The terms used throughout this program shall be defined and interpreted as indicated below. When consistent with the context, words used in the present tense shall include the future; the singular shall include the plural, and the plural the singular. Any words not defined herein shall be defined pursuant to Chapter 16.16 WWC (Critical Areas) or Titles 20 (Zoning) or 22 (Land Use and Development), or their common meanings when not defined in the code.
(Ord. 2024-047 § 2 (Exh. D))
A. 
"Accessory structure"
means a structure that is incidental and subordinate to a primary use and located on the same lot as the primary use, such as barns, garages, storage sheds, and similar structures. Structures that share a common wall with a primary residential structure shall be considered an extension of the primary structure, rather than an accessory structure.
B. 
"Accretion shoreform"
means a shoreline with a relatively stable berm and backshore that has been built up by long-term deposition of sand and gravel transported by wind and/or water from a feeder bluff or other material source. Examples include, but are not limited to, barrier beaches, points, spits, tombolos, pocket beaches, and point and channel bars on streams.
C. 
"Act"
means the Shoreline Management Act of 1971 (Chapter 90.58 RCW) as amended.
D. 
"Adverse impact"
means an impact that can be measured or is tangible and has a reasonable likelihood of causing moderate or greater harm to ecological functions or processes or other elements of the shoreline environment.
E. 
"Agricultural activities"
means agricultural uses and practices including, but not limited to: producing, breeding, or increasing agricultural products; rotating and changing agricultural crops; allowing land used for agricultural activities to lie fallow in which it is plowed and tilled but left unseeded; allowing land used for agricultural activities to lie dormant as a result of adverse agricultural market conditions; allowing land used for agricultural activities to lie dormant because the land is enrolled in a local, state, or federal conservation program, or the land is subject to a conservation easement; conducting agricultural operations; maintaining, repairing, and replacing agricultural equipment; maintaining, repairing, and replacing agricultural facilities; and maintaining agricultural lands under production or cultivation. The construction of new structures or activities that bring a new, non-ongoing agricultural area into agricultural use is not considered agricultural activities.
F. 
"Agricultural equipment" and "agricultural facilities"
include, but are not limited to:
1. 
The following used in agricultural operations: equipment; machinery; constructed shelters, buildings, and ponds; fences; water diversion, withdrawal, conveyance, and use equipment and facilities including, but not limited to, pumps, pipes, tapes, canals, ditches, and drains;
2. 
Corridors and facilities for transporting personnel, livestock, and equipment to, from, and within agricultural lands;
3. 
Farm residences and associated equipment, lands, and facilities; and
4. 
Roadside stands and on-farm markets for marketing fruit or vegetables.
G. 
"Agricultural land"
means areas on which agricultural activities are conducted as of the date of adoption of this program pursuant to the state shoreline guidelines as evidenced by aerial photography or other documentation. After the effective date of this program, land converted to agricultural use is subject to compliance with the requirements herein.
H. 
"Agricultural products"
includes, but is not limited to, horticultural, viticultural, floricultural, vegetable, fruit, berry, grain, hops, hay, straw, turf, sod, seed, and apiary products; feed or forage for livestock; Christmas trees; hybrid cottonwood and similar hardwood trees grown as crops and harvested within 20 years of planting; and livestock including both the animals themselves and animal products including, but not limited to, meat, poultry and poultry products, and dairy products.
I. 
"Alteration"
means any human-induced change in an existing condition of a shoreline, critical area and/or its buffer. Alterations include, but are not limited to, grading, filling, channelizing, dredging, clearing (vegetation), draining, construction, compaction, excavation, or any other activity that changes the character of the area.
J. 
"Appurtenance"
means development that is necessarily connected to the use and enjoyment of a single-family residence and is located landward of the OHWM and/or the perimeter of a wetland. For the purposes of single-family residential exemptions, normal appurtenances include a garage, deck, driveway, utilities, fences, installation of a septic tank and drainfield, and grading that does not exceed 250 cubic yards (except to construct a conventional drainfield) and that does not involve placement of fill in any wetland or waterward of the ordinary high water mark.
K. 
"Aquaculture"
means the culture or farming of fish, shellfish, or other aquatic plants or animals. Aquaculture does not include the harvest of wild geoduck associated with the state-managed wildstock geoduck fishery.
L. 
"Aquatic shoreline environment"
means an area designated pursuant to Chapter 23.20 WCC (Shoreline Jurisdiction and Environment Designations).
M. 
"Archaeologist"
means a person who has designed and executed an archaeological study as evidenced by a thesis or dissertation and has been awarded an advanced degree such as an M.A., M.S. or Ph.D. from an accredited institution of higher education in archaeology, anthropology, or history or other germane discipline with a specialization in archaeology; has a minimum of one year of field experience with at least 24 weeks of fieldwork under the supervision of a professional archaeologist, including no less than 12 weeks of survey or reconnaissance work, and at least eight weeks of supervised laboratory experience. Twenty weeks of fieldwork in a supervisory capacity must be documentable with a report produced by the individual on the fieldwork.
N. 
"Associated wetlands"
means wetlands that are in proximity to tidal waters, lakes, rivers, or streams that are subject to the Shoreline Management Act and either influence or are influenced by such waters. Factors used to determine proximity and influence include, but are not limited to: location contiguous to a shoreline water body, formation by tidally influenced geohydraulic processes, presence of a surface connection including through a culvert or tide gate, location in part or whole within the floodplain of a shoreline, periodic inundation, and/or hydraulic continuity.
O. 
"Average grade level"
means the average of the natural or existing topography of the portion of the lot, parcel, or tract of real property that will be directly under a proposed building or structure. In the case of structures to be built over water, average grade level shall be the elevation of the ordinary high water mark. Calculation of the average grade level shall be made by averaging the ground elevations at the midpoint of all exterior walls of the proposed building or structure.
(Ord. 2024-047 § 2 (Exh. D))
A. 
"Backshore"
means the accretion or erosion zone, located landward of the line of ordinary high water, which is normally wetted only by storm tides. A backshore may take the form of a more or less narrow storm berm (ridge of wave-heaped sand and/or gravel) under a bluff, or it may constitute a broader complex of berms, marshes, meadows, or dunes landward of the line of ordinary high water. It is part of the littoral drift process along its waterward boundary.
B. 
"Barrier beach"
means a linear ridge of sand or gravel extending above high tide, built by wave action and sediment deposition seaward of the original coastline; includes a variety of depositional coastal landforms.
C. 
"Beach nourishment"
means a restoration or shoreline stabilization activity in which selected beach material is deposited at one or several locations in the updrift portion of a drift sector. The material is then naturally transported by waves or currents downdrift to stabilize or restore accretion shoreforms and other berms, which may be eroding due to artificial obstructions in the shore process corridor.
D. 
"Bed and breakfast"
means a privately owned dwelling that is the primary residence of the owner in which, for compensation, one to five rooms are used as sleeping units to house or lodge individuals or families for periods of less than 30 days as transient visitors with or without limited food service. The use of the dwelling unit for the bed and breakfast shall be clearly incidental and subordinate to its use for residential purposes and the purpose of the applicable zoning district. At least one owner shall be present overnight when a guest room is rented.
E. 
"Bedlands"
means those submerged lands below the line of extreme low tide in marine waters and below the line of navigability or navigable lakes and rivers. Where the line of navigability has not been established, bedlands would be those submerged lands below the OHWM in lakes and rivers.
F. 
"Bedrock"
means a general term for rock, typically hard, consolidated geologic material that underlies soil or other unconsolidated, superficial material or is exposed at the surface.
G. 
"Berm" or "protective berm"
means one or several accreted linear mounds of sand and gravel generally paralleling the shore at or landward of OHWM; berms are normally stable because of material size or vegetation, and are naturally formed by littoral drift.
H. 
"Best management practices"
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 patterns, 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.
I. 
Boathouse.
See "Moorage structure."
J. 
Boat Lift or Lift.
See "Moorage structure."
K. 
"Bog"
means a type of wetland dominated by mosses that form peat. Bogs are very acidic, nutrient poor systems, fed by precipitation rather than surface inflow, with specially adapted plant communities.
L. 
"Breakwater"
means an offshore structure that is generally built parallel to shore that may or may not be connected to land, and may be floating or stationary. Their primary purpose is to protect harbors, moorages and navigation activity from wave and wind action by creating stillwater areas along shore. A secondary purpose is to protect shorelines from wave-caused erosion.
M. 
"Buffer (buffer zone)"
means the area adjacent to a shoreline and/or critical area that separates and protects the area from adverse impacts associated with adjacent land uses.
N. 
"Building"
means any structure used or intended for supporting or sheltering any use or occupancy as defined in the International Building Code.
O. 
"Building area"
means the entire area that will be disturbed to construct the home, normal appurtenances (except on-site sewage systems), and landscaping.
P. 
"Building footprint"
means, for the purposes of this program, the ground area contained by the exterior walls of a building.
Q. 
"Bulkhead"
means a wall-like structure that is placed parallel to shore primarily for retaining uplands and fills prone to sliding or sheet erosion, and to protect uplands and fills from erosion by wave action.
(Ord. 2024-047 § 2 (Exh. D))
A. 
Canopy.
See "Moorage structure."
B. 
"Channelization"
means the straightening, relocation, deepening or lining of stream channels, including construction of continuous revetments or levees for the purpose of preventing gradual, natural meander progression.
C. 
"Clearing"
means the removal or destruction of vegetation or plant cover by manual, chemical, or mechanical means and that may result in exposed soils. Clearing includes, but is not limited to, actions such as cutting, felling, thinning, flooding, killing, poisoning, girdling, uprooting, or burning.
D. 
"Coastal high hazard area"
means the area subject to high velocity waters, including, but not limited to, storm surge or tsunamis. The area is designated on the Flood Insurance Rate Map as Zone V1-V30, VE or V.
E. 
"Commercial development"
means those developments whose primary use is for retail, service or other commercial business activities. Included in this definition are developments such as hotels, motels, shops, restaurants, banks, professional offices, grocery stores, laundromats, recreational vehicle parks, commercial rental campgrounds and cabins, whether public or private, and indoor or intensive outdoor commercial recreation facilities. Not included are private camping clubs, marinas, signs, utilities, bed and breakfasts, vacation rentals, and other development.
