Chapter 19.04 DEFINITIONS

For the purpose of this title, the following words and phrases are defined and shall be construed as set forth in this chapter, unless otherwise expressly stated or the context clearly indicates a different intention. The words “shall” and “will” are mandatory; the word “may” is permissive.

The definition of words and phrases used in this title and not specifically defined in this chapter shall be their common meaning as may be determined by the community development director or designee. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.010 Alley.

“Alley” means a public right-of-way or city-approved private way which affords only a secondary means of access to abutting property, unless specifically allowed by this title to serve as a primary means of access subject to specific conditions. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.020 Binding site plan.

“Binding site plan” means a drawing of a lot or lots of record showing the location of all existing and proposed major utilities, streets, private roads, easements, and open space, as well as other information set forth in PMC 19.12.040. The plan shall set forth all conditions of approval and shall contain on its face the statements set forth in PMC 19.12.040. The plan shall govern the development of all the land on the lot or lots of record on which the development is proposed. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.030 Binding site plan committee.

Repealed by Ord. 3119. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.040 Block.

“Block” means all property fronting upon one side of a street between intersecting and intercepting streets, or between a street and a railroad right-of-way, waterway, terminus or dead-end street, or city boundary. An intercepting street shall determine only the boundary of the block on the side of the street, which it intercepts. Private alleys and streets shall not be considered for determining blocks. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.050 Code.

“Code” means the Puyallup Municipal Code. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.060 Contiguous properties.

“Contiguous properties” means two or more lots or parcels of land sharing a common lot line. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.070 Comprehensive plan.

“Comprehensive plan” means a long-range plan or group of plans adopted by the city council, which is intended to guide the growth and development of the city, and contains community goals, objectives and policies regarding the environment, land use, housing, community character, parks and recreation, transportation, utilities, capital facilities, and shoreline management. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.080 Council.

“Council” means the city council of the city of Puyallup. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.090 County auditor.

“County auditor” means as defined in Chapter 36.22 RCW, or the office or person assigned such duties under a county charter. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.100 Cul-de-sac.

“Cul-de-sac” means a short street having one end open to traffic and being permanently terminated by a vehicle turnaround, also known as a court or dead-end street. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.110 Declaration of short subdivision.

“Declaration of short subdivision” means a document signed by all persons having any pecuniary interest in the land being subdivided and acknowledged before a notary that they signed the same as their voluntary act and deed. The declaration shall, at a minimum, contain the elements of:

(1) A legal description of the tract being divided and all parcels contained therein; and

(2) An illustrative map; and

(3) If applicable, the restrictive covenants. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.120 Director.

“Director” means the development and permitting services director for the city of Puyallup or designated representative. (Ord. 3269 § 1, 2023; Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.130 Dedication.

“Dedication” means the deliberate transfer of property by the owner to another party for any common or public use, reserving to himself no rights other than those which are compatible with the full exercise and enjoyment of the common or public use to which the property has been devoted. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.140 Easement.

“Easement” means a grant of one or more of the property rights by the property owner to and for the use by the public, a corporation, or another persons or entity for specific purposes. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.150 Hearing examiner.

“Hearing examiner” means the hearing examiner of the city of Puyallup. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.160 Improvements.

“Improvements” mean any permanent structure or landscape feature that becomes part of, placed upon, or is affixed to real property including streets, with or without curb or gutter, sidewalks, crosswalk ways, water mains, sanitary and storm sewers, street trees and other appropriate items. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.170 Lot.

“Lot” means a fractional part of subdivided lands having fixed boundaries, being of sufficient area and dimension to accommodate development allowed by zoning. The term shall not include tracts and parcels created or any common or public use including divisions or descriptions created solely for road access purposes. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.180 Lot, corner.

“Lot, corner” means a lot situated at the intersection of two or more streets, which streets have an angle of intersection measured within said lot of not more than 135 degrees. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.190 Lot, panhandle.

See PMC 20.15.005, “Lot, panhandle.” (Ord. 3269 § 1, 2023; Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.200 Lot, through.

“Lot, through” means an interior lot having frontage on two non-intersecting streets, and also known as a double frontage lot. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.210 Lot area or parcel area.

“Lot area” or “parcel area” means the total horizontal area within the boundary lines of a lot or parcel, excluding any street rights-of-way and the area in any panhandle access. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.220 Lot depth.

“Lot depth” means the horizontal length of a straight line drawn from the midpoint of the front lot line to the midpoint of the rear lot line. If the rear lot line is less than 10 feet in length or if the lot comes to a point at the rear, the rear lot line shall be determined to be a line not less than 10 feet in length lying parallel to the front lot line, and located entirely within the lot and farthest from the front lot line. On panhandle lots, the access strip portion shall be excluded when calculating lot depth. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.230 Lot width.

“Lot width” means the horizontal distance between the side lot lines measured at right angles to the line used to determine the depth of the lot at a point midway between the front and rear lot lines. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.240 Lot line, front.

See PMC 20.15.005, “Lot line, front.” (Ord. 3269 § 1, 2023; Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.250 Lot line, rear.

See PMC 20.15.005, “Lot line, rear.” (Ord. 3269 § 1, 2023; Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.260 Lot line, side.

See PMC 20.15.005, “Lot line, side.” (Ord. 3269 § 1, 2023; Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.265 Lot line, street side.

“Lot line, street side” means a yard extending between the front and rear lot lines along the full length of the lot and lying between the side lot line that abuts a public way and parallel setback line having a perpendicular distance from said street side lot line equal to the prescribed street side yard setback in the property development standards for the prescribed zone classification in which the lot is located. (Ord. 3269 § 1, 2023; Ord. 3119 § 5, 2016).

