Chapter 18.10
DEFINITIONS
Sections:
18.10.010 Definitions.
As used in this title, the masculine includes the feminine and neuter, and the singular includes the plural. The following words and phrases, unless the context otherwise requires, shall mean:
“Abandoned homesites” means the subject lot has not been cultivated, used for production of commercial forage for sale, commercial grazing of livestock for sale, or subjected to any agricultural practice designed to produce a product for sale in the preceding three years. There shall be evidence that an established dwelling unit was in existence for at least 10 years within the last 100 years; i.e., buildings, an existing well, a road to the homesite, foundations, tree planting, or an established cistern.
“Accessory structure or use” means a structure or use incidental and subordinate to the main use of the property and which is located on the same lot with the main use. A home occupation is an accessory use.
“Adult family home” means the abode of a person providing personal care for one to four adults with functional disabilities, not related by blood or marriage. See CCC 18.115.020.
“Alley” means a narrow street through a block primarily for vehicular service access to the back or side of properties otherwise abutting on another street.
“Alternative energy production facilities (commercial)” means sites for large-scale production of electricity through alternative means, such as solar or wind, for sale to the general public through the national power grid.
“Arboretum” means a place where trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants are cultivated for scientific and educational purposes.
“Bed and breakfast” means a single-family residence containing one kitchen and shared dining area providing lodging for guests and travelers for a period of up to 14 days and serving primarily breakfast only to those people registered to use the facility for lodging or special events that require facilities to provide more than just meals.
Billboard. See “Sign.”
“Board” means the board of Columbia County commissioners.
“Boarding/rooming house” means a house (frequently a family home) where lodgers pay to live and have daily meals, often for an extended period of time such as months or years.
“Building” means a structure built for the support or enclosure of persons, animals, chattels, or property of any kind. For the purpose of this title, a canopy is not a building. See “Canopy.”
“Canopy” means a stationary structure, either freestanding or partially supported on one side only by a building wall, designed and built for the protection of pedestrians at the entrance to a commercial or industrial building, or for the protection of motor vehicles while being serviced, or their occupants served.
“Caretaker’s residence” means a residence or quarters located on the premises of a nonresidential building, operation or plant and occupied by a caretaker or guard of the premises and his or her family.
“Child day care center” means a building or structure in which an agency, person, or persons regularly provide care for a group of children for periods of less than 24 hours a day, not in the provider’s home, and under license by the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (see Chapter 18.120 CCC).
“Child day care, family day care home” means a child day care operation that regularly provides child day care for more than six and not more than 12 children in the provider’s home in the family living quarters (see Chapter 18.120 CCC).
“Child mini day care center” means a mini day care center not located in the residence of the day care provider.
“Clinic” means a facility for diagnosis and treatment of outpatients.
“Commission” means the Columbia County planning commission.
“Condominium” means one of the units in a multi-unit dwelling, each separately owned. Each unit has its own separate utilities but is connected to the water and sewage systems used in common by the multi-unit dwelling.
“Congregate living facilities” means a noninstitutional, shared living environment which integrates shelter and service needs of functionally impaired and/or socially isolated persons who are otherwise in good health and can maintain a semi-independent life style and who do not require constant supervision or intensive health care as provided by an institution. Each resident shall have an individual bedroom and may have a separate living room, kitchen, dining area or bathroom and may share living, dining, and bathroom facilities with other residents, such as in a common dining facility.
“Conservation/recreation-related facility” means facilities designed to enhance the recreation and conservation purposes of the R-1 zone, as stated in CCC 18.60.010, to include, but not be limited to, caretakers’ cottages, storage facilities, monitoring stations, etc.
“County” means the county of Columbia, Washington.
“Dairy farm” means a facility for maintenance of milk-producing animals, and for the production of milk and milk products, such as cheese.
“Dwelling” means a residential structure containing one or more dwelling units. “Dwelling” includes a mobile home, vacation trailer, trailer house, travel trailer and prefabricated house, but does not include a trailer (as defined).
“Dwelling, multifamily” means a building containing three or more dwelling units (apartment houses, condominiums, etc.).
“Dwelling, single-family” means a detached residential dwelling unit designed for and occupied by one family only. For the purpose of this title, a mobile home is a single-family dwelling.
