Article II Definitions

*"Abandon"

means to terminate the use of a structure by an affirmative act such as changing to a new use; or to cease, terminate, or vacate a use or structure through nonaction. Except for ongoing agricultural activities, there shall be a presumption that a use has been abandoned if it is not undertaken, utilized, implemented or performed for a period of two years from the date of cessation/termination or vacation.

*"Abutting"

means adjoining with a common boundary line or any portion thereof.

*"Accessory dwelling unit"

means an additional dwelling unit either in or added to an existing single-family detached dwelling, or in a separate accessory structure on the same lot as the main structure, for use as a complete, independent living facility with provisions within the accessory dwelling unit for cooking, eating, sanitation and sleeping. Such a dwelling shall be considered an accessory use to the main dwelling and be clearly subordinate to the main dwelling.

"Accessory structure"

means any detached structure that is optional, incidental and subordinate to a primary use and located on the same lot as the primary use. Boathouses, barns, storage sheds, workshops, gazebos, docks, piers, floats, buoys, beach access structures and other similar structures are examples that are typically accessory to a primary use.

*"Accessory use"

means use of land or of a building or portion thereof incidental and subordinate to the principal use and located on the same lot with the principal use. Private moorage and other recreational uses are examples of uses that are accessory to residential development.

****"Accretion"

means the slow addition of land by the deposition of water-borne sediment through the net effect of wave action and longshore drift.

**"Act"

means the Shoreline Management Act of 1971 (Chapter 90.58 RCW) as amended.

*"Adequate"

means acceptable but not excessive.

*"Adjacent"

means (in addition to abutting) that which is near or close; for example, an industrial district across the road or highway from a commercial district shall be considered as adjacent.

*"Adjacent lands, shoreline"

means lands adjacent to the shorelines of the state (outside of shoreline jurisdiction). See RCW 90.58.340.

*"Administrator"

means the Jefferson County department of community development director or a designated representative.

*"Adverse impact or effect"

means the result of a condition that creates, imposes, aggravates, or leads to inadequate, impractical, unsafe, or unhealthy conditions or reduces ecological functions or values.

****"Advertising"

means publicly displayed messages or signs, billboards, placards, or buildings that direct attention to promotion of a business, service, or product.

*"Aggrieved party"

means a party of record who can demonstrate the following:

The land use decision will prejudice the person;

The asserted interests are among those the county is required by county code, federal or state law or regulation to consider in making a land use decision; and

A decision on appeal in favor of the person would substantially eliminate or redress the prejudice alleged to be caused by the land use decision.

**"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; provided, that the replacement facility is no closer to the shoreline than the original facility; and maintaining agricultural lands under production or cultivation.

**"Agricultural land"

means those specific land areas on which agriculture activities are conducted as of the date of adoption of this master program pursuant to the state guidelines (Chapter 173-26 WAC) as evidenced by aerial photography or other documentation. After the effective date of the master program, land converted to agricultural use is subject to compliance with the requirements of the master program.

*"Agriculture, existing and ongoing"

means any agricultural activity conducted on an ongoing basis on lands enrolled in the open space tax program for agriculture or designated as agricultural lands of long-term commercial significance on the official map of Comprehensive Plan land use designations; provided, that agricultural activities were conducted on those lands at any time during the five-year period preceding April 28, 2003. Agricultural use ceases when the area on which it is conducted is converted to a nonagricultural use.

*"Agriculture, new"

means agricultural activities proposed or conducted after April 28, 2003, and that do not meet the definition of existing ongoing agriculture.

*"Allowed use"

means uses allowed subject to the provisions of this program, including meeting applicable performance and development standards; if a shoreline permit, building permit or other development permit (e.g., stormwater permit) is required, the use is subject to the project review and approval process.

"Alteration"

means any human induced change in an existing condition of a shoreline and/or its buffer. Alterations include but are not limited to grading; filling; channelizing; dredging; clearing (vegetation); draining; constructing structures; compaction, excavation, or any other activity that changes the character of a site.

