Chapter 17.21
CRITICAL AREAS – GENERAL/DEFINITIONS
Sections:
17.21.010 Purpose and authority.
17.21.050 Multiple designations.
17.21.080 Preliminary consultation.
17.21.082 Critical area studies.
17.21.088 Nonconforming development.
17.21.089 Administrative rules.
17.21.010 Purpose and authority.
A. These sections establish regulations pertaining to the development of critical areas, as required under the Growth Management Act of 1990 (Chapter 36.70A RCW). State guidelines for classification and protective methods for critical areas are addressed in Chapter 365-190 WAC. “Critical areas” are wetland areas, aquifer recharge areas, frequently flooded areas, geologically hazardous areas, and fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas.
B. The purpose of these local regulations is to protect the environmentally sensitive resources of the city of Chehalis by establishing minimum standards for development of properties which contain or adjoin environmentally sensitive features and thus protect the public health, safety and welfare in regard to critical areas. The city is classifying all required categories of critical areas throughout the city and implementing development regulations to address these areas through these chapters. These standards serve to preclude land uses and developments which are incompatible with critical areas by:
1. Protecting the public from personal injury, loss of life or property damage due to flooding, erosion, landslides, seismic events, or soil subsidence;
2. Protecting against publicly financed expenditures to address improper use or improper management of critical areas;
3. Preventing degradation of the natural environment;
4. Protecting unique, fragile, and valuable elements of the environment;
5. Including the best available science in developing policies and development regulations to protect the functions and values of critical areas;
6. Giving special consideration to conservation or protection measures necessary to preserve or enhance anadromous fisheries;
7. Alerting property owners, potential buyers or lessees, appraisers, assessors, and others to the existence of and the development limitations of critical areas;
8. Providing city officials with sufficient information to adequately protect critical areas when approving, conditioning or denying public or private development proposals;
9. Meeting the requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program and maintaining Chehalis as an eligible community for federal flood insurance benefits. [Ord. 849B § 2, 2009.]
17.21.020 Applicability.
This chapter establishes designations and regulations for the protection of all properties which are critical areas. Properties listed, identified, designated, classified or rated as critical areas are those so designated on the resource maps referenced in this chapter, or by separate studies which indicate that all or portions of a particular area or specific site are environmentally sensitive or critical areas. A site-specific analysis which indicates that any element regulated by this chapter is present will result in a property being classified as an environmentally sensitive critical area. Land uses or developments proposed on or adjacent to sites which are critical areas shall comply with the provisions of this chapter. “Critical areas” are wetlands, frequently flooded areas, critical aquifer recharge areas, geologically hazardous areas, and critical fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas. [Ord. 849B § 2, 2009.]
17.21.030 Definitions.
Definitions of terms used in this chapter are:
“Accessory structure” means a structure that is incidental and subordinate to a primary use. Barns, garages, storage sheds, and similar structures are examples.
“Activity” means human activity associated with the use of land or resources.
“Adaptive management” means using scientific methods to evaluate how well regulatory and nonregulatory actions protect the critical area. An adaptive management program is a formal and deliberate scientific approach to taking action and obtaining information in the face of uncertainty. Management policy may be adapted based on a periodic review of new information.
“Agricultural activities” means those activities directly pertaining to the production of crops or livestock including, but not limited to, cultivation, harvest, grazing, animal waste storage and disposal, fertilization, the operation and maintenance of farm and stock ponds or drainage ditches, irrigation systems, canals, and normal maintenance, repair, or operation of existing serviceable structures, facilities, or improved areas. Activities that bring an area into agricultural use are not agricultural activities.
“Agricultural land” is land primarily devoted to the commercial production of horticultural, viticultural, floricultural, dairy, apiary, or animal products, or of berries, grain, hay, straw, turf, seed, Christmas trees not subject to the excise tax imposed by RCW 84.33.100 through 84.33.140, or livestock, and/or lands that have been designated as capable of producing food and fiber, which have not been developed for urban density housing, business, or other uses incompatible with agricultural activity.
“Alluvial fan” means a fan-shaped deposit of sediment and organic debris formed where a stream flows or has flowed out of a mountainous upland onto a level plain or valley floor because of a sudden change in sediment transport capacity (e.g., significant change in slope or confinement).
“Alluvium” is a general term for clay, silt, sand, gravel, or similar other unconsolidated detrital materials, deposited during comparatively recent geologic time by a stream or other body of running water, as a sorted or semi-sorted sediment in the bed of the stream or on its floodplain or delta.
“Alteration” means any human-induced change in an existing condition of a critical area or its buffer. Alterations include but are not limited to grading, filling, channelizing, dredging, clearing (vegetation), draining, construction, compaction, excavation, or any other activity that changes the character of the critical area.
“Anadromous fish” means fish species that spend most of their life cycle in salt water, but return to freshwater to reproduce.
“Aquifer” means a geologic formation, group of formations, or part of a formation capable of yielding a significant amount of groundwater to wells or springs (Chapter 173-160 WAC).
“Aquifer susceptibility” means the ease with which contaminants can move from the land surface to the aquifer based solely on the types of surface and subsurface materials in the area. Susceptibility usually defines the rate at which a contaminant will reach an aquifer unimpeded by chemical interactions with the vadose zone media.
“Aquifer vulnerability” is the combined effect of susceptibility to contamination and the presence of potential contaminants.
“Base flood” is a flood event having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year, also referred to as the 100-year flood. Designations of base flood areas on flood insurance map(s) always include the letters A (zone subject to flooding during a 100-year flood, but less so than V zones) or V (zone subject to the highest flows, wave action, and erosion during a 100-year flood).
“Bedrock” is a general term for rock, typically hard, consolidated geologic material that underlies soil or other unconsolidated, superficial material or is exposed at the surface.
“Best available science” means information from research, inventory, monitoring, surveys, modeling, synthesis, expert opinion, and assessment that is used to designate, protect, or restore critical areas. As defined by WAC 365-195-900 through 365-195-925, best available science is derived from a process that includes peer-reviewed literature, standard methods, logical conclusions and reasonable inferences, quantitative analysis, and documented references to produce reliable information.
“Best management practices” means conservation practices or systems of practices and management measures that reflect the current scientific and technical consensus on the best or most effective means of addressing adverse effects upon a resource.
“Buffer” means the area adjacent to the outer boundaries of a critical area, such as wetlands; habitat conservation (streams, marine shorelines habitat areas); and/or landslide hazard areas, that provides an area for related ecological functions to take place and/or separates and protects critical areas from adverse impacts associated with adjacent land uses.
“Channel migration zone” means the area along a river or stream within which the channel can reasonably be expected to migrate over time as a result of normally occurring processes. It encompasses that area of current and historic lateral stream channel movement that is subject to erosion, bank destabilization, rapid stream incision, and/or channel shifting, as well as adjacent areas that are susceptible to channel erosion.
“City” means the city of Chehalis, Washington.
“Clearing” means the removal of vegetation or plant cover by manual, chemical, or mechanical means. Clearing includes, but is not limited to, actions such as cutting, felling, thinning, flooding, killing, poisoning, girdling, uprooting, or burning.
“Compensatory mitigation” means a mitigation project for the purpose of replacing, at an equivalent or greater level, unavoidable critical area and buffer impacts that remain after all appropriate and practicable avoidance and minimization measures have been implemented. Compensatory mitigation includes, but is not limited to, wetland creation, restoration, enhancement, and preservation; stream restoration and relocation, rehabilitation; and buffer enhancement.
“Conservation” means the prudent management of rivers, streams, wetlands, wildlife and other environmental resources in order to preserve and protect them. This includes the careful utilization of natural resources in order to prevent depletion or harm to the environment.
“Conservation easement” means a legal agreement that the property owner enters into to restrict uses of the land for purposes of natural resources conservation. The easement is recorded on a property deed, runs with the land, and is legally binding on all present and future owners of the property.
“Contaminant” means any chemical, physical, biological, or radiological substance that does not occur naturally in groundwater, air, or soil or that occurs at concentrations greater than those in the natural levels (see also Chapter 173-200 WAC).
“Critical aquifer recharge area” means areas designated by WAC 365-190-080(2) that are determined to have a critical recharging effect on aquifers (i.e., maintain the quality and quantity of water) used for potable water as defined by WAC 365-190-030(2).
“Critical area study or report” means a report prepared by a qualified professional or qualified consultant based on best available science, and the specific methods and standards for technical study required for each applicable critical area. Geotechnical reports and hydrogeological reports are critical area reports specific to geologically hazardous areas and critical aquifer recharge areas, respectively.
“Critical area tract” means land held in an open undeveloped condition with preservation of native vegetation and other natural features in perpetuity for the protection of critical areas.
Critical Areas. The following areas as required in this chapter shall be regarded as critical areas:
1. Frequently flooded areas;
2. Wetlands;
3. Geologically hazardous areas;
4. Fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas;
5. Critical aquifer recharge areas.
“Critical facilities” means buildings and other structures that are intended to remain operational in the event of extreme environmental loading from flood, wind, snow or earthquakes pursuant to the city’s adopted International Building Code (IBC). These include, but are not limited to:
1. Buildings and other structures that represent a substantial hazard to human life in the event of failure including, but not limited to:
a. Buildings and other structures where more than 50 people congregate in one area;
b. Buildings and other structures with elementary school, secondary school or day care facilities with an occupant load greater than 50;
c. Buildings and other structures with an occupant load greater than 50 for colleges or adult education facilities;
d. Health care facilities with an occupant load of 50 or more resident patients but not having surgery or emergency treatment facilities;
e. Jails and detention facilities;
f. Any other occupancy with an occupant load greater than 50;
g. Power generating stations, water treatment for potable water, waste water treatment facilities and other public utility facilities not included in subsection (2) of this definition;
h. Buildings and structures not included in subsection (2) of this definition containing sufficient quantities of toxic or explosive substances to be dangerous to the public if released.