“Dwelling, temporary” means any dwelling unit which, by reason of its construction, location, use or purpose, cannot reasonably be considered a permanent dwelling.
“Dwelling, two-family” means a detached building containing two dwelling units.
“Dwelling unit” means one or more rooms designed for occupancy by one family and not having more than one cooking facility.
“Educational services, tutoring center” means a place where students receive academic support, usually provided by someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects.
“Environmentally sensitive areas” are those within which new construction could have a significant adverse environmental impact, including, but not limited to, areas with unstable soils, steep slopes, unusual or unique flora or fauna, or which lie within floodplains or heavy rainfall areas, watershed areas, or watershed runoff areas.
“Event center” means a building, structure, or location with the primary intended purpose of hosting events, including but not limited to weddings, reunions, concerts, etc.
“Family” means an individual or two or more persons related by blood, marriage, legal adoption, or legal guardianship living together in a dwelling unit in which meals or lodging may also be provided for not more than four additional persons, excluding servants; or an individual or a group of not more than five persons, excluding servants, who need not be related by blood, adoption, or legal guardianship living in a dwelling unit.
“Feed lot” is an enclosure or facility used or capable of being used for feeding livestock hay, grain, silage, or other livestock feed for finishing for market, but shall not include land for growing crops or vegetation for livestock feeding and/or grazing, nor shall it include normal livestock wintering operations.
Fence. Fencing normal to the area shall not be considered a manmade structure.
“Fence, sight-obscuring” means a fence or evergreen planting arranged in such a way as to obstruct vision.
“Floodways” means the channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than a designated height. Also referred to as “regulatory floodway.”
“Floor area” means the area included in surrounding walls of a building or portion thereof, exclusive of vent shafts and courts.
“Forestry” shall mean any activity conducted on or directly pertaining to forest land and relating to growing, harvesting or processing timber, including but not limited to:
1. Road and trail construction;
2. Harvesting, final and intermediate;
3. Pre-commercial thinning;
4. Reforestation;
5. Fertilization;
6. Prevention and suppression of diseases and insects;
7. Salvage of trees; and
8. Brush control.
“Forestry” shall not include preparatory work such as tree marking, surveying and road flagging, and removal or harvesting of incidental vegetation from forest lands such as berries, ferns, greenery, mistletoe, herbs, mushrooms, and other products which cannot normally be expected to result in damage to forest soils, timber, or public resources.
“Fuel break” means a strip of land that is cleared of vegetative undergrowth.
“Garage, private” means an accessory building or portion of a main building used for the parking or temporary storage of vehicles owned or used by occupants of the main building.
“Garage, public” means a building other than a private garage used for the care and repair of motor vehicles or where such vehicles are parked or stored for compensation, hire, or sale.
“Grade (ground level)” means the average of the finished ground level at the center of all walls of the building. In case walls are parallel to and within five feet of a sidewalk, the above ground level should be measured at the sidewalk.
“Grocery store” means a store that sells food (fresh, frozen, and packaged), and other household supplies.
“Guest living quarters” means living quarters attached to a primary dwelling unit without interior access or within a detached accessory building, which are for the sole use of persons employed on the premises or for temporary use by guests of the occupants of the premises. Individual guests may be accommodated for a period not to exceed 30 calendar days in any calendar year. Guest living quarters have neither kitchen facilities, wet bars nor laundry facilities and are not rented or otherwise used as a separate dwelling.
“Hazardous waste” means and includes all dangerous and extremely hazardous waste, including substances composed of both radioactive and hazardous components.
“Height of building” means the vertical distance from the “grade” to the highest point of the coping of a flat roof or to the deck line of a mansard roof or to the average height of the highest gable of a pitch or hip roof.
“Home occupation” means a business or professional enterprise conducted within a dwelling or accessory building by the occupants of the dwelling and the commercial use is incidental and accessory to the primary residential use of the premises and the commercial activity does not alter or detract from the residential character of the residence or infringe upon the right of neighboring residents to enjoy the peaceful occupancy of their homes.
“Hospital” means an establishment which provides sleeping and eating facilities to persons receiving medical, obstetrical, or surgical care and nursing service on a continuous basis.
“Livestock and common farm animals, commercial production” means a facility designed for auction/sale of large numbers of livestock, usually through auction. Generally requires pens for holding, watering and feeding, and an arena for display of livestock.