*"Alteration, nonconforming structures"

means any change or rearrangement in the supporting members of existing buildings, such as bearing walls, columns, beams, girders, or interior partitions, as well as any changes in doors, windows, means of egress or ingress or any enlargement to or diminution of a building or structure, horizontally or vertically, or the moving of a building from one location to another. This definition excludes normal repair and maintenance, such as painting or roof replacement, but includes more substantial changes.

*"Alteration, nonconforming use"

means the expansion, modification or intensification of a use that does not conform to the land use regulations of this program.

"Anadromous fish"

means fish species that spend part of their lifecycle in saltwater, but return to freshwater to reproduce.

*"Appeal"

means a request by an applicant or citizen that a decision made pursuant to this program be reviewed for its correctness and legality by another person, agency or court of law having jurisdiction to hear such an appeal.

*"Applicant"

means the owner or owners of record of the property subject to a project permit application under this program, or authorized representative thereof.

*"Application"

means the forms, plans and accompanying documents required for any project permit approval under this code.

"Appurtenance, normal"

means a structure or use that is necessarily connected to a primary use and is located landward of the ordinary high water mark. Normal appurtenances for residential development are garages, utilities, septic tanks and drainfields, as well as driveways, walkways, and fences, plus initial clearing and grading for a new residence which does not exceed 250 cubic yards and which does not involve placement of fill in any wetland or waterward of the ordinary high water mark.

"Aquaculture"

means the farming or culture of food fish, shellfish, or other aquatic plants or animals in freshwater or saltwater, and may include development such as structures, as well as use of natural spawning and rearing areas. Aquaculture does not include the harvest of wildstock geoduck on state-owned lands. Wildstock geoduck harvest is a fishery.

*"Aquaculture facility or farm"

*"Aquaculture activity"

means actions directly pertaining to growing, handling, or harvesting of aquaculture produce. Examples include, but are not limited to, propagation, tank farms, hatcheries, incubators/nurseries, stocking, feeding, disease treatment, depuration facilities, waste disposal, water use, development of habitat and structures, sorting, wet storage, and staging. Excluded from this definition are related commercial or industrial uses such as wholesale and retail sales, final processing and freezing.

(dd)

means any facility or tract of land used to culture aquatic products. Each geographically separate facility or tract of land used for aquaculture shall constitute a separate facility/farm; provided, that adjoining farms/facilities with separate operators shall be considered separate facilities/farms.

(ee)

*"Archaeological"

means having to do with the scientific study of material remains of past human life and activities.

(ff)

"Archaeological resource/site"

means a geographic locality including, but not limited to, submerged and submersible lands and the bed of the sea that contains physical evidence of an indigenous and subsequent culture including material remains of past human life, monuments, symbols, tools, facilities, graves, skeletal remains and technological byproducts:

That are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or

That are associated with the lives of significant persons in our past; or

That embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or

That have yielded or may be likely to yield, information important in history or prehistory.

(gg)

"Archaeologist"

is a person listed on the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historical Preservation list of qualified archaeologists.

(hh)

"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 waterbody, 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 100-year floodplain of a shoreline, periodic inundation, and/or hydraulic continuity.

*"Average grade level"

means the average of the natural or existing topography of the portion of the lot, parcel, or tract of real property on that part of the lot to be occupied by the building or structure as measured by averaging the elevations at the center of all exterior walls of the proposed structure. In the case of structures to be built over the water, the average grade level shall be the elevation of the ordinary high water.

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B Definitions.

*"Backshore"

means the area landward of the high tide line wetted by storm tides but normally dry. It may be a narrow gravel berm below a sea bluff or a broader complex of berms, marshes, meadows, or dunes.

*"Barrier beach"

means an accretion shore form of sand and gravel that has been deposited by longshore drift in front of bluffs, bays, marshes, or estuaries, and functions like a storm barrier.

*"Bar"

means a marine or river shore form similar to a spit or a hook, though generally not attached to the mainland during periods of high water.