2. Buildings and other structures designed as essential facilities including, but not limited to:
a. Hospitals and other health care facilities having surgery or emergency treatment facilities;
b. Fire, rescue and police stations and emergency vehicle garages;
c. Designated earthquake, hurricane or other emergency shelters;
d. Designated emergency preparedness, communication, and operation centers and other facilities required for emergency response;
e. Structures containing highly toxic materials as defined by IBC Section 307 where the quantity of the material exceeds the maximum allowable quantities of the city’s adopted IBC Table 307.7(2);
f. Aviation control towers, air traffic control centers and emergency aircraft hangars;
g. Buildings and other structures having critical national defense functions;
h. Water treatment facilities required to maintain water pressure for fire suppression;
i. Power-generating stations and other public utility facilities required as emergency backup facilities for structures listed above.
“Critical habitat” means habitat areas with which endangered, threatened, sensitive or monitored plant, fish, or wildlife species have a primary association (e.g., feeding, breeding, rearing of young, migrating). Such areas are identified herein with reference to lists, categories, and definitions promulgated by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as identified in WAC 232-12-011 or 232-12-014; in the Priority Habitat and Species (PHS) program of the Department of Fish and Wildlife; or by rules and regulations adopted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, or other agency with jurisdiction for such designations.
“Debris flow” means a moving mass of rock fragments, soil, and mud; more than half of the particles being larger than sand size; a general term that describes a mass movement of sediment mixed with water and air that flows readily on low slopes.
“Debris torrent” means a violent and rushing mass of water, logs, boulders and other debris.
“Deepwater habitats” means permanently flooded lands lying below the deepwater boundary of wetlands. Deepwater habitats include environments where surface water is permanent and often deep, so that water, rather than air, is the principal medium in which the dominant organisms live. The boundary between wetland and deepwater habitat in the riverine and lacustrine systems lies at a depth of two meters (6.6 feet) below low water; however, if emergent vegetation, shrubs, or trees grow beyond this depth at any time, their deepwater edge is the boundary.
“Development” means any activity that results in a change of use or modification of land or its resource. These activities include, but are not limited to: clearing of vegetation; filling, grading and other topographic modification; building construction or modification; construction of roads, trails, utilities and other facilities.
“Director” means the director of the city of Chehalis department of community and economic development. Functions of the director as defined by this chapter may be assigned to other city of Chehalis staff persons at the discretion of the director.
“Drainage ditch” means an artificially created watercourse constructed to drain surface or groundwater. Ditches are graded (manmade) channels installed to collect and convey runoff from fields and roadways. Ditches may include irrigation ditches, waste ways, drains, outfalls, operational spillways, channels, storm water runoff facilities or other wholly artificial watercourses, except those that directly result from the modification to a natural watercourse. Ditched channels that support fish are considered to be streams.
“Emergency” refers to an unanticipated and imminent threat to public health, safety or the environment. Emergency construction does not include development of new permanent protective structures where none previously existed. As a general matter, flooding or other seasonal events that can be anticipated and may occur but that are not imminent are not an emergency.
“Emergent wetland” means a wetland with at least 30 percent of the surface area covered by erect, rooted, herbaceous vegetation as the uppermost vegetative strata.
“Enhancement” means actions performed within an existing degraded critical area and/or buffer to intentionally increase or augment one or more functions or values of the existing critical area or buffer. Enhancement actions include, but are not limited to, increasing plant diversity and cover, increasing wildlife habitat and structural complexity (snags, woody debris), installing environmentally compatible erosion controls, or removing nonindigenous plant or animal species.
“Erosion” means a process whereby wind, rain, water and other natural agents mobilize, and transport, and deposit soil particles.
“Erosion hazard areas” means lands or areas underlain by soils identified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) as having severe or very severe erosion hazards and areas subject to impacts from lateral erosion related to moving water such as river channel migration and shoreline retreat.
“Essential public facility” means those facilities that are typically difficult to site, such as airports, state education facilities, and state or regional transportation facilities, state and local correctional facilities, solid waste handling facilities, and inpatient facilities including substance abuse facilities, mental health facilities, and group homes.
“Feasible alternative” means a course of action that can include uses, design, construction techniques, and other features on a site or alternative sites that are reasonably capable of being carried out after taking into consideration existing technology and logistics and that has less impact to critical areas. Cost is one factor in determining whether an action is capable of being carried out.
“Fill material” means any solid or semi-solid material, including rock, sand, soil, clay, plastics, construction debris, wood chips, overburden from mining or other excavation activities, and materials used to create any structure or infrastructure, that when placed, changes the grade or elevation of the receiving site.
“Filling” means the act of transporting or placing by any manual or mechanical means fill material from, to, or on any soil surface, including temporary stockpiling of fill material.
“Fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas” are areas important for maintaining species in suitable habitats within their natural geographic distribution so that isolated populations are not created.
“Fish habitat” means a complex of physical, chemical, and biological conditions that provide the life supporting and reproductive needs of a species or life stage of fish. Although the habitat requirements of a species depend on its age and activity, the basic components of fish habitat in rivers, streams, ponds, lakes, estuaries, marine waters, and nearshore areas include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Clean water and appropriate temperatures for spawning, rearing, and holding;
2. Adequate water depth and velocity for migrating, spawning, rearing, and holding, including off-channel habitat;
3. Abundance of bank and in-stream structures to provide hiding and resting areas and stabilize stream banks and beds;
4. Appropriate substrates for spawning and embryonic development. For stream and lake dwelling fishes, substrates range from sands and gravel to rooted vegetation or submerged rocks and logs. Generally, substrates must be relatively stable and free of silts or fine sand;
5. Presence of riparian vegetation as defined in this article. Riparian vegetation creates a transition zone, which provides shade, and food sources of aquatic and terrestrial insects for fish;
6. Unimpeded passage (i.e., due to suitable gradient and lack of barriers) for upstream and downstream migrating juveniles and adults.
“Flood” or “flooding” means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow of inland waters and/or the unusual and rapid accumulation of runoff of surface waters from any source.
“Floodplain” means the total land area adjoining a river, stream, watercourse, or lake subject to inundation by the base flood.
“Floodway” means the channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land area that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the surface water elevation more than one foot.
“Forested wetland” means a wetland with at least 30 percent of the surface area covered by woody vegetation greater than 20 feet in height, excluding monotypic stands of red alder or cottonwood that average eight inches in diameter at breast height or less.
“Frequently flooded areas” means lands in the floodplain subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year and those lands that provide important flood storage, conveyance and attenuation functions, as determined by the county in accordance with WAC 365-190-080(3). Classifications of frequently flooded areas include, at a minimum, the 100-year floodplain designations of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Flood Insurance Program.
“Function and value” means the beneficial roles served by critical areas and the values people derive from these roles including, but not limited to, water quality protection and enhancement, fish and wildlife habitat, food chain support, flood storage, conveyance and attenuation, groundwater recharge and discharge, erosion control, wave attenuation, protection from hazards, providing historical and archaeological resources, noise and visual screening, open space, and recreation. These beneficial roles are not listed in order of priority.
“Function assessment” or “functions and values assessment” means a set of procedures, applied by a qualified professional, to identify the ecological functions being performed in a wetland or other critical area, usually by determining the presence of certain characteristics, and determining how well the critical area is performing those functions. Function assessments can be qualitative or quantitative and may consider social values potentially provided by the wetland or other critical area. Function assessment methods must be consistent with best available science.
“Functions” means the processes or attributes provided by areas of the landscape (e.g., wetlands, rivers, streams, and riparian areas) including, but not limited to, habitat diversity and food chain support for fish and wildlife, groundwater recharge and discharge, high primary productivity, low flow stream water contribution, sediment stabilization and erosion control, storm and flood water attenuation and flood peak desynchronization, and water quality enhancement through biofiltration and retention of sediments, nutrients, and toxicants. These beneficial roles are not listed in order of priority.
“Game fish” means those species of fish that are classified by the Washington Department of Wildlife as game fish (WAC 232-12-019).
“Geologically hazardous areas” means areas that, because of their susceptibility to erosion, sliding, earthquake, or other geological events, pose unacceptable risks to public health and safety and may not be suited to commercial, residential, or industrial development.
“Gradient” means a degree of inclination, or a rate of ascent or descent, of an inclined part of the earth’s surface with respect to the horizontal; the steepness of a slope. It is expressed as a ratio (vertical to horizontal), a fraction (such as meters/kilometers or feet/miles), a percentage (of horizontal distance), or an angle (in degrees).
“Grading” means any excavating or filling of the earth’s surface or combination thereof.
“Groundwater” means all water that exists beneath the land surface or beneath the bed of any stream, lake, reservoir, or other body of surface water within the boundaries of the state, whatever may be the geological formation or structure in which such water stands or flows, percolates or otherwise moves (Chapter 90.44 RCW).
“Groundwater management area” means a specific geographic area or subarea designated pursuant to Chapter 173-100 WAC for which a groundwater management program is required.
