20D.150.180 Shoreline Access.

(1) Shoreline Access Requirement.

(a) Public Access. Except as otherwise provided in RCDG 20D.150.180(1)(b), all development within the shoreline jurisdiction shall provide physical public access to the shoreline as shown on the Shoreline Public Access System map (Figure S-1 of the Shoreline Master Program in the Redmond Comprehensive Plan) except where:

(i) Fewer than 10 new dwelling units will be constructed or renovated;

(ii) The proposed subdivision involves fewer than 10 lots;

(iii) Industrially developed sites;

(iv) The development consists of interior improvements only;

(v) The value of a proposed redevelopment of nonresidential structures and improvements is less than 25 percent of the assessed value of existing site improvements.

(b) Development along Downtown Shorelines.

(i) Development and uses adjoining the Sammamish River, Bear Creek, and their associated parklands shall provide convenient pedestrian access through the site to these features (excepting development and uses lying between NE 83rd Street (if extended) and the BNSF right-of-way to the south, which shall provide a pathway or walkway between the development and the Sammamish River Trail) unless modified through an approved development agreement where access from the site to the river or creek/parkland is provided.

(ii) Buildings within 100 feet of a property line of a waterway or park, except single-story retail buildings, shall provide building entrances, balconies, or other such building features or site features (for example: plazas or pedestrian features) on the facade fronting waterways or parks to allow users of the buildings to interrelate with the waterway or park.

(iii) Buildings next to trails and walkways along waterways and parks shall incorporate pedestrian-scaled/friendly architectural features on the facades facing the trails/pathways.

(c) Private Access. Residential developments of fewer than 10 dwelling units or lots shall provide physical access for residents from the development to the shoreline.

(d) Where physical public access is required, development located within the shoreline shall provide, at a minimum, all of the following access facilities at that shoreline location, as specified below:

(i) Bear/Evans Creeks.

(A) A trail corridor width meeting AASHTO standards for nonmotorized multi-use trail facilities parallel to the creek located a minimum of 100 feet from the ordinary high water mark and dedicated for the Bear and Evans Creek Trail and Greenway;

(B) The trail may be located within 100 feet from the creek’s ordinary high water mark only when it has been demonstrated that it is absolutely necessary, no reasonable alternative exists, existing facilities do not increase the degree of nonconformity, and appropriate mitigation is implemented to ensure no net loss of the ecological functions of the shoreline;

(C) Where point access is identified on the Shorelines Public Access System map, Figure S-1, a designated eight-foot-wide public multi-use trail from the public street to the outside edge of the stream buffer; and

(D) A designated private or public pedestrian pathway from common building entrance(s) to the outside edge of the stream buffer.

(ii) Sammamish River.

(A) During river restoration and/or trail improvement projects, the Sammamish River Trail may be widened to be brought into compliance with AASHTO standards for trail safety, provided the widening is no closer to the Sammamish River than the existing trail pavement edge and mitigation per Chapter 20D.140 RCDG is required;

(B) Where point access is identified on the Shorelines Public Access System map, a designated eight-foot-wide public multi-use trail from the public street to the Sammamish River Trail; and

(iii) Lake Sammamish.

(A) Where point access is identified on the Shoreline Public Access System map, Figure S-1, a designated eight-foot-wide public multi-use trail from the public street to the outside edge of the waterfront building setback; except where equivalent public access can be provided on public lands adjacent to Lake Sammamish within one-quarter mile of the development; and

(B) A designated private or public pedestrian pathway from common building entrance(s) to the outside edge of the waterfront building setback.

(e) Where private access is required, the development shall provide, at a minimum, the following:

(i) On Bear/Evans Creeks: A designated pedestrian pathway from common building entrance(s) or common area(s) to the outside edge of the stream buffer.

(ii) On Sammamish River: A designated pedestrian pathway from common building entrance(s) or common area(s) to the Sammamish River Trail.

(iii) On Lake Sammamish: A designated pedestrian pathway from common building entrance(s) or common area(s) to the outside edge of the waterfront building setback.

(2) Water Access Facilities. A shoreline development may provide water access facilities, such as viewing platforms, piers, boat launches or trails to the water’s edge, at points along the shoreline designated in the Shorelines Public Access System map (Figure S-1) or designated by the Technical Committee.

(a) The Technical Committee may accept water access facilities in lieu of the required public access in subsection (1)(c) of this section where consistent with Redmond’s shoreline access policies.

(b) Public water access facilities may be located within shoreline buffers to the extent allowed in RCDG 20D.140.20-020, Stream Buffers, and within Lake Sammamish waterfront setbacks, provided that such facilities shall be allowed only where impacts to shoreline vegetation and habitat will be minimal.

(3) Public rights-of-way within the shoreline jurisdiction shall not be vacated unless it can be demonstrated that such rights-of-way do not provide, nor have the potential to provide, shoreline public access.

(4) See Chapter 20D.210 RCDG for additional Citywide transportation and access standards.

(5) See Chapter 20D.80 RCDG for additional Citywide landscaping standards. (Ord. 2486)