The Tourist Service Areas are floating zones created through a master plan process which are not tied to any particular property within the County, but which may be used by property owners within an identified area to accomplish specific purposes outlined in the comprehensive plan.
(Ord. 1170B, 2000)
The purpose of the designated gateway communities are to provide tourist and recreation facilities supporting the state and national park facilities of Lewis County and to facilitate a shift in timber impact areas from resource to tourist uses to restore a job base and tax base supporting existing small towns.
(Ord. 1170B, 2000)
(1) 
"Gateway community"
is a community so designated in the Lewis County comprehensive plan.
(2) 
"Gateway Tourist Service Area"
means property within a gateway community which has been processed through the master plan process and which has a recorded final master plan.
(3) 
"Gateway Facilities"
means facilities designed to accommodate the traveling public, including long-term and short-term rental residential uses, restaurants and inns, truck and auto service, groceries and supplies, service businesses directed to the recreational traveler, including guides, outfitters, museums, service stations, and similar uses.
(4) 
"Incidental uses,"
within a gateway zone, means uses permitted within a mixed use zone other than tourist and recreation facilities defined above, and are permitted as an accessory use where such accessory uses occupy less than 20% of the overall gateway zone floor area.
(Ord. 1170B, 2000)
(1) 
Lot size: The minimum lot size for a tourist service area–gateway community is 10 acres.
(2) 
Location: The lot must have not less than 250 feet of frontage on the primary access road to state or national parks.
(3) 
Public facilities and public services: The tourist service area–gateway community must provide or secure from local service providers, stormwater, waste water disposal, trash and solid waste facilities, parking and traffic controls, police and fire services, and other emergency services necessary to serve each gateway zone use at the time the use receives its certificate of occupancy under the UBC.
(4) 
Planned facilities: The tourist service area–gateway community does not have any maximum size or regulatory limit on the uses provided. The concurrency requirements will necessarily define the physical limits to a particular gateway plan.
(Ord. 1170B, 2000)
(1) 
A gateway community may receive grants or funding for publicly owned waste water treatment facilities, such as a sewer plant, to accommodate larger facilities within the gateway community. Where the gateway community can otherwise qualify for such funding, the County will process a comprehensive plan amendment to consider whether the gateway community meets the criteria for an "urban" designation under RCW 36.70A.110.
(2) 
The County is prepared to provide urban levels of service to such communities in contemplation of future incorporation where the community can demonstrate the potential for (a) a stable population and tax base capable of supporting incorporation, and (b) a pro forma budget and capital facilities plan for a five-year operation of the proposed city within the proposed UGA.
(3) 
Such proposed cities must have a balance of residential and commercial properties and may not be simply the commercial core. To this end, the proposed UGA must demonstrate facilities for a permanent population of not less than 2500 residents at the end of a 20-year planning period. The UGA is expected to provide the tax base for the residential and commercial growth expected in the sewered gateway community.
(4) 
As part of such an approval and all subsequent development approvals, all properties within the gateway zone shall be required as a condition of development to file a covenant running with the land requiring the owner or its successors to petition for incorporation or annexation, as may be appropriate, to assure that all properties located within the proposed UGA will ultimately be incorporated within the new City at the time the County determines that incorporation or annexation is appropriate.
(Ord. 1170B, 2000)
(1) 
"Tourist service facility"
means a stand alone destination resort or facility, such as White Pass or Cispus in Lewis County, or Skamania Lodge in Skamania County, Sleeping Lady in Leavenworth, or a major sport or recreational facility for competitions, fairs, or shows, which requires at least 40 acres or a shoreline location to serve its intended purpose. Such facilities provide a destination to the travelling public, but do not provide long-term residential or commercial facilities which would result in a recreational community as defined in RCW 36.70A.360. Tourist service facilities may include sport, competition, show, or recreation facilities including arenas, stadiums, tracks, halls, and/or ranges to serve uses including but not limited to auto, golf, skiing, horse riding or packing, river rafting and other recreational pursuits, or competitions requiring large acreages as well as incidental facilities as provided below.
(2) 
"Incidental facilities"
means tourist service facilities including restaurants, short-term lodging, gas station, and commercial services directly related to the recreational activities available. Except as noted, all other service facilities shall be included within the primary tourist service structure. New permanent residential development is prohibited except as necessary accessory uses in accordance with RCW 36.70A.070(5)(d)(ii).
(Ord. 1170B, 2000)
(1) 
Lot size: The minimum lot size for a tourist service zone is 40 acres, except for facilities located in shoreline areas which may be 20 acres.
(2) 
Public facilities and public services: The tourist service zone must provide or secure from local service providers, stormwater, waste water disposal, trash and solid waste facilities, parking and traffic controls, police and fire services, and other emergency services necessary to serve each gateway zone use at the time the use receives its certificate of occupancy under the UBC. Such demonstration shall satisfy adequacy requirements under the mixed use process.
(3) 
Planned facilities: The tourist service master plans shall identify all planned facilities and uses for the property. Uses or facilities shall not be developed or used until identified on an approved map or amendment thereto. The adequacy requirements will necessarily define the physical limits to a particular tourist service zone plan.
(4) 
Public facilities and public services: New Public facilities and public services serving the approved tourist service zone shall be limited to approved uses within the master plan area and shall be expressly limited to serving the uses within the approved final master plan.
(5) 
Location criteria: A tourist service facility may be located in any Rural Development District or shoreline tourist zone. A tourist service facility may be located in a designated long-term resource area so long as the activity does not diminish the overall productivity of the resource lands in the surrounding area.
(Ord. 1170B, 2000; Ord. 1179, 2002)
Tourist service facilities shall be processed through the master plan process described in Chapter 17.120 LCC[1].
(Ord. 1170B, 2000)
[1]
Code reviser's note: Chapter 17.120 LCC was repealed by Ord. 1292.