Subarea plans provide goals, policies and may provide regulations which are consistent with but more specific than the general provisions of the Comprehensive Plan and development code. They are developed to meet the needs of a particular geographic area or to manage a particular resource. Chapter 18.90 SJCC includes procedures for creating and amending subarea plans. Adopted subarea plans include:
A. 
The Eastsound subarea plan, Article VIII of this chapter, and any amendments thereto.
B. 
The Shaw Island subarea plan, Chapter 16.45 SJCC, and any amendments thereto.
C. 
The Waldron Island Limited Development District subarea plan, Chapter 16.36 SJCC, and any amendments thereto.
D. 
The Lopez Village subarea plan, and any amendments thereto.
E. 
The San Juan Islands Trust Lands Management Plan, adopted by the county (Ordinance No. 86-1986).
F. 
The San Juan County Open Space and Conservation Plan, adopted in 1991 (Ordinance No. 124-1991), and any amendments thereto.
(Ord. 2-1998 Exh. B § 3.7; Ord. 10-2012 § 19; Ord. 25-2012 § 18; Ord. 11-2019 § 8)
Activity center plans also provide goals, policies and regulations which are consistent with but more specific than the general provisions of the Comprehensive Plan and development code. An activity center is synonymous with a "limited area of more intense development" as defined by RCW 36.70A.070(5)(d), and they are largely defined by the built environment as it existed in 1991. The Comprehensive Plan identifies five types of activity center, and 13 individual activity centers. Adopted activity center plans include:
A. 
Olga Hamlet plan (Ord 10-2006).
B. 
Deer Harbor Hamlet plan
C. 
Orcas Village activity center (Ord 46-2008).
D. 
Country Corner Island center (LAMIRD).
(Ord. 26-2007; Ord. 25-2012 § 19)
A. 
Purpose. To provide temporary controls for the development of certain activity centers, for which location-specific designations and standards have not yet been developed, until such designations and standards are adopted.
B. 
Applicability. This section shall apply to residential, commercial and industrial development within the rural activity center boundaries shown on the activity center official maps for the following: Westsound and Doe Bay.
C. 
Standards.
1. 
Building Height. Building height shall not exceed 30 feet unless more than one taller building exists in the activity center, in which case the height standards in Chapter 18.60 SJCC shall apply. Unless specified elsewhere in this section, building height shall be as determined as per height standards in SJCC § 18.50.540(A)(3) for residential shoreline properties, or per SJCC § 18.60.050 for nonshoreline properties.
2. 
Building Scale. The construction of any commercial or industrial building or buildings which exceed 5,000 square feet in gross usable area within any structure, or cumulatively on a single parcel, is prohibited. No multifamily residential building, or complex of residential buildings on a single parcel, shall include more than three dwelling units.
3. 
Use. Commercial and industrial uses are allowed subject to the provisions of this section and Table 18.30.030. Other uses are subject to the provisions of Table 18.30.030. No industrial use shall be established prior to the adoption of a village or hamlet industrial designation and map for the affected activity center. However, the expansion of an existing industrial use allowed by Table 18.30.030 is allowable.
4. 
Landscaping and Open Space. Include open or landscaped areas as listed in Table 6.1, SJCC § 18.60.050, Density, Dimension, and Open Space Standards.
5. 
Moorage Structures. Moorage structures in the village and hamlet activity centers are regulated as per SJCC § 18.50.320 and § 18.50.330.
D. 
Density Bonus for Affordable Housing in the Bonus Density Residential District in the Doe Bay Hamlet Activity Center. The location of this bonus density district is shown on the official maps. Within this district:
1. 
The base allowable residential density of the bonus density district in Doe Bay hamlet shall be one dwelling unit per five acres. The maximum allowable residential density with the affordable housing bonus shall be two dwelling units per acre.
2. 
Dwelling units above the base density will be allowed only for a development that provides a minimum of 25 percent of the proposed residential units (base units plus bonus units) as affordable housing as specified in SJCC § 18.60.260.