“Lodge” means a building that has sleeping rooms with restrooms and common eating facilities under the same common roof and are permitted for members and guests only.
“Lot” means a platted or unplatted parcel of land defined by the Columbia County assessor as being segregated and/or separated from other parcels of land and being in compliance with state and local platting laws.
“Lot area” means the total horizontal area within the lot lines of a lot.
“Lot, corner” means a lot abutting on two intersecting streets other than an alley, providing that the streets do not intersect at an angle greater than 135 degrees.
“Lot depth” means the horizontal distance from the midpoint of the front lot line to the midpoint of the rear lot line.
“Lot, interior” means a lot other than a corner lot.
“Lot line” means the property line bounding a lot.
“Lot line, front” means, in the case of an interior lot, the lot line separating the lot from the street other than an alley, and, in the case of a corner lot, the shortest lot line along a street other than an alley.
“Lot line, rear” means a lot line which is opposite and most distant from the front lot line, and in the case of an irregular, triangular, or other shaped lot, a line 10 feet in length within the lot parallel to and at a maximum distance from the lot line.
“Lot line, side” means any lot line that is not a front or rear lot line.
“Lot width” means the horizontal distance between the side lot lines, ordinarily measured parallel to the front lot line.
“Manufacture/assembly/fabrication of commercial and retail products” means the production of items by hand or machinery on a large scale to be sold at retail or on a wholesale market. Can be accessory to commercial sales as long as there is a retail storefront as the primary use.
“Manufactured home, designated” means a structure built on a permanent chassis, transported to its site in one or more sections, and affixed to a permanent foundation. “Manufactured home, designated” does not include recreational vehicles.
Manufactured Housing. See “Manufactured home, designated.”
“Marijuana growth and processing” means a person or entity licensed by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board to grow or process marijuana into marijuana concentrates, usable marijuana and marijuana-infused products; package and label marijuana concentrates, useable marijuana, and marijuana-infused products for sale in retail outlets; and sell marijuana concentrates, usable marijuana and marijuana-infused products at wholesale to marijuana retailers.
“Marijuana sales” means a person or entity licensed by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board to sell marijuana concentrates, usable marijuana and marijuana-infused products in a retail outlet.
“Mobile home park” means a single lot on which two or more mobile homes are located, regardless of whether a charge is made for such accommodation.
“Mobile home park” means a subdivision occupied primarily or exclusively by mobile homes in accordance with CCC 18.95.020.
“Nonconforming structure or use” means a lawfully existing structure or use at the time the ordinance codified in this title or any amendment thereto becomes effective which does not conform to the requirements of the zone in which it is located.
“Open space” means land that is set aside in its natural state to protect its environment. No manmade structures can be built upon it. The use shall be limited to passive recreation (see definition), stock grazing, and wildlife habitat. Other uses shall be required to have the approval of the board of Columbia County commissioners. Open space, in its concept, could become eligible for consideration for classification as open space under Chapter 84.34 RCW.
“Overlay zone” means a zoning district which is applied to a given area in addition to an underlying or base zone. Properties within an overlay zone are subject to the requirements of both the underlying zone and the overlay zone.
“Parking space” means a rectangle not less than 20 feet long and nine feet wide. Parking spaces shall be arranged and marked so as to provide for orderly and safe loading, unloading, parking, and for egress and ingress into the spaces.
“Passive recreation” means hiking, backpacking, fishing, hunting, and horseback riding.
“Person” means every person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation.
“Planned unit development” means an area of land to be developed as a single entity for a number of structures, dwelling units or a dwelling complex. Development regulations within the planned unit development are in addition to the underlying zone and must conform to both the requirements of the zone and Chapter 18.70 CCC.
“Processing and value-added operations related to the production of ag products grown on site” means a change in the physical state or form of the product (such as milling wheat into flour or making strawberries into jam). The production of a product in a manner that enhances its value, as demonstrated through a business plan (such as organically produced products).
“Quarry” means a site for the extraction of a mineral resource, such as ore, stone, sand or soil. The extraction process may involve digging, cutting or blasting.
“Residential care facility” means a state-licensed facility caring for at least five but not more than 15 people with functional disabilities. See CCC 18.115.020.