*"Beach"

means the zone of unconsolidated material that is moved by waves, wind and tidal currents.

*"Beach restoration and enhancement"

means the alteration of terrestrial and tidal shorelines or submerged shorelines for the purposes of stabilization, recreational enhancement, or aquatic habitat creation or restoration. The materials used depend upon the intended use. For instance, to create a beach for recreational purposes, various grades of clean sand or pea gravel are often used. To restore or recreate a shore feature or an underwater aquatic environment (e.g., a reef), a combination of a rock matrix and sand or other materials may be used. To restore riparian habitat functions, native vegetation may be used.

*"Base flood"

means the flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year; also known as the 100-year flood, as shown on the FIRM maps.

*"Base flood elevation"

means the elevation for which there is a one percent chance in any given year that flood levels will equal or exceed it.

"Beach access structure"

means a structural pathway/walkway for purposes of providing pedestrian access to a beach or shoreline area, not for motorized vehicle access. It often includes a stairway, tram, stair tower, platform and/or elevated walkway anchored to the ground surface by structural means.

"Beds of navigable waters" or "bedlands"

means those lands lying waterward of and below the line of navigability on rivers and lakes not subject to tidal flow, or extreme low tide mark in navigable tidal waters, or the outer harbor line where harbor area has been created (RCW 79.105.060(2)).

"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.

"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 net-shore drift. Also, a linear mound used to screen an adjacent activity (e.g., a parking lot) from transmitting excess noise and glare.

*"Best management practices (BMPs)"

means systems of practices, schedules of activities, prohibitions, maintenance procedures, and management measures that prevent or minimize adverse impacts to the environment.

****"Bioengineering"

or "biostabilization" means the practice of using natural vegetative materials to stabilize shorelines and prevent erosion. This may include use of bundles of stems, root systems, or other living plant material, soft gabions, fabric or other soil stabilization techniques, and limited rock toe protection where appropriate. Bioengineering projects often include habitat enhancement measures (e.g., anchored logs, root wads, etc.). Such techniques may be applied to creeks, rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and marine waters. Bioengineering may also be applied in upland areas away from the immediate shoreline.

*"Board (BOCC)"

means the board of county commissioners for Jefferson County. Also referenced as board of commissioners or county commissioners.

*"Boat building and repair, commercial"

means a commercial establishment where boats are constructed, dismantled, stored, serviced, or repaired, including maintenance work thereon.

"Boating facilities"

means any public or private facility for storing or launching vessels or watercraft. This includes marinas, open water moorage and anchorage areas, boat launch ramps, boat lifts, mooring buoys, piers, floats and docks or any other similar single-user or shared-use facility for public recreational use or private residential use. For purposes of this program, boathouses, boat repair shops, and other upland boat storage structures are not considered boating facilities.

"Boathouse"

means an enclosed structure designed and used exclusively for the storage of boats and boating equipment and not used as a dwelling unit.

****"Boat launch"

or "boat ramp" means a slab, pad, plank, rail, or graded slope used for launching boats by means of a trailer, hand, or mechanical device.

"Boat lift"

is an in-water structure used for the dry berthing of vessels above the water level and lowering of vessels into the water periodically. A boat lift as herein defined is used to berth and launch a single vessel, suspended over the water's surface. A boat lift is generally a manufactured unit without a canopy cover and may be placed in the water adjacent to a dock/pier or as a stand-alone structure. A boat lift may be designed either for boats or personal watercraft. A boat lift is to be differentiated from a hoist or crane used for the launching or haul-out of vessels.

"Bottom culture"

means all aquaculture systems that are set on or securely and rigidly attached to the tidelands or bedlands and do not extend higher than six feet from the bottom (excluding hoists and similar apparatus). Bottom culture includes but is not limited to geoduck tubes, oyster longlines, clam netting, oyster rack and bags, and clam bags. Bottom culture does not include aquaculture suspended from rafts or buoys or contained in floating net pens.

