Chapter 17.10
DEFINITIONS
Sections:
17.10.010 Construction of provisions.
17.10.160 Development engineer.
17.10.190 Homeowners’ association.
17.10.390 Short plat, nonbuilding.
17.10.400 Short plat, preliminary.
17.10.010 Construction of provisions.
(1) The definitions described in this chapter shall be used in the interpretation of this title.
(2) Tense. Words used in the present tense include the future.
(3) Singular Words. Words in the singular number include the plural and words in the plural include the singular. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.020 Access panhandle.
“Access panhandle” means a strip of land having a width narrower than that of the lot, tract, or parcel to be served thereby and designed for the purpose of providing access to a lot, tract or parcel. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.030 Access tract.
“Access tract” means a piece of real property with dimensions less than the minimum zone requirement, jointly owned by the fee owners of more than one lot which abuts the tract and which is intended to provide ingress, egress or utility access. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.040 Acreage.
(1) “Five acres” means five acres or one-hundred-twenty-eighth of the section in which the property is located, including, in addition, up to 30 feet, but no more than one-half of the right-of-way of any perimeter public street.
(2) “Ten acres” means 10 acres or one-sixty-fourth of the section in which the property is located, including, in addition, up to 30 feet, but no more than one-half of the right-of-way of any perimeter public street.
(3) “Twenty acres” means 20 acres or one one-thirty-second of the section in which the property is located, including, in addition, up to 30 feet, but not more than one-half of any perimeter public street. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.050 Active recreation.
“Active recreation” means and includes all outdoor recreational activities which involve field and court games, such as, but not limited to football, soccer, rugby, tennis, baseball and softball. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.060 Alley.
An “alley” means a strip of land dedicated to public use, less than 21 feet wide, between property lines, which provides access to adjacent properties. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.070 Alteration.
“Alteration” means the modification of a previously recorded plat or short plat, or any portion thereof, which results in the revision of interior lot lines, the addition of new lots or more land, deletion of existing lots or the removal of plat or lot restrictions or dedications. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.080 Binding site plan.
“Binding site plan” means a plan of a residential condominium project drawn to scale processed in accordance with the provisions of this title, which:
(1) Identifies and shows the areas and locations of all streets, roads, improvements, utilities, open spaces, parking areas, landscaped areas and building envelopes;
(2) Contains inscriptions or attachments setting forth such appropriate limitations and conditions for the use of the land as are established by the city of Burien;
(3) Contains provisions requiring any development or division of land to be in conformity with the approved site plan. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.090 Bond.
“Bond” means a surety bond, cash deposit, escrow account assignment of savings, irrevocable letter of credit or other means acceptable to, or required by, the city to guarantee work is in compliance with all applicable requirements. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.100 Buffer strip.
“Buffer strip” means an area or strip of land located and planted with trees and shrubs to provide a screen between residential areas and business, commercial and industrial areas. Parks, playground and the sites of public buildings are sometimes used as buffers. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.110 Crosswalkway.
“Crosswalkway” means a right-of-way dedicated to public use, 10 feet or more in width, which cuts across a block to facilitate pedestrian access to adjacent streets and properties. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.120 Cul-de-sac.
“Cul-de-sac” means a short street having one end open to traffic and being permanently terminated by a vehicle turnaround. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.130 Department.
“Department” means the city of Burien department of community development. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.140 Dedication.
“Dedication” means a conveyance of land to the city of Burien or another municipal corporation or public agency where the owner of the land transfers it to some public use through a clause or covenant in a deed or some other instrument of conveyance or on a duly filed plat. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.150 Developer.
“Developer” means any person, firm, partnership, association, joint venture or corporation or any other entity or combination of entities or successors thereto who undertakes to subdivide for the purpose of resale and commercial profit. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.160 Development engineer.
“Development engineer” means the city of Burien designated individual authorized to oversee the review, conditioning, inspection and acceptance of right-of-way use permits, road and drainage projects constructed pursuant to permits administered by the department. The development engineer or designee shall be a professional civil engineer registered and licensed under the laws of the state of Washington. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.170 Easement.
“Easement” means a grant by the property owner of the use of a strip of land by the public, corporation or persons for specific purposes. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.180 Final plat.
“Final plat” means a map or chart of a subdivision of land which has been accurately surveyed, and such survey marked on the ground so that streets, alleys, blocks, lots and other divisions thereof can be identified, and which has been approved in accordance with this title. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.190 Homeowners’ association.
“Homeowners’ association” means any combination or grouping of persons or any association, corporation or other entity which represents homeowners residing in a short subdivision or subdivision; provided, that a homeowners’ association need not have any official status as a separate legal entity under the laws of the state of Washington. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.200 Improvements.
“Improvements” refers to streets, with or without curbs or gutters, sidewalks, crosswalks, water mains, sanitary and storm sewers, street trees and other appropriate items. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.210 Land surveyor.
