigable 37
lake or river belonging to the state, not subject to tidal flow, 38
lying between the line of ordinary high water and the line of 39
p. 3 HB 2395
navigability, and more than two miles from the corporate limits of 1
any city. 2
(((18))) (20) "Second-class tidelands" means the shores of 3
navigable tidal waters belonging to the state, lying outside of and 4
more than two miles from the corporate limits of any city, and 5
between the line of ordinary high tide and the line of extreme low 6
tide. 7
(((19))) (21) "Shorelands," where not preceded by "first-class" 8
or "second-class," means both first-class shorelands and second-class 9
shorelands. 10
(((20))) (22) "State-owned aquatic lands" means all tidelands, 11
shorelands, harbor areas, the beds of navigable waters, and waterways 12
owned by the state and administered by the department or managed 13
under RCW 79.105.420 by a port district. "State-owned aquatic lands" 14
does not include aquatic lands owned in fee by, or withdrawn for the 15
use of, state agencies other than the department. 16
(((21))) (23) "Terminal" means a point of interchange between 17
land and water carriers, such as a pier, wharf, or group of such, 18
equipped with facilities for care and handling of either cargo or 19
passengers, or both. 20
(((22))) (24) "Tidelands," where not preceded by "first-class" or 21
"second-class," means both first-class tidelands and second-class 22
tidelands. 23
(((23))) (25) "Valuable materials" when referring to state-owned 24
aquatic lands means any product or material within or upon lands, 25
such as forest products, forage, stone, gravel, sand, peat, 26
agricultural crops, and all other materials of value except mineral, 27
coal, petroleum, and gas as provided for under chapter 79.14 RCW. 28
However, RCW 79.140.190 and 79.140.200 also apply to materials 29
provided for under chapter 79.14 RCW. 30
(((24))) (26)(a) "Water-dependent use" means a use that cannot 31
logically exist in any location but on the water. Examples include, 32
but are not limited to: Waterborne commerce; terminal and transfer 33
facilities; ferry terminals; watercraft sales in conjunction with 34
other water-dependent uses; watercraft construction, repair, and 35
maintenance; moorage and launching facilities; aquaculture; log 36
booming; and public fishing piers and parks. 37
(b) "Water-dependent use" includes a vessel or any other floating 38
structure, other than a floating home as defined in RCW 90.58.270(5): 39
(i) That is designed or used primarily as a residence on the water 40
p. 4 HB 2395
and has detachable utilities; and (ii) whose owner or primary 1
occupant has held an ownership interest in a marina, or has held a 2
lease or sublease to use space in a marina, since a date prior to 3
July 1, 2014. Any rule making necessary under this subsection 4
(((24))) (26)(b) is not subject to the requirements of RCW 5
43.21C.030(2)(c). 6
(((25)))(27) "Water-oriented use" means a use that historically 7
has been dependent on a waterfront location, but with existing 8
technology could be located away from the waterfront. Examples 9
include, but are not limited to, wood products manufacturing, 10
watercraft sales, fish processing, petroleum refining, sand and 11
gravel processing, log storage, and a floating home as defined in RCW 12
90.58.270(5)(b)(ii). For the purposes of determining rent under this 13
chapter, water-oriented uses shall be classified as water-dependent 14
uses if the activity either is conducted on state-owned aquatic lands 15
leased on October 1, 1984, or was actually conducted on the state-16
owned aquatic lands for at least three years before October 1, 1984. 17
If, after October 1, 1984, the activity is changed to a use other 18
than a water-dependent use, the activity shall be classified as a 19
nonwater-dependent use. If continuation of the existing use requires 20
leasing additional state-owned aquatic lands and is permitted under 21
the shoreline management act of 1971, chapter 90.58 RCW, the 22
department may allow reasonable expansion of the water-oriented use.23
Sec. 2. RCW 79.105.430 and 2005 c 155 s 106 are each amended to 24
read as follows: 25
(1) The abutting residential owner to state-owned shorelands, 26
tidelands, or related beds of navigable waters, other than harbor 27
areas, may install and maintain without charge a dock on the areas if 28
used exclusively for private recreational purposes and the area is 29
not subject to prior rights, including any rights of upland, 30
tideland, or shoreland owners as provided in RCW 79.125.400, 31
79.125.460, 79.125.410, and 79.130.010. The dock cannot be sold or 32
leased separately from the upland residence. The dock cannot be used 33
to moor boats for commercial or residential use. This permission is 34
subject to applicable local, state, and federal rules and regulations 35
governing location, design, construction, size, and length of the 36
dock. Nothing in this subsection (1) prevents the abutting owner from 37
