Chapter 17.08
DEFINITIONS
Sections:
17.08.010 Definitions.
For the purposes of this title, the following definitions shall apply. Where terms are not defined, they shall have their ordinary accepted meanings within the context with which they are used. Webster’s II New Riverside Dictionary, copyright 1984, or subsequent versions of Webster’s in use by the city, shall be considered as providing ordinary accepted meanings.
“Accessory dwelling unit” or “ADU” means a small separate living unit accompanying the residence or business, or dwelling permitted on a lot of minimum size or larger for the purpose of housing guests, friends, and relatives and having its own living area, kitchen and toilet and bathing facilities. The total floor area of such a unit shall not exceed eight hundred (800) square feet and shall be in the second story or above in a commercial structure. Neither the primary residence nor accessory use shall be a recreational vehicle.
“Accessory structure or use” means a subordinate use, structure, building or portion of a building located on the same parcel of land as the main use or building to which it is accessory. For purposes of this definition, an accessory building may include an accessory dwelling unit. Accessory buildings, excluding permitted accessory dwelling units, shall contain no habitable dwelling space, unless otherwise specifically provided by other provisions of this title. For the purposes of defining accessory buildings, “habitable space” is a space in a building for living, sleeping, eating or cooking. Bathrooms, toilet rooms, sink, shower, or utility spaces and similar areas are not considered habitable spaces. In addition, and for the purposes of accessory buildings, “living” spaces are typically living rooms, hobby rooms, sewing rooms, play rooms, computer rooms, craft rooms, etc.
“Administrator” or “zoning administrator” means the duly appointed city of Pateros land use administrator.
“Adult family home” means the regular family abode of a person or persons who are providing personal care, room and board to more than one but not more than four people with functional disabilities who are not related by blood or marriage to the person or persons providing the services; except that a maximum of six persons may be permitted if the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services determines that the home and the provider are capable of meeting standards and qualifications provided for by law (RCW 70.128.110).
“Agency” means the planning agency for the city of Pateros (see also “planning agency”).
“Agriculture” means the tilling of soil, raising of crops and horticulture, except that vegetable gardens occupying less than five thousand (5,000) square feet and up to ten (10) fruit trees are exempt from this definition.
“Agriculture lands” means lands that are not already characterized by urban growth and are of long-term significance for the commercial production of horticultural, viticultural, floricultural, dairy, bee, vegetable, or animal products or of berries, grain, hay, straw, turf, seed, Christmas trees not subject to excise tax, or livestock.
“Alley” means a narrow street which affords only a secondary means of access to property abutting thereon.
“Animal shelter” means a building or structure (including outdoor fenced cages or yards) for the care of lost, abandoned, homeless or injured animals, whether domestic or wild.
“Aquifer recharge areas” means an area with a critical recharging effect on aquifers used for potable water where an aquifer that is a source of drinking water is vulnerable to contamination that would affect the potability of the water.
“Automobile wrecking yard” means an area in which is conducted the dismantling and/or wrecking of used motor vehicles, machinery or trailers, or the storage or sale of dismantled, obsolete or wrecked vehicles or parts or the storage of motor vehicles unable to be moved under the power of the vehicle.
“Bed and breakfast” means an owner-occupied single-family dwelling in which not more than two bedrooms are rented to the traveling public (tourists). For the purposes of this title, this use is not considered a commercial use. This use shall have the outward appearance of a single-family residence and any food service shall be operated in accordance with Chapter 246-215 WAC.
“Best available science” means the current scientific information used in the process to designate, protect, or restore critical areas that is derived from a valid scientific process, as defined by WAC 365-195-900 through 365-195-925, as amended, when used within the shorelines master program, the most current, accurate, and complete scientific and technical information available as required by WAC 173-26-201(2)(a).
“Best management practices (BMPs)” means conservation practices or systems of practices and management measures that:
1. Control soil loss and reduce water quality degradation caused by nutrients, animal waste, toxins, and sediment.
2. Minimize adverse impacts to surface water and ground water flow, circulation pattern, and to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of waters, wetlands, and other fish and wildlife habitats.
3. Control site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or water disposal, or drainage from raw material.
“Boarding clinic” means a veterinarian clinic or kennel where provisions are made for boarding animals for periods longer than one day.