19.04.270 Lot of record.

“Lot of record” means a lot as shown on an officially recorded plat, subdivision or binding site plan, or a parcel of land the deed of which is officially recorded, considered as a unit of property, and described by metes and bounds. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.280 Lot of record, nonconforming.

“Lot of record, nonconforming” means a validly recorded lot which, at the time it was recorded, fully complied with the applicable laws and ordinances, but which does not fully comply with the lot requirements (e.g., area, width or depth) of this title. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.282 Low impact development.

“Low impact development” means a storm water management strategy that emphasizes conservation and use of existing natural site features integrated with distributed, small-scale storm water controls to more closely mimic natural hydrologic patterns in residential, commercial and industrial settings. LID implements engineered small-scale hydrologic controls to replicate the predevelopment hydrologic regime of watersheds through infiltrating, filtering, storing, evaporating and detaining runoff close to its source. Examples of LID include: permeable paving, bio-infiltration facilities (e.g., “rain garden”), bio-filtration facilities, green roofs, rainwater collection, tree retention, soil amendments, clustered site design, native landscaping/minimization of turf lawn, minimal excavation foundation systems, retention of natural site contours, impervious surface minimization, and other similar methods. (Ord. 3130 § 3 (Exh. A), 2016).

19.04.285 Original tract.

“Original tract” means a unit of land which the applicant holds under single or unified ownership and the configuration of which may be determined by the fact that all land abutting said tract is separately owned by others, not including the applicant or applicants; provided, that where a husband and wife own contiguous lots in separate or community ownership, said contiguous lots shall constitute the original tract. (Ord. 2748 § 1, 2003).

19.04.290 Panhandle access.

“Panhandle access” means a strip of land having a width narrower than that of the lot, tract, or parcel to be served thereby, and designed for the purpose of providing access to one lot, tract, or parcel. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.300 Parcel.

“Parcel” means a contiguous quantity of land in the possession of, owned by, controlled by, or recorded as the property of the same owner or joint owners. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.310 Pedestrian access.

“Pedestrian access” means a right-of-way, dedicated to public use, 10 feet or more in width, which cuts across a block to facilitate pedestrian access to adjacent streets and properties. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.320 Plat.

“Plat” means a map or representation of a subdivision showing the division of a tract or parcel of land into blocks, streets, or other divisions and dedications. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.330 Plat, preliminary.

“Plat, preliminary” means a neat and accurate drawing of a proposed subdivision showing the layout of streets, alleys, lots, blocks, and restrictive covenants to be applied to the subdivision, and the other elements of a plat or subdivision which is furnished as a basis for the general approval or disapproval of the subdivision. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.340 Plat, final.

“Plat, final” means the final drawing of the subdivision and dedication prepared for filing for record with the county auditor and containing all elements and requirements set forth in this title. After the county auditor has recorded the final plat, it is known as an authorized plat, subdivision or dedication. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.350 Plat approval.

“Plat approval” means an official action taken by the city regarding a plat. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.360 Public right-of-way.

“Public right-of-way” means any defined area dedicated to public use for vehicular, pedestrian and/or utility use. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.370 Private roadway.

“Private roadway” means an easement, tract or parcel created to provide the access from a city street to platted lots, the maintenance of which is the responsibility of a homeowners association or similar private party or parties, who shall be noted as such on the face of the plat. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.380 Street.

“Street” means a public right-of-way which affords primary means of vehicular access to abutting property, including boulevard, avenue, place, drive, court, lane of other thoroughfare dedicated to such public travel. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.390 Subdivider.

“Subdivider” means any person, firm or corporation proposing to make, or have made, a subdivision. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.400 Subdivision.

“Subdivision” means the division of a lot, tract, or parcel of land into two or more lots, plats, sites or other divisions of land for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of sale or lease. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.410 Subdivision, major.

“Subdivision, major” means subdivision, plats or dedications containing five or more lots or two or more blocks except properties segregated as a binding site plan. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.420 Subdivision, short.

“Subdivision, short” means any subdivision, plats or dedications containing four lots or less except properties segregated as a binding site plan. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.430 Utilities easement.

“Utilities easement” means rights-of-way which may be used by public and/or private utilities, including, but not limited to, electricity, water, natural gas, sewer, storm water, telephone and television cable, for the construction, operation, maintenance, alteration and repair of their respective facilities. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.440 Yard.

“Yard” means an open space that lies between the primary structure or structures and the nearest lot line, and is unoccupied from the ground upwards unless specifically authorized otherwise, and located on the same lot with the structure or use which it serves. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.450 Yard, required.

“Yard, required” means an open space on a lot or block unoccupied by structures from the ground upward, unless specifically authorized otherwise. The required yard depth as specified in PMC Title 20, Zoning, is measured perpendicularly from a lot line. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.460 Yard, front.

“Yard, front” means the space extending the full width of the lot between the primary structure and the front lot line and measured perpendicular from the front lot line to the point of the structure closest to the front lot line. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.470 Yard, rear.

“Yard, rear” means the space extending the full width of the lot between the primary structure and the rear lot line and measured perpendicular from the rear lot line to the point of the structure closest to the real lot line. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).

19.04.480 Yard, side.

“Yard, side” means the space extending from the front yard to the rear yard between the primary structure and the side lot line and measured perpendicular from the side lot line to the closest point of the structure. (Ord. 2591 § 2, 1999).