3. 
The number of dwelling units permitted in a development providing a minimum of 25 percent of the proposed residential units as affordable housing is the lesser of:
a. 
The number of dwelling units allowed by the base allowable residential density, plus 1.5 times the number of affordable housing units provided, rounded down to whole units; and
b. 
The number of dwelling units allowed by the maximum allowable residential density shown on the official maps.
E. 
Review. The level of application review shall be as specified in Table 18.30.030. In village and hamlet activity centers, the Residential column shall be used to determine whether a residential use is allowed and what permit level is required; for all other proposed uses, the Commercial column shall be used. Industrial uses are limited by the provisions of this section.
F. 
Sunset. The interim controls of this section will end for a given activity center named in subsection (B) of this section when the location-specific designations and standards are adopted by the County council.
(Ord. 2-1998 Exh. B § 3.8; Ord. 11-2000 § 4; Ord. 12-2001 § 4; Ord. 2-2005; Ord. 26-2007 § 1; Ord. 46-2008 § 7; Ord. 25-2012 § 20)
A. 
Purpose. To provide controls for development of the Lopez Village urban growth area, the Lopez Village growth reserve area and the Lopez marine center LAMIRD.
B. 
Article IX of this chapter contains specific development regulations and standards for all new development, and all substantial alterations within the boundaries of Lopez Village urban growth area.
C. 
1. 
The designations in Table 18.30.750, Land Use Table – Lopez Village Urban Growth Area Land Use Designations (SJCC § 18.30.750) apply to the entire Lopez Village urban growth area, except as modified by SJCC § 18.60.220(D) for planned unit developments.
a. 
Land uses are allowed subject to the provisions of this section and Table 18.30.750 (SJCC § 18.30.750).
D. 
Land Use Controls in the Lopez Village Growth Reserve Area.
1. 
The Lopez Village growth reserve area must follow the land use designation standards of the rural farm forest (RFF) as listed in Table 18.30.040, Allowable and Prohibited Uses in Rural, Resource, and Special Land Use Designations, which allows a current density of one unit per five acres except that new development and associated improvements and structures shall be located on the property so that they must not preclude future potential development as a density of four units per acre or greater in the growth reserve area.
2. 
Land divisions must provide remainder lots that will allow an average density with the division of four units per acre or greater.
3. 
The following note must be on the face of the plat of all subdivisions and short subdivisions and on all deeds filed as part of an exempt division:
This land division is located within a growth reserve area. This land division has been designed in a manner to allow the future redivision to achieve an average density of four homes per acre.
E. 
Marine Center LAMIRD. The Lopez area marine center LAMIRD (limited area of more intense rural development) must be governed by the village commercial (VC) land use designation as listed in SJCC § 18.30.030, Table 18.30.030, Allowable and Prohibited Uses in Activity Center Land Use Designations, and will allow a residential density of four dwelling units per acre.
(Ord. 2-1998 Exh. B § 3.9; Ord. 11-2000 § 4; Ord. 2-2001; Ord. 9-2005 § 2; Ord. 25-2012 § 21; Ord. 11-2019 § 9)
A. 
Purpose. To provide standards for the development of residential activity centers.
B. 
Applicability. This section shall apply to development within the boundaries shown on the official maps for residential activity centers.
C. 
Standards.
1. 
Minimum parcel size is 0.5 acre (except as provided for PUD development in subsection (D) of this section).
2. 
Allowed Uses. The allowable and prohibited uses of the rural residential land use designations in Table 18.30.040 apply to the entire residential activity center areas. Single-family and multifamily residential accessory uses are allowed subject to the provisions of this section and Table 18.30.040.
3. 
Building Height. Building height shall not exceed 30 feet unless more than one taller building exists in the residential activity center, in which case the height standards of the hamlet residential designation in Table 6.1 in SJCC § 18.60.050 shall apply.
4. 