“Boarding house,” “lodging house” or “rooming house” means a building where lodging, with or without meals, is provided for a fee for three or more persons in addition to members of the family occupying such building.
“Buffer” means an area, required by this chapter, contiguous or adjacent to a critical area that provides a naturally vegetated zone that helps maintain the function and structural stability of a critical area.
“Buildable area” means the space remaining on a lot after the minimum open space requirements (coverage, yards, setbacks) have been met.
“Building” means a structure built for the support, shelter or enclosure of persons, animals, or property of any kind.
“Building coverage” means the amount of land covered or permitted to be covered by a building or buildings, usually measured in terms of percentage of a lot.
“Building height” means the vertical distance measured from the average elevation of the native grade adjacent to the building foundation to the highest point of the roof, excluding chimneys, antennas, and other secondary roof structures.
“Building line” means a line, fixed parallel to the lot line, beyond which a building cannot extend.
“Bus stop” means a facility where bus passengers are picked up and dropped off, including waiting areas but not service or storage facilities for buses.
“Bus terminal” means a facility used for the storage and service of buses.
“Butcher shop” means a business that operates under federal/state license for the purposes of processing meat for primarily retail sale.
“City” means the city of Pateros, Washington.
“Commission” means the planning commission of the city. (See also “planning commission.”)
“Comprehensive plan” means the comprehensive land use plan of the city of Pateros.
Convalescent Center. See “Nursing home.”
“Corner lot” means a lot located at the intersection of two or more streets having an angle of intersections of not more than one hundred thirty-five (135) degrees.
“Council” means the Pateros city council.
“Critical areas” include the following areas and ecosystems, as designated by the city of Pateros: wetlands; areas with a critical recharging effect on aquifers used for potable water; aquatic, riparian, upland and wetland fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas; frequently flooded areas; channel migration zones; and geologically hazardous areas.
“Critical areas report” means a report prepared by a qualified professional required by the city that inventories and analyzes the development impacts of a proposed action on a critical area.
“Day care center” means a business regularly providing care for thirteen (13) or more children. State law provides that no such center shall be located in a private family residence unless the portion of the residence where the children have access is used exclusively for the children during the hours the center is in operation or is separate from the usual living quarters of the family.
“Day care center (mini)” means a day care facility for the care of twelve (12) or fewer children in a facility other than the family abode of the person or persons under whose direct care and supervision the child is placed; or the care of from seven through twelve (12) children in the family abode of such person or persons.
“Day care, family home” means a licensed facility to provide direct care, supervision, behavior management, and early learning opportunities for twelve (12) or fewer children in the home of the licensee where the licensee resides and is the primary provider, within a birth through eleven (11) years of age range exclusively, for periods less than twenty-four (24) hours, as defined in RCW 43.215.010(1)(c), as existing or hereafter amended.
“Density” means the average number of dwelling units per acre.
“Dish antenna” means a structure designed to receive radio or television signals from communication satellites.
“Drive-in restaurant” means an eating establishment that provides for the ordering and pick-up of food from the window of a vehicle.
“Duplex” means a single structure containing two dwelling units and designed for occupancy by two families and connected by a common vertical wall or, in the case of multistory building, by common ceiling and floor.
“Dwelling, multifamily” means a building containing three or more dwelling units. (See also “use, multifamily.”)
“Dwelling, single-family” means a detached building containing one dwelling unit.
“Dwelling unit” means a building or portion thereof designed exclusively for residential purposes on a permanent basis; to be used, rented, leased, or hired out to be occupied for living purposes having independent living facilities, including permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation. No motor home, travel trailer, tent trailer or other recreational vehicle shall be considered a dwelling unit.
“Erosion hazard areas” means areas containing soils which, according to the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service soil classification system, may experience severe to very severe erosion.
“Family” means an individual or two or more persons related by blood, marriage, registered domestic partnership, adoption or legal guardianship living together in a dwelling unit; or a group of not more than five unrelated persons living together in a dwelling unit. Persons with functional disabilities, as defined in this chapter, shall be considered the same as related individuals.