“Groundwater management program” means a comprehensive program designed to protect groundwater quality, to assure groundwater quantity, and to provide for efficient management of water resources while recognizing existing groundwater rights and meeting future needs consistent with local and state objectives, policies and authorities within a designated groundwater management area or subarea and developed pursuant to Chapter 173-100 WAC.
“Growing season” means the portion of the year when soil temperatures are above biologic zero (41 degrees Fahrenheit).
“Growth Management Act” means Chapters 36.70A and 36.70B RCW, as amended.
“Hazard tree” means any tree that is susceptible to immediate fall due to its condition (damaged, diseased, or dead) or other factors, and which because of its location is at risk of damaging permanent physical improvements to property or causing personal injury.
“Hazardous substance” means any liquid, solid, gas, or sludge, including any material, substance, product, commodity, or waste, regardless of quantity, that exhibits any of the physical, chemical or biological properties described in WAC 173-303-090 or 173-303-100.
“High intensity land use” means land use that includes the following uses or activities: commercial, urban, industrial, institutional, retail sales, residential (more than one unit/acre), high-intensity new agriculture (dairies, nurseries, greenhouses, raising and harvesting crops requiring annual tilling, raising and maintaining animals), high-intensity recreation (golf courses, ball fields), hobby farms.
“Hydraulic project approval” (HPA) means a permit issued by the State Department of Fish and Wildlife for modifications to waters of the state in accordance with Chapter 77.55 RCW.
“Hydric soil” means a soil that is saturated, flooded or ponded long enough during the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions in the upper part. The presence of hydric soil shall be determined following the methods described in the Washington State Wetland Identification and Delineation Manual (RCW 90.58.380).
“Hydrologic soil groups” means soils grouped according to their runoff-producing characteristics under similar storm and cover conditions. Properties that influence runoff potential are depth to seasonally high water table, intake rate and permeability after prolonged wetting, and depth to a low permeable layer. Hydrologic soil groups are normally used in equations that estimate runoff from rainfall, but can be used to estimate a rate of water transmission in soil. There are four hydrologic soil groups:
1. Low runoff potential and a high rate of infiltration potential;
2. Moderate infiltration potential and a moderate rate of runoff potential;
3. Slow infiltration potential and a moderate to high rate of runoff potential; and
4. High runoff potential and very slow infiltration and water transmission rates.
“Hydrophytic vegetation” means macrophytic plant life growing in water or on a substrate that is at least periodically deficient in oxygen as a result of excessive water content.
“Hyporheic zone” means the saturated zone located beneath and adjacent to streams that contain some proportion of surface water from the surface channel. The hyporheic zone serves as a filter for nutrients, as a site for macroinvertebrate production important in fish nutrition and provides other functions related to maintaining water quality.
“Impervious surface” means a hard surface area that either prevents or retards the entry of water into the soil mantle as under natural conditions prior to development or that causes water to run off the surface in greater quantities or at an increased rate of flow compared to natural conditions prior to development. Common impervious surfaces may include, but are not limited to, roof tops, walkways, patios, driveways, parking lots or storage areas, concrete or asphalt paving, gravel roads, packed earthen materials, and oiled macadam or other surfaces which similarly impede the natural infiltration of storm water. Impervious surfaces do not include surface created through proven low impact development techniques.
“Infiltration” means the downward entry of water into the immediate surface of soil.
“In-kind compensation” means to replace critical areas with substitute areas whose characteristics and functions mirror those destroyed or degraded by a regulated activity.
“Invasive species” means a species that is nonnative (or alien) to area within the city of Chehalis and its urban growth area whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. Invasive species can be plants, animals, and other organisms (e.g., microbes). Human actions are the primary means of invasive species introductions.
“Lake” means a naturally or artificially created body of deep (generally greater than 6.6 feet) open water that persists throughout the year. A lake is larger than a pond, greater than one acre in size, equal to or greater than 6.6 feet in depth, and has less than 30 percent aerial coverage by trees, shrubs, or persistent emergent vegetation. A lake is bounded by the ordinary high water mark or the extension of the elevation of the lake’s ordinary high water mark to the stream where the stream enters the lake.
“Landfill” means a disposal facility or part of a facility at which solid waste and/or demolition waste is permanently placed in or on land including facilities that use solid waste as a component of fill. In addition, landfill includes all related land and structures and other improvements on the land used for the disposal of solid waste, pursuant to Chapter 173-351 WAC.
“Landslide” is a general term covering a wide variety of mass movement landforms and processes involving the downslope transport, under gravitational influence of soil and rock material en masse; included are debris flows, debris avalanches, earthflows, mudflows, slumps, mudslides, rock slides, and rock falls.
“Landslide hazard areas” means areas that, due to a combination of site conditions like slope inclination and relative soil permeability, are susceptible to mass wasting.
“Low-intensity land use” means land use that includes the following uses or activities: forestry (cutting of trees only), low-intensity open space (such as passive recreation and natural resources preservation), unpaved trails.
“Maintenance and repair” means work required to keep existing improvements in their existing operational state. This does not include any modification that changes the character, scope, or size of the original structure, facility, utility or improved area.
“Major alteration or renovation” means the alteration or renovation of any structure, or associated improvements within a critical area or buffer that results in an expansion of floor area of 500 square feet or more, or more than 10 percent and less than 50 percent, whichever is greater; or the expansion of impervious surface by more than 1,000 square feet, or more than 10 percent and less than 50 percent, whichever is greater; or remodeling or renovation that is greater than 50 percent but less than 100 percent of the value of the structures or improvements, excluding plumbing, electrical and mechanical systems.
“Mass wasting” means downslope movement of soil and rock material by gravity. This includes soil creep, erosion, and various types of landslides, not including bed load associated with natural stream sediment transport dynamics.
“Mature forested wetland” means a wetland with an overstory dominated by mature trees having a wetland indicator status of facultative (FAC), facultative-wet (FACW), or obligate (OBL). Mature trees are considered to be at least 21 inches in diameter at breast height.
“Mean annual flow” means the average flow of a river or stream (measured in cubic feet per second) from measurements taken throughout the year. If available, flow data for the previous 10 years should be used in determining mean annual flow.
“Minor alteration or renovation” means alteration or renovation of any structure, or associated improvements within a critical area or buffer that results in an expansion of floor area of less than 500 square feet, or 10 percent, whichever is less, or the expansion of impervious surface by less than 1,000 square feet, or 10 percent, whichever is less; or remodeling or renovation that is less than 50 percent of the value of the structure or improvements, excluding plumbing, electrical and mechanical systems.
“Mitigation” means individual actions that may include a combination of the following measures, listed in order of preference:
1. Avoiding an impact altogether by not taking a certain action or parts of actions;
2. Minimizing impacts by limiting the degree or magnitude of an action and its implementation;
3. Rectifying impacts by repairing, rehabilitating, or restoring the affected environment, such as repairing damage done to a critical area resource such as stream or wetland after it is affected by a project;
4. Reducing or eliminating an impact over time by preservation and maintenance operations during the life of the action;
5. Compensating for an impact by replacing or providing substitute resources or environments; and
6. Monitoring the mitigation and taking remedial action when necessary.
“Mitigation bank” means a site where wetlands or similar habitats are restored, created, enhanced, or in exceptional circumstances, preserved, expressly for the purpose of providing compensatory mitigation in advance of authorized impacts to aquatic resources.
“Mitigation plan” means a detailed plan indicating actions necessary to mitigate adverse impacts to critical areas.
“Moderate intensity land use” means land use that includes the following uses or activities: residential (one unit/acre or less), moderate-intensity open space (parks), moderate-intensity new agriculture (orchards and hay fields), plant nurseries, paved trails, building of logging roads.
“Monitoring” means evaluating the impacts of development proposals over time on the biological, hydrological, pedological, and/or geological elements of such systems and/or assessing the performance of required mitigation measures throughout the collection and analysis of data by various methods for the purpose of understanding and documenting changes in natural ecosystems and features, and includes gathering baseline data.
“Native vegetation” means plant species that are indigenous to the area within the city of Chehalis and its urban growth area. For the purposes of establishment of native vegetation within buffer areas, native vegetation shall include but not be limited to the following:
1. Native evergreen trees: Douglas fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii; grand fir, Abies grandis; Pacific madrone, Arbutus menziesii; western red cedar, Thuja plicata; western hemlock, Tsuga heterophylla;
2. Native deciduous trees: big-leaf maple, Acer macrophyllum; hazelnut, Corylus cornuta; bitter cherry, Prunus emarginata; black hawthorn, Crataegus douglasii; Oregon ash, Fraxinus latifolia; Oregon white oak, Quercus garryana; red alder, Alnus rubra; vine maple, Acer circinatum; Hooker’s willow, Salix hookeriana; Pacific willow, Salix lasiandra; Scouler willow, Salix scouleriana; Sitka willow, Salix sitchensis;
3. Native understory: black twinberry, Lonicera involucrata; blue elderberry, Sambucus cerulea; red elderberry, Sambucus racemosa; red huckleberry, Vaccinium parvifolium; Indian plum, Oemleria cerasiformis; red columbine, Aquilegia formosa; Pacific dogwood, Cornus nuttallii; Red-osier dogwood, Cornus stolonifera; Pacific ninebark, Physocarpus capitatus; western rhododendron, Rhododendron macrophyllum; white rhododendron, Rhododendron albiflorum; straggly gooseberry, Ribes divaricatum; red-flowering currant, Ribes sanguineum; baldhip rose, Rosa gymnocarpa; Nootka rose, Rosa nutkana; clustered wild rose, Rosa pisocarpa; thimbleberry, Rubus parviflorus; salal, Gaultheria shallon; serviceberry, Amelanchier alnifolia; salmonberry, Rubus spectabilis; common snowberry, Symphoricarpos albus; and black twinberry, Lonicera involucrata.