****"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. Most breakwaters in the Pacific Coast are rip-rap mound construction.

"Buffer" or "buffer zone, strip, or area"

means the area adjacent to a shoreline or critical area that separates and protects the area from adverse impacts associated with adjacent land uses. A buffer is measured horizontally and perpendicularly from the ordinary high water mark, and includes the three-dimensional airspace above.

"Building"

means any structure used or intended for supporting or sheltering any use or occupancy as defined in the International Building Code.

*"Building envelope"

means:

A three-dimensional space in which a building or structure may be built meeting septic requirements;

A plat restriction for the purpose of defining building coverage areas for individual lots, or for describing shoreline building setbacks;

The buildable area of a lot, tract or parcel after applicable setbacks, buffers, easements and other restrictions on the lot, tract or parcel are taken into account.

****"Bulkhead"

means a wall usually constructed parallel to the shore with the primary purpose of containing and preventing the loss of soil caused by erosion or wave action. Bulkheads are usually constructed of rock, poured-in-place concrete, steel or aluminum sheet piling, wood or wood and structural steel combinations. They may be either thin structures penetrating deep into the ground, or more massive structures resting on the surface.

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C Definitions.

*"Campground and camping facilities"

means a facility in which sites are offered for persons using tents or other personal, portable overnight shelters. Campgrounds are for short-term stays and do not include trailer parks.

"Canopy"

means the collective branches and foliage of a single tree or group of trees, aggregate or collective tree crowns. A canopy can be closed or partially closed as in a forest or woodland stand, or composed of both individual trees and closed canopy groups as in an urban forest canopy.

"Canopy cover"

means the drip line area for an individual tree. For a stand of multiple trees it is the sum of the drip line areas of each tree less any overlap.

****"Channel"

means an open water either naturally or artificially created to convey water.

*"Channel migration zone (CMZ)"

means an area within the lateral extent of likely stream channel movement that is subject to risk due to stream bank destabilization, rapid stream incision, stream bank erosion and shifts in the location of stream channels.

"Channel migration zone"

includes:

The historic channel migration zone (which is the footprint of the active channel documented through historical photographs and maps); and

The avulsion hazard zone (which is an area with the potential for movement of the main river channel into a new location); and

The erosion hazard area (which is an area outside the historic channel migration zone and the avulsion hazard zone, and includes an erosion setback for a 100-year period of time and a geotechnical setback to account for slope retreat to a stable angle of repose).

"High channel migration hazard" (or "high risk CMZ") for the Big Quilcene, Little Quilcene, Dosewallips, Duckabush, and Lower Hoh Rivers means those nondisconnected portions of the channel that are likely to migrate within a 50-year timeframe.

For the Big Quilcene, Little Quilcene, Dosewallips, and Duckabush Rivers, "moderate channel migration hazard" (or "moderate risk CMZ") means those nondisconnected portions of the channel that are likely to migrate within a 50- to 100-year timeframe; and "low channel migration hazard" (or "low risk CMZ") means those nondisconnected portions of the channel that are likely to migrate beyond a 100-year timeframe.

For the Lower Hoh River, "moderately high hazard" (or "moderately high risk CMZ") means those nondisconnected portions of the channel that are likely to migrate within a 50- to 100-year timeframe, "moderate hazard" means those nondisconnected portions of the channel that are likely to migrate beyond a 100-year timeframe, and "low hazard" means the nondisconnected portions of the channel that are less likely to be affected by channel migration, but is still at risk due to its location on the valley floor.

"Channel migration zone"

does not include disconnected migration areas, which are areas that have been disconnected from the river by legally existing artificial structure(s) that restrain channel migration (such as levees and transportation facilities build above or constructed to remain intact through the 100-year flood elevation), that are no longer available for migration by the river.

"Channel migration zone"

may exclude areas that lie behind a lawfully established flood protection facility that is likely to be maintained by existing programs for public maintenance consistent with designation and classification criteria specified by public rule. When a natural geologic feature affects channel migration, the channel migration zone width will consider such natural constraints.