F. 
"Conservancy shoreline environment"
means an area so designated in Chapter 23.20 WCC (Shoreline Jurisdiction and Environment Designations).
G. 
"County"
means Whatcom County, Washington.
H. 
"Covered moorage"
means a roofed floating or fixed offshore structure without walls, other than a minimal structural framework needed to support the roof, for moorage of watercraft or float planes.
I. 
"Critical areas"
means the following areas as designated in Chapter 16.16 WWC:
1. 
Critical aquifer recharge areas.
2. 
Wetlands.
3. 
Geologically hazardous areas.
4. 
Frequently flooded areas.
5. 
Fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas.
J. 
"Critical habitat"
means habitat areas with which endangered, threatened, sensitive or monitored plant, fish, or wildlife species have a primary association (e.g., feeding, breeding, rearing of young, migrating). Such areas are identified in Chapter 16.16 WWC with reference to lists, categories, and definitions promulgated by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as identified in WAC 232-12-011 or 232-12-014; in the Priority Habitat and Species (PHS) program of the Department of Fish and Wildlife; or by rules and regulations adopted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, or other agency with jurisdiction for such designations.
K. 
"Critical saltwater habitat"
includes all kelp beds, eelgrass beds, spawning and holding areas for forage fish, such as Pacific herring, surf smelt and Pacific sandlance; subsistence, commercial and recreational shellfish beds; mudflats, intertidal habitats with vascular plants; and areas with which priority species have a primary association.
L. 
"Cultural resource"
refers to any archaeological, historic, cemetery, or other cultural sites or artifacts; as well as those traditional food, medicine, fibers, and objects that sustain the religious, ceremonial, and social activities of affected Native American tribes that may be regulated under state or federal laws administered by the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP).
M. 
"Cultural resource site"
means a geographic locality in Washington, including, but not limited to, submerged and submersible lands and the bed of the sea within the state's jurisdiction, that contains cultural resources.
N. 
"Current deflector"
means an angled "stub-dike," groin or sheet-pile structure which projects into a stream channel to divert flood currents from specific areas, or to control downstream current alignment.
(Ord. 2024-047 § 2 (Exh. D))
A. 
"Dam"
means a barrier across a stream or river to confine or regulate flow or raise water levels for purposes such as flood or irrigation water storage, erosion control, power generation, or collection of sediment or debris.
B. 
"Date of filing"
refers to the beginning of the state Shorelines Hearings Board's 21-day appeal period. Consistent with RCW 90.58.140(6), "date of filing" is defined as follows:
1. 
For projects that only require a substantial development permit: the date that Ecology receives the county's decision.
2. 
For a shoreline conditional use permit or variance: the date that Ecology's decision on the shoreline conditional use permit or variance is transmitted to the applicant and the county.
3. 
For substantial development permits simultaneously mailed with a shoreline conditional use permit or variance: the date that Ecology's decision on the shoreline conditional use permit or variance is transmitted to the applicant and the county.
C. 
"Department"
means the Whatcom County department of planning and development services.
D. 
"Department of Ecology" or "Ecology"
means the Washington State Department of Ecology.
E. 
"Development"
means any land use activity, action, or manmade change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to buildings or other structures, site work, and installation of utilities; land division, binding site plans, and planned unit developments; dredging, drilling, dumping, filling, grading, clearing, or removal of any sand, gravel, or minerals; shoreline stabilization works, driving of piling, placing of obstructions; or any project of a permanent or temporary nature that interferes with the normal public use of the surface of the waters overlying lands subject to the Act at any stage of water level. "Development" does not include dismantling or removing structures if there is no other associated development or redevelopment.
F. 
"Dike"
means an artificial embankment placed at a stream mouth or delta area to hold back sea water for purposes of creating and/or protecting arable land from flooding.
G. 
Dock.
See "Moorage structure."
H. 
"Director"
means the Whatcom County planning and development services director, or his/her designee. The director is the shoreline administrator and is authorized to carry out the administrative duties enumerated in his program.
I. 
"Ditch" or "drainage ditch"
means an artificially created watercourse constructed to convey surface or ground water. Ditches are graded (manmade) channels installed to collect and convey runoff from fields and roadways. Ditches may include irrigation ditches, waste ways, drains, outfalls, operational spillways, channels, stormwater runoff facilities or other wholly artificial watercourses, except those that directly result from the modification to a natural watercourse. Ditched channels that support fish are considered to be streams.
J. 
"Dredge spoil"
means the material removed by dredging.
K. 
"Dredging"
means the removal, displacement, and disposal of unconsolidated earth material such as silt, sand, gravel, or other submerged material from waterward of the OHWM of water bodies or from wetlands. With the exception of regular maintenance of an approved barge landing site, maintenance dredging and other support activities are included in this definition.
L. 
"Drift sector" or "drift cell"
means a particular reach of marine shore in which littoral drift may occur without significant interruption, and which contains any and all natural sources of such drift, and also any accretion shoreform(s) accreted by such drift. Each normal drift sector contains these shore process elements: feeder bluff or estuary, driftway, littoral drift, and accretion shoreform.
M. 
"Drift sill"
means a low elevation groin, typically constructed of rock, installed along with beach nourishment filled up to height of sill, that is sometimes used to hold or slow littoral transport of placed sediment without blocking longshore drift.
N. 
"Driftway"
means that portion of the marine shore process corridor, primarily the upper foreshore, through which sand and gravel are transported by littoral drift. The driftway is the essential component between the feeder bluff(s) and accretion shoreform(s) of an integral drift sector. Driftways are also characterized by intermittent, narrow berm beaches.
(Ord. 2024-047 § 2 (Exh. D))
A. 
"Ecological functions" or "shoreline functions"
means the work performed or role played by the physical, chemical, and biological processes that contribute to the maintenance of the aquatic and terrestrial environments that constitute the shoreline's natural ecosystem. See WAC 173-26-201(2)(c). Functions include, but are not limited to, habitat diversity and food chain support for fish and wildlife, ground water recharge and discharge, high primary productivity, low flow stream water contribution, sediment stabilization and erosion control, storm and flood water attenuation and flood peak desynchronization, and water quality enhancement through biofiltration and retention of sediments, nutrients, and toxicants. These beneficial roles are not listed in order of priority.
B. 
"Ecology" or "Department of Ecology"
means the Washington State Department of Ecology.
C. 
"Ecosystem processes" or "ecosystem-wide processes"
means the suite of naturally occurring physical and geologic processes of erosion, transport, and deposition; and specific chemical processes that shape landforms within a specific shoreline ecosystem and determine both the types of habitat and the associated ecological functions.
D. 
Ells.
See "Moorage structure."
E. 
"Emergency activities"
means an unanticipated and imminent threat to public health, safety, or the environment that requires immediate action within a time too short to allow full compliance with the Shoreline Management Program. Emergency construction is construed narrowly as that which is necessary to protect property from the elements; it does not include development of new permanent protective structures where none previously existed. Where new protective structures are deemed by the director to be the appropriate means to address the emergency situation, upon abatement of the emergency the structure(s) shall be either permitted or, if not permittable, removed pursuant to the Shoreline Management Program and RCW 90.58.030(3)(e)(iii), WAC 173-27-040(2)(d), or their successors. As a general matter, flooding or other seasonal events that can be anticipated and may occur but that are not imminent are not considered an emergency.
F. 
"Enhancement"
means actions performed within an existing degraded shoreline, critical area and/or buffer to intentionally increase or augment one or more functions or values of the existing area. Enhancement actions include, but are not limited to, increasing plant diversity and cover, increasing wildlife habitat and structural complexity (snags, woody debris), installing environmentally compatible erosion controls, or removing nonindigenous plant or animal species.
G. 
"Erosion"
means the wearing away of land by the action of natural forces, such as wind, rain, water and other natural agents that mobilize, transport, and deposit soil particles; on a beach, the carrying away of beach material by wave actions, tidal currents, or littoral currents.
H. 
"Erosion hazard areas"
means lands or areas underlain by soils identified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) as having "severe" or "very severe" erosion hazards and areas subject to impacts from lateral erosion related to moving water such as river channel migration and shoreline retreat.
I. 
"Essential public facility"
means those facilities that are typically difficult to site, such as airports, state education facilities, and state or regional transportation facilities as defined in RCW 47.06.140, state and local correctional facilities, solid waste handling facilities, and inpatient facilities including substance abuse facilities, mental health facilities, group homes, and secure community transition facilities as defined in RCW 71.09.020 (RCW 36.70A.200, Siting of essential public facilities).
J. 
"Excavation"
means the disturbance, displacement and/or disposal of unconsolidated earth material such as silt, sand, gravel, soil, rock or other material from all areas landward of the OHWM.
K. 
"Exempt development"
means a use or development activity that is not a substantial development and that is specifically listed as exempt from the substantial development permit requirement in WAC 173-27-040 and WCC Title 22 (Land Use and Development).
L. 
"Extreme high water level"
means the highest tide level reached in a 19-year tidal cycle or, on lakes, the highest water level reached in the past 10 years.
M. 
"Extreme low tide"
means the lowest line on the land reached by a receding tide.
(Ord. 2024-047 § 2 (Exh. D))
A. 
"Fair market value"
of a development means the open market bid price for conducting the work, using the equipment and facilities, and purchase of the goods, services and materials necessary to accomplish the development. This would normally equate to the cost of hiring a contractor to undertake the development from start to finish, including the cost of labor, materials, equipment and facility usage, transportation and contractor overhead and profit. The fair market value of the development shall include the fair market value of any donated, contributed or found labor, equipment or materials.
B. 
"Farm pond"
means an open water depression created from a nonwetland site in connection with agricultural activities.
C. 
"Feasible"
means an action, such as a development project, mitigation, or preservation requirement, that meets all of the following conditions:
1. 
The action can be accomplished with technologies and methods that have been used in the past in similar circumstances, or studies or tests have demonstrated in similar circumstances that such approaches are currently available and likely to achieve the intended results;
2. 
The action provides a reasonable likelihood of achieving its intended purpose; and
3. 
The action does not physically preclude achieving the project's primary intended legal use.
In cases where this program requires certain actions, unless they are infeasible, the burden of proving infeasibility is on the applicant/proponent. In determining an action's infeasibility, the county may weigh the action's relative costs and public benefits, considered in the short- and long-term time frames.