obtaining a lease if otherwise provided by law. 38
p. 5 HB 2395
(2) The abutting residential owner to state-owned shorelands, 1
tidelands, or related beds of navigable waters, other than harbor 2
areas, may install and maintain a mooring buoy without charge if the 3
boat that is moored to the buoy is used for private recreational 4
purposes, the area is not subject to prior rights, including any 5
rights of upland, tideland, or shoreland owners as provided in RCW 6
79.125.400, 79.125.460, 79.125.410, and 79.130.010, and the buoy will 7
not obstruct the use of mooring buoys previously authorized by the 8
department. 9
(a) The buoy must be located as near to the upland residence as 10
practical, consistent with applicable rules and regulations and the 11
provisions of this section. The buoy must be located, or relocated if 12
necessary, to accommodate the use of lawfully installed and 13
maintained buoys. 14
(b) If two or more residential owners, who otherwise qualify for 15
free use under the provisions of this section, are in dispute over 16
assertion of rights to install and maintain a mooring buoy in the 17
same location, they may seek formal settlement through adjudication 18
in superior court for the county in which the buoy site is located. 19
In the adjudication, preference must be given to the residential 20
owner that first installed and continually maintained and used a buoy 21
on that site, if it meets all applicable rules, regulations, and 22
provisions of this section, and then to the owner of the residential 23
property nearest the site. Nothing in this section requires the 24
department to mediate or otherwise resolve disputes between 25
residential owners over the use of the same site for a mooring buoy.26
(c) The buoy cannot be sold or leased separately from the 27
abutting residential property. The buoy cannot be used to moor boats 28
for commercial or residential use, nor to moor boats over sixty feet 29
in length. 30
(d) If the department determines that it is necessary for secure 31
moorage, the abutting residential owner may install and maintain a 32
second mooring buoy, under the same provisions as the first, the use 33
of which is limited to a second mooring line to the boat moored at 34
the first buoy. 35
(e) The permission granted in this subsection (2) is subject to 36
applicable local, state, and federal rules and regulations governing 37
location, design, installation, maintenance, and operation of the 38
mooring buoy, anchoring system, and moored boat. Nothing in this 39
subsection (2) prevents a boat owner from obtaining a lease if 40
p. 6 HB 2395
otherwise provided by law. This subsection (2) also applies to areas 1
that have been designated by the commissioner or the fish and 2
wildlife commission as aquatic reserves. 3
(3) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2) of this section, an 4
abutting residential owner may permit recreational moorage sharing at 5
a dock or mooring buoy authorized under this section if the owner 6
maintains all registrations and permits required by the department, 7
and any other applicable authority, and such moorage sharing is 8
limited to:9
(a) Only qualified recreational vessels;10
(b) Individual stays that do not exceed seven consecutive days;11
(c) Combined stays during a calendar year for a qualified 12
recreational vessel that do not exceed a total of 90 days; and13
(d) Total annual receipts from such use that do not exceed three 14
times the owner's documented, actual maintenance costs for such dock 15
or mooring buoy in the preceding 12-month period.16
(4) Recreational moorage sharing that complies with subsection 17
(3) of this section does not:18
(a) Constitute a commercial use of state-owned aquatic lands;19
(b) Create a lease or tenancy separate from the upland residence; 20
or21
(c) Subject such dock or mooring buoy to the department's leasing 22
and authorization requirements.23
(5) This permission to install and maintain a recreational dock 24
or mooring buoy may be revoked by the department, or the department 25
may direct the owner of a recreational dock or mooring buoy to 26
relocate their dock or buoy, if the department makes a finding of 27
public necessity to protect waterward access, ingress rights of other 28
landowners, public health or safety, or public resources. 29
Circumstances prompting a finding of public necessity may include, 30
but are not limited to, the dock, buoy, anchoring system, or boat 31
posing a hazard or obstruction to navigation or fishing, contributing 32
to degradation of aquatic habitat, or contributing to decertification 33
of shellfish beds otherwise suitable for commercial or recreational 34
harvest. The revocation may be appealed as provided for under RCW 35
79.105.160. 36
(((4))) (6) Nothing in this section authorizes a boat owner to 37
abandon a vessel at a recreational dock, mooring buoy, or elsewhere.38
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p. 7 HB 2395