Choice of plants for a specific site must consider the hydric, shade, aspect and other conditions. Spacing of plants shall depend upon the presence of existing native vegetation and the size of plants installed. Generally plantings shall result in a vegetation community consisting of no more than 50 percent deciduous trees. Tree planting shall achieve a spacing where new materials are required of 10 feet of one-gallon or smaller specimens, 15 feet with two-gallon specimens; larger sizes shall be spaced according to specimen size. Understory generally should be installed at a spacing of 12 inches for four-inch pots and 36 inches for one-gallon specimens.
“No net loss” means the maintenance of the aggregate total of ecological functions and values within a geographic area defined in terms of natural processes, such as a watershed or catchment area.
“Off-site mitigation” means to replace critical areas away from the site on which a critical area has been adversely impacted by a regulated activity.
“Ordinary high water mark” means the mark or line on all lakes, rivers, streams and tidal water that will be found by examining the beds and banks and ascertaining where the presence and action of waters are so common and usual and so long continued in all ordinary years, as to mark upon the soil a character distinct from that of the abutting upland in respect to vegetation [RCW 90.58.030(2)(b)].
“Person” means an individual, partnership, corporation, association, organization, cooperative, public or municipal corporation, state agency or local governmental unit, however designated, or Indian Nation or tribe.
“Planned unit development (PUD)” means one or a group of specified uses, such as residential, resort, commercial or industrial, to be planned and constructed as a unit. Zoning or subdivision regulations with respect to lot size, building bulk, etc., may be varied to allow design innovations and special features in exchange for additional and/or superior site amenities or community benefits.
“Pond” means an open body of water, generally equal to or greater than 6.6 feet deep, that persists throughout the year and occurs in a depression of land or expanded part of a stream and has less than 30 percent aerial coverage by trees, shrubs, or persistent emergent vegetation. Ponds are generally smaller than lakes. Farm ponds are excluded from this definition. Beaver ponds that are two years old or less are excluded from this definition.
“Potable” means water that is suitable for drinking by the public (Chapter 246-290 WAC).
“Preservation” means actions taken to ensure the permanent protection of existing, ecologically important critical areas and/or buffers that the city has deemed worthy of long-term protection.
“Primary association” means the use of a habitat area by a listed or priority species for breeding/spawning, rearing young, resting, roosting, feeding, foraging, and/or migrating on a frequent and/or regular basis during the appropriate season(s) as well as habitats that are used less frequently/regularly but which provide for essential life cycle functions such as breeding/nesting/spawning.
“Priority habitat” means a habitat type with unique or significant value to one or more species. An area classified and mapped as priority habitat must have one or more of the following attributes: comparatively high fish or wildlife density; comparatively high fish or wildlife species diversity; fish spawning habitat; important wildlife habitat; important fish or wildlife seasonal range; important fish or wildlife movement corridor; rearing and foraging habitat; important marine mammal haul-out; refuge; limited availability; high vulnerability to habitat alteration; unique or dependent species; or shellfish bed. A priority habitat may be described by a unique vegetation type or by a dominant plant species that is of primary importance to fish and wildlife (such as oak woodlands or eelgrass meadows). A priority habitat may also be described by a successional stage (such as old growth and mature forests). Alternatively, a priority habitat may consist of a specific habitat element (such as a consolidated marine/estuarine shoreline, talus slopes, caves, snags) of key value to fish and wildlife. A priority habitat may contain priority and/or nonpriority fish and wildlife (WAC 173-26-020(24)).
“Priority species” means wildlife species of concern due to their population status and their sensitivity to habitat alteration, as defined by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
“Project” means any proposed or existing activity that results in development, as defined in this section.
“Project permit” or “project approval” means any land use or environmental permit or approval required by the city of Chehalis, including but not limited to building permits, subdivisions, binding site plan, planned unit developments, conditional uses, shoreline substantial development permits, variance, site plan review, permits or approvals authorized by a comprehensive plan or subarea plan.
“Qualified professional” or “qualified consultant” means a person with experience and training with expertise appropriate for the relevant critical area subject in accordance with WAC 365-195-905(4). A qualified professional must have obtained a B.S. or B.A. or equivalent degree in biology, soil science, engineering, environmental studies, fisheries, geology, geomorphology or related field, and related work experience and meet the following criteria:
1. A qualified professional for wetlands must have a degree in biology, ecology, soil science, botany, or a closely related field and a minimum of five years of professional experience in wetland identification and assessment in the Pacific Northwest.
2. A qualified professional for habitat conservation areas must have a degree in wildlife biology, ecology, fisheries, or closely related field and a minimum of five years professional experience related to the subject species/habitat type.
3. A qualified professional for geologically hazardous areas must be a professional engineering geologist or geotechnical engineer, licensed in the state of Washington.
4. A qualified professional for critical aquifer recharge areas means a Washington state licensed hydrogeologist, geologist, or engineer.
“Recharge” means the process involved in the absorption and addition of water from the unsaturated zone to groundwater.
“Reestablishment” means measures taken to intentionally restore an altered or damaged natural feature or process including:
1. Active steps taken to restore damaged wetlands, streams, protected habitat, and/or their buffers to the functioning condition that existed prior to an unauthorized alteration;
2. Actions performed to reestablish structural and functional characteristics of the critical area that have been lost by alteration, past management activities, or other events; and
3. Restoration can include restoration of wetland functions and values on a site where wetlands previously existed, but are no longer present due to lack of water or hydric soils.
“Rehabilitation” means a type of restoration action that restores a critical area to its original form or type such as restoring a wetland to its original hydrogeomorphic class.
“Relative density” is a method for evaluating the density of trees in relation to the theoretical maximum density for trees of the same size and species. It is preferable to a simple density (trees/acre) because it is a more accurate measure of occupied growing space and suppression mortality. Relative density equals the basal area of all trees in the stand divided by the square root of the quadratic mean diameter.
“Repair” or “maintenance” means an activity that restores the character, scope, size, and design of a serviceable area, structure, or land use to its previously authorized and undamaged condition. Activities that change the character, size, or scope of a project beyond the original design and drain, dredge, fill, flood, or otherwise alter critical areas are not included in this definition.
“Resident fish” means a fish species that completes all stages of its life cycle within freshwater and frequently within a local area.
Restoration. See “Reestablishment.”
“Rills” means steep-sided channels resulting from accelerated erosion. A rill is generally a few inches deep and not wide enough to be an obstacle to farm machinery. Rill erosion tends to occur on slopes, particularly steep slopes with poor vegetative cover.
“Riparian corridor” or “riparian zone” means the area adjacent to a water body (stream, lake or marine water) that contains vegetation that influences the aquatic ecosystem, nearshore area and/or fish and wildlife habitat by providing shade, fine or large woody material, nutrients, organic debris, sediment filtration, and terrestrial insects (prey production). Riparian areas include those portions of terrestrial ecosystems that significantly influence exchanges of energy and matter with aquatic ecosystems (i.e., zone of influence). Riparian zones provide important wildlife habitat. They provide sites for foraging, breeding and nesting; cover to escape predators or weather; and corridors that connect different parts of a watershed for dispersal and migration.
“Riparian vegetation” means vegetation that tolerates and/or requires moist conditions and periodic free flowing water thus creating a transitional zone between aquatic and terrestrial habitats which provides cover, shade and food sources for aquatic and terrestrial insects for fish species. Riparian vegetation and their root systems stabilize stream banks, attenuate high water flows, provide wildlife habitat and travel corridors, and provide a source of limbs and other woody debris to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, which, in turn, stabilize stream beds.
“Scrub-shrub wetland” means a wetland with at least 30 percent of its surface area covered by woody vegetation less than 20 feet in height as the uppermost strata.
“Seismic hazard areas” means areas that are subject to severe risk of damage as a result of earthquake-induced ground shaking, slope failure, settlement, or soil liquefaction.
“SEPA” is a commonly used acronym for the State Environmental Policy Act.
“Shorelands” or “shoreland areas” means those lands extending landward for 200 feet in all directions as measured on a horizontal plane from the ordinary high water mark; floodways and contiguous floodplain areas landward 200 feet from such floodways; and all wetlands and river deltas associated with the streams, lakes and tidal waters which are subject to the provisions of Chapter 90.58 RCW.
“Shoreline Management Act” and “shoreline” means the planning and regulatory program established in Chapter 90.58 RCW.
“Shoreline master program” means the local planning and regulatory program established in compliance with Chapter 90.58 RCW, and as hereafter amended.
“Shorelines” are all of the water areas of the state as defined in RCW 90.58.030, including reservoirs and their associated shorelands, together with the lands underlying them except:
1. Shorelines of statewide significance;
2. Shorelines on segments of streams upstream of a point where the mean annual flow is 20 cubic feet per second (cfs) or less and the wetlands associated with such upstream segments; and
3. Shorelines on lakes less than 20 acres in size and wetlands associated with such small lakes.
“Shorelines of statewide significance” means those areas defined in RCW 90.58.030(2)(e).