"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.

"Clearing"

means the destruction or removal, by hand or with mechanical means, of vegetative ground cover, shrubs or trees. Clearing may or may not include removing root material or topsoil.

"Cluster development"

means a development design technique that groups or clusters buildings in specific areas on a site to minimize environmental impacts related to impervious surface, clearing and other impacts.

"Commercial fish"

means those species of fish that are classified under the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Food Fish Classification as commercial fish (WAC 220-12-010).

*"Commercial recreational facility"

means a place designed and equipped for sports and leisure-time activities that is operated as a business and open to the public for a fee.

*"Commercial sign"

means any object, device, display or structure that is used for attracting attention to any commercial use, product, service, or activity.

*"Commercial use"

means a business use or activity at a scale greater than a home business or cottage industry involving retail or wholesale marketing of goods and services. Examples of commercial uses include offices and retail shops.

"Community dock"

means a dock that serves multiple residential properties including upland and waterfront lots in a subdivision or similar community setting. See also "Shared use."

*"Compatible"

means uses or activities capable of existing together or in the vicinity of one another without disharmony or without generating effects or impacts which are disruptive to the normal use and enjoyment of surrounding property.

"Compensatory mitigation"

means replacing resources or functions, at an equivalent or greater level, to offset unavoidable impacts that remain after all appropriate and practicable avoidance and minimization measures have been implemented. "Compensatory mitigation" includes, but is not limited to, creation, restoration, enhancement, preservation, and rehabilitation of wetlands, buffers, and other habitats or resources.

*"Comprehensive Plan"

means the Jefferson County Comprehensive Plan.

"Conditional use permit (CUP)"

means a permit issued by the county stating that the proposed land uses and development activities meet all criteria and all conditions of approval in accordance with the procedural requirements of this code. The intent of requiring a CUP is to accommodate site-specific allowances while ensuring program requirements are satisfied. As per Chapter 18.15 JCC, a CUP can be administrative (C(a)) or discretionary (C(d)). For this program, criteria are described in Article IX of this chapter and application review processes are described in Article X of this chapter.

"Conservation"

means the prudent management of rivers, streams, wetlands, wildlife and other environmental resources in order to preserve and protect them. This includes the careful use of natural resources to prevent depletion or harm to the environment.

*"Conservation district"

means a special purpose district, like a fire district or school district, organized in accordance with Chapter 89.08 RCW for the purpose of providing assistance to landowners for the conservation of renewable resources.

"Conservation easement"

means a legal agreement that the property owner enters into to restrict uses of the land for purposes of natural resources conservation. The easement is recorded on a property deed, runs with the land, and is legally binding on all present and future owners of the property.

"Contaminant"

means any chemical, physical, biological, or radioactive substance that does not occur naturally in ground water, air, or soil or that occurs at concentrations greater than those in the natural levels (Chapter 172-200 WAC).

*"County"

means Jefferson County, Washington, its board, commissions, and departments.

****"Covered moorage"

means boat moorage, with or without walls, that has a roof to protect the vessel.

See "Stream."

mean the following areas as designated in Chapter 18.22 JCC:

Critical aquifer recharge areas.

Wetlands.

Geologically hazardous areas.

Frequently flooded areas.

Fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas.

"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 herein 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. See also "Habitat of special significance."

"Cumulative impacts" or "cumulative effects"

means the combined impacts of a proposed development action along with past impacts and impacts of reasonably foreseeable future development actions.

"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.

*"Current use"

means the use of land or improvements at the time of permit application.

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D Definitions.

"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.

*"DCD"

means the Jefferson County department of community development.

"Deepwater habitats"

means environments where surface water is permanent and often deep, so that water, rather than air, is the principal medium in which the dominate organisms live.

"Degrade"

means to scale down in desirability or salability, to impair in respect to some physical property or to reduce in structure or function.

****"Delta"

or "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.