D. 
"Feasible alternative"
means an action, such as development, mitigation, or restoration, that meets all of the following conditions: (1) the action can be accomplished with technologies and methods that have been used in the past in similar circumstances, or studies or tests have demonstrated in similar circumstances that such approaches are currently available and likely to achieve the intended results; (2) the action provides a reasonable likelihood of achieving its intended purpose; and (3) the action does not physically preclude achieving the project's primary intended legal use. Feasibility shall take into account both short- and long-term monetary and nonmonetary costs and benefits.
E. 
"Feasible location"
means a location that accommodates a development in a manner that achieves its intended purpose consistent with the constraints of the applicable land use regulations and characteristics of the property, including but not limited to lot size, configuration, presence/absence of critical areas and compatibility with adjacent land use/development. Feasibility shall take into account both short- and long-term monetary and nonmonetary costs and benefits.
F. 
"Feeder bluff" or "erosional bluff"
means any bluff (or cliff) experiencing periodic erosion from waves, sliding or slumping, and/or whose eroded sand or gravel material is naturally transported (littoral drift) via a driftway to an accretion shoreform; these natural sources of beach material are limited and vital for the long-term stability of driftways and accretion shoreforms.
G. 
"Feeder bluff exceptional"
means relatively rapidly eroding bluff segments identified by the presence of landslide scarps, bluff toe erosion, and a general absence of vegetative cover and/or portions of bluff face fully exposed. Other indicators included the presence of colluvium (slide debris), boulder or cobble lag deposits, and fallen trees across the beachface. Feeder bluff exceptional segments lack a backshore, old or rotten logs, and coniferous bluff vegetation.
H. 
"Feedlot"
means a concentrated, confined animal or poultry operation for production of meat, milk or eggs; or stabling in yards, barns, pens or houses wherein animals or poultry are fed at the place of confinement; and crop or forage growth or production is not sustained within the place of confinement.
I. 
"Fill"
means the transport or placement by any manual or mechanical means of fill material from, to, or on an area waterward of the OHWM, in wetlands, or on shorelands in a manner that raises the elevation or creates dry land, including temporary stockpiling of fill material.
J. 
"Fill material"
means any solid or semisolid material, including rock, sand, soil, clay, plastics, construction debris, wood chips, overburden from mining or other excavation activities, and materials used to create any structure or infrastructure that, when placed, changes the grade or elevation of the receiving site.
K. 
"Fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas"
means those areas as defined in Chapter 16.16 WWC (Critical Areas).
L. 
"Fish habitat"
means a complex of physical, chemical, and biological conditions that provide the life-supporting and reproductive needs of a species or life stage of fish. Although the habitat requirements of a species depend on its age and activity, the basic components of fish habitat in rivers, streams, ponds, lakes, estuaries, marine waters, and nearshore areas include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. 
Clean water and appropriate temperatures for spawning, rearing, and holding.
2. 
Adequate water depth and velocity for migrating, spawning, rearing, and holding, including off-channel habitat.
3. 
Abundance of bank and instream structures to provide hiding and resting areas and stabilize stream banks and beds.
4. 
Appropriate substrates for spawning and embryonic development. For stream- and lake-dwelling fishes, substrates range from sands and gravel to rooted vegetation or submerged rocks and logs. Generally, substrates must be relatively stable and free of silts or fine sand.
5. 
Presence of riparian vegetation as defined in this program. Riparian vegetation creates a transition zone, which provides shade, and food sources of aquatic and terrestrial insects for fish.
6. 
Unimpeded passage (i.e., due to suitable gradient and lack of barriers) for upstream and downstream migrating juveniles and adults.
M. 
"Fisheries"
means all species of fish and shellfish commonly or regularly originating or harvested commercially or for sport in Puget Sound and its tributary freshwater bodies, together with the aquatic plants and animals and habitat needed for continued propagation and growth of such species.
N. 
"Fisheries enhancement"
means actions taken to rehabilitate, maintain or create fisheries habitat, including but not limited to hatcheries, spawning channels, lake rehabilitation, and planting of fisheries stocks. Fisheries enhancement differs from aquaculture in that the increase in fisheries stocks eventually becomes available for public harvest.
O. 
"Float"
means an anchored (not directly to the shore) floating platform that is free to rise and fall with water levels and is used for water-dependent recreational activities such as boat mooring, swimming, or diving. Floats may stand alone with no overwater connection to shore or may be located at the end of a pier or ramp.
P. 
"Flood" or "flooding"
means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow of inland waters and/or the unusual and rapid accumulation of runoff of surface waters from any source.
Q. 
"Flood control works"
means all development on rivers and streams designed to retard bank erosion, to reduce flooding of adjacent lands, to control or divert stream flow, or to create a reservoir, including but not limited to revetments, dikes, levees, channelization, dams, vegetative stabilization, weirs, flood and tidal gates. Excluded is water pump apparatus.
R. 
"Flood management"
means a long-term program to reduce flood damages to life and property and to minimize public expenses due to floods through a comprehensive system of planning, development regulations, building standards, structural works, and monitoring and warning systems.
S. 
"Floodproofing"
means structural provisions, changes, adjustments or a combination thereof, to buildings, structures, and works in areas subject to flooding in order to reduce or eliminate damages from flooding to such development and its contents, as well as related water supplies and utility facilities.
T. 
"Floodway fringe"
means that fringe of land in the floodplain outside the floodway, which is subject to inundation by the base flood. Flooding in the fringe is limited to flood surge storage of water currents moving at a negligible velocity of less than one-half mile per hour.
U. 
"Food chain"
means the hierarchy of feeding relationships between species in a biotic community. The food chain represents the transfer of material and energy from one species to another within an ecosystem.
V. 
"Foreshore"
means the intertidal area between mean higher high water and mean low water.
W. 
"Fossil fuels"
include coal, petroleum, crude oil, natural gas, oil shales, bitumens, tar sands, propane, butane, and heavy oils. All contain carbon and were formed as a result of geologic processes acting on the remains of organic matter. Renewable fuels are not fossil fuels.
X. 
"Fossil fuel transshipment facility"
is a facility engaging primarily in the process of off-loading fossil fuels from one transportation method (such as a ship, truck, or railcar) and loading it onto another transportation method for the purposes of transporting the fossil fuel into and out of Whatcom County. This definition shall include bulk storage or transfer facilities for the shipment of crude oil without refining or consuming within the Cherry Point Industrial District and shall exclude small fossil or renewable fuel storage and distribution facilities.
Y. 
"Fossil fuel refinery"
means a facility that converts crude oil and other liquids into petroleum products, including but not limited to gasoline, distillates such as diesel fuel and heating oil, jet fuel, petrochemical feedstocks, waxes, lubricating oils, and asphalt. Activities that support refineries include but are not limited to: bulk storage, manufacturing, or processing of fossil fuels or by-products. This definition excludes small fossil or renewable fuel storage and distribution facilities.
Z. 
"Frequently flooded areas"
means lands in the floodplain subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year and those lands that provide important flood storage, conveyance and attenuation functions, as determined by the county in accordance with WAC 365-190-080(3). Classifications of frequently flooded areas include, at a minimum, the "special flood hazard area" designations of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Flood Insurance Program, as designated in Chapter 16.16 WWC (Critical Areas).
(Ord. 2024-047 § 2 (Exh. D))
A. 
"Gabions"
means works composed of masses of rock, rubble, or masonry tightly enclosed usually by wire mesh so as to form massive blocks. They are used to form walls on beaches to retard wave erosion or as foundations for breakwaters or jetties.
B. 
Gangway.
See "Moorage structure."
C. 
"Geologically hazardous areas"
means areas designated in Chapter 16.16 WWC that, because of their susceptibility to erosion, sliding, earthquake, or other geological events, pose unacceptable risks to public health and safety and may not be suited to commercial, residential, or industrial development.
D. 
"Geotechnical assessment"
is an umbrella term used for the evaluation completed by a qualified professional to meet the requirements of WCC § 16.16.255 (Critical areas assessment reports) and Chapter 16.16 WCC, Article 3 (Geologically Hazardous Areas).
E. 
"Gradient"
means a degree of inclination, or a rate of ascent or descent, of an inclined part of the earth's surface with respect to the horizontal; the steepness of a slope. It is expressed as a ratio (vertical to horizontal), a fraction (such as meters/kilometers or feet/miles), a percentage (of horizontal distance), or an angle (in degrees).
F. 
"Grading"
means the movement or redistribution of the soil, sand, rock, gravel, sediment, or other material on a site in a manner that alters the natural contour of the land.
G. 
"Groins"
means wall-like structures extending on an angle waterward from the shore into the intertidal zone. Their purpose is to build or preserve an accretion shoreform or berm on their updrift side by trapping littoral drift. Groins are relatively narrow in width but vary greatly in length. Groins are sometimes built in series as a system, and may be permeable or impermeable, high or low, and fixed or adjustable.
H. 
"Ground water"
means all water that exists beneath the land surface or beneath the bed of any stream, lake or reservoir, or other body of surface water within the boundaries of the state, whatever may be the geological formation or structure in which such water stands or flows, percolates or otherwise moves (Chapter 90.44 RCW).
I. 
"Growth Management Act"
means Chapters 36.70A and 36.70B RCW, as amended.
(Ord. 2024-047 § 2 (Exh. D))
A. 
Habitat Conservation Areas.
See "Fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas."
B. 
"Harbor area"
means the navigable waters between inner and outer harbor lines as established by the State Harbor Line Commission waterward of and within one mile of an incorporated city. Harbor areas have been established offshore of Bellingham and Blaine.
C. 
Hazard Tree.
See Chapter 16.16 WCC (Critical Areas).
D. 
"Hazardous area"
means any shoreline environment which is hazardous for intensive human use or structural development due to inherent and/or predictable physical conditions, such as, but not limited to, geologically hazardous areas, frequently flooded areas, and coastal high hazard areas.
E. 
"Hazardous materials"
means any substance containing such elements or compounds which, when discharged in any quantity in shorelines, present an imminent and/or substantial danger to public health or welfare, including, but not limited to: fish, shellfish, wildlife, water quality, and other shoreline features and property.
F. 
