As used in this title, unless the context or subject matter clearly requires otherwise, the words or phrases defined in this chapter shall have the indicated meanings. If there are conflicts between the definitions of this title and other titles of the Mountlake Terrace Municipal Code, the provisions of this title shall prevail.
"Adequate public facilities"means facilities which have the capacity to serve development without decreasing levels of service below minimums established by the City in the Comprehensive Plan.
"Alley"means a public or private right-of-way used primarily as a secondary means of vehicular access to residences and business establishments for provision of services (e.g., deliveries, trash collection, utility service) and for access to private driveways. Alleys are not the sole means of access to property.
"Applicant"means the owner of land proposed to be subdivided or its representative who shall have express written authority to act on behalf of the owner.
"Available public facilities"means that facilities or services are in place or that a financial commitment is in place to provide the facilities or services within a specified time. In the case of transportation, the specified time is six years from the time of development.
"Binding site plan"is a drawing to scale which (1) identifies and shows the areas and locations of all streets, roads, improvements, utilities, open spaces, and any other matters identified in Chapter
17.07 MTMC; (2) contains inscriptions or attachments setting forth such appropriate limitations and conditions for the use of the land as are established by the decision-maker with authority to approve the site plan; and (3) contains provisions making any development be in conformity with the site plan.
is a group of lots, tracts or parcels within well-defined and fixed boundaries.
"Bond"means any form of surety bond or acceptable guarantee of an amount and form satisfactory to the City.
"Boundary line adjustment"means the shifting or elimination of lot lines between adjacent parcels, resulting in the same or less number of lots that existed before the adjustment or elimination of lot lines.
"Building setback line"means a line parallel to the property line in front of which no structure shall be erected. The location of such line shall be determined from the regulations of the Zoning Ordinance of the City.
"Building site"means real property upon which structures are permitted subject to conformance with all applicable development standards, and which satisfies, or at one time satisfied, the applicable zoning code standards for physical placement, lot coverage, construction of structures and all other location and dimensional requirements for the structure.
"City"means the City of Mountlake Terrace.
"Common ownership"means ownership by the same person, corporation, firm, entity, partnership or unincorporated association, or ownership by different corporations, firms, partnerships, entities or unincorporated associations, in which a stockbroker, partner or associate, or a member of his family owns an interest in each corporation, firm, partnership, entity or unincorporated association.
"Comprehensive Plan(s)"mean the adopted plans of the City of Mountlake Terrace for the orderly growth of the City and shall include but not be limited to comprehensive, water, road, drainage, sewer, open space, and land use plans as adopted or amended at the time of consideration of any preliminary plat or short subdivision.
"Concurrency"means that adequate public facilities are available when the impacts of development occur. This definition includes the two concepts of "adequate public facilities" and of "available public facilities" as defined above.
"Condominium"pursuant to RCW
64.34.020(10), means real property, portions of which are designated for separate ownership and the remainder of which is designated for common ownership solely by the owners of those separate portions. Real property is not a condominium unless the undivided interests in the common elements are vested in the unit owners, and unless a declaration and a survey map and plans have been recorded against the property, pursuant to this title and other applicable law.
means that no feature of a plan or regulation is incompatible with any other feature of a plan or regulation. Consistency is indicative of a capacity for orderly integration or operation with other elements in a system.
"Corner lot"means a lot which abuts on two or more intersecting streets.
"County"means the County of Snohomish, Washington.
"Days"shall mean calendar days unless otherwise defined. If a period ends on a legal holiday or Saturday or Sunday, the last day shall be the next business day.
"Dedication"is the deliberate appropriation of land or rights in land by its owner for any general and public use, reserving to himself or herself no other rights than such as are compatible with the full exercise and enjoyment of the public use to which the property has been devoted.
"Domestic water system"means any system providing a supply of potable water which is deemed adequate pursuant to RCW
19.27.097 for the intended use of the development.
means a private vehicular travel way across a site, or providing vehicular access to not more than one abutting noncommercial site or two additional single-family residential lots if contained in an access easement.
"Easement"means an authorization by a property owner for another to use the owner's property for a specified purpose.
"Escrow"means a deposit of cash with the City or escrow agent, pursuant to a written agreement, in order to secure the promise to perform some act.