*"Density"

means the quantity per unit area, such as the number of dwelling units per acre.

***"Development"

means a use consisting of the construction or exterior alteration of structures; dredging; drilling; dumping; filling; removal of any sand, gravel, or minerals; bulkheading; driving of piling; placing of obstructions; or any project of a permanent or temporary nature which interferes with the normal public use of the surface of the waters overlying lands subject to this program at any state of water level.

****"Developed shorelines"

means those shoreline areas that are characterized by existing uses or structures located within shoreline jurisdiction.

"Development agreement"

means a binding legal agreement between a local government and a property owner, managing agent or controlling entity that establishes the standards and other provisions that apply to, govern and vest the development, use and mitigation of real property for the specified duration of time, as consistent with local regulations and Chapter 36.70B RCW.

"Diameter at breast height (DBH)"

means the diameter of a tree at four and one-half feet above the ground measured from the uphill side.

"Dike"

means an artificial embankment placed at a stream mouth or delta to hold back sea water.

*"Director"

means, unless otherwise specified, the director of the county's department of community development (DCD) or the director's designee.

*"Division of land"

means the creation of any new lot or lots for the purpose of sale, lease, or transfer of ownership (see Chapter 18.35 JCC).

"Dock"

means a fixed platform structure anchored in and floating upon a water body that abuts the shore to provide landing for water dependent recreation or moorage for vessels or watercraft and does not include above water storage.

*"Drainage"

means surface water runoff; the removal of surface water or ground water from land by drains, grading, or other means, which include runoff controls to minimize erosion and sedimentation during and after construction or development.

"Dredge material disposal"

means the depositing of dredged materials on land or into water bodies.

"Dredging"

means the removal of earth from the bottom of a stream, river, lake, bay, or other water body. This does not include de minimis removal of sediment during harvest of geoduck clams or other shellfish.

**"Drift cell, drift sector, or littoral cell"

means a particular reach of marine shore in which littoral drift may occur without significant interruption and which contains any natural sources of such drift and also accretion shore forms accreted by such drift.

"Drip line area"

means the area measured from the trunk of the tree outward to a point at the perimeter of the outermost branch structure of the tree.

*"Driveway"

means a strip of land which provides vehicular access to one or two lots.

****"Dune"

means a hill or ridge of sand piled up by the wind and/or wave action.

"Dwelling unit"

means one or more rooms or structures designed for occupancy by an individual or family for living and sleeping purposes.

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E Definitions.

**"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 173-26-200(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.

****"Ecologically intact shorelines"

means those shoreline areas that retain the majority of their natural shoreline functions and values, as evidenced by vegetation and shoreline configuration. Generally, but not necessarily, ecologically intact shorelines are largely free of structural shoreline modifications, structures, and intensive human activities.

"Ecology"

means Washington State Department of Ecology.

**"Ecosystem 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.

"Emergency activities"

are those activities that require immediate action within a time too short to allow full compliance with this program due to an unanticipated and imminent threat to public health, safety or the environment (see WAC 173-27-040). Emergency construction does not include development of new permanent protective structures where none previously existed. All emergency construction shall be consistent with the policies of Chapter 90.58 RCW and this program. As a general matter, flooding or other seasonal events that can be anticipated and may occur but that are not imminent are not an emergency.

*"Endangered species"

means a species which is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range, as classified by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Washington Department of Natural Resources, or the Federal Endangered Species Act.

"Enhancement"

means actions performed within an existing degraded shoreline 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 non-indigenous plant or animal species.

*"Erosion"

means the detachment and movement of soil or rock by water, wind, ice, or gravity.

*"Erosion hazard areas"

means areas characterized by soils identified in the USDA Jefferson County Soil Survey as having severe water erosion hazards.