“Farmers market” means a site used for the retail sale of fresh agricultural products, grown either on or off site, but may include, as incidental and accessory to the principal use, the sale of factory-sealed or prepackaged food products and some limited nonfood items. This definition does not include the regular sale of livestock.
“Fence” means any arrangement of wood, metal, wire or other material running around, along, or by the side of any open area to prevent or restrict passage or to mark a boundary; provided, that fences composed solely of live shrubbery or plantings shall not be included under this definition.
“Fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas” means the habitats of priority species, priority habitats, and habitats of local importance for fish and wildlife that include a seasonal range or habitat element with which a given species has a primary association, and which, if altered, may reduce the likelihood that the species will maintain and reproduce over the long term. These might include areas of high relative density or species richness, breeding habitat, winter range, movement corridors, and areas of limited availability or high vulnerability to alteration, such as cliffs, taluses, and wetlands.
“Floor area” means the total area of all floors of a building as measured to the outside surfaces of exterior walls and including halls, stairways, elevator shafts, attached garages and accessory structures, porches, basements and balconies.
“Frequently flooded areas” means lands in the floodplain subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year, and includes but is not limited to streams, rivers, lakes, coastal areas, wetlands and the like.
“Function” means the beneficial roles served by critical areas including, but not limited to, water quality protection and enhancement; fish and wildlife habitat; food chain support; flood storage, conveyance and attenuation; ground water recharge and discharge; erosion control; aesthetic value protection and recreation.
“Functional disabilities, people with” means:
1. A person who, because of a recognized chronic physical or mental condition or disease, is functionally disabled to the extent of:
a. Needing care, supervision or monitoring to perform activities of daily living or instrumental activities of daily living; or
b. Needing support to ameliorate or compensate for the effects of the functional disability so as to lead as independent a life as possible; or
c. Having a record of having such an impairment; or
2. Being regarded as having such an impairment, but such term does not include current, illegal use of or active addiction to a controlled substance.
“Fur processing and taxidermy” means a business operating under a license from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife under RCW 77.65.480 or subsequent laws as they now exist, or hereafter amended.
“Geologically hazardous areas” means:
1. Any area designated as a geologically hazardous area by the local government with jurisdiction; or
2. Any other area that is not suited to siting commercial, residential, or industrial development consistent with public health or safety concerns because of the area’s susceptibility to erosion, sliding, earthquake, or other geological events, including but not limited to:
a. Channel migration zones;
b. Erosion hazard areas: areas that contain soil types, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s soil classification system, that may experience severe to very severe erosion;
c. Landslide hazard areas: areas that have the potential of risk of mass movement resulting from a combination of geologic, topographic, and hydrologic factors;
d. Seismic hazard areas: areas that are subject to severe risk of damage as a result of earthquake-induced ground shaking, slope failure, settlement, or soil liquefaction;
e. Mine hazard areas: areas that are directly underlain by, adjacent to, or affected by mine workings such as adits, tunnels, drifts, or air shafts;
f. Volcanic hazard areas: areas subject to pyroclastic flows, lava flows, and inundation by debris flows, mud flows, or related flooding resulting from volcanic activity.
“Grade, native” means the average elevation between the lowest and highest point of the property surface adjacent to the building in question, as such surface existed ten (10) years prior to construction of the building in question. For the purpose of this definition, “adjacent” shall mean a location five feet away from and outside of the proposed building’s foundation.
“Group home” means a place for dependent or predelinquent children that provides special care in a homelike environment. This definition does not include homes of this nature for three or fewer persons (excluding house parents).
“Halfway house” means a home for juvenile delinquents or adult offenders leaving correctional and/or mental institutions or rehabilitation centers for alcohol and/or drug users.
“Hazardous waste” means all dangerous and extremely hazardous waste as defined in RCW 70.105.010.
“Hazardous waste storage” means the holding of dangerous waste for a temporary period as regulated by state dangerous waste regulation, Chapter 173-303 WAC.
“Hazardous waste treatment” means the physical, chemical or biological processing of dangerous wastes to make them less dangerous, safer for transport, amenable for storage, or reduced in volume.