"Hazardous substance"
means any liquid, solid, gas, or sludge, including any material, substance, product, commodity, or waste, regardless of quantity, that exhibits any of the physical, chemical or biological properties described in WAC 173-303-090 or 173-303-100.
G. 
"Hearings Board"
means the State Shorelines Hearings Board referenced in RCW 90.58.170.
H. 
"Height (building)"
means the distance measured from the average grade level to the highest point of a structure. Television antennas, chimneys, and similar structures or appurtenances shall not be used in calculating height except where they obstruct the view of residences adjoining such shorelines. Temporary construction equipment is excluded in this calculation (WAC 173-27-030(9) or its successor). For all moorage structures, height shall be measured from the ordinary high water mark.
I. 
"High intensity land use"
means land use that includes the following uses or activities: commercial, urban, industrial, institutional, retail sales, residential (more than one unit/acre), high intensity agriculture (dairies, nurseries, greenhouses, raising and harvesting crops requiring annual tilling, raising and maintaining animals), high intensity recreation (golf courses, ball fields), and hobby farms.
J. 
"Historic preservation professional"
means those individuals who hold a graduate degree in architectural history, art history, historic preservation, or closely related field, with coursework in American architectural history, or a bachelor's degree in architectural history, art history, historic preservation or closely related field plus one of the following:
1. 
At least two years of full-time experience in research, writing, or teaching in American architectural history or restoration architecture with an academic institution, historical organization or agency, museum, or other professional institution; or
2. 
Substantial contribution through research and publication to the body of scholarly knowledge in the field of American architectural history.
K. 
"Historic site"
means those sites that are eligible or listed on the Washington Heritage Register, National Register of Historic Places, or any locally developed historic registry formally adopted by the Whatcom County council.
L. 
"Hydraulic project approval (HPA)"
means a permit issued by the State Department of Fish and Wildlife for modifications to waters of the state in accordance with Chapter 77.55 RCW.
M. 
"Hydric soil"
means a soil that is saturated, flooded or ponded long enough during the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions in the upper part. The presence of hydric soil shall be determined following the methods described in the NRCS "Field Indicators of Hydric Soils," Version 7, and/or the Corps of Engineers Wetlands Delineation Manual, as amended.
N. 
"Hydrophytic vegetation"
means macrophytic plant life growing in water or on a substrate that is at least periodically deficient in oxygen as a result of excessive water content.
O. 
"Hyporheic zone"
means the saturated zone located beneath and adjacent to streams that contain some proportion of surface water from the surface channel mixed with shallow ground water. The hyporheic zone serves as a filter for nutrients, as a site for macroinvertebrate production important in fish nutrition, and provides other functions related to maintaining water quality.
(Ord. 2024-047 § 2 (Exh. D))
A. 
"In-kind compensation"
means to replace critical areas with substitute areas whose characteristics and functions mirror those destroyed or degraded by a regulated activity.
B. 
"Instream structure"
means a structure placed by humans within a stream or river waterward of the ordinary high water mark that either causes or has the potential to cause water impoundment or the diversion, obstruction, or modification of water flow. Instream structures may include those for hydroelectric generation, irrigation, water supply, flood control, transportation, utility service transmission, fish habitat enhancement, or other purpose.
C. 
"Industrial development"
means facilities for processing, manufacturing, and storage of finished or semifinished goods, including but not limited to metal or mineral product refining, power generating facilities, including hydropower, ship building and major repair, storage and repair of large trucks and other large vehicles or heavy equipment, related storage of fuels, commercial storage and repair of fishing gear, warehousing, construction contractors' offices and material/equipment storage yards, wholesale trade or storage, and log storage on land or water, together with necessary accessory uses such as parking, loading, and waste storage and treatment. Excluded from this definition are mining, including on-site processing of raw materials, and off-site utility, solid waste, road or railway development, and methane digesters that are accessory to an agricultural use. This definition excludes fossil or renewable fuel refineries or transshipment facilities.
D. 
"Infiltration"
means the downward entry of water into the immediate surface of soil.
E. 
"Institutional development"
means those public and/or private facilities including, but not limited to, police and fire stations, libraries, activity centers, schools, educational and religious training centers, water-oriented research facilities, and similar noncommercial uses, excluding essential public facilities.
F. 
"Intertidal zone"
means the substratum from extreme low water of spring tides to the upper limit of spray or influence from ocean-derived salts. It includes areas that are sometimes submerged and sometimes exposed to air, mud and sand flats, rocky shores, salt marshes, and some terrestrial areas where salt influences are present.
G. 
"Invasive species"
means a species that is (1) nonnative (or alien) to Whatcom County and (2) whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm, or harm to human health. Invasive species can be plants, animals, and other organisms (e.g., microbes). Human actions are the primary means of invasive species introductions.
(Ord. 2024-047 § 2 (Exh. D))
A. 
"Jetties"
means structures that are generally perpendicular to shore extending through or past the intertidal zone. They are built singly or in pairs at harbor entrances or river mouths mainly to prevent shoaling or accretion from littoral drift in entrance channels, which may or may not be dredged. Jetties also serve to protect channels from storm waves or cross currents, and stabilize inlets through barrier beaches. On the West Coast and in this region, most jetties are of riprap mound construction.
(Ord. 2024-047 § 2 (Exh. D))
A. 
Lake.
See Chapter 16.16 WWC (Critical Areas).
B. 
"Landslide"
means a general term covering a wide variety of mass movement landforms and processes involving the downslope transport, under gravitational influence of soil and rock material en masse; included are debris flows, debris avalanches, earthflows, mudflows, slumps, mudslides, rockslides, and rockfalls.
C. 
"Landslide hazard areas"
means areas that due to a combination of site conditions, like slope inclination and relative soil permeability, are susceptible to mass wasting, as designated in Chapter 16.16 WWC (Critical Areas).
D. 
Launch Rail.
See "Moorage structure."
E. 
Launch Ramp or Boat Ramp.
See "Moorage structure."
F. 
"Levee"
means a natural or artificial embankment on the bank of a stream for the purpose of keeping floodwaters from inundating adjacent land. Some levees have revetments on their sides.
G. 
"Liberal construction"
means an interpretation that applies in writing in light of the situation presented that tends to effectuate the spirit and purpose of the writing.
H. 
"Littoral drift"
means the natural movement of sediment, particularly sand and gravel, along shorelines by wave action in response to prevailing winds or by stream currents (see also "Drift sector," "Driftway").
I. 
"Live-aboard"
means any noncommercial habitation of a vessel when any one of the following applies:
1. 
Any person or succession of different persons resides on the vessel in a specific location, and/or in the same area on more than a total of 30 days in any 40-day period or on more than a total of 90 days in any 365-day period. "In the same area" means within a radius of one mile of any location where the same vessel previously moored or anchored on state-owned aquatic lands. A vessel that is occupied and is moored or anchored in the same area, but not for the number of days described in this subsection, is considered used as a recreational or transient vessel;
2. 
The city or county jurisdiction, through local ordinance or policy, defines the use as a residential use or identifies the occupant of the vessel as a resident of the vessel or of the facility where it is moored;
3. 
The operator of the facility where the vessel is moored, through the moorage agreement, billing statement, or facility rules, defines the use as a residential use or identifies the occupant of the vessel as a resident of the vessel or of the facility; or
4. 
The occupant or occupants identify the vessel or the facility where it is moored as their residence for voting, mail, tax, or similar purposes.
J. 
"Log booming"
means assembling and disassembling rafts of logs for water-borne transportation.
K. 
"Log storage"
means the holding of logs in the water for more than 60 days.
(Ord. 2024-047 § 2 (Exh. D))
A. 
"Maintenance or repair"
means those usual activities required to prevent a decline, lapse or cessation from a lawfully established condition or to restore the character, scope, size, and design of a serviceable area, structure, or land use to a state comparable to its previously authorized and undamaged condition. This does not include any activities that change the character, scope, or size of the original structure, facility, utility or improved area beyond the original design.
B. 
"Marina"
means a facility that provides wet moorage or dry storage for pleasure or commercial craft where goods, moorage or services related to boating may be sold commercially or provided for a fee (e.g., yacht club, etc.). Launching facilities and covered moorage may also be provided. Marinas may be open to the general public or restricted on the basis of property ownership or membership. Manufacturing of watercraft is considered industrial. Shared moorage of five or more residential units is considered a marina.
C. 
"Marsh"
means a low flat wetland area on which the vegetation consists mainly of herbaceous plants such as cattails, bulrushes, tules, sedges, skunk cabbage or other hydrophytic plants. Shallow water usually stands on a marsh at least during part of the year.
D. 
"Mass wasting"
means downslope movement of soil and rock material by gravity. This includes soil creep, erosion, and various types of landslides, not including bed load associated with natural stream sediment transport dynamics.
E. 
"May"
means the action is allowable, provided it conforms to the provisions of this program.
F. 
"Mean annual flow"
means the average flow of a river, or stream (measured in cubic feet per second) from measurements taken throughout the year. If available, flow data for the previous 10 years should be used in determining mean annual flow.
G. 
"Mean higher high water" or "MHHW"
means the mean elevation of all higher tides, generally occurring twice each day in Whatcom County at any given location on the marine shoreline.
H. 
"Mean lower low water" or "MLLW"
means the mean elevation of all lower tides, generally occurring twice each day in Whatcom County at any given location on the marine shoreline.
I. 
"Mining"
means the removal of naturally occurring metallic and nonmetallic minerals or other materials from the earth for commercial and other uses.
J. 
"Mitigation"
means individual actions that may include a combination of the following measures, listed in order of preference:
1. 
Avoiding an impact altogether by not taking a certain action or parts of actions;
2. 
Minimizing impacts by limiting the degree or magnitude of an action and its implementation;
3. 
Rectifying impacts by repairing, rehabilitating, or restoring the affected environment;
4. 
Reducing or eliminating an impact over time by preservation and maintenance operations during the life of the action;
5. 
Compensating for an impact by replacing or providing substitute resources or environments; and
6. 
Monitoring the mitigation and taking remedial action when necessary.
K. 
"Mitigation plan"
means a detailed plan indicating actions necessary to mitigate adverse impacts to critical areas.
L. 
"Mixed use"
means a combination of uses within the same building or site as a part of an integrated development project with functional interrelationships and coherent physical design.
M. 