*"Essential public facilities"

means those important and necessary facilities which provide essential services that are typically difficult to site, such as airports, state educational facilities, state or regional transportation facilities, state and local correctional facilities, solid waste handling facilities, and in-patient facilities including substance-abuse facilities, mental health facilities, and group homes (RCW 36.70A.200). They do not necessarily include all public facilities or services; they may be, but are not necessarily, publicly owned. Essential public facilities in Jefferson County include airports, large-scale transportation facilities, solid waste handling and disposal facilities, correctional facilities, in-patient treatment facilities including substance-abuse facilities and mental health facilities, state-owned educational facilities, and wastewater treatment plants.

"Estuary"

means a semi-enclosed coastal water body connected to a larger body of saltwater with one or more streams/rivers flowing into it. Estuaries are typically the mouths of rivers and have brackish water.

*"Excavation"

means the mechanical removal of earth, including soil, rocks, bedrock, and/or root material from areas landward of the OHWM of a waterbody.

"Exempt development"

refers to activities which the legislature identified as not requiring shoreline substantial development permits. Actions in shoreline jurisdiction not requiring such permits are required to be consistent with all the relevant policies and regulations in RCW 90.58.030 and WAC 173-27(040). A letter from the county must be obtained certifying that the development is exempt. Exempt uses may still require conditional use and/or variance permits.

*"Existing use"

means the use of a lot or structure or improvements at the time of the enactment of this code, unless otherwise specified.

"Experimental aquaculture"

means aquaculture that cultivates new species, or uses growing methods or harvesting techniques that have not previously been used in the state of Washington and that differ significantly from common practice.

*"Extraction"

means the commercial removal of naturally occurring materials from the earth, excluding water.

***"Extreme low tide (ELT)"

means the lowest line of the land reached by a receding tide. This is the line as estimated by the federal government below which it might reasonably be expected that the tide would not ebb. In the Puget Sound area generally, this point is estimated by the federal government to be a point in elevation 4.50 feet below the datum plane of mean lower low water (0.0). Along the Pacific Ocean and in the bays fronting thereon and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the elevation ranges down to a minus 3.5 feet in several locations.

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F Definitions.

****"Fair market value (FMV)"

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.

**"Feasible"

means, for the purpose of this program, that an action, such as a development project, mitigation, or preservation requirement, meets all of the following conditions:

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;

The action provides a reasonable likelihood of achieving its intended purpose; and

The action does not physically preclude achieving the project's primary intended legal use. In cases where these guidelines require certain actions unless they are infeasible, the burden of proving infeasibility is on the applicant. In determining an action's infeasibility, the reviewing agency may weigh the action's relative public costs and public benefits, considered in the short- and long-term time frames.

*"Feasible alternative"

means an alternative that:

Meets the requirements of federal, state, and local laws and regulations;

Attains most or all of the basic objectives of the project;

Is technically and technologically possible;

Can be accomplished at a reasonable cost;

(E)

Can be accomplished in a reasonable amount of time; and

(F)

Adverse environmental, health, and safety effects are no greater than those of the original proposal.

A determination of what is reasonable or feasible is made by the decision-making body on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the:

Probable intensity, severity, and cumulative impacts of the original proposal and alternative approaches, and opportunity for the avoidance or reduction in the number, intensity, or severity of significant impacts, or of the aggregate adverse impact;

Risk of upset conditions (i.e., the risk that the control and mitigation measures will fail, be overwhelmed, or exceed allowed limits) and the potential severity of the impact should control or mitigation measures be ineffective or fail;

Capital and operating costs;

Period of time to accomplish, costs of additional time or delay, and time constraints for completion; and

(E)

Location and site-specific factors, such as seasonal or topographic constraints, environmentally sensitive areas and habitats, site accessibility, and local community concerns.

****"Feeder bluff"

means any coastal headland or hill with a broad, steep face experiencing periodic erosion from waves, sliding or slumping that, through natural transportation, contributes eroded earth, sand or gravel material via a driftway to an accretion shoreform.

"Fill"

means the addition of solid or semi-solid material such as soil, sand, rock, gravel, sediment, wood chips, mining overburden, earth retaining structure, or other material used to create any structure or infrastructure or when placed changes the elevation or grade of a receiving site.