“Shorelines of the state” means the total of all shorelines, as defined in RCW 90.58.030(2)(d), and shorelines of statewide significance within the state, as defined in RCW 90.58.030(2)(c).
“Single-family development” means the development of a single-family residence permanently installed and served with utilities on a lot of record.
“Site” means any parcel or combination of contiguous parcels, or right-of-way or combination of contiguous rights-of way under the applicant’s ownership or control where the proposed project impacts an environmentally critical area.
“Slope” means:
1. Gradient.
2. The inclined surface of any part of the earth’s surface, delineated by establishing its toe and top and measured by averaging the inclination over at least 10 feet of vertical relief.
“Soil” means all unconsolidated materials above bedrock described in the Soil Conservation Service Classification System or by the Unified Soils Classification System.
“Sphagnum bog” means a type of wetland dominated by mosses that form peat. Sphagnum bogs are very acidic, nutrient poor systems, fed by precipitation rather than surface inflow, with specially adapted plant communities.
“Streams” are those areas where surface waters produce a defined channel or bed. A defined channel or bed is an area that demonstrates clear evidence of the annual passage of water and includes, but is not limited to, bedrock channels, gravel beds, sand and silt beds, and defined-channel swales. The channel or bed need not contain water year-round. This definition includes drainage ditches or other artificial water courses where natural streams existed prior to human alteration, and/or the waterway is used by anadromous or resident salmonid or other fish populations or flows directly into shellfish habitat conservation areas.
“Structure” means a permanent or temporary building or edifice of any kind, or any piece of work artificially built up or composed of parts joined together in some definite matter whether installed on, above, or below the surface of the ground or water, except for vessels.
“Substantial reconstruction” means the alteration or renovation that results in an expansion of floor area of more than 50 percent, or the expansion of impervious surface by more than 50 percent, or remodeling or renovation that exceeds 100 percent of the value of the structures or other improvements, excluding plumbing, electrical and mechanical systems. Such substantial reconstruction shall be considered the same as new construction and shall fully comply with the provisions of this code.
“Toe” means the lowest part of a slope or cliff; the downslope end of an alluvial fan, landslide, etc.
“Top” means the top of a slope; or in this chapter it may be used as the highest point of contact above a landslide hazard area.
“Unavoidable adverse impact” means adverse impacts that remain after all appropriate avoidance and minimization measures have been implemented.
“Utilities” means all lines and facilities used to distribute, collect, transmit, or control electrical power, natural gas, petroleum products, information (telecommunications), water, and sewage.
“Volcanic hazard areas” means geologically hazardous areas that are subject to pyroclastic flows, lava flows, debris avalanche, or inundation by debris flows, mudflows, or related flooding resulting from volcanic activity.
“Watershed” means a geographic region within which water drains into a particular river, stream or body of water.
“Watershed improvement district” means a special district established pursuant to Chapter 85.38 RCW.
“Well head protection area” means the area (surface and subsurface) managed to protect groundwater based public water supplies.
“Wet meadow” means palustrine emergent wetlands, typically having disturbed soils, vegetation, or hydrology.
“Wet season” means the period generally between November 1st and March 30th of most years when soils are wet and prone to instability. The specific beginning and end of the wet season can vary from year to year depending on weather conditions.
“Wetland” means areas defined pursuant to RCW 36.70A.030 that are inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas. Wetlands do not include those artificial wetlands intentionally created from nonwetland sites, including, but not limited to, irrigation and drainage ditches, grass-lined swales, canals, detention facilities, retention facilities, wastewater treatment facilities, farm ponds, and landscape amenities, or those wetlands created after July 1, 1990, that were unintentionally created as a result of the construction of a road, street, or highway. However, wetlands include those artificial wetlands intentionally created to mitigate wetland impacts.
“Wetland buffer” means a designated area contiguous or adjacent to a wetland that is required for the continued maintenance, function, and ecological stability of the wetland.
“Wetland class” means the general appearance of the wetland based on the dominant vegetative life form or the physiography and composition of the substrate. Multiple classes can exist in a single wetland. Types of wetland classes include forest, scrub/shrub, emergent, and open water.
“Wetland delineation” means the precise determination of wetland boundaries in the field according to the application of specific methodology as described in the 1997 Washington State Wetland Delineation Manual or 1987 edition, as amended, Corps of Engineers Wetlands Delineation Manual and the mapping thereof.
“Wetland edge” means the boundary of a wetland as delineated based on the definitions contained in this chapter.
Wetland Enhancement. See “Enhancement.”
“Wetland mitigation bank” means a site where wetlands and buffers are restored, created, enhanced, or in exceptional circumstances, preserved expressly for the purpose of providing compensatory mitigation in advance of authorized impacts to similar resources.
“Wetland mosaic” means two or more wetlands that are less than 100 feet apart such that within the outer boundaries of the area delineated as wetland and the associated upland between the wetlands more than 50 percent of the total area is comprised of wetlands and open water as defined by the OHWM.
Wetland Restoration. See “Mitigation” and “Reestablishment.”
“Windthrow” means a natural process by which trees are uprooted or sustain severe trunk damage by the wind.
“Wood waste” means solid waste consisting of wood pieces or particles generated as a by-product or waste from the manufacturing of wood products, handling and storage of raw materials and trees and stumps. This includes, but is not limited to, sawdust, chips, shavings, bark, pulp, hog fuel, and log sort yard waste, but does not include wood pieces or particles containing chemical preservatives such as creosote, pentachlorophenol, or copper-chrome-arsenate. [Ord. 849B § 2, 2009.]
17.21.040 Critical area maps.
Those documents and maps which are referenced in this chapter for designation of critical areas are resources for the identification of the probable location, extent and classification of critical areas. Such information may be used by the director as a basis for applying the provisions of this code, including requiring field investigation and special reports. In the event of a conflict between information contained in the critical area maps and information resulting from a field investigation, the latter shall prevail. Preparation and maintenance of such documents and maps shall not create liability on the part of the city of Chehalis or any officer or employee thereof for any damages that result from reliance on said maps. [Ord. 849B § 2, 2009.]
17.21.050 Multiple designations.
Where any parcel may be designated as having more than one critical area designation, the development standards for each category of critical area must be met. Where there is conflict between development standards of critical area categories, the most restrictive standards shall apply. [Ord. 849B § 2, 2009.]
17.21.060 SEPA.
This chapter is an officially adopted land use policy of the city of Chehalis and shall provide an additional basis for analyzing development proposals pursuant to Chapter 43.21C RCW. Adopted critical area maps, pursuant to CMC 17.21.040, are declared sensitive areas under provisions of WAC 197-11-908 and CMC 17.15.010(D). [Ord. 849B § 2, 2009.]
17.21.070 Permitted uses.
A. Uses permitted on properties classified as critical areas shall be the same as those permitted in the zoning and shoreline master program district which applies to the subject property, subject to the specific provisions of this code where more restrictive. Each use shall be evaluated in accordance with the review process required for the proposed use in the underlying zone in conjunction with the requirements of this chapter, as well as state and federal regulations.
B. Altering critical areas and/or buffers related to wetlands, streams, and geological hazard areas is prohibited except when:
1. Alteration is approved pursuant to the reasonable use or variance provisions of CMC 17.21.083;
2. Alteration is necessary to accommodate an essential public facility or public utility where no feasible alternative location will accommodate the facility and the facility is located, designed, and constructed to minimize, mitigate and where possible avoid critical area disturbance to the maximum extent feasible;
3. Alteration is part of an essential element of an activity allowed by this chapter and all feasible measures to avoid and minimize impacts have been employed. Such feasible measures shall include but not be limited to clustering where permitted by zoning and as appropriate to protect critical areas and buffers. The purposes of clustering shall be to minimize adverse effects of development on critical area functions and values, minimize land clearing, maintain soil stability, preserve native vegetation, maintain hydrology, and mitigate risk to life and property; or
4. Alteration is associated with an activity enumerated in CMC 17.21.071 that has negligible impact on critical areas.
C. Land that is located wholly within a critical area or buffer may not be subdivided for purposes of creating buildable parcels. Land that is located partially within a critical area or its buffer may be divided; provided, that each resulting lot has sufficient buildable area outside of the critical area or buffer with provision for drainage, erosion control, vegetation maintenance and related features that will not adversely affect the critical area or its buffer. [Ord. 849B § 2, 2009.]
17.21.071 Allowed activities.
The following actions and activities are allowed in critical areas as actions with negligible effects on the resource and ecological functions, subject to the standards and criteria provided, and subject to review and approval processes:
A. Emergency actions are those activities necessary to prevent an immediate threat to life, to public health, safety, or welfare, or that pose an immediate risk of damage to private structures or improvements and that require remedial or preventative action in a timeframe too short to allow for compliance with the procedural requirements of this chapter.
1. Emergency actions that create an impact on a critical area or its buffer shall be limited to those actions that are required to address the emergency and generally are limited to the actions necessary to remove the immediate threat. Additional actions to permanently address a deficiency generally do not qualify as emergency actions and require full compliance with the procedural requirements of this chapter. Emergency actions also must be carried out in a manner that has the least feasible impact on the critical area or its buffer.
2. The person or agency undertaking emergency action shall notify the director within one working day following commencement of the emergency activity. Within 14 days, the director shall determine if the action taken was within the scope of the emergency actions allowed in this subsection. If the director determines that the action taken, or any part of the action taken, was beyond the scope of an allowed emergency action, then the enforcement provisions of CMC 17.21.090 shall apply.