“Hazardous waste treatment and storage facility, off site” means those treatment and storage facilities which treat and store waste from generators on properties other than those on which the off-site facilities are located. These facilities must comply with the state siting criteria as adopted in accordance with RCW 70.105.210, as amended.
“Hazardous waste treatment and storage facility, on site” means those treatment and storage facilities which treat and store wastes generated on the same geographically contiguous or bordering property. These facilities must comply with the state siting criteria adopted in accordance with RCW 70.105.210, as amended.
“Height of building” is measured from native grade level to the highest point of a structure; provided, that television antennas, chimneys, and similar appurtenances shall not be used in calculating height, except where such appurtenances obstruct the view of the shoreline of a substantial number of residences on areas adjoining such shorelines, or the applicable master program specifically requires that such appurtenances be included; provided further, that temporary construction equipment is excluded in this calculation.
“Home occupation” means the accessory use of a dwelling unit for gainful employment by the occupants of the unit.
“Hotels and motels” means establishments for housing the traveling public on an overnight or short-term basis. Accessory restaurant and recreational facilities are usually available to nonguests as well as guests.
“Impervious surface” means any material or structure that prevents the natural absorption of water into the earth.
“Junkyard” means any lot, parcel, tract of land, building, structure or part thereof used for the storage, collection, processing, purchase, sale or abandonment of waste paper, rags, scrap metal, vehicular parts, glass, used building materials, household appliances, brush, wood or other scrap or discarded goods, materials, machinery or two or more unregistered, inoperable motor or recreational vehicles or any other type of junk. This definition shall not include recycling drop-off stations.
“Kennel” means a commercial establishment (including a residence) in which dogs or other domestic animals are housed, kept, groomed, bred, boarded, trained or sold.
“Landslide hazard areas” means areas potentially subject to risk of mass movement due to a combination of geologic, topographic and hydrologic factors.
“Leather tanning” means any business processing hides for the tanning industry or tannery operating under Department of Ecology requirements for effluent-based industries.
“Loading space, off-street” means space on the same lot with a structure or use, or contiguous to a group of structures or uses, for the temporary parking of a vehicle while loading or unloading persons, merchandise, or materials, and which abuts a street, alley or other appropriate means of access and egress.
“Lot” means the basic development unit; an area with fixed boundaries, used or intended to be used by one building and its accessory building(s) and not divided by any street or alley.
“Lot area” means the total horizontal land area (generally measured in square footage) within the lot lines of a lot.
“Lot coverage” means the amount of land covered or permitted to be covered by buildings or other improvements that create impervious surfaces, and by driveways and parking areas, usually measured in terms of percentage of total lot area.
“Lot line” means the property line bounding a lot.
“Lot line, front” means the property line separating the lot from the street upon which a building has its official address; 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 lot line separating the lot from the street other than an alley on that side of the lot providing primary access to the lot. For corner lots, refer to Table B, Setbacks and Dimensional Requirements, of Chapter 17.12.
“Lot line, rear” means a property line which is opposite and most distant from the front lot line. In the case of trapezoidal or nonrectangular lots, the rear lot line is that line with the greatest portion furthest from the front lot line. Should this line be less than ten (10) linear feet or should the lot be triangular or pentagonal, then a new rear lot line measuring exactly ten (10) linear feet between adjacent lot lines shall be located perpendicular to an imaginary line drawn from the midpoint of the front lot line to a point on the lot lines furthest from the point of beginning of the imaginary line.
“Lot line, side” means any property line not a front or rear lot line.
“Lot width” means the average horizontal distance between the side lot lines, ordinarily measured at the front building line.
“Manufactured home” means a manufactured home constructed bearing HUD certification as a designated manufactured home, either built after 1982 or built earlier and subsequently upgraded to obtain HUD certification.
“Manufactured home park” means a parcel of land under single ownership used for or available for rent for the placement of two or more manufactured homes used as dwellings. Manufactured home parks are considered a multifamily use.
“Mine hazard areas” means areas underlain by, adjacent to, or affected by mine workings such as adits, gangways, tunnels, drifts or airshafts.
“Mineral lands” means lands designated as mineral resource lands, as required by the Growth Management Act, RCW 36.70A.170, as amended.