"External buffer"means a naturally vegetated area or vegetated area along the exterior boundaries of an entire development processed in accordance with a subdivision application which is landscaped and maintained as open space in order to eliminate or minimize conflicts between such development and adjacent land uses.
"Fee simple unit lot subdivision"means a division of land for purposes of individual ownership of residential single-family, townhouse or cottage house units that are otherwise collectively permitted on a single parcel of land.
"Final plat"is the final drawing of the subdivision and dedication prepared for filing of record with the County Auditor, and containing all elements and requirements set forth in Chapter
58.17 RCW and this title.
means that sources of public or private funds or combinations thereof have been identified which will be sufficient to finance public facilities necessary to support development and that there is a reasonable assurance that such funds will be timely put to that end.
"Flag lot"is a lot configured with a narrow extension of land connecting the main buildable area of the lot to a street, private street, or alley. The narrow extension of land in a flag lot provides for vehicular and/or utility access to the main buildable area of the lot, but is not wide enough for development and does not meet minimum lot width requirements. Flag lots are also known as "pan-handle" or "pipe stem" lots.
"Improvement"means the installation, construction or placement of any structure, building, pavement or other object that is erected, affixed, poured, formed or otherwise placed on or in the ground as a permanent or long-term feature of a site. The term does not include vegetation or other organic landscaping features.
"Interior lot"means a lot which has frontage on one street or private street only. The term also includes "through lots."
"Irregular lot"means one which is shaped so that application of setback requirements is difficult. Examples include a lot with a shape that is not close to rectangular, or a lot with no readily identifiable rear lot line, or a flag lot.
"Level of service"means an established minimum capacity of public facilities or services that must be provided per unit of demand or other appropriate measure of need.
"Lot frontage"means any boundary of a lot that is along an existing or dedicated street or private street.
"Lot line, front"means that boundary of a lot which is along an existing street or private street (including streets on corner lots), or, in the case of through lots or lots where no public or private street exists, it is the line first crossed when gaining legal vehicular access to the property.
"Lot line, rear"means that boundary of a lot most nearly opposite and distant from the front lot line. In the case of corner lots, the rear lot line is the line most distant and opposite of the narrower of the two frontages. In the case of through lots, it is the line most nearly opposite the front lot line. In the case of three-sided, triangular, or pie shaped lots having boundaries that converge to the rear, there is no rear lot line, in which case the provisions of MTMC §
19.120.190C.4 apply. In the case of other irregular shaped lots, the rear lot line shall be determined by the Director based upon an examination of existing or likely setbacks of surrounding development.
means any boundary of a lot that is not defined as a front lot line or rear lot line.
"Lot width"means any straight-line dimension between side lot lines located between and generally parallel to front and/or rear setback lines.
"Lot"is a fractional part of legally divided lands having fixed boundaries, being of sufficient area and dimension to meet minimum zoning requirements for width and area. The term shall include tracts or parcels.
"Low impact development"means a stormwater management and site design strategy that emphasizes conservation and use of existing natural site features integrated with distributed, small-scale stormwater controls to more closely mimic natural hydrologic patterns. The goal is to manage stormwater where it falls by reducing effective impervious surfaces and maintaining and/or re-establishing native vegetation.
"Metes and bounds"means a description of real property which starts at a known point of beginning and describes the compass bearings and distances of the lines forming the boundaries of the property, and is completed when the description returns to the point of beginning.
"Mid-block connection"means an easement or tract of land connecting two sides of a residential block, usually located near the middle of said block and typically intended for pedestrian and bicycle use.
"Model home"means a dwelling unit used initially for display purposes which typifies the type of units that will be constructed in the subdivision and which will not be permanently occupied during its use as a model.
"Monument"means an object used to permanently mark a surveyed location.
"Nonconforming lot"means one which met applicable dimensional requirements of the Zoning Ordinance at the date on which it was created but which, due to the passage of a Zoning Ordinance, the amendment thereof, the acquisition of a portion of the lot for right-of-way purposes, or the annexation of legally divided property to the City, no longer conforms to the current provisions of the City's Zoning Ordinance.
"Off site"means any premises not located within the bounds of the property to be subdivided, whether or not in the common ownership of the applicant for subdivision approval.
