Renton’s revised shoreline regulations are now in the hands of the state ecology department, after a years-long review.

The regulations in the city’s Shoreline Management Program cover shorelines bordering on Lake Washington, the Cedar River, Springbrook Creek and May Creek.

For those who live or own a business on those shorelines, the rules potentially affect how they can develop or redevelop their property. On the other hand, cities with shorelines of the state are required to protect them, based on state regulations in place for about 40 years.

“Our guiding principle has been to find balance,” said Chip Vincent, Renton’s planning director, at Monday night’s Committee of the Whole meeting of the City Council, where council members debated the issue for about 90 minutes.

At its regular meeting following, the City Council on a voice vote agreed to send the regulations to the Washington state Department of Ecology for review, which will include a community meeting in Renton.

The ecology department can accept the revised regulations, send them back with modifications or reject them outright, which typically doesn’t happen, said Larry Altose, an ecology department spokesman.

Final City Council approval will come sometime next year when it’s presented the regulations in ordinance form.

The rules cover such uses as docks and bulkheads, public access to public waterways and the size of buffers or setbacks designed to protect those waterways from development encroachment.

A citizens group, the Renton Shoreline Coalition, was incorporated in May to represent property owners in the city’s review of the regulations.

The group and others, including two attorneys for major landowners, at Monday night’s council meeting made the point the regulations weren’t ready for state review.

The City of Renton’s Web site has extensive information on the city’s Shoreline Master Program and the current review.