“Mitigation” means avoiding, minimizing, rectifying, reducing, compensating for, and/or monitoring an impact as defined in Washington State’s Shoreline Master Program rules, WAC 173-26-201(2)(e), as amended.
“Mixed-use development” means a combination of commercial, light industrial, residential or recreational uses within the same building or site as a part of an integrated development project with functional interrelationships and coherent physical design.
“Modular/factory-built home” means a residential structure which meets the requirements of the International and/or Washington State Building Code, as amended, and is constructed in a factory and transported to the building site.
“Native vegetation” means vegetation comprised of plant species that are indigenous to an area.
“Nonconforming lot” means a lot, the area, width and other dimensional characteristics of which fail to meet the requirements of the zoning district in which it is located and was conforming prior to the enactment of the ordinance codified in this title or any amendment thereto.
“Nonconforming structure” means a legally established structure existing at the time the ordinance codified in this title or any amendment thereto becomes effective which does not conform to the lot size, yard, height or lot coverage requirements of the district in which it is located.
“Nonconforming use” means a legally established use existing at the time the ordinance codified in this title or any amendment thereto becomes effective which does not conform to the use requirements of the district in which it is located.
“Nursery/greenhouse” means a facility, structure or use of land for the commercial production of bedding plants, street stock or associated horticultural products.
“Nursing home” means any home, place or institution which operates or maintains facilities providing convalescent or chronic care, or both, for a period in excess of twenty-four (24) consecutive hours for three or more patients not related by blood or marriage to the operator, who, by reason of illness or infirmity, are unable properly to care for themselves. Convalescent and chronic care may include but not be limited to any or all procedures commonly employed in waiting on the sick, such as administration of medicines, preparation of special diets, giving of bedside nursing care, application of dressings and bandages, and carrying out of treatment prescribed by a duly licensed practitioner of the healing arts. It may also include care of mentally incompetent persons. It may also include community-based care. Nothing in this definition shall be construed to include general hospitals or other places which provide care and treatment for the acutely ill and maintain and operate facilities for major surgery or obstetrics, or both. Nothing in this definition shall be construed to include any assisted living facility, guest home, hotel or related institution which is held forth to the public as providing, and which is operated to give, only board, room and laundry to persons not in need of medical or nursing treatment or supervision except in the case of temporary acute illness. The mere designation by the operator of any place or institution as a hospital, sanitarium, or any other similar name which does not provide care for the acutely ill and maintain and operate facilities for major surgery or obstetrics, or both, shall not exclude such place or institution from the provisions of this chapter; provided, that any nursing home providing psychiatric treatment shall, with respect to patients receiving such treatment, comply with the provisions of RCW 71.12.560 and 71.12.570.
“Open space, common” means land within or related to a development, not individually owned (undivided interest), which remains undeveloped (except for approved trails and accessory structures approved by the Department of Fish and Wildlife) and that is dedicated to one or more of the following purposes: historical/architectural preservation and/or wildlife habitat and/or recreation.
“Open space, conservation” means land retained in an open or unimproved condition, which has been set aside, dedicated, designated, or reserved for fish and wildlife preservation or enhancement purposes. Mechanisms for preservation of conservation open space include but are not limited to: subdivision or planned development (PD) process. Lands within this type of an open space dedication may include portions and combinations of forest, agricultural and grazing lands, priority fish and wildlife habitats, on-site watersheds, one hundred (100) year floodplains, county shorelines or shorelines of statewide significance and riparian areas and wetlands. Land so designated shall not include areas of human impact and shall contain no structures or impervious surfaces other than those which are approved by the administrator, e.g., part of an organized trail system, structure approved by the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and structures of historical/architectural preservation significance or used as designated conservation open space.
“Open space, individual ownership” means land within or related to a development owned individually, which remains undeveloped (except for trails) and that is dedicated for use in the development and is retained or restored to its native state or used for agricultural or recreational purposes, e.g., part of an organized trail system, structure approved by the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and structures of historical/architectural preservation significance or used as designated wildlife open space.
“Open space, public” means any land which has been acquired, set aside, dedicated, designated or reserved for general public use or enjoyment.