Landscaping and Open Space. Include open or landscaped areas as listed for the hamlet residential designation in Table 6.1 in SJCC § 18.60.050, except where project-specific standards are required as a condition of approval of a PUD under subsection (D) of this section and SJCC § 18.60.220.
5. 
Water and Sewer Services.
a. 
Urban-level water service and fire-suppression flow may be provided in any part of these residential activity centers.
b. 
Sewer service may be provided to any part of the Rosario residential activity center.
D. 
Bonus Density District and Planned Unit Development. The locations of bonus density districts are shown on the official maps. Development may occur in the bonus density district in the following ways:
1. 
Development without a Planned Unit Development Application. Single-family residential development may occur without a PUD application under the following conditions:
a. 
Rosario Residential Activity Center.
i. 
The maximum allowable residential density is one dwelling unit per two acres.
ii. 
Minimum parcel size is 0.5 acre.
2. 
Development with a Planned Unit Development Application. Using the PUD procedures of SJCC § 18.80.160 and meeting the requirements and standards of SJCC § 18.60.220:
a. 
Rosario Residential Activity Center.
i. 
The base allowable residential density is one dwelling unit per two acres.
ii. 
Maximum allowable residential density for development under the affordable housing provisions and bonuses of SJCC § 18.60.220 is two dwelling units per acre.
(Ord. 2-1998 Exh. B § 3.10; Ord. 11-2000 § 4; Ord. 14-2001 § 5; Ord. 25-2012 § 22)
A. 
Purpose. To protect the limited rural areas available for commercial and industrial development from the location of incompatible residential development.
B. 
Applicability. This section shall apply to island center activity centers, rural industrial, and rural commercial land use designations.
C. 
Residential Development Standard.
1. 
One dwelling unit per parcel is allowed.
a. 
The unit must be an accessory to a commercial, institutional, or industrial use, and must be subordinate to the commercial, institutional, or industrial structure. The dwelling unit shall not be constructed prior to the establishment of the primary commercial, institutional, or industrial use, but may be constructed concurrently.
b. 
Notwithstanding the definition of "dwelling unit" in SJCC § 18.20.040, the dwelling unit may not include an accessory dwelling unit in addition to the main residence.
2. 
All other new residential development is prohibited.
(Ord. 2-1998 Exh. B § 3.11; Ord. 11-2000 § 4; Ord. 21-2002 § 4; Ord. 25-2012 § 23; Ord. 2-2023 § 3)
Yes =
Uses allowed outright (i.e., without a project permit), subject to the applicable development standards (Chapter 18.60 SJCC); if a building or other construction permit is required, this use is subject to administrative consistency review; see SJCC § 18.80.070.
Prov =
Provisional use. Subject to administrative consistency review for compliance with Chapter 18.60 SJCC, Development Standards, and Chapter 18.40 SJCC, Performance and Use-Specific Standards, specific to the use; see SJCC § 18.80.080.
D =
Discretionary use. A discretionary use subject to administrative permit approval and consistency with Chapter 18.60 SJCC, Development Standards. The administrator may require a conditional use permit based on project impacts; see SJCC § 18.80.090 and Table 8.2.
C =
Conditional use. Subject to public notice and permit hearing procedure; see SJCC § 18.80.100.
No =
Prohibited use.