"Monitoring"
means evaluating the impacts of development proposals over time on the biological, hydrological, pedological, and geological elements of ecosystem functions and processes and/or assessing the performance of required mitigation measures through the collection and analysis of data by various methods for the purpose of understanding and documenting changes in natural ecosystems and features compared to baseline or pre-project conditions and/or reference sites.
N. 
Moorage Buoy.
See "Moorage structure."
O. 
Mooring Pile or Piling.
See "Moorage structure."
P. 
"Moorage structure"
means any in- or overwater structures, used for mooring, launching, or storing vessels and may contain any one or combination of the following:
1. 
Piers and docks adjoin the shoreline, extend over the water, and serve as a landing or moorage place for commercial, industrial and pleasure watercraft.
a. 
Piers are built on fixed platforms and sit above the water.
b. 
Docks float on the water and are anchored to the land, substrate, or the pier with pilings or anchors.
2. 
Gangways are walkways that connect the pier to the dock. Gangways are often used in areas where the water level changes due to tides or seasonal variations.
3. 
Ells are extensions of piers, often in a U shape or L shape, that provide additional watercraft moorage.
4. 
Recreational floats are platforms that float on the water's surface. They are anchored offshore and are used for swimming and fishing. Some floats have components such as slides and trampolines.
5. 
Boathouses basically serve as garages for boats. They have walls and a roof, and are situated on the water or just above the water's edge.
6. 
Mooring buoys typically include an anchoring system with an anchor and anchor line, a float marking its location, and a fitting for a vessel's mooring chain or hawser. Washington laws establish two categories for mooring buoys – commercial and recreational (RCW 79.105.430). Commercial buoys are typically used for temporary moorage of a vessel that is awaiting transit or loading or offloading. Recreational buoys are used as semipermanent moorage for recreational vessels.
7. 
Mooring piles or pilings are fixed poles or groups of poles set in the substrate and extending above the water line.
8. 
Lifts or boat lifts raise watercraft out of the water for launching or storing. They may be attached to the substrate, a pier or dock, bulkhead or float or be located upland.
9. 
Canopies are covers that protect watercraft from the sun and rain.
10. 
Boat or launch ramps are solid or relatively solid surfaces that bridge land and water and are used for moving watercraft into and out of the water.
11. 
Railways are rails attached to the substrate used for launching and retrieving watercraft, usually with a cradle and winch system.
12. 
Others such as Jet Ski floats and boat dry docks provide storage of watercraft out of the water. Some floats serve as helicopter pads, while others are used for docking seaplanes.
13. 
"Finger"
means a narrow extension to a fixed-pile pier, usually extending perpendicular to the pier walkway along with an ell to form an enclosed area for boat moorage.
Q. 
"Must"
means a mandate; the action is required.
(Ord. 2024-047 § 2 (Exh. D))
A. 
"Natural shoreline environment"
means an area designated pursuant to Chapter 23.20 WCC (Shoreline Jurisdiction and Environment Designations).
B. 
"Navigable waters"
means a waterbody that in its ordinary condition, or by being united with other water bodies, forms a continued route or area over which commerce or recreational activities are or may be carried on in the customary modes in which such commerce or recreation is conducted on water.
C. 
"Nearshore" or "nearshore zone"
means the area of marine and estuarine shoreline, generally extending from the top of the shoreline bank or bluff to the depth offshore where light penetrating the water falls below a level supporting plant growth, and upstream in estuaries to the head of the tidal influence. It includes bluffs, beaches, mudflats, kelp and eelgrass beds, salt marshes, gravel spits, and estuaries.
D. 
"No net loss"
means the maintenance of the aggregate total of the county's shoreline ecological and/or critical area functions and values at its current level of environmental resource productivity. As a development and/or mitigation standard, no net loss requires that the impacts of a particular shoreline development and/or use, whether permitted or exempt, be identified and prevented or mitigated, such that it has no resulting adverse impacts on shoreline ecological functions or values. Each project shall be evaluated based on its ability to meet the no net loss standard commensurate with its scale and character.
E. 
"Nonconforming lot"
means a lot that met dimensional requirements of the applicable master program at the time of its establishment but now contains less than the required width, depth or area due to subsequent changes to the master program.
F. 
"Nonconforming structure"
means an existing structure that was lawfully constructed at the time it was built but is no longer fully consistent with present regulations such as setbacks, buffers or yards; area; bulk; height or density standards due to subsequent changes to the master program.
G. 
"Nonconforming use"
means an existing shoreline use that was lawfully established prior to the effective date of initial adoption of this program (August 27, 1976) or any applicable amendment thereafter, but which does not conform to present use regulations due to subsequent changes to the master program.
H. 
"Non-water-oriented use"
means uses that are not water-dependent, water-related or water-enjoyment. Non-water-oriented uses have little or no relationship to the shoreline and are not considered priority uses under the Shoreline Management Act except single-family residences. Any use that does not meet the definition of water-dependent, water-related or water-enjoyment is classified as non-water-oriented.
(Ord. 2024-047 § 2 (Exh. D))
A. 
"Oil"
means petroleum or any petroleum product in liquid, semiliquid, or gaseous form including, but not limited to, crude oil, fuel oil, sludge, oil refuse and oil mixed with wastes other than dredging spoil. See "Fossil fuels."
B. 
"Ongoing agriculture"
means those activities conducted on lands defined in RCW 84.34.020(2), and those activities involved in the production of crops and livestock, including, but not limited to, operation and maintenance of existing farm and stock ponds or drainage ditches, irrigation systems, changes between agricultural activities, and maintenance or repair of existing serviceable structures and facilities. Activities that bring an area into agricultural use are not part of an ongoing activity. An operation ceases to be ongoing when the area on which it was conducted has been converted to a nonagricultural use, or has lain idle for more than five consecutive years unless that idle land is registered in a federal or state soils conservation program. Forest practices are not included in this definition.
C. 
"Open space"
means any parcel or area of land or water not covered by structures, hard surfacing, parking areas and other impervious surfaces except for pedestrian or bicycle pathways, or where otherwise provided by this title or other county ordinance and set aside or dedicated for active or passive recreation, visual enjoyment, or critical area development buffers as established in Chapter 16.16 WWC. Submerged lands and/or tidelands within the boundaries of any waterfront parcel that are located waterward of the ordinary high water mark shall not be used in open space calculations. Required open space percentages, as applicable, are not to be used for purposes of calculating total impervious surface.
D. 
"Ordinary high water mark (OHWM)"
means the mark or line on all lakes, rivers, streams, and tidal water that will be found by examining the bed and banks and ascertaining where the presence and action of waters are so 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 existed on June 1, 1971, as it may naturally change thereafter, or as it may change thereafter in accordance with approved development; provided, that in any area where the OHWM cannot be found, the OHWM adjoining saltwater shall be the line of mean higher high tide and the OHWM adjoining fresh water shall be the line of mean high water. For braided streams, the OHWM is found on the banks forming the outer limits of the depression within which the braiding occurs.
(Ord. 2024-047 § 2 (Exh. D))
A. 
"Party of record"
means all persons, agencies or organizations who have submitted written comments in response to a notice of application; made oral comments in a formal public hearing conducted on an application; or notified local government of their desire to receive a copy of the final decision on a permit and who have provided an address for delivery of such notice by mail.
B. 
"Permit or approval"
means any form or permission required under this program prior to undertaking activity on shorelines of the state, including substantial development permits, variance permits, shoreline conditional use permits, permit revisions, and shoreline exemptions from the substantial development permit process.
C. 
"Person"
means any individual, trustee, executor, other fiduciary, corporation, firm, partnership, association, organization, or other entity, either public or private, acting as a unit.
D. 
Pier.
See "Moorage structure."
E. 
"Pocket beach"
means an isolated beach existing usually without benefit of littoral drift from sources elsewhere. Pocket beaches are produced by erosion of immediately adjacent bluffs or banks and are relatively scarce and therefore valuable shoreforms in Whatcom County; they are most common between rock headlands and may or may not have a backshore.
F. 
"Point"
means a low profile shore promontory that may be either the wave-cut shelf remaining from an ancient bluff or the final accretional phase of a hooked spit that closed the leeward side gap. Points are accretion shoreforms characterized by converging berms accreted by storm waves that enclose a lagoon, marsh, or meadow, depending on the point's development stage.
G. 
"Point bar"
means an accretion shoreform created by deposition of sand and gravel on the inside, convex side of a meander bend. Most material is transported downstream as sediment and bedload at times of high current velocity, or flood stage, from eroding banks or other bars upstream.
H. 
"Pond"
means an open body of water, generally equal to or greater than 6.6 feet deep, that persists throughout the year and occurs in a depression of land or expanded part of a stream and has less than 30 percent aerial coverage by trees, shrubs, or persistent emergent vegetation. Ponds are generally smaller than lakes. Farm ponds are excluded from this definition. Beaver ponds that are two years old or less are excluded from this definition. For the purpose of this program, any pond whose surface water extends into the OHWM of any shoreline of the state shall be considered part of that shoreline of the state.
I. 
"Port development"
means public or private facilities for transfer of cargo or passengers from water-borne craft to land and vice versa, including, but not limited to: piers, wharves, sea islands, commercial float plane moorages, offshore loading or unloading buoys, ferry terminals, and required dredged waterways, moorage basins, and equipment for transferring cargo or passengers between land and water modes. Excluded from this definition and addressed elsewhere are airports, marinas, boat ramps or docks used primarily for recreation, cargo storage and parking areas not essential for port operations, boat building or repair. The latter group is considered industrial or accessory to other uses. This definition excludes fossil or renewable fuel transshipment facilities.
J. 
"Potable"
means water that is suitable for drinking by the public (Chapter 246-290 WAC).
K. 
"Preservation"
means actions taken to ensure the permanent protection of existing, ecologically important areas that the county has deemed worthy of long-term protection.
L. 
"Primary association"
means the use of a habitat area by a listed or priority species for breeding/spawning, rearing young, resting, roosting, feeding, foraging, and/or migrating on a frequent and/or regular basis during the appropriate season(s), as well as habitats that are used less frequently/regularly but which provide for essential life cycle functions such as breeding, nesting, or spawning.
M. 
