Where/how to get Washington tidal rights? (lease, assessor)

[MechAndy]

We are on the water (a salt water bay place) and would like to own the tidal rights for our property.
They apparently expired when the original home owner died.
We bought from their estate.
My realtor didn’t know the answer.
I googled the heck out of it but could not find an answer.
It’s a pretty secluded area and I just want the rights for privacy and to do aqua culture.
I’d also wouldn’t like a mooring buoy planted in my back yard.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

[Diana Holbrook]

If the previous landowner owned them, I’m not sure why the title to the tidelands did not transfer… They did on our beach property when we purchased it from our grandparents estate.

I would call a local title company and start there in asking this question…

I heard stories growing up about my grandfather going down and bidding on the courthouse steps for his tidal rights.

It is possible that they are now more closely controlled by the state than they used to be and not offered up for private ownership. Like water rights you don’t hear of them transferring with very many properties.

But if you look at the assessor maps online you can see that there are a few properties that extend beyond the water line.

[Ruth4Truth]

Andy, I don't understand how you can have tidal rights in a region (the NW), where the tribes by law have the right to harvest shellfish in tidal zones across the board. Homeowner tidal rights would be illegal. Even if you somehow were able to get a document saying you had tidal rights, it would never hold up if challenged in court by Native shellfish harvesters.

You can't chase Native people off your tidal zone for exercising their treaty rights. Treaty rights are "the supreme law of the land", as characterized in Federal Indian Law, and shellfish harvesting from all tidal zones was specifically protected in US v. Washington. As to whether you could chase non-Natives off your tidal zone, I couldn't say. As you probably know, in CA all tidal zones are open to the public. I think WA has a similar law on the books, but I couldn't swear to it.

[Diana Holbrook]

It is true that Washington beaches are public and it is illegal to block anyone from crossing or being on the beach in front of your property… You can however of course limit access from the land to the beach through your property.

FWIW - You also don’t need to own the tidelands in order to anchor a buoy out in front of your property.

[xPlorer48]

My grandparents owned waterfront property on Whidbey Island from 1963 until 1989. Their deed stated that they owned out to the lowest tidal mark. Most deeds said lowest mean tidal mark. They had a contract with Penn Cove mussel farms to lease their tidelands to grow mussels.

[alaskaflyer]

Originally Posted by Diana Holbrook

It is true that Washington beaches are public and it is illegal to block anyone from crossing or being on the beach in front of your property… You can however of course limit access from the land to the beach through your property.

FWIW - You also don’t need to own the tidelands in order to anchor a buoy out in front of your property.

I think the concern was someone else placing a mooring buoy in front of the property.

[Diana Holbrook]

Originally Posted by alaskaflyer

I think the concern was someone else placing a mooring buoy in front of the property.

You're right... I see that now. I don't think there's anything that would prevent that. Anyone could come and anchor out front, anywhere they want. People usually *don't* do that if there's no reason to be there, but they could.

[Diana Holbrook]

Originally Posted by xPlorer48

My grandparents owned waterfront property on Whidbey Island from 1963 until 1989. Their deed stated that they owned out to the lowest tidal mark. Most deeds said lowest mean tidal mark. They had a contract with Penn Cove mussel farms to lease their tidelands to grow mussels.

Right... when I look at waterfront properties on Assessor site or on the MLS, the properties vary in how far out into the water they go. Some are at the mean HIGH water mark. Some extend out to the low water mark or beyond. It is not consistent. And while these lines are not surveys by any means, they're often off by half.... but I think they do indicate that some of these properties own the tidelands, and some do not.

[alaskaflyer]

It sounds to me that a life estate may have been in force for the tidelands in question; either it was conveyed to the life tenant at the time of purchase by the state instead of using a more typical property interest, or it was the result of some legal action such as a lawsuit to resolve a conflict over property rights, probably decades ago.

A deed should describe who the remainderman is, whether it is the state (managed by DNR) or some other private party such as a corporation. If it is the state the chance to purchase is roughly nil, as it is now prohibited by state law to sell state tidelands.

As for owning tidelands subject to native treaties, the law is clear that both can be in force at the same time. You can own second class tidelands, but your ownership is subject to native rights to collect certain things at a certain percentage at certain times, and also - maybe - public trust doctrine allowing public access for movement.

[Dendrite]

Originally Posted by MechAndy

We are on the water (a salt water bay place) and would like to own the tidal rights for our property.
They apparently expired when the original home owner died.
We bought from their estate.
My realtor didn’t know the answer.
I googled the heck out of it but could not find an answer.
It’s a pretty secluded area and I just want the rights for privacy and to do aqua culture.
I’d also wouldn’t like a mooring buoy planted in my back yard.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

Hi Andy:

It’s my understanding that the tribe (S’Klallam) owns the tideland rights on the bay but I could be wrong and I’m not sure how much of an area this covers. It could just be the far end of the bay (down by the casino). You might give their administrative office a call or stop in there as you drive by. Another option would be to check with the Clallam County Assessors offiice (or Planning and Zoning). They might have a map they could pull up in their system to help you figure this out.