Land Use OLGA HAMLET
Olga Hamlet Designation
(As defined and used in the County Unified Development Code)
OHC
OHCC
HR
Commercial
Community
Residential
Commercial Uses
Animal Shelters and Kennels
No
No
No
Automotive Service and Repair
No
No
No
Bed and Breakfast Inn
No
No
No
Bed and Breakfast Residence
Prov
Prov
Prov (5)
Camping Facilities
No
No
No
Day Care with 1 – 6 Children
No
Prov
Prov (5)
Day Care with 7+ Children
No
No
No
Drinking Establishment
No
No
No
Eating Establishment
C
C
No
Hotel/Motel
No
No
No
Indoor Entertainment Facility
No
No
No
Nursing Homes
No
No
No
Personal and Professional Services
Yes
C
No
Residential Care Facilities with up to 4 persons
Prov (6)
Prov (6)
Prov (5), (6)
Residential Care Facilities with 5 to 15 persons
No
No
No
Resorts and Camps, New
No
No
No
Retail Sales and Services
C
C
No
Warehouse, Mini-Storage, and Moving Storage Facilities
C
C
No
Unnamed Commercial Uses (8)
No
No
No
Industrial Uses
Bulk Fuel Storage Facilities
No
No
No
Concrete and Concrete Batch Plants
No
No
No
Construction Yards
No
No
No
Feedlots
No
No
No
Garbage and Solid Waste Transfer Stations
No
No
No
Heavy Equipment Rental Services
No
No
No
Heavy Industrial
No
No
No
Light Industrial
No
No
No
Light Manufacturing
No
No
No
Lumber Mills, Stationary
No
No
No
Outdoor Storage Yards
No
No
No
Reclamation of Mineral Extraction Sites
No
No
No
Recycling Center
No
No
No
Recycling Collection Point
No
No
No
Resource Processing Accessory to Extraction Operations
No
No
No
Mining and Mineral Extraction Activities
No
No
No
Wholesale Distribution Outlet
No
No
No
Wrecking and Salvage Yards
No
No
No
Storage and Treatment of Sewerage, Sludge, and Septage – Lagoon Systems
No
No
No
Unnamed Industrial Uses
No
No
No
Public and Institutional Uses
College or Technical School/Adult Education Facility
C
C
No
Community Club or Community Organization
C
C
No
Emergency Services
C
C
No
Government Offices
No
No
No
Institutional Camps
No
No
No
Library
Yes
C
No
Museum
Yes
Yes
No
Post Office
Yes
Yes
No
Religious Assembly Facility
C
C
No
School, Primary and Secondary
C
C
No
Unnamed Institutional Uses
No
No
No
Recreational Uses
Camping Facilities in Public Parks
No
No
No
Indoor Recreation Facilities
No
No
No
Outdoor Recreation Developments
No
No
No
Parks
C
C
C
Playing Fields
No
No
No
Recreational Vehicle Parks
No
No
No
Outdoor Shooting Ranges
No
No
No
Unnamed Recreational Uses
No
No
No
Residential Uses
Cottage Enterprise
Prov
Prov
D
Farm Labor Accommodations for Persons Employed in Agricultural Production on the Premises
No
No
No
Farm Stay
No
No
No
Home Occupation
Yes
Yes
Yes
Mobile Home Parks
No
No
No
Multifamily Residential Units (3+ units)
Yes
C
No
Rural Residential Cluster Development
No
No
C
Single-Family Residential (1 unit only), or Accessory Apartment (1 unit only) Accessory to an Allowable Nonresidential Use
Yes
Yes
Yes
Single-Family Residential Unit
Yes
Yes
Yes
Two-Family Residential (Duplex) (9)
Yes
Yes
Yes
Vacation Rental of Residence or Guest House (Accessory Dwelling Unit)
No
No
C (5)
Unnamed Residential Uses
No
No
No
Transportation Uses
Airfields
No
No
No
Airports
No
No
No
Airstrips
No
No
No
Hangars
No
No
No
Helipads
No
No
No
Ferry Terminal
No
No
No
Parking Lots, Commercial
No
No
No
Parking Structures
No
No
No
Streets, Public
Yes (7)
Yes (7)
Yes (7)
Trails and Paths, Public
Yes
Yes
Yes
Unnamed Transportation Uses
C
C
C
Utilities Uses
Commercial Communication Towers
No
No
No
Commercial Power Generation Facilities
No
No
No
Community Sewerage Treatment Facilities
No
No
No
Storage and Treatment of Sewerage, Sludge, and Septage – Systems Other Than Lagoons
No
No
No
Utility Distribution Lines
Yes
Yes
Yes
Utility Facilities
No
No
No
Utility Substations
No
No
No
Utility Transmission Lines
D
D
D
Water Storage Tanks, Community
C
C
C
Water Treatment Facilities
C
C
C
Stormwater Conveyance and Treatment Facilities
C
C
C
Unnamed Utility Uses
No
No
No
Agriculture and Forestry Uses
Agricultural Processing Retail and Visitor-Serving Facilities for Products
No
No
No
Agricultural Uses and Activities
No
No
D
Forest Practices (4), No Processing
No
No
Yes
Lumber Mills, Portable
No
No
No
Nurseries
Yes
C
C
Retail Sales of Agricultural Products
Prov
Prov
C
Small-Scale Slaughterhouses
No
No
No
Unnamed Agricultural and Forestry Uses
No
No
No
Notes:
1. All uses must be consistent with the purpose of the land use district in which they are proposed to occur. All land uses in all districts must meet the general regulations in SJCC § 18.30.050 unless otherwise stated therein.