"Priority habitat"
means a habitat type with unique or significant value to one or more species. An area classified and mapped as priority habitat must have one or more of the following attributes: comparatively high fish or wildlife density; comparatively high fish or wildlife species diversity; fish spawning habitat; important wildlife habitat; important fish or wildlife seasonal range; important fish or wildlife movement corridor; rearing and foraging habitat; important marine mammal haulout; refuge; limited availability; high vulnerability to habitat alteration; unique or dependent species; or shellfish bed. A priority habitat may be described by a unique vegetation type or by a dominant plant species that is of primary importance to fish and wildlife (such as oak woodlands or eelgrass meadows). A priority habitat may also be described by a successional stage (such as old-growth and mature forests). Alternatively, a priority habitat may consist of a specific habitat element (such as a consolidated marine/estuarine shoreline, talus slopes, caves, snags) of key value to fish and wildlife. A priority habitat may contain priority and/or nonpriority fish and wildlife (WAC 173-26-020(24)).
N. 
"Priority species"
means wildlife species of concern due to their population status and their sensitivity to habitat alteration, as defined by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
O. 
"Private dock"
means a dock and/or float for pleasure craft moorage or water recreation for exclusive use by one waterfront lot owner.
P. 
"Private sign"
means a sign used on a private residence to indicate only the owner's name or address, that the premises are for rent or sale, or for other reasonable purposes related to residential use, including permitted home occupations.
Q. 
"Project"
means any proposed or existing activity regulated by Whatcom County.
R. 
"Public access"
means the public's right to get to and use the state's public waters, both saltwater and freshwater, the water/land interface and associated shoreline environment. It includes physical access that is either lateral (areas paralleling the shore) or perpendicular (an easement or public corridor to the shore), and/or visual access facilitated by means such as scenic roads and overlooks, viewing towers and other public sites or facilities.
S. 
"Public interest"
means the interest shared by the citizens of the state or community at large in the affairs of government, or some interest by which their rights or liabilities are affected including, but not limited to, an effect on public property or on health, safety, or general welfare resulting from adverse effects of a use or development.
(Ord. 2024-047 § 2 (Exh. D))
A. 
"Recharge"
means the process involved in the absorption and addition of water from the unsaturated zone to ground water.
B. 
"Recreation"
means an experience or activity in which an individual engages for personal enjoyment and satisfaction. Most shore-based recreation includes outdoor recreation such as: fishing, hunting, clamming, beachcombing, and rock climbing; various forms of boating, swimming, hiking, bicycling, horseback riding, camping, picnicking, watching or recording activities such as photography, painting, bird watching or viewing of water or shorelines, nature study and related activities.
C. 
"Recreational development"
means the modification of the natural or existing environment to accommodate recreation. This includes clearing land, earth modifications, structures and other facilities such as parks, camps, camping clubs, launch ramps, golf courses, viewpoints, trails, public access facilities, public parks and athletic fields, hunting blinds, wildlife enhancement (wildlife ponds are considered excavation), and other low intensity use outdoor recreation areas. Recreational homes/condominiums and related subdivisions of land are considered residential; resorts, motels, hotels, recreational vehicle parks, intensive commercial outdoor or indoor recreation, and other commercial enterprises are considered commercial.
D. 
Recreational Float.
See "Moorage structure."
E. 
"Reestablishment"
means measures taken to intentionally restore an altered or damaged natural feature or process including:
1. 
Active steps taken to restore damaged wetlands, streams, protected habitat, and/or their buffers to the functioning condition that existed prior to an unauthorized alteration;
2. 
Actions performed to reestablish structural and functional characteristics of a critical area that have been lost by alteration, past management activities, or other events; and
3. 
Restoration can include restoration of wetland functions and values on a site where wetlands previous existed, but are no longer present due to lack of water or hydric soils.
F. 
"Rehabilitation"
means a type of restoration action intended to repair natural or historic functions and processes. Activities could involve breaching a dike to reconnect wetlands to a floodplain or other activities that restore the natural water regime.
G. 
"Renewable biomass"
includes but is not limited to the following:
1. 
Planted crops and crop residue harvested from agricultural land.
2. 
Planted trees and tree residue from a tree plantation.
3. 
Animal waste material and animal by-products.
4. 
Slash and pre-commercial thinnings.
5. 
Organic matter that is available on a renewable or recurring basis.
6. 
Algae.
7. 
Separated yard waste or food waste, including recycled cooking and trap grease.
8. 
Items in subsections (G)(1) through (G)(7) of this section, including any incidental de minimis contaminants that are impractical to remove and are related to customary feedstock production and transport.
H. 
"Renewable fuel"
means liquid fuels produced from renewable biomass and limited in terms of blending with fossil fuels. Common renewable fuels include ethanol and biodiesel:
1. 
"E85 motor fuel"
means an alternative fuel that is a blend of ethanol and hydrocarbon of which the ethanol portion is nominally 75 to 85 percent denatured fuel ethanol by volume that complies with the most recent version of American Society of Testing and Materials Specification D 5798.
2. 
"Renewable diesel"
means a diesel fuel substitute produced from nonpetroleum renewable sources, including vegetable oils and animal fats, that meets the registration requirements for fuels and fuel additives established by the federal Environmental Protection Agency in 40 CFR Part 79 and meets the requirements of American Society of Testing and Materials Specification D 975.
3. 
Renewable fuels shall include those designed to result in a lifecycle greenhouse gas emission reduction of at least 50 percent or more under the federal Clean Air Act. Renewable fuels shall not include products produced from palm oil or other feedstocks that cannot be proven to reduce greenhouse gas emissions using accepted methods of the Washington State Department of Ecology or U.S. EPA.
I. 
"Renewable fuel refinery"
means a facility that processes or produces renewable fuels. This definition excludes small fossil or renewable fuel storage and distribution facilities.
J. 
"Renovate"
means to restore to an earlier condition as by repairing or remodeling. Renovation shall include any interior changes to a building and those exterior changes that do not substantially change the character of an existing structure.
K. 
"Residential development"
means development and use of land primarily for human residence, including, but not limited to: single-family and multifamily dwellings, condominiums, mobile homes and mobile home parks, boarding homes, family daycare homes, adult family homes, retirement and convalescent homes, bed and breakfasts, and vacation rental units, together with accessory uses common to normal residential use. Camping sites or clubs, recreational vehicle parks, motels, and hotels are not included in this definition.
L. 
"Resource shoreline environment"
means an area designated pursuant to Chapter 23.20 WWC (Shoreline Jurisdiction and Environment Designations).
M. 
Responsible Party or Party Responsible.
The "responsible party" shall be assumed, in singular or plural, to be any individual, business, organization, or entity, property owner, or person having control of a property who has created or allowed to exist a violation of any applicable regulations, whether or not the violation is known to that person at the time the violation occurred or is occurring. A responsible party includes any person who aids, assists, or perpetuates a violation.
N. 
"Restore," "restoration" or "ecological restoration"
means the reestablishment or upgrading of impaired ecological shoreline processes or functions. This may be accomplished through measures including, but not limited to, revegetation, removal of intrusive shoreline structures, and removal or treatment of toxic materials. Restoration does not imply a requirement for returning the shoreline environment to aboriginal or pre-European settlement conditions.
O. 
"Revetment"
means a sloping structure built to protect a scarp, embankment, or shore against erosion by waves or currents. Usually built of riprap, with heavy armor layer, one or more filter layers of smaller rock or filter cloth, and "toe" protection. A revetment slopes shoreward and has a rough or jagged face. Its sloping face absorbs wave energy and differentiates it from a bulkhead, which is a near vertical structure.
P. 
"Riprap"
means dense, hard, angular rock free from cracks or other defects conducive to weathering used for revetments or other flood control works.
Q. 
"Riparian zone"
means the area adjacent to a water body (stream, lake or marine water) that contains vegetation that influences the aquatic ecosystem, nearshore area and/or fish and wildlife habitat by providing shade, fine or large woody material, nutrients, organic debris, sediment filtration, and terrestrial insects (prey production). Riparian areas include those portions of terrestrial ecosystems that significantly influence exchanges of energy and matter with aquatic ecosystems (i.e., zone of influence). Riparian zones provide important wildlife habitat. They provide sites for foraging, breeding and nesting; cover to escape predators or weather; and corridors that connect different parts of a watershed for dispersal and migration.
R. 
"Riparian vegetation"
means vegetation that tolerates and/or requires moist conditions and periodic free-flowing water, thus creating a transitional zone between aquatic and terrestrial habitats which provides cover, shade and food sources for aquatic and terrestrial insects for fish species. Riparian vegetation and their root systems stabilize stream banks, attenuate high water flows, provide wildlife habitat and travel corridors, and provide a source of limbs and other woody debris to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, which, in turn, stabilize stream beds.
S. 
"River delta"
means those lands formed as an aggradational feature by stratified clay, silt, sand and gravel deposited at the mouths of streams where they enter a quieter body of water. The upstream extent of a river delta is that limit where it no longer forms distributary channels.
T. 
"Rock shore"
means those shorelines whose bluffs and banks are typically composed of natural rock formations.
U. 
"Roof sign"
means a sign erected upon, against, or directly above a roof, or on top of or above the parapet of a building; signs on mansard roofs shall be considered wall signs.
V. 
"Rural shoreline environment"
means an area designated pursuant to Chapter 23.20 WWC (Shoreline Jurisdiction and Environment Designations).
(Ord. 2024-047 § 2 (Exh. D))
A. 
"Seismic hazard areas"
means areas that are subject to severe risk of damage as a result of earthquake-induced ground shaking, slope failure, settlement, or soil liquefaction.
B. 
"Shall"
means a mandate; the action must be done.
C. 
"Shared moorage"
means moorage for pleasure craft and/or landing for water sports for use in common by shoreline residents of a certain subdivision or community within shoreline jurisdiction or for use by patrons of a public park or quasi-public recreation area, including rental of nonpowered craft. If a shared moorage provides commercial services or is of a large scale (five or more slips), it shall be considered a marina. Shared moorage proposed to serve upland property owners shall also be considered a marina. If a proposal includes covered moorage, commercial sale of goods or services, or a means of launching other than a ramp, swinging boom, or davit style hoist, it shall be considered a marina.
D. 
"Shellfish"
means invertebrates of the phyla Arthropoda (class Crustacea), Mollusca (class Pelecypoda) and Echinodermata.