“Ordinary high water mark” on all lakes, streams, and tidal water is that mark that will be found by examining the bed and banks and ascertaining where the presence and action of waters are 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 as that condition exists on June 1, 1971, as it may naturally change thereafter, or as it may change thereafter in accordance with permits issued by a local government or the Department of Ecology; provided, that in any area where the ordinary high water mark cannot be found, the ordinary high water mark adjoining fresh water shall be the line of mean high water.
“Park (travel) trailer” means a vehicular unit manufactured in accordance with state requirements for park trailers, and bearing the appropriate insignia of the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries.
“Party of record” means the applicant and any other person who has submitted written comment on any action or proposed action, or who has appeared at a public hearing or public meeting and signed an official register requesting notice of further action.
“Path or trail” means a cleared way for pedestrian, bicycle and/or pedestrian transportation and which may or may not be paved.
“Person” means an individual, firm, partnership, association, corporation, estate, trust, receiver, syndicate, branch of government, social or fraternal organization, or any group or combination acting as a legal entity, and including representative(s) thereof.
“Planning agency” means the body duly appointed by the city in accordance with Chapter 35A.63 RCW.
“Planning commission” means the planning commission of the city. (See also “commission.”)
“Preschool” means a school for children between the ages of one through six, or any portion thereof, and offering schooling not beyond the grade of kindergarten. Preschool facilities include kindergartens, nursery schools, and similar child care facilities. Kindergartens in an elementary school shall be considered as part of that academic school.
“Professional office” means an office occupied by doctors, dentists, accountants, attorneys, optometrists, architects, professional engineers and surveyors, and persons engaged in other similar occupations.
“Qualified professional” means a person with experience and training in the pertinent scientific discipline, and who is a qualified scientific expert with expertise appropriate for the relevant critical area subject in accordance with WAC 365-195-905(4), as amended. A qualified professional will have obtained a B.S. or B.A. or equivalent degree in biology, engineering, environmental studies, fisheries, geomorphology or related field, and have at least two years of related work experience. A geologist must have a state license.
“Recreational facilities” means a structure or use designed to provide indoor or outdoor recreation opportunities for the public.
“Recreational vehicle” means a vehicle:
1. Built on a single chassis;
2. Four hundred (400) square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection;
3. Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty truck; and
4. Designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling, but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.
“Recreational vehicle park” means a parcel of land which has been developed to accommodate travel trailers, motor homes, campers and other types of recreational vehicles on an overnight or longer term, but temporary, basis.
“Recycling center” means a facility where discarded recyclable products such as aluminum and tin cans, glass, paper, and other similar individual consumer products are deposited and stored for future reprocessing (excluding drop stations).
“Recycling drop station” means a facility or area for consumer deposit of small recyclable household items (glass, paper, aluminum, etc.) in enclosed containers which are collected and emptied on a regular basis without processing, crushing or other handling, and which does not create a nuisance due to odor, noise, appearance, rodent or bug attraction.
“Residential care facility” means a facility, licensed by the state, that cares for at least five but not more than fifteen (15) people with functional disabilities, that has not been licensed as an adult family home pursuant to RCW 18.48.010.
“Resource lands” means agricultural, mineral, and forest lands that have long-term commercial significance with regard to growing capacity, productivity, and soil composition, in consideration with the land’s proximity to population areas, and the possibility of more intense use of the land.
“Restoration” means improving, enhancing or reestablishing a once viable and now degraded critical area to a state in which its stability functions and values approach its unaltered state.
“Retirement home” means a facility providing living arrangements for the elderly, not to include full-time nursing care.
“Riparian area” means those transitional areas between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and are distinguished by gradients in biophysical conditions, ecological processes, and biota. They are areas through which surface and subsurface hydrology connect water bodies with their adjacent uplands. They include those portions of terrestrial ecosystems that significantly influence exchanges of energy and matter with aquatic ecosystems (i.e., a zone of influence). Riparian areas are adjacent to perennial, intermittent, and ephemeral (with existing riparian vegetation) streams, lakes, and estuarine-marine shorelines.
“Seismic hazard areas” means areas subject to severe risk of damage as a result of earthquake-induced ground shaking, slope failure, settlement, or soil liquefaction.
“Setback” means the required distance between structures and all lot lines.