2. A land use or development proposed to be located entirely or partly within 200 feet of the ordinary high water mark of a regulated shoreline is within the jurisdiction of the Shoreline Master Program, and is subject to the applicable provisions of Section 3 of the Comprehensive Plan and of Chapter 18.50 SJCC as well as the applicable provisions and permit requirements indicated in this table. Please refer to Chapter 18.50 SJCC for specific use regulations and regulations by shoreline environment; see also SJCC § 18.80.110 for shoreline permit requirements.
3. The assignment of allowed and prohibited uses may not directly or indirectly preclude the siting of "essential public facilities" (as designated in the Comprehensive Plan; see also the definition in SJCC § 18.20.050) within the County. See SJCC § 18.30.055.
4. Forest practices (including timber harvesting), except for Class IV General (see SJCC § 18.40.120), are regulated by the Washington Department of Natural Resources.
5. Commercial uses in the Hamlet Residential district are allowable only as accessories to existing residential use on the same parcel.
6. Residential care facilities shall not exceed four occupants other than the operator(s).
7. The surface of Olga Road should not be widened beyond 2005 conditions except upon demonstration that the work is necessary for public safety.
8. For purposes of this plan, unnamed commercial use includes commercial moorage facilities and the commercial use of any other moorage facility.
9. Four on-site parking spaces shall be provided for duplex units and these spaces shall be identified on a site plan with submittal of a building permit application.
(Ord. 10-2006 Exh. A; Ord. 2-2018 § 3)
The following design standards are adopted in order to preserve the traditional community character of Olga. The districts in which these standards apply are mapped in Figure 4 below.
A. 
Structure Height Limits – Measurement Methods.
1. 
Where the natural grade remains unchanged the structure height shall be measured as by a plumb line from every point on the roof to the natural grade (NG). Natural grade shall mean the existing grade prior to any human modification. See Figure A below.
2. 
Where the natural grade has been cut at any point around the structure footprint, the structure height shall be measured as by a plumb line from every point on the roof to the altered grade elevation (AGE). See Figure B below.
3. 
Where fill material has been added to the natural grade, the structure height shall be measured as by a plumb line from every point on the roof to the natural grade. Artificially created grades shall be included in computing the structure height above natural grade. See Figure C below.
B. 
Setbacks and Height Limits for the Olga Road Historic District. The purpose of height and setback limits is to retain the feeling of small units within the open space along Olga Road, with most units having substantial setbacks and front yards. The lower height limit in front is intended in part to maximize the view of all parcels up and down Olga Road and to keep a relatively wide view corridor down Olga Road from Point Lawrence Road to Olga Park Lane.
1. 
Forty-seven-foot front yard setback from the Olga Road centerline.
2. 
Ten-foot front yard setback from other rights-of-way.
3. 
Sixteen-foot height limit within 47 feet to 57 feet from the Olga Road centerline.
4. 
Twenty-two-foot height limit on the rest of each parcel.