"Open space"means a portion of land excluding building sites and parking areas which is designated and maintained as an area for natural preserve, leisure, recreation and/or other activities normally carried on outdoors. Open space may include greenbelt and recreational areas.
"Pavement width"means the actual paved surface measured from edge to edge of driveway, street or alley road surfaces.
"Person"means every natural person, firm, partnership, association, social or fraternal organization, corporation, estate, trust, receiver, syndicate, branch of government, or any other group or combination acting as a unit.
"Plat certificate"means a title report by a title insurance company certifying the ownership, deed restrictions, covenants, etc., of the land being subdivided.
"Plat"is a map or representation showing thereon the division of a tract or parcel of land into lots, blocks, streets and alleys or other divisions and dedications.
"Preliminary plat"is a neat and approximate drawing of a proposed subdivision showing the general layout of streets, private streets, alleys, lots, blocks and other elements of a subdivision consistent with the requirements of this title. The preliminary plat shall be the basis for the approval or disapproval of the general layout of a subdivision of 10 or more lots.
"Private street"means a privately owned tract of land that provides vehicular, bicycle, pedestrian and utility access for up to four residential units and meets the requirements of adopted City street standards.
"Public facilities"means streets, roads, highways, sidewalks, street and road lighting systems, traffic signals, domestic water systems, storm and sanitary sewer systems, parks and recreational facilities and schools.
"Right-of-way" or "R/W"means a strip of land deeded or dedicated to the City or other entity for street, utility and/or drainage purposes.
"Sale or lease"means any immediate or future transfer of ownership, or any possessory interest in land, including contract of sale, lease, devise, intestate succession, or other transfer of an interest in a subdivision or part thereof, whether by metes and bounds or lot and block description.
"Sanitary sewer systems"means all facilities, including approved on-site disposal facilities, used in the collection, transmission, storage, treatment, or discharge of any water borne waste, whether domestic in origin or a combination of domestic, commercial or industrial waste.
"Setback"means the minimum distance that buildings, structures or improvements must be set back from a lot line. Setback is measured perpendicular to the lot line at any point along the lot line, resulting in a continuous line or arc running parallel to said lot line. Where setback lines intersect with other setback lines, the more restrictive setback standard applies.
"Setback, front"means the minimum distance required by this code for a building, structure or improvement to be set back from the front lot line. Front setback is measured from the front property line or, in the case of flag lots, from the point beyond the front lot line at which the lot widens to the minimum required lot width.
"Setback, rear"means the minimum distance required by this code for a building, structure or improvement to be set back from the rear lot line.
"Setback, side"means the minimum distance required by this code for a building, structure or improvement to be set back from a side lot line.
"Short plat"is the map or representation of a short subdivision.
"Short subdivision"means the division or re-division of land into nine or fewer lots, tracts, parcels or divisions for the purpose of sale or lease.
"Street"means a dedicated and accepted public right-of-way for vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic, and also for utility services. See also definition of "private street."
"Subdivider"means any person, firm or corporation who divides or subdivides any land deemed to be a subdivision or short subdivision.
"Subdivision improvement agreement"means a contract between the City and applicant/developer pursuant to Chapter
17.06 MTMC, by which the applicant agrees to complete the required public improvements in the subdivision within a specified time period following final subdivision plat approval and posts security to ensure such completion.
means the division or redivision of land into 10 or more lots, tracts, parcels, sites or divisions for the purpose of sale or lease, or transfer of ownership, except as provided in MTMC §
17.01.030E, and includes all resubdivision of land.
means a registered professional land surveyor licensed to practice surveying in the state of Washington.
"Through lot"means a lot fronting on two streets and/or private streets that is not a corner lot.
"Tract"is a nonbuildable unit of land created by a subdivision, short subdivision, deed, or other instrument recorded with the appropriate County Recorder. Tracts are usually held in common by the owners of an organization, such as a homeowners' association, for common benefit and are not required to meet minimum lot size and dimensional requirements of the applicable zone.
"Utilities" or "public utilities"means enterprises or facilities serving the public by means of an integrated system of collection, transmission, distribution and processing facilities through more or less permanent physical connections between the plant of the serving entity and the premises of the customer. Included are systems for the delivery of natural gas, electricity, telecommunications services and water, and for the disposal of sewage.
(Ord. 2658 § 2, 2015; Ord. 2909, 3/5/2026)