3. After the emergency, the person or agency undertaking the action shall submit a critical area report to assess effects on critical areas and conduct necessary restoration and/or mitigation for any impacts to the critical area and buffers resulting from the emergency action in accordance with an approved critical area report and mitigation plan. The person or agency undertaking the action shall apply for all approvals required by this chapter. Restoration and/or mitigation activities must be initiated within 60 days of the date of the emergency, unless an extension is approved by the director, and completed in a timely manner.
B. Maintenance, operation and/or repair of existing rights-of-way, trails, roads, utilities, buildings and other facilities within critical areas and buffers; provided, that the activity does not further alter, impact, or encroach upon the sensitive area or buffer or further affect the functions of sensitive areas, and there is no increased risk to life or property as a result of the proposed operation, maintenance, or repair; and provided further, that:
1. Prior to undertaking such actions, the applicant shall submit a written description of the maintenance activity to the director with all of the following general information:
a. Type, timing, frequency and sequence of maintenance activity to be conducted;
b. Type of equipment to be used (hand or mechanical);
c. Manner in which the equipment will be used; and
d. Best management practices to be used.
C. Maintenance of existing, lawfully established landscaping and gardens within a regulated critical area or its buffer, including but not limited to mowing lawns, weeding, removal of noxious and invasive species, harvesting and replanting of garden crops, pruning and planting of ornamental vegetation or indigenous native species to maintain the condition and appearance of such areas as they existed prior to adoption of this code; provided, that native growth protection areas, mitigation sites, or other areas protected via conservation easements or similar restrictive covenants are not covered by this exception.
D. Maintenance, repair or replacement of an existing nonconforming structure pursuant to CMC 17.21.088 that does not further alter or increase the impact to the sensitive area or buffer and results in no increased risk to life or property as a result of the proposed modification or replacement.
E. Replacement, modification, installation, or construction of utility facilities, lines, pipes, mains, equipment, or appurtenances, not including substations, when such facilities are located within the existing improved portion of the public right-of-way (road surface, shoulder, sidewalks, and fill slopes) or the improved portion of city-authorized private roadway; provided, that no fill or discharge occurs outside the existing improved area and with appropriate best management practices to control erosion, sedimentation and other potential impacts. Excluded is work within a water body or wetland, including but not limited to culverts or bridge replacement or construction.
F. Utility projects that have minor or short-duration impacts to critical areas and buffers, as determined by the director in accordance with the criteria below, and which do not significantly impact the functions or values of a sensitive area(s); provided, that such projects are constructed with best management practices and appropriate restoration measures are provided. These activities shall not result in the transport of sediment or increased storm water. Such allowed minor utility projects shall meet the following criteria:
1. There is no practical alternative to the proposed activity with less impact on sensitive areas;
2. The activity involves the placement of a utility pole, street signs, anchor, or vault or other small component of a utility facility; and
3. The activity involves disturbance of less than 75 square feet of the sensitive area and/or buffer.
G. Low impact activities such as hiking, canoeing, nature study, photography, fishing, education or scientific research.
H. Public and private pedestrian trails, provided they are subject to the following:
1. The trail surface shall not exceed four feet in width;
2. The trail surface shall consist of gravel or pervious materials, including boardwalks;
3. The trail shall meet all other city requirements including water quality standards;
4. Sensitive area and/or buffer widths shall be increased, where possible, equal to the width of the trail corridor, including disturbed areas; and
5. Trails proposed to be located in landslide or erosion hazard areas shall be constructed in a manner that does not increase the risk of landslide or erosion and in accordance with an approved geotechnical report.
I. The following vegetation removal activities:
1. The removal of the noxious weed species designated by Washington State or the local weed control authority, and the following species, with hand labor and light equipment:
a. English ivy (Hedera helix);
b. Himalayan blackberry (Rubus discolor, R. procerus);
c. Evergreen blackberry (Rubus laciniatus); and
2. The removal of hazard trees from sensitive areas and buffers that are posing a threat to public safety, or an imminent risk of damage to a permanent structure; provided, that:
a. The applicant submits a report from a certified arborist or professional forester that documents the hazard; provided, that the director may waive this requirement for any trees that are clearly dead, or dying, and provides a replanting schedule for the replacement trees;
b. Tree cutting shall be limited to pruning and crown thinning, unless otherwise justified by a qualified professional. Where pruning or crown thinning is not sufficient to address the hazard, trees should be removed or converted to wildlife snags;
c. If native vegetation is cut or removed from a sensitive area or buffer, it shall be left within the sensitive area or buffer where practicable unless removal is warranted due to safety considerations, the presence of an established disease infestation or other hazard, or because of access or maintenance needs if the area is a utility or access right-of-way;
d. The landowner shall replace any trees that are removed with new trees at a ratio of two replacement trees for each tree removed (2:1) within one year in accordance with an approved restoration plan. Replacement trees shall be species that are native and indigenous to the site and a minimum of one inch in diameter at breast height (dbh) for deciduous trees and a minimum of three feet in height for evergreen trees as measured from the top of the root ball; provided, that the director may allow smaller replacement trees with a higher replacement ratio;
e. Hazard trees that constitute an emergency may be removed or pruned by the landowner prior to receiving written approval from the city; provided, that within 14 days following such action, the landowner shall submit a restoration plan that demonstrates compliance with the provisions of this chapter; and
3. Measures to control a fire or halt the spread of disease or damaging insects consistent with the state Forest Practices Act, Chapter 76.09 RCW; provided, that the removed vegetation shall be replaced in-kind or with similar native species within one year in accordance with an approved restoration plan.
J. Minor site investigative work necessary for land use submittals, such as surveys, soil logs, percolation tests, and other related activities, where such activities do not require construction of new roads, removal of native trees or shrubs, or displacement of more than five cubic yards of material. Investigations involving displacement of more than five cubic yards of material, including geotechnical soil borings, groundwater monitoring wells, percolation tests, and similar activities, shall require submittal of specific plans and restoration plans. In every case, impacts to the sensitive area shall be minimized and disturbed areas shall be immediately restored.
K. Forest practices governed by a valid forest practices permit granted by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, except where:
1. The lands have been or are proposed to be converted under a conversion option harvest plan to a use other than commercial forest product production as provided in RCW 76.09.050 and RCW 76.09.240; or
2. On lands which have been platted after January 1, 1960, as provided in RCW 76.09.050 and RCW 76.09.240.
L. Activities undertaken to comply with a United States Environmental Protection Agency superfund related order, or a Washington Department of Ecology order pursuant to the Model Toxics Control Act that specifically preempts local regulations in the findings of the order.
M. Project and facilities for restoration and enhancement of ecological functions of critical areas and related resources may be allowed within critical areas and buffers, upon approval of a restoration and mitigation plan in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, or for restoration of enhancement programs in an adopted shoreline restoration plan pursuant to Chapter 173-26 WAC, a watershed planning document prepared and adopted pursuant to Chapter 90.82 RCW, a watershed restoration project pursuant to RCW 89.08.460, a salmonid recovery plan, the Salmon Recovery Board Habitat Project List, or identified by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as essential for fish and wildlife habitat enhancement pursuant to RCW 77.55.290. [Ord. 849B § 2, 2009.]
17.21.080 Preliminary consultation.
During the application completeness review period for any subdivision of property, short plat, boundary line adjustment, site plan review, building permit, business license, or any activity requiring city review and/or approval, the property which is the subject of such permit or approval process shall be reviewed by the city for the purpose of identifying the possible presence of a critical area on or adjacent to such property. Where appropriate the city will conduct a preliminary site inspection to confirm the presence of a potential critical area. Within 15 city business days of the receipt of any such application, the city shall notify the applicant in writing of the possible presence of a critical area and provide consultation, if requested, regarding additional data requirements or methods of compliance with this chapter, including submittal of a critical area study. [Ord. 849B § 2, 2009.]
17.21.081 Permit processing.
A. The approval or denial of an activity or modification within a critical area shall be an administrative action of the director for actions requiring only a building permit or other permit action requiring only ministerial action as defined by relevant city codes. The review process will be integrated with the review of the underlying permit. Public notice is required only if required by the underlying permit.
B. If a project requires another permitting action by the city which requires a public hearing, consideration of critical areas will be integrated with the underlying permitting process.
C. The director shall perform a critical area review for any application for a development proposal on a site that includes one or more critical areas or would affect critical areas on adjacent lands, unless otherwise provided in this chapter. As part of all development applications, the director shall verify the information submitted by the applicant to:
1. Confirm the nature and type of the critical areas and associated buffers;
2. Evaluate the need for critical area studies or the adequacy of any such studies submitted with the application;
3. Determine whether the development proposal is consistent with these critical area regulations;
4. Determine whether proposed alterations to critical areas are necessary;
5. Determine if the mitigation and monitoring plans and bonding measures proposed by the applicant are sufficient to protect the public health, safety and welfare consistent with the goals, purposes, objectives and requirements of this overlay district.
D. Compliance with the provisions of this chapter does not necessarily constitute compliance with other regulations and permit requirements. Permit applicants are responsible for complying with all federal, state, county, and local regulations that may pertain to a proposed development; provided, that conditions imposed by the city shall be coordinated with the conditions imposed by other agencies to the extent feasible. [Ord. 849B § 2, 2009.]