Combined with the 45-foot right-of-way width, these setback standards provide for a 115-foot width to the open view corridor down Olga Road.
C. 
Setback and Height Limits for Olga Park Lane Historic District. The purpose of the height and setback limits on Olga Park Lane is to retain the character of small structures along an intimate wooded lane. Contrasting with the character of Olga Road, Olga Park Lane is characterized by small, closely spaced structures on the water side of the road, with very little development on the land side. The natural landscape is heavily wooded, in contrast to the open lawns and with scattered remnant orchard trees and occasional large trees found along Olga Road. In order to prevent potential future land-side structures from dramatically changing this character, and to preserve the views from land-side parcels over the water-side structures, the following height and setback limits are adopted:
1. 
Twenty-two-foot front yard setback from the Olga Park Lane centerline.
2. 
Twenty-two-foot height limit from existing natural grade on water-side properties on their Olga Park Lane frontage.
3. 
Twenty-five-foot height limit from natural grade on other frontages and on land-side parcels.
D. 
Setback and Height Limits in the Remainder of Olga.
1. 
Ten-foot front yard setback from right-of-way.
2. 
Twenty-five-foot height limit from natural grade.
E. 
Building Floor Area and Lot Coverage. The purpose of the building floor area and lot coverage limits is to retain the appearance and feeling of small structures in open space that is the current character of Olga along Olga Road, and to prevent infill structures from substantially changing this appearance. Larger structures are permitted on larger lots. These limits apply to the entire hamlet in order to prevent unusually large structures from being introduced which would dramatically change the character of the community.
Lot Area:
Permitted Floor Area of Residential Structures:
Maximum Lot Coverage (all structures):
Up to 6,000 sq. ft.
1,500 sq. ft.
1,500 sq. ft.
6,000 – 10,000 sq. ft.
25% of parcel area
25%
10,001 to 43,560 sq. ft.
2,500 sq. ft.
25% to 4,000 sq. ft.
More than 1 acre
3,000 sq. ft. + 500 sq. ft. per additional dwelling unit including accessory dwelling units
10%
In calculating lot coverage, the area enclosed by foundations, floors and frames of homes, garages, shops, carports and other outbuildings is considered. Roof overhang areas are not considered. The floor area of a residential structure includes the area of an attached garage.
F. 
Roof Pitch. The primary roof pitch for structures in the Olga Road Historic District must be gabled with a rise:run ratio of at least 5:12 and not greater than 12:12. Dormers within the primary roof pitch shall have a rise:run ratio of no less than 2:12 and be set back a minimum of two feet from the end walls and one foot from the drip edge.
(Formerly 18.30.245(B); Ord. 10-2006 Exh. A)
In order to provide for the potential to develop additional dwellings specifically for the purpose of providing affordable housing, up to 15 affordable housing bonus units may be developed within the boundary of Olga Hamlet.
Affordable housing bonus units may be developed on an existing parcel, or additional parcels may be created for affordable housing bonus units subject to the following limitations:
A. 
The maximum density on an existing parcel resulting from the addition of affordable housing density bonus units or division for affordable housing density bonus units may not exceed two dwelling units per acre. Parcels created under these provisions shall be deed restricted to prevent further division that would exceed this density within the boundary of the original parcel.
B. 
The maximum parcel size for a separate parcel created specifically for affordable housing density bonus units may not exceed one-quarter acre per dwelling unit.
C. 
Any parcel created for the purpose of constructing affordable housing density bonus units shall be subject to a restrictive use easement to San Juan County limiting the use of the parcel to affordable housing under such terms as the County may require.
D. 
Any parcel on which an affordable housing density bonus unit is created shall be subject to a restrictive use easement to San Juan County for that portion of the parcel on which the affordable housing unit is located and including any exterior areas designated for use as yard area or area for accessory structures for the affordable housing unit, under such terms as the County may require.
(Formerly 18.30.245(C); Ord. 10-2006 Exh. A)