E. 
"Shellfish habitat conservation areas"
means all public and private tidelands suitable for shellfish, as identified by the Washington Department of Health classification of commercial growing areas, and those recreational harvest areas as identified by the Washington Department of Ecology are designated as shellfish habitat conservation areas pursuant to WAC 365-190-080. Any area that is or has been designated as a shellfish protection district created under Chapter 90.72 RCW is also a shellfish habitat conservation area.
F. 
"Shellfish protection district"
means the Drayton Harbor shellfish protection district (DHSPD) (Ordinance 95-036) and the Portage Bay shellfish protection district (PBSPD) (Ordinance 98-069), or other area formed by the county based on RCW Title 90, in response to State Department of Health (DOH) closures or downgrades of a commercial shellfish growing area due to a degradation of water quality as a result of pollution. These areas include the watershed draining to the shellfish beds as part of the shellfish habitat conservation area.
G. 
"Shorelands" or "shoreland areas"
means those lands extending landward for 200 feet in all directions as measured on a horizontal plane from the ordinary high water mark; floodways and contiguous floodplain areas landward 200 feet from such floodways; and all wetlands and river deltas associated with the streams, lakes and tidal waters which are subject to the provisions of Chapter 90.58 RCW.
H. 
"Shorelines"
means all of the water areas of the state as defined in RCW 90.58.030, including reservoirs and their associated shorelands, together with the lands underlying them except:
1. 
Shorelines of statewide significance;
2. 
Shorelines on segments of streams upstream of a point where the mean annual flow is 20 cubic feet per second or less and the wetlands associated with such upstream segments; and
3. 
Shorelines on lakes less than 20 acres in size and wetlands associated with such small lakes.
I. 
"Shoreline administrator"
means the director of the department of planning and development services, or his/her designee, who is authorized to carry out the administrative duties enumerated in this program.
J. 
"Shoreline conditional use,"
for the purposes of this program, means a use, development or substantial development listed in the regulations as being permitted only as a shoreline conditional use, or not classified in this program. Shoreline conditional uses are subject to review and approval pursuant to the criteria in WCC Title 22 (Land Use and Development) regardless of whether or not the proposal requires a substantial development permit.
K. 
"Shoreline jurisdiction"
means all shorelines of the state and shorelands.
L. 
"Shoreline permit"
means a shoreline substantial development permit, a shoreline conditional use, or a shoreline variance, or any combination thereof issued by Whatcom County pursuant to Chapter 90.58 RCW.
M. 
"Shoreline residential environment"
means an area designated pursuant to Chapter 23.20 WCC (Shoreline Jurisdiction and Environment Designations).
N. 
"Shoreline stabilization"
means structural or nonstructural modifications to the existing shoreline intended to reduce or prevent erosion of uplands or beaches. They are generally located parallel to the shoreline at or near the OHWM. Other construction classified as shore defense works include groins, jetties and breakwaters, which are intended to influence wave action, currents and/or the natural transport of sediments along the shoreline.
O. 
"Shoreline stabilization, bioengineered"
means biostructural and biotechnical alternatives to hardened structures (bulkheads, walls) for protecting slopes or other erosive features including soft-treatment techniques. Bioengineered stabilization uses vegetation reinforced soil slopes (VRSS), which uses vegetation arranged or embedded in the ground to prevent shallow mass movements and surficial erosion.
P. 
"Shoreline stabilization, nonstructural"
means a soft treatment which does not use driftwood, logs, geotextile fabric, or other organic or nonorganic structural materials. Examples include:
1. 
Addressing upland drainage issues;
2. 
Planting stabilization vegetation without fill, grading, or use of nonbiodegradable geotextile fabric, gabions or other stabilizing structures to provide temporary erosion control.
Q. 
"Shoreline stabilization, replacement"
means the construction of a new structure to perform a shoreline stabilization function of an existing legally established shoreline stabilization structure which can no longer adequately serve its purpose. Where ordinary high water has established behind the structure replacement is considered a new shoreline stabilization.
R. 
"Shoreline stabilization, soft-treatment"
means shore erosion control and restoration practices using only plantings or organic materials to restore, protect or enhance the natural shoreline environment. This technique mimics natural conditions for ecological functions and ecosystem-wide processes. When used, organic/biodegradable structural components are to be placed to avoid significant disruption of sediment recruitment, transportation, and accretion. Examples include:
1. 
Bioengineered shoreline stabilization;
2. 
Beach nourishment/replenishment;
3. 
Vegetated soil stabilization retention methods;
4. 
Driftwood;
5. 
Coir fiber logs or other natural materials;
6. 
Nonstructural shoreline stabilization;
7. 
Beach berm.
S. 
"Shoreline stabilization, hard structure"
means shore erosion control practices using hardened structures that armor and stabilize the shoreline landward of the structure from further erosion.
T. 
"Shoreline stabilization, hybrid structure"
means an approach to erosion control that combines soft-treatment shoreline treatment placed waterward of more conventional structural shoreline stabilization elements. The soft treatment preserves natural beach contours and mimics habitat structure in order to preserve ecological functions. The hard structure provides long-term stability to the upland site, but is located sufficiently landward of the OHWM as not to impair ecological processes.
U. 
Shoreline Stabilization, New.
Placement of shoreline stabilization where no such structure previously existed, including additions to or increases in size of existing shoreline stabilization measures, is considered new structures.
V. 
"Shoreline stabilization, structural"
means shoreline stabilization which includes a footing, foundation, or anchors. Materials are typically hardened structures which armor the shoreline. See also "Shoreline stabilization, hard structure" and "Shoreline stabilization, hybrid structure."
W. 
"Shoreline view area"
means any area looking waterward within the jurisdiction of this program between the OHWM and a public road, park, pathway, or other public area that is undeveloped or developed with accessory uses only; and that does not obstruct the view of the shoreline or would not obstruct the view if natural vegetation, fences, walls, antennas or similar obstructions were removed.
X. 
"Shorelines of statewide significance"
means the following shorelines in Whatcom County:
1. 
Those areas of Puget Sound and adjacent saltwaters between the ordinary high water mark and the line of extreme low tide as follows: Birch Bay from Point Whitehorn to Birch Point; and
2. 
Those areas of Puget Sound and adjacent saltwaters north to the Canadian line and lying waterward from the line of extreme low tide; and
3. 
Those lakes, whether natural, artificial, or a combination thereof, with a surface acreage of 1,000 acres or more measured at the ordinary high water mark, including Lakes Whatcom, Baker and Ross; and
4. 
Those natural rivers or segments thereof as follows: any west of the crest of the Cascade range downstream of a point where the mean annual flow is measured at 1,000 cubic feet per second or more; including the Nooksack River's mainstream, the North Fork upstream to its confluence with Glacier Creek in Section 6, Township 39 North, Range 7 East, W.M.; and the South Fork upstream to its confluence with Hutchinson Creek in Section 9, Township 37 North, Range 5 East, W.M.
5. 
Shoreline jurisdiction associated with subsections (X)(1), (X)(3), and (X)(4) of this section.
Y. 
"Shorelines of the state"
means the total of all shorelines and shorelines of statewide significance within the state.
Z. 
"Should"
means that the particular action is required unless there is a demonstrated, compelling reason, based on policy of the Act and this chapter, against taking the action.
AA. 
"Sign"
means any placard, billboard, display, message, design, letters, symbol, light, figure, illustration, set of pennants, or other device intended to identify, inform, advertise, or attract attention to any private or public premises, and placed mainly outdoors so as to be seen from any public or quasi-public place. Double-faced signs are counted as two signs. Excluded from this definition are official traffic, directional or warning devices, other official public notices, signs required by law, or flag of a government or other noncommercial institution.
BB. 
"Significant vegetation removal"
means the removal or alteration of trees, shrubs, and/or ground cover by clearing, grading, cutting, burning, chemical means, or other activity that causes significant impacts to ecological functions provided by such vegetation. The removal of invasive or noxious weeds does not constitute significant vegetation removal. Tree pruning, not including tree topping, where it does not affect ecological functions, does not constitute significant vegetation removal.
CC. 
"Single-family development"
means the development of a single-family residence permanently installed and served with utilities on a lot of record.
DD. 
"Site"
means any parcel or combination of contiguous parcels, or right-of-way or combination of contiguous rights-of-way under the applicant's/proponent's ownership or control that is the subject of a development proposal or change in use.
EE. 
"Slope"
means:
1. 
Gradient.
2. 
The inclined surface of any part of the earth's surface delineated by establishing its toe and top and measured by averaging the inclination over at least 10 feet of vertical relief.
FF. 
"Small fossil or renewable fuel storage and distribution facilities"
means:
1. 
Equipment and buildings used for purposes of direct sale or distribution to consumers of fossil fuels or renewable fuels; or
2. 
Accessory equipment that supplies fossil fuels or renewable fuels to an on-site allowed commercial or industrial operation, and that does not meet the definitions of fossil fuel or renewable refinery or transshipment facilities.
GG. 
"Soil"
means all unconsolidated materials above bedrock described in the Soil Conservation Service Classification System or by the Unified Soils Classification System.
HH. 
"Solid waste"
means all putrescible and nonputrescible solid and semisolid waste, including garbage, rubbish, ashes, industrial wastes, swill, demolition and construction wastes, abandoned vehicles and parts thereof, and any other discarded commodities.
II. 
"Spit"
means an accretion shoreform that is narrow in relation to length and extends parallel to or curves outward from shore; spits are also characterized by a substantial wave-built sand and gravel berm on the windward side, and a more gently sloping silt or marsh shore on the lagoon or leeward side; curved spits are called hooks.
JJ. 
"Standing"
is the status required for a person, agency, or other entity to bring an action before an appeal body. A person has standing per RCW 36.70C.060 if they are:
1. 
The applicant and the owner of property to which the land use decision is directed; or
2. 
Another person, county department, and/or public agency aggrieved or adversely affected by the land use decision, or who would be aggrieved or adversely affected by a reversal or modification of the land use decision. A person is aggrieved or adversely affected within the meaning of this section only when all of the following conditions are present:
a. 
The land use decision has prejudiced or is likely to prejudice that person;
b. 
That person's asserted interests are among those that the local jurisdiction was required to consider when it made the land use decision;
c. 