17.21.082 Critical area studies.
An applicant for a development proposal that includes, or is adjacent to, or could adversely impact critical areas or buffers shall submit such studies prepared by a qualified professional as are required by the director to adequately evaluate the proposal and all probable impacts. The study shall be prepared by a qualified professional as defined in CMC 17.21.030 and paid for by the applicant.
A. Waivers. The director may waive the requirement for a critical area study if there is a substantial showing that:
1. The boundaries of the critical area and associated buffers can be reliably determined without a technical study;
2. There will be no alteration of the critical area or required buffer;
3. The development proposal will not impact critical areas in a manner contrary to the goals, purposes, objectives and requirements of this chapter;
4. The criteria and standards required by this chapter are met.
B. The contents of the critical area study are specified in the following sections of this chapter. The director may require such supplements or amendments to the study as necessary to develop a reasonably comprehensive understanding of the site conditions, potential impacts, and required mitigation.
C. Independent Review. Based on a review of the information contained in the critical area study and the conditions of the development proposal site, the director may require independent review of any such study. This independent review shall be performed by qualified professional selected by the city and paid for by the applicant. The purpose of such independent review is to assist the city in evaluating the effects on critical areas that may be caused by a development proposal and to facilitate the decision making process. [Ord. 849B § 2, 2009.]
17.21.083 Reasonable use.
A. If the application of the regulations in this chapter would deny all reasonable use of the property, development may be allowed consistent with the general purposes of these regulations and the public interest.
B. Reasonable Use Standards. To qualify as a reasonable use, the decision maker must find that proposal is consistent with all of the following criteria:
1. There is no portion of the site under contiguous ownership not subject to critical area regulations where the provisions of this chapter allow reasonable economic use, including agricultural use, forestry use or continuation of legal nonconforming uses;
2. There is no feasible on-site alternative to the proposed use or activities that will provide reasonable economic use, including location on any contiguous parcel that has been under the ownership or control of the applicant since the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter; other allowed uses; continuation of legal nonconforming uses; reduction in size, change in timing of activities, revision of road and lot layout, and/or related site planning considerations, that would allow a reasonable economic use with less adverse impacts to critical areas and associated buffers;
3. The inability to derive reasonable economic use of the property is not the result of actions by the applicant in segregating or dividing the property and/or creating the condition of lack of use after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter;
4. All reasonable methods, to avoid or reduce adverse effects on critical area functions and values have been employed, including locating activities as far as possible from critical areas and design that will result in the minimum alteration of critical areas and associated buffers, existing topography, vegetation, fish and wildlife resources, hydrological conditions, and geologic conditions. Where both critical areas and buffer areas are located on a parcel, buffer areas shall be disturbed in preference to the critical area;
5. The project includes compensatory mitigation for unavoidable impacts to critical area and buffers in accordance with the mitigation requirements of this chapter;
6. The proposed activities will not result in adverse effects on endangered or threatened species as listed by the federal government or the state of Washington, or be inconsistent with an adopted recovery plan;
7. The proposed activities will not result in damage to nearby public or private property and no threat to the health or safety of people on or off the site;
8. The proposed activities will not lead to degradation of groundwater or surface water quality and will comply with all state, local and federal laws, including those related sediment control, pollution control, floodplain restrictions, and on-site wastewater disposal.
C. Nonconforming single-family residential lots meeting the criteria of CMC 17.21.088(F) shall not be required to meet criteria in subsections (B)(1), (2) and (5) of this section.
D. An application for a critical areas reasonable use exception shall follow the procedures for a special use permit review pursuant to Chapter 17.09 CMC, except that approvals in accordance with subsection (C) of this section shall be approved by the director in accordance with the approval procedure for the underlying permit.
E. An application for variance to provisions of this code may be considered in accordance with variance provisions in CMC 17.09.190. [Ord. 849B § 2, 2009.]
17.21.084 Density credits.
A. Critical areas and their buffers may be used in the calculation of allowed density to the extent provided by the zoning code and shoreline master program.
B. Full density as allowed by underlying zoning and minimum residential density goals may not be attained on specific parcels where critical areas impose inherent limitations on development intensity. [Ord. 849B § 2, 2009.]
17.21.085 Notice on title.
A. The owner of any property containing critical areas on which a development proposal is approved shall file with the records division of Lewis County a notice in a format approved by the director and provide a copy of the filed notice to the city of Chehalis planning department, unless notice is provided on a plat as provided in subsection (B) of this section. The notice shall:
1. State the presence of the critical area and/or buffer area on the property, and identify that there are limitations and restrictions on uses and actions in or affecting the critical area and/or buffer imposed by this code and by the provisions of the critical areas code and specific conditions of approval. The notice shall indicate that the restrictions run with the land and may be altered only in conjunction with amendment of this chapter or amendment of specific conditions of approval as provided by this chapter.
2. Provide that management of the critical area is required to include, but is not limited to, maintenance or replacement of vegetation to assure the long-term viability of a community of native vegetation, control of invasive plant control, and fulfillment of other conditions of approval.
3. Provide for the right of the public, and specifically the city of Chehalis, to enforce the terms of the restrictions through civil infraction or other legal address.
4. If a site plan has been approved indicating the extent of the critical area and buffer and permit conditions, a copy of the site plan together with relevant survey information and permit conditions shall be included in the notice filed.
B. Restrictions on use and development of critical areas buffers and setback areas on plats and short plats shall include the information in subsection (A) of this section, shall designate the party responsible for maintenance of the critical area, if other than the property owner, and shall place critical areas in tracts or easements as provided below:
1. Designation of separate tracts for critical areas and buffers shall be the preferred method of designation and protection of critical areas in plats to provide for integrated management of the critical area and buffer separately from lots. The tract may be:
a. Held in an undivided interest by each owner of a building lot within the development, the ownership of which shall pass with the ownership of the lot. Responsibility for meeting all requirements of preservation and management shall be designated to an incorporated homeowner’s association or other legal entity that assures the ownership and protection of the critical area.
b. Dedicated to the city of Chehalis or other governmental entity qualified to own and manage open space.
c. Conveyed to a nonprofit land trust, provided the land may not be thereafter transferred to a private party; and provided, that if the land trust is dissolved or otherwise fails to perform its functions, ownership and responsibility for management shall devolve to an undivided interest by each owner of a building lot within the development, as provided in subsection (B)(1)(a) of this section.
2. The director may allow a critical area and buffer to be placed within a protective easement on a parcel with the responsibility for meeting all requirements of preservation and management placed on the owner of the parcel over which the easement is placed. This means of designation shall be used in cases where the size and the ecological functions of the critical area do not require coordinated management or where formation of an incorporated homeowner’s association or other legal entity for management is found to be impractical because of the limited number of lots, or where ownership and management by the city, a qualified special district or a land trust is found to be impractical. This alternative generally will be limited to critical areas and buffers of less than 20,000 square feet and developments of fewer than 10 parcels, or commercial or multifamily development.
C. This notice on title shall not be required for a development proposal by a public agency or public or private utility within a right-of-way or easement for which they do not have fee-simple title.
D. The applicant shall submit proof that the notice, dedication or easement has been filed for public record before the city shall approve any final plat or final site plan for such site. The notice shall run with the land and failure to provide such notice to any purchaser prior to transferring any interest in the property shall be a violation of this section. [Ord. 849B § 2, 2009.]
17.21.086 Building setbacks.
A. Buildings and other structures shall be set back a sufficient distance to assure that disturbance to sensitive area vegetation and soils is avoided during construction, maintenance and use.
B. Buildings and other structures shall be set back a distance of 10 feet from the edges of all critical area buffers or from the edges of all critical areas if no buffers are required; provided, that the director may modify the building setback based on specific development plans that document that construction techniques, maintenance needs and use will not disturb critical areas or buffer.
C. If slopes adjacent to the buffer for wetlands or water bodies exceed 15 percent, including slopes created by grading, a swale sufficient to intercept surface water movement shall be installed outside the edge of the buffer.
D. The following facilities and uses are allowed in the building setback:
1. Landscaping, including rockeries not over 42 inches high, provided construction does not alter the buffer or critical area;
2. Uncovered decks, platforms, porches and similar projections not over 42 inches high;
3. Building eaves, cornices, chimneys and similar projections no greater than two feet into the building setback;
4. Impervious surfaces such as driveways, parking lots, roads, and patios; provided, that such surfaces conform to applicable water quality standards and that construction equipment does not enter the buffer or critical area;
5. Clearing and grading consisting of not over 42 inches of cut or fill. [Ord. 849B § 2, 2009.]
17.21.087 Mitigation.
A. Mitigation measures shall be implemented to protect critical areas and buffers from alterations occurring on all or portions of a site being developed. The mitigation measures required below shall be implemented in conjunction with other applicable mitigation requirements outlined in the subsequent sections of this chapter.
B. For purposes of this chapter, “mitigation” means the use of the following actions that are listed in descending order of preference:
1. Avoiding the impact altogether by not taking a certain action or parts of an action;
2. Minimizing impact by limiting the degree or magnitude of the action and its implementation by using appropriate technology, or by taking affirmative steps to avoid or reduce impact;
3. Rectifying the impact by repairing, rehabilitating or restoring the critical areas;
4. Reducing or eliminating the impact over time by prevention and maintenance operations;
5. Compensating for the impact by replacing, enhancing or providing substitute areas and environments and replacing the ecological processes and functions of the resource;
6. Monitoring the impact and taking appropriate corrective measures.
C. Location. Compensatory mitigation shall be provided on site or off site in the location that will provide the greatest ecological benefit and have the greatest likelihood of success. Off-site mitigation is preferred close as possible to the impact area and within the same watershed sub-basin as the permitted alteration. Off-site mitigation sites preference shall be given to sites and restoration activities identified in an adopted shoreline restoration plan pursuant to Chapter 173-26 WAC, a watershed planning document prepared and adopted pursuant to Chapter 90.82 WAC, a watershed restoration project pursuant to RCW 89.08.460, a salmonid recovery plan, the Salmon Recovery Board Habitat Project List, or identified by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as essential for fish and wildlife habitat enhancement pursuant to RCW 77.55.290.