“Land surveyor” means an individual licensed as a land surveyor pursuant to Chapter 18.43 RCW, Professional Engineers Registration Act. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.220 Major street.
“Major street” means a street of limited continuity which serves or is intended to serve the local needs of a neighborhood. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.230 Manager.
“Manager” means the director of the city of Burien department of community development. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.240 Master plan.
“Master plan” means the comprehensive plan made and adopted by the planning commission, indicating the general locations recommended for streets, parks, public buildings, zoning districts, and all other pubic improvements. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.250 Material error.
“Material error” means an error in fact or an omission of substantive information in preliminary subdivision or short subdivision application, or supplementary studies, supplied to the county, which would constitute the basis for a decision. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.260 Minor street.
“Minor street” means a street supplementary to a major street, such as side streets, loop streets and cul-de-sacs. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.270 Neighborhood park.
“Neighborhood park” means a small park of five to 10 acres in size which is designed to serve the open space and recreational needs of the immediately surrounding residents within a radius of approximately one-half to one mile. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.280 Owner.
“Owner” means a natural person, firm, association, partnership, private corporation, public or quasi-public corporation, or combination of any of them. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.290 Ownership interest.
“Ownership interest” means having property rights as a fee owner, contract purchaser, mortgagee, or deed of trust beneficiary or grantor. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.300 Park service area.
“Park service area” means an area roughly approximate to elementary school boundaries, to be established by the city of Burien, within which reservation or dedication of land and fees are received from new residential developments and utilized for the creation and enhancement of parks, open spaces and recreational facilities for the benefit of residents within the service area. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.310 Plat, preliminary.
“Preliminary plat” means an accurate drawing of a proposed subdivision showing the general layout of streets and alleys, lots, tracts and other elements of a subdivision consistent with the requirements of this title and Chapter 58.17 RCW, Plats – Subdivisions – Dedications. The preliminary plat shall be the basis for the approval or disapproval of the subdivision’s general layout. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.320 Primary highway.
“Primary highway” means a street or section line road of great continuity which serves or is intended to serve as a major trafficway within the county and is designated in the master plan as a limited access highway, major thoroughfare, parkway or other equivalent term to identify those highways comprising that basin structure of the highway plan. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.330 Private road.
“Private road” means a private vehicular access provided for by an access tract, easement or other legal means, which serves two or more lots. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.340 Reservation.
“Reservation” means the act by which the grantor of land creates and reserves to a homeowners’ association, through a clause or covenant in a deed or some other instrument of conveyance or on a duly filed plat map, some right or interest which had no previous existence as such. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.350 Secondary highway.
“Secondary highway” means a highway or street of considerable continuity which serves or is intended to serve as the principal traffic between large and separated areas or districts and which is the main means of access to the primary street or road system. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.360 Separate lot.
“Separate lot” means a physically separate and distinct parcel of property, which has been created through one of the following processes:
(1) The lot was created in compliance with the subdivision or short subdivision laws in effect at the time of creation of the lot;
(2) The lot has been recognized as a lot pursuant to BMC 17.15.130, lots created in violation of this title; or
(3) The lot is a portion of a lot created through the processes cited in subsections (1) or (2) of this section that is separated from the remainder of the lot by one of the following:
(a) A public road right-of-way, or
(b) Shorelines, or
(c) Another separate lot, or a tract, including railroad or public utility owned rights-of-way, publicly owned property or other parcels recognized by the department pursuant to BMC 17.15.010. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.370 Shall.
“Shall” is mandatory and not directory. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.380 Short plat, final.
“Final short plat” means an accurate map of a short subdivision. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.390 Short plat, nonbuilding.
“Nonbuilding short plat” means a short plat or lot(s) within a short plat for which a declaration of covenant prohibits improvements upon the land for the purpose of human habitation. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.400 Short plat, preliminary.
“Preliminary short plat” means a map indicating a proposed short subdivision of land. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.410 Short subdivision.
“Short subdivision” means the administrative approval of the division or redivision of land into four or fewer lots for the purpose of sale or transfer of ownership pursuant to Chapter 17.35 BMC. A short subdivision also may include any number of tracts for ingress, egress, utilities, open space preservation or other approved public purpose. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.420 Street.
“Street” means a right-of-way dedicated to the public use, which provides vehicular and pedestrian access to adjacent properties. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.430 Subdivider.
“Subdivider” means a person who undertakes the subdividing or the resubdividing of a lot, tract or parcel of land into two or more lots or other divisions of land for the purpose, immediate or future, of transfer of ownership or development including all changes in street or lot lines. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.440 Subdivision.
“Subdivision” means the division or redivision of land into two or more lots for the purpose of sale, lease or transfer of ownership, except as provided by the short subdivision of two to four lots. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]
17.10.450 Tract.
“Tract” means land reserved for special uses such as open space, surface water retention, utilities or access. Tracts are not counted as lots nor considered as residential building sites except as allowed under the lot clustering provisions of the city of Burien. [Ord. 29 § 1(3), 1993]