A judgment in favor of that person would substantially eliminate or redress the prejudice to that person caused or likely to be caused by the land use decision; and
d. 
The petitioner has exhausted his or her administrative remedies to the extent required by law.
KK. 
"Statement of exemption"
means a written statement by the director that a particular development proposal is exempt from the substantial development permit requirement and is generally consistent with this program, including the policy of the Act (RCW 90.58.020), pursuant to WCC Title 22 (Land Use and Development).
LL. 
"Streams"
means those areas where surface waters produce a defined channel or bed. A defined channel or bed is an area that demonstrates clear evidence of the annual passage of water and includes, but is not limited to, bedrock channels, gravel beds, sand and silt beds, and defined channel swales. The channel or bed need not contain water year-round. This definition includes drainage ditches or other artificial water courses where natural streams existed prior to human alteration, and/or the waterway is used by anadromous or resident salmonid or other fish populations or flows directly into shellfish habitat conservation areas.
MM. 
"Strict construction"
means an interpretation that considers only the literal words of a writing.
NN. 
"Structure"
means a permanent or temporary building or edifice of any kind, or any piece of work artificially built up or composed of parts joined together in some definite manner whether installed on, above, or below the surface of the ground or water, except for vessels.
OO. 
"Substantial development"
means any development that materially interferes with the normal public use of the water or shorelines of the state, except the classes of development, listed in WAC 173-27-040.
PP. 
"Substantially degrade"
means to cause significant ecological impact.
QQ. 
"Sustained yield"
means the continuing yield of a biological resource, such as timber from a forest, by controlled and periodic harvesting.
RR. 
"Swamp"
means a wetland that is often inundated and composed of woody vegetation.
(Ord. 2024-047 § 2 (Exh. D))
A. 
"Tideland"
means the land on the shore of marine water bodies between the OHWM and the line of extreme low tide which is submerged daily by tides.
B. 
"Timber"
means forest trees, standing or down, of a commercial species, including Christmas trees.
C. 
"Toe"
means the lowest part of a slope or cliff; the downslope end of an alluvial fan, landslide, etc.
D. 
"Tombolo"
means an accretion shoreform that began as a spit and accreted into a causeway-like connection to an island or offshore rock; tombolos normally develop from offshore bars (submarine berms) that build up in a low energy "wave-shadow" zone between the offshore, wave barrier element and an active driftway.
E. 
"Top"
means the top of a slope; or in this program it may be used as the highest point of contact above a landslide hazard area.
F. 
"Transportation"
means roads and railways, related bridges and culverts, fills, embankments, causeways, parking areas, truck terminals and rail switchyards, sidings, spurs, and air fields. Not included are recreational trails, highway rest areas, ship terminals, seaplane moorages, nor logging roads; they are included respectively under "Recreation," "Pier," "Dock," "Residential," and "Forest Practices."
(Ord. 2024-047 § 2 (Exh. D))
A. 
"Unavoidable"
means adverse impacts that remain after all appropriate avoidance and minimization measures have been implemented.
B. 
"Upland"
means dry lands landward of the OHWM.
C. 
"Urban conservancy shoreline environment"
means an area designated pursuant to Chapter 23.20 WCC (Shoreline Jurisdiction and Environment Designations).
D. 
"Urban resort shoreline environment"
means an area designated pursuant to Chapter 23.20 WCC (Shoreline Jurisdiction and Environment Designations).
E. 
"Urban shoreline environment"
means an area designated pursuant to Chapter 23.20 WCC (Shoreline Jurisdiction and Environment Designations).
F. 
"Utilities"
means all lines and facilities used to distribute, collect, transmit, or control electrical power, natural gas, petroleum products, information (telecommunications), water, and sewage.
1. 
"Accessory utilities"
means on-site utility features such as water, sewer, septic, electrical, or gas lines serving a primary use. Accessory utilities shall be considered part of the primary use.
2. 
"Local utilities"
means utilities that serve adjacent properties and include, but are not limited to, power lines, water, sewer, and stormwater facilities, fiber-optic cable, pump stations and hydrants, switching boxes, and other structures normally found in a street right-of-way.
3. 
"Regional utilities"
means utilities that serve more than one community or major attractions; examples include, but are not limited to, 230 kv power transmission lines, natural gas transmission lines, and regional water storage tanks and reservoirs, regional water transmission lines or regional sewer collectors and interceptors. Regional utilities may also include facilities serving an entire community, such as subregional switching stations (115 kv and smaller), and municipal sewer, water, and stormwater facilities. Regional utilities include regional transmission pipelines for the bulk conveyance of natural gas, or pipelines termed a distribution pipeline but having characteristics that fit the definition of a transmission pipeline. Natural gas pipelines which are owned and operated by a gas utility company regulated by the State Utilities and Transportation Commission and which are distribution lines owned by the utility that provide natural gas service directly to county citizens and businesses shall not be considered regional transmission lines.
G. 
"Utility development"
means development including, but not limited to, facilities for distributing, processing, or storage of water, sewage, solid waste, storm drainage, electrical energy including electronic communications, and their administrative structures, as well as pipelines for petroleum products, and firefighting facilities. Power plants are considered industrial.
(Ord. 2024-047 § 2 (Exh. D))
A. 
"Vacation rental unit"
means a single-family dwelling unit, detached accessory dwelling unit, or accessory apartment that, for compensation, is rented as a single unit used to lodge individuals or families for a period of less than 30 days and where the owner is not present in the rented unit during the rental period. Individual sleeping rooms shall not be rented individually.
B. 
"Variance"
means an adjustment in the application of this program's bulk and dimensional regulations to a particular site pursuant to WCC Title 22 (Land Use and Development).
C. 
"Vegetative stabilization"
means planting of vegetation to retain soil and retard erosion, reduce wave action, and retain bottom materials. It also means use of temporary structures or netting to enable plants to establish themselves in unstable areas.
D. 
"Vessel"
means a floating structure that is designed primarily for navigation, is normally capable of self-propulsion and use as a means of transportation, and meets all applicable laws and regulations pertaining to navigation and safety equipment on vessels, including, but not limited to, registration as a vessel by an appropriate government agency.
(Ord. 2024-047 § 2 (Exh. D))
A. 
"Water body"
means a body of still or flowing water, fresh or marine, bounded by the OHWM.
B. 
"Water-dependent use"
means a use or portion of a use that requires direct contact with the water and cannot exist at a non-water location due to the intrinsic nature of its operations.
C. 
"Water-enjoyment use"
means a recreational use, or other use facilitating public access to the shoreline as the primary character of the use; or a use that provides for recreational use or aesthetic enjoyment of the shoreline for a substantial number of people as a general character of the use and that through the location, design and operation ensure the public's ability to enjoy the physical and aesthetic qualities of the shoreline. In order to qualify as a water-enjoyment use, the use must be open to the general public and the water-oriented space within the project must be devoted to the specific aspects of the use that fosters shoreline enjoyment.
D. 
"Water-oriented use"
means any one or a combination of water-dependent, water-related or water-enjoyment uses and serves as an all-encompassing definition, together with single-family residences, for priority uses under the Act.
E. 
"Water quality"
means the characteristics of water, including flow or amount, and related physical, chemical, aesthetic, recreation-related, and biological characteristics.
F. 
"Water-related use"
means a use or portion of a use that is not intrinsically dependent on a waterfront location but depends upon a waterfront location for economic viability. These uses have a functional relationship to the water, or the use provides a necessary support service for a water-dependent use and physical separation is not feasible.
G. 
"Watershed"
means a geographic region within which water drains into a particular river, stream or body of water. There are approximately 122 watersheds (e.g., Bertrand, Ten Mile, Dakota, Canyon Creek, Lake Whatcom, Lake Samish) identified in WRIA 1 and WRIA 3. These are nested within approximately 14 sub-basins (e.g., North Fork Nooksack, Drayton Harbor, Sumas River, Friday Creek), which are nested within four basins (e.g., Nooksack River, Fraser River, Samish River, Coastal).
H. 
"Watershed restoration plan"
means a plan developed or sponsored by the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Department of Ecology, the Department of Transportation, a federally recognized Indian tribe acting within and pursuant to its authority, a city, a county or a conservation district that provides a general program and implementation measures or actions for the preservation, restoration, recreation, or enhancement of the natural resource character and ecology of a stream, stream segment, drainage area or watershed for which agency and public review have been conducted pursuant to Chapter 43.21C RCW, the State Environmental Policy Act.
I. 
"Watershed restoration project"
means a public or private project authorized by the sponsor of a watershed restoration plan that implements the plan or part of the plan and consists of one or more of the following activities:
1. 
A project that involves less than 10 miles of stream reach, in which less than 25 cubic yards of sand, gravel, or soil is removed, imported, disturbed or discharged, and in which no existing vegetation is removed except as minimally necessary to facilitate additional plantings;
2. 
A project for the restoration of an eroded or unstable stream bank that employs the principles of bioengineering, including limited use of rock as a stabilization only at the toe of the bank, and with primary emphasis on using native vegetation to control erosive forces of flowing water; or
3. 
A project primarily designated to improve fish and wildlife habitat, remove or reduce impediments to migration of fish, or enhance the fishery resource available for use by all of the citizens of the state; provided, that any structures, other than a bridge or culvert or instream habitat enhancement structure associated with the project, is less than 200 square feet in floor area and is located above the ordinary high water mark.
J. 
"Weir"
means a structure in a stream or river for measuring or regulating stream flow.
K. 
"Wet season"
means the period generally between November 1st and March 30th of most years when soils are wet and prone to instability. The specific beginning and end of the wet season can vary from year to year depending on weather conditions.
L. 
"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 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 for 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.
M. 
"Wetland edge"
means the boundary of a wetland as delineated based on the definitions contained in Chapter 16.16 WWC (Critical Areas).
N. 
"Wood waste"
means solid waste consisting of wood pieces or particles generated as a byproduct or waste from the manufacturing of wood products, handling and storage of raw materials and trees and stumps. This includes, but is not limited to, sawdust, chips, shavings, bark, pulp, hog fuel, and log sort yard waste, but does not include wood pieces or particles containing chemical preservatives such as creosote, pentachlorophenol, or copper-chrome-arsenate.
(Ord. 2024-047 § 2 (Exh. D))