"Fill material"

means any solid or semi-solid material such as soil, sand, rock, gravel, sediment, wood chips, mining overburden, earth retaining structure, or other material 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.

"Filling"

means the act of transporting or placing by any manual or mechanical means fill material from, to, or on any soil surface, including temporary stockpiling of fill material.

"Finfish"

means a vertebrate organism of the classes Osteichthyes, Agnatha, or Chondrichthyes possessing a bony and/or cartilaginous inner skeleton, including all stages of development and the bodily parts of the fish (RCW 77.08.22). Examples include, but are not limited to, salmon, trout, ling cod, rock fish, halibut, sole, sablefish, perch, pollock, whiting, tilapia, carp, lamprey, sturgeon, sharks, skates, and rays. In comparison, see "Shellfish."

"Fire hazard"

means the accumulation of combustible materials in such a condition as to be readily ignited and in such a quantity as to create a hazard from fire to nearby structures, life and property.

"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, and nearshore areas include, but are not limited to, the following:

Clean water and appropriate temperatures for spawning, rearing, and holding;

Adequate water depth and velocity for migrating, spawning, rearing, and holding, including off-channel habitat;

Abundance of bank and in-stream structures to provide hiding and resting areas and stabilize stream banks and beds;

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;

Presence of riparian vegetation as defined in this article. Riparian vegetation creates a transition zone, which provides large woody debris (LWD), shade, and food sources of aquatic and terrestrial insects for fish;

Unimpeded passage (suitable gradient and lack of barriers) for upstream and downstream migrating juveniles and adults.

"Float"

means a fixed platform structure anchored in and floating upon a water body that does not connect to the shore, and that provides landing for water-dependent recreation or moorage for vessels or watercraft, and that does not include above water storage.

"Floating aquaculture"

means aquaculture systems that suspend aquatic organisms in the water column using buoys, rafts, docks, piers or other structure and that extend more than three feet from the bottom into the water column. Floating aquaculture is synonymous with hanging aquaculture.

"Floating house"

means any floating structure that is designed, or has been substantially and structurally remodeled or redesigned, to serve primarily as a residence. "Floating houses" include house boats, house barges, or any floating structures that serve primarily as a residence and do not qualify as a vessel. A floating structure that is used as a residence and is capable of navigation, but is not designed primarily for navigation, nor is normally capable of self propulsion and use as a means of transportation, is a floating house, not a vessel per WAC 332-30-103.

*"Flood"

or "flooding" means the temporary inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow of inland or tidal waters or from the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters.

"Flood control"

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, weirs, flood and tidal gates. Excluded are water pump apparatus.

**"Floodplain"

is synonymous with 100-year floodplain and means that land area susceptible to inundation with a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. The limit of this area shall be based upon flood ordinance regulation maps or a reasonable method which meets the objectives of the Act.

"Floodplain 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.

"Floodway"

means the area of a river valley that conveys flood waters with reasonable regularity, although not necessarily annually. At a minimum, the floodway is that which has been established in Federal Emergency Management Act flood insurance rate maps or Federal Emergency Management Act floodway maps. Other data and information, including topography, changes in soil or vegetation, and other indicators of past flooding, may be used to define and map a floodway that meets the objectives of the Shoreline Management Act, Chapter 90.58 RCW. The floodway shall not include those lands that can reasonably be expected to be protected from 100-year flood waters by flood control devices maintained by or maintained under license from the federal government, the state, or a political subdivision of the state.

"Forest land"

means all land that is capable of supporting a merchantable stand of timber and is not being actively used, developed, or converted in a manner that is incompatible with timber production.

*"Forest management"

means forest practices pertaining to protecting, producing, and harvesting timber for economic use.

*"Forest practice"

means any activity conducted on or directly pertaining to forest land and relating to growing or harvesting of timber, or the processing of timber, including but not limited to: road and trail construction and maintenance; harvest, final and intