Chapter 18.17
HABITAT CONSERVATION AREAS
Sections:
18.17.020 Designation of habitats and species of local importance.
18.17.040 Content of critical area reports.
18.17.050 Substantive requirements.
18.17.010 Designation.
Habitat conservation areas include:
A. Areas having a primary association with fish and wildlife species identified by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service as being in danger of extinction or threatened to become endangered;
B. Areas having a primary association with fish and wildlife species identified by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as being in danger of extinction, threatened to become endangered, vulnerable, or declining and are likely to become endangered or threatened in a significant portion of their range within the State without cooperative management or removal of threats. See WAC 232-12-014 (State endangered species) and WAC 232-12-011 (State threatened and sensitive species);
C. State priority habitats as identified by the State Department of Fish and Wildlife;
D. Habitats and species of local importance as identified by the Town in accordance with WMC 18.17.020;
E. Waters of the State, including lakes, rivers, ponds, streams, inland waters, underground waters, salt waters, and all other surface waters and watercourses within the jurisdiction of the State of Washington, as classified in WAC 222-16-031;
F. Ponds under twenty (20) acres that provide fish or wildlife habitat except artificial ponds created for a nonwildlife purpose such as stormwater detention facilities, wastewater treatment facilities, farm ponds, and temporary construction ponds;
G. Lakes, ponds, streams, and rivers planted with game fish by a governmental or tribal entity;
H. Natural area preserves and natural resource conservation areas as defined by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources;
I. Areas of rare plant species and high quality ecosystems as identified by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources through the Natural Heritage Program (see Chapter 79.70 RCW); and
J. Land useful or essential for preserving connections between habitat blocks and open spaces. [Ord. 2006.07 § 3, 2006; Ord. 2005.13 § 1 (Exh. 1), 2005].
18.17.020 Designation of habitats and species of local importance.
A. Nominations for habitats and species of local importance shall include:
1. Precise identification of the nominated habitat;
2. A scientifically sound management plan; and
3. A study, paid for by the nominator, containing sufficient information to verify compliance with the following criteria.
B. The designation criteria shall be as follows.
1. The species shall be local, native populations that are vulnerable, declining, or have special recreation, commercial, game, or other value.
2. The habitat shall be important for the long-term persistence of the local population.
3. The habitat shall be of high quality, or be capable of restoration to high quality, or connect otherwise isolated habitats.
4. Protection by other agencies, laws, or nonregulatory tools shall be inadequate to protect the species.
C. Designations of habitats and species of local importance shall form a part of these development regulations. [Ord. 2006.07 § 3, 2006; Ord. 2005.13 § 1 (Exh. 1), 2005].
18.17.030 Mapping.
The following map, Figure 5, which may be continuously updated, may be used as a guide for locating habitat conservation areas.
A. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Priority Habitat and Species maps;
B. Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Official Water Type Reference maps;
C. Washington State Department of Natural Resources Shorezone Inventory;
D. Washington State Department of Natural Resources Natural Heritage Program mapping data;
E. Anadromous and resident salmonid distribution maps contained in the habitat limiting factors reports published by the Washington Conservation Commission; and
F. Washington State Department of Natural Resources State Natural Area Preserves and Natural Resource Conservation Area maps. [Ord. 2006.07 § 3, 2006; Ord. 2005.13 § 1 (Exh. 1), 2005].
18.17.040 Content of critical area reports.
In addition to the general critical area report requirements of WMC 18.12.090, critical area reports for habitat conservation areas shall include, where applicable:
A. Vegetation assessment; and
B. Discussion of any Federal, State, or local special management recommendations for species or habitats on or near the site. [Ord. 2006.07 § 3, 2006; Ord. 2005.13 § 1 (Exh. 1), 2005].
18.17.050 Substantive requirements.
In addition to the substantive requirements of WMC 18.12.130, the following shall apply to habitat conservation areas.
A. No plant, wildlife, or fish species not indigenous to the region shall be introduced into a habitat conservation area except with approval of a State or Federal agency with expertise.
B. Preference in mitigation shall be given to contiguous wildlife habitat corridors.
C. In reviewing development proposals, the Town shall seek opportunities to restore degraded riparian fish and wildlife functions such as breeding, rearing, migration, and feeding.
D. The Town shall require buffers of undisturbed native vegetation adjacent to habitat conservation areas as necessary. Buffer widths shall reflect the sensitivity of the habitat and may reflect the intensity of nearby human activity.
E. When a species is more sensitive to human activity during a specific season of the year, the Town may establish an extra outer buffer from which human activity is excluded during said season.
F. No development shall be allowed within a habitat conservation area or buffer with which State or Federal endangered, threatened, or sensitive species have a primary association, except in exchange for restoration as approved by the Director or as provided in a management plan approved by a State or Federal agency with appropriate expertise.
G. When a development permit is applied for on land containing or adjacent to a bald eagle nest or communal roost, the Town shall notify the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and otherwise comply with WAC 232-12-292.
H. No development shall be permitted which degrades the functions or values of anadromous fish habitat, including structures or fills which impact migration or spawning.
I. Construction and other activities shall be seasonally restricted as necessary to protect the resource. Activities shall be timed to occur during work windows designated by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for applicable fish species.
J. Shoreline erosion control shall use bioengineering methods or soft armoring in accordance with an approved critical area report.
K. The following table establishes the standard width of stream buffers (also known as riparian habitat areas) that shall apply to each stream type. The Town of Wilkeson has maps showing streams of each type. Widths shall be measured outward in each direction, on the horizontal plane, from the ordinary high water mark, or from the top of bank if the ordinary high water mark cannot be identified, or from the outer edge of the channel migration zone when present.
Stream Buffers in Riparian Habitat Areas
|
Stream type |
Standard buffer width |
|---|---|
|
Type S (subject to Shorelines Management Act) |
100 feet for Wilkeson Creek |
L. The Director may increase the standard buffer width as necessary to fully protect riparian functions. For example, the buffer may be extended to the outer edge of the floodplain or windward into an area of high tree blow-down potential.
M. The Director may reduce the standard buffer width in exchange for restoration of degraded areas in accordance with an approved plan, or for buffer averaging in accordance with WMC 18.12.130. The Director may also reduce the standard buffer width wherever the proposed adjoining upland land use is of low intensity and low impact, such as passive-use parks.
N. If the stream enters an underground culvert or pipe, and is unlikely to ever be restored aboveground, the Director may waive the buffer along the undergrounded stream; provided, that where the stream enters and emerges from the pipe the opposite outer edges of the buffer shall be joined by a radius equal to the buffer width, with said radius projecting over the piped stream.
O. The Shoreline Master Program, not this critical areas code, shall determine allowable uses along and setbacks from lakes; provided, that this critical areas code shall govern wetlands, streams, and other critical areas lying within areas of shoreline management jurisdiction.
P. To the extent facilities are allowed in habitat conservation areas, the following regulations shall apply.
1. Trails shall be on the outer edge of the stream buffer except for limited viewing platforms and crossings. Trails and platforms shall be of pervious materials as far as possible.
2. Road bridges and culverts shall be designed according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Fish Passage Design at Road Culverts, 1999, and the National Marine Fisheries Service Guidelines for Salmonid Passage at Stream Crossings, 2000.
3. Utility lines shall be accomplished by boring beneath the scour depth and hyporheic zone (the saturated zone beneath and adjacent to streams that filters nutrients and maintains water quality). Utilities shall avoid paralleling streams or changing the natural rate of shore or channel migration.
4. New and expanded public flood protection measures shall require a biological assessment approved by the agency responsible for protecting Federally listed species.
5. In-stream structures such as high-flow bypasses, sediment ponds, in-stream ponds, retention and detention facilities, tide gates, dams, and weirs shall be allowed only as part of an approved restoration project.
6. Stormwater conveyance structures shall incorporate fish habitat features and the sides of open channels and ponds shall be vegetated to retard erosion, filter sediments, and shade the water.
7. Watercourse alterations: see WMC 18.15.030. [Ord. 2006.07 § 3, 2006; Ord. 2005.13 § 1 (Exh. 1), 2005].