“Retail store” means a place in which merchandise or services are sold to the end consumer. This can include but is not limited to grocery stores, bakeries, bicycle repair shops, banks, hardware stores, secondhand stores, laundromats and similar businesses.
“Rustic development” means a dwelling unit without indoor plumbing for water. An incinerator toilet is required in its case. This concept is allowed only on a single dwelling unit and lot basis and only when soil conditions or other conditions prohibit the use of a more conventional type sewage system.
“School, private or parochial” means a nonpublic school that conducts a program of kindergarten and at least grade one, or a program of any or all grades through 12. Private schools must be approved by the State Board of Education, maintain a program that ensures a sufficient basic education for students to meet usual state graduation requirements, and meet reasonable standards for health and safety of private school students.
“Setback” means the distance between a road right-of-way, boundary line, or other specific point, to a point where structures may be built.
“Short-term rental” means that either a portion of or an entire residential dwelling unit is rented to overnight guests for a rental period of less than 30 continuous days; commonly known as an Airbnb.
“Sign” means a presentation or representation, other than a house number, which by words, letters, figures, designs, pictures, or colors publicly displayed gives notice relative to a person, a business, an article or merchandise, a service, an assemblage, a solicitation, or a request for aid or other type of advertising. This includes the surface upon which the presentation or representation is displayed. Each display surface of a sign shall be considered to be a sign.
“Site plan” means a drawing to a scale as specified by the planning director which identifies and shows all matters, as specified by this title, pertaining to a proposed development use.
“Small cell network” means a collection of interrelated small cell facilities designed to deliver personal wireless services.
“Street” means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way which provides for public use for the purpose of vehicular and pedestrian traffic and including the terms “road,” “highway,” “lane,” “avenue,” “alley,” or other similar designations.
“Structural alteration” means a change to the supporting members of a structure including the supporting parts of foundations, bearing walls or partitions, columns, beams, girders, or the roof.
“Structure” means that which is built or constructed, an edifice or building of any kind or any piece of work artificially built up or composed of parts joined together in some definite manner and which requires location on the ground or which is attached to something having location on the ground.
“Subdivision, long” means the division of land into five lots or more which come under the dictates of Chapter 17.05 CCC.
“Subdivision, short” means the division of land into four lots or less which come under the dictates of Chapter 17.10 CCC.
“Supported living arrangement” means a living unit owned or rented by one or more persons with functional disabilities who receive assistance with activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, and/or medical care from an individual or agency licensed and/or reimbursed by a public agency to provide such assistance.
“Trailer” means any portable unit designed and built to be towed on its own chassis, comprised of frame and wheels, and which does not fall within definitions of vacation trailer, mobile home, or prefabricated house. This definition includes boat trailers, bunk trailers, portable schoolrooms, and industrial, commercial or public offices and accessory uses.
Trailer House. See “Manufactured home, designated.”
Trailer Park. See “Mobile home park.”
Trailer, Travel. See “Vacation trailer.”
“Vacation trailer” means a portable unit designed and built to be towed on its own chassis, comprised of frame and wheels, having sleeping, cooking and plumbing facilities independent of external utility connections and intended for use principally as a temporary recreational or vacation residence.
“Wireless communication facility, small cell” means any wireless communications facility that meets the specifications of RCW 80.36.375. These are typically smaller units that are attached to existing street lights or telephone poles in the public right-of-way, but may be attached to existing structures.
“Wireless communication facility (“WCF”)” means equipment at a fixed location that enables wireless communications between user equipment and a communications network, including but not limited to, the enclosure where the support structure, antennas, accessory equipment, fences and any other equipment necessary for transmission or reception of radio or electromagnetic frequency signals are located. This definition excludes small cell facilities.
“Youth home” means a 24-hour group living environment for persons under the age of 18, unrelated to an owner or provider that offers room, board and 24-hour nonmedical care and supervision. [Ord. 2022-01; Ord. 2020-02 § 2 (Exh. G); Ord. 2019-02; Ord. 2017-04; Ord. 2017-03 (Exh. D); Ord. 2015-02 § 2; amended during 2012 codification; Ord. 2008-04 § 1; Ord. 95-01 § 3; Ord. 94-02; Ord. 93-09; Ord. 93-04; Ord. 90-02 § 3.]