“Shoreline jurisdiction” or “shoreline area” means all shorelines of the state as defined in RCW 90.58.030.
“Short-term vacation rental” means a single-family residential dwelling unit on an individual lot, other than approved hotels, motels, inns or bed and breakfasts, rented on a nightly, weekly, or other basis less than month-to-month rental. Such uses may be within a single-family home, an accessory dwelling unit, condominium, and multifamily or mixed use/commercial building. Such uses are usually booked through a service or direct contact with owner and do not have on-site management.
“Sign” means an identification, description, illustration or device which is affixed to or represented, directly or indirectly, upon a structure or land, and which directs attention to a product, place, activity, person, institution, business, or profession.
“Storage container” means a unit originally or specifically used or designed to store goods or merchandise during shipping or hauling by a vehicle, including but not limited to rail cars of any kind, truck trailers or multimodal shipping containers, but does not include apple bins, wooden or cardboard shipping crates or similar items.
“Storage facilities, bulk” means either enclosed or outdoor areas designed for the storage of either large quantities of materials or materials of a large size.
“Street” means a public right-of-way for roadway, sidewalk and utility installation.
“Structural alteration” means any change to the supporting members of a structure including but not limited to foundations, bearing walls or partitions, columns, beams, girders, trusses or any structural change in the roof or exterior walls.
“Structure” means anything constructed or erected on the ground, or which is attached to something located on the ground. The term includes buildings, radio and TV towers, sheds and signs. The term does not include residential fences and retaining walls less than three feet in height, rockeries, sidewalks and other paved surfaces, and similar improvements of a minor character.
“Temporary” means a period of six months or less.
“Temporary structure or use” means a permitted structure whose bearing components are not permanent in nature which is removed when the designated time period, activity or use for which the temporary structure was erected has ceased.
“Townhouse” means an attached dwelling unit in a row of at least two and not more than six such units, separated by property lines and by vertical common fire-resistant walls from other dwelling units in the row and having individual outside access and legal frontage on a public or approved private street. Each dwelling unit shall be designed for and occupied exclusively by one family and the household employees of that family. A townhouse shall extend from foundation to roof, and no townhouse shall be located over another unit. Common walls between townhouses shall have no doors, windows or other provisions for human passage or visibility. Each townhouse shall be attached to other units in the row by not more than two common walls. The principal access shall be at or near grade. Townhouses shall be considered multifamily dwellings and regulated as such.
“Transportation facility” means a structure or use designed to provide services and support for persons using public conveyance.
“Travel trailer” means a building or vehicle which is portable or which was originally designed to be portable and which was constructed to permit occupancy for dwelling or sleeping purposes.
“Triplex” means three dwelling units designed for occupancy of three families and connected by common vertical walls or, in the case of a multistory building, by common ceiling and floor; all in a single structure.
“Use” means the purpose for which land or a structure is primarily designed, arranged or intended; or for which it is primarily occupied or maintained.
“Use, multifamily” means two or more single-family dwellings; or two or more duplexes, triplexes, multifamily, manufactured, modular or factory-built dwellings; or any combination of two or more of the above located on a single lot.
“Vocational school” means a school for educating, training or retraining persons in a trade, vocation or other technical field.
“Volcanic hazard areas” means areas subject to pyroclastic flows, lava flows, and inundation by debris flows, mudflows, or related flooding resulting from volcanic activity.
“Warehouse” means a structure used for the storage of goods and materials.
“Wetlands” means areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water or ground water 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, 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. Wetlands may include those artificial wetlands intentionally created from nonwetland areas to mitigate the conversion of wetlands.
“Yard” means an open space on a lot which is unobstructed from the ground upward except as otherwise provided for in this title.
“Zoning district” means a section of the city designated in this chapter in which requirements of the use of land and building and development standard are prescribed.
“Zoning map” means the map delineating the boundaries of districts which, along with the zoning text of this title, comprise the zoning ordinance of the city. (Ord. 807 § 1, 2023; Ord. 771 § 1 (Exh. A) (part), 2019: Ord. 761 § 1(B), 2018; Ord. 722 §§ 1(N)—(P), 2014; Ord. 00-592 § 1 (part), 2000; Ord. 97-550 § 4, 1997)