D. Mitigation Plan. A mitigation plan shall be required for the design, implementation, maintenance and monitoring of mitigation. A plan shall provide the following, in addition to criteria for the specific critical areas provided below for individual critical areas:
1. A description and evaluation of any critical areas that could be altered by the proposed development, including evaluation of ecological processes and functions based on best available science and detailed field assessment of the affected resources;
2. A description and scaled drawings of the proposed mitigation activities including, but not limited to, clearing, grading/excavation, drainage alterations, planting, invasive plant management, installation of habitat structures, irrigation, and other site treatments;
3. A description of the ecological functions and values that the proposed alteration may affect and of the specific ecological functions and values the proposed mitigation area(s) shall provide;
4. A description of required or recommended mitigation ratios and an assessment of factors that may affect the success of the mitigation program;
5. Specific measurable performance standards that the proposed mitigation action(s) shall achieve together with a description of how the mitigation action(s) will be evaluated and monitored to determine if the performance standards are being met;
6. A description of potential courses of action, and any corrective measures to be taken if monitoring or evaluation indicates that project performance standards are not being met;
7. Cost estimates for the installation of the mitigation program, monitoring, and maintenance as well as for corrective action if mitigation performance standards are not met.
E. A performance assurance shall be provided to guarantee installation, monitoring and performance of mitigation actions.
1. Performance Surety. The applicant shall post a cash performance bond, letter of credit, or other security acceptable to the city of Chehalis in the amount of 125 percent of the estimated cost of the uncompleted actions or the estimated cost of restoring the functions and values of the critical area that are at risk, whichever is greater. The surety shall be based on an itemized cost estimate of the mitigation activity including clearing and grading, plant materials, plant installation, irrigation, weed management, monitoring, and other costs. The conditions of the surety shall be consistent with the purposes of this chapter and the conditions to be fulfilled. In the event of a breach of any condition of any such bond, the city of Chehalis may institute an action in a court of competent jurisdiction upon such bond and prosecute the same to judgment and execution. The city of Chehalis shall release the bond upon determining that:
a. All activities, including any required compensatory mitigation, have been completed in compliance with the terms and conditions of the permit and the requirements of this chapter;
b. Upon the posting by the applicant of a maintenance surety.
2. Maintenance Surety. The city of Chehalis shall require the holder of a development permit issued pursuant to this chapter to post a cash performance bond, letter of credit, or other security acceptable to the city of Chehalis in an amount and with surety and conditions sufficient to guarantee that structures, improvements and mitigation required by the permit or by this chapter perform satisfactorily, generally for a period of five years after they have been completed. The city of Chehalis shall release the maintenance bond upon determining that performance standards established for evaluating the effectiveness and success of the structures, improvements and/or compensatory mitigation have been satisfactorily met for the required period. For compensation projects, the performance standards shall be those contained in the mitigation plan developed and approved during the permit review process. The maintenance bond applicable to a compensation project shall not be released until the city of Chehalis determines that performance standards established for evaluating the effect and success of the project have been met. The director may return up to 50 percent of the surety following the first year of monitoring; provided, that the year one performance standards are met and the risk of subsequent failure is considered low.
3. Depletion, failure, or collection of surety funds shall not discharge the obligation of an applicant or violator to complete required mitigation, maintenance, or monitoring.
4. Public development proposals may be relieved from having to comply with the surety requirements of this section if public funds have been committed through a budget process with final approval for mitigation, maintenance, or monitoring.
F. Mitigation Banking. The city may approve mitigation banking as a form of compensatory mitigation for wetlands and fish and wildlife habitat conservation area impacts when the provisions of this chapter require mitigation and when it is clearly demonstrated that the use of a mitigation bank will provide equivalent or greater replacement of critical area functions and values when compared to conventional on-site mitigation; provided, that all of the following criteria are met:
1. Mitigation banks shall only be used when they provide significant ecological benefits including long-term conservation of critical areas, important species, habitats and/or habitat linkages, and when they are consistent with the city’s comprehensive plan and create a viable alternative to the piecemeal mitigation for individual project impacts to achieve ecosystem-based conservation goals.
2. The mitigation bank shall be established in accordance with the Washington State Draft Mitigation Banking Rule, Chapter 173-700 WAC or as revised, and Chapter 90.84 RCW and the federal mitigation banking guidelines as outlined in the Federal Register Volume 60 No. 228, November 28, 1995. These guidelines establish the procedural and technical criteria that banks must meet to obtain state and federal certification.
3. Preference shall be given to mitigation banks that implement restoration actions that have been identified in an adopted shoreline restoration plan, watershed planning document prepared and adopted pursuant to Chapter 90.82 RCW, a salmonid recovery plan or project that has been identified on the Salmon Recovery Board Habitat Project List or by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as essential for fish and wildlife habitat enhancement. [Ord. 849B § 2, 2009.]
17.21.088 Nonconforming development.
The following provisions shall apply to lawfully established uses, buildings and/or structures that do not meet the specific standards of this program:
A. Nonconforming uses shall be governed in accordance with the provisions of CMC 17.03.090 and the shoreline master program, subject to additional provisions in this chapter. Such use may not be altered or expanded except in compliance with standards provided in said codes.
B. Nonconforming structures, facilities and development damaged by fire or other cause shall be governed in accordance with CMC 17.03.080 and the shoreline master program, subject to additional provisions in this chapter.
C. “Minor alteration or renovation” shall be defined as alteration or renovation of any structure or associated improvements within a critical area or buffer that results in an expansion of floor area of less than 500 square feet, or 10 percent, whichever is less, or the expansion of impervious surface by less than 1,000 square feet, or 10 percent, whichever is less; or remodeling or renovation that is less than 50 percent of the value of the structure or improvements, excluding plumbing, electrical and mechanical systems. Minor alteration may require compliance with specific performance standards of this code.
D. “Major alteration or renovation” shall be defined as the alteration or renovation of any structure, or associated improvements within a critical area that results in an expansion of floor area of 500 square feet or more, or more than 10 percent and less than 50 percent, whichever is greater; or the expansion of impervious surface by more than 1,000 square feet, or of more than 10 percent and less than 50 percent, whichever is greater; or remodeling or renovation that is greater than 50 percent and less than 100 percent of the value of the structures or improvements excluding plumbing, electrical and mechanical systems.. Major alteration may require compliance with specific performance standards of this code.
E. “Substantial reconstruction” shall be defined as the alteration or renovation that results in an expansion of floor area of more than 50 percent, or the expansion of impervious surface by more than 50 percent, or remodeling or renovation that exceeds 100 percent of the value of the structures or other improvements, excluding plumbing and mechanical systems. Such substantial reconstruction shall be considered the same as new construction and shall fully comply with the provisions of this code.
F. Nonconforming single-family residential lots within a subdivision filed within five years previous to the adoption of provisions of this code that render them nonconforming in compliance with RCW 58.17.170, or other lots or parcels under contiguous ownership and less than 20,000 square feet in size that are not subject to landslide hazard areas and associated buffers, shall be subject to the following standards, in conformance with the provisions for a reasonable use exception in CMC 17.21.083 and in accordance with the following criteria:
1. Nonconforming lots with an area of 2,000 square feet or more available for a building area unrestricted by critical areas or buffers shall comply with the standards of this chapter. The “building area” means the entire area that will be disturbed to construct a structure containing an allowed use and normal appurtenances, including parking and landscaping.
2. Nonconforming lots that do not meet the requirement of subsection (F)(1) of this section shall provide the maximum setback and buffer dimension feasible while providing for a building envelope of at least 2,000 square feet on the lot. The building area shall generally be located on the portion of the lot farthest from the required critical area or buffer and/or the least sensitive portion of the lot.
3. The area between the structure and the critical area shall be maintained or planted in native trees and understory vegetation. [Ord. 849B § 2, 2009.]
17.21.089 Administrative rules.
The director shall have the authority to adopt administrative rules as deemed necessary consistent with the provisions of this chapter and that are necessary for the implementation of critical area regulations. [Ord. 849B § 2, 2009.]
17.21.090 Enforcement.
A. The director or its designee shall have a right to enter upon any property at reasonable times and to make such inspections as are necessary to determine compliance with the provisions of this chapter or the conditions imposed pursuant to this chapter. The city shall make a reasonable effort to locate the owner or persons in charge and notify them of the times and purposes of required entry.
B. The director is further authorized to take such actions as may be necessary to enforce the provisions of this chapter including but not limited to the civil infraction, abatement and criminal penalties provided in Chapter 17.09 CMC.
C. The city’s enactment or enforcement of this chapter shall not be construed for the benefit of any individual person or group of persons other than the general public. [Ord. 849B § 2, 2009.]
17.21.091 Appeals.
Appeal of any decision made in the administration of this chapter shall be as provided in CMC 17.09.160. [Ord. 849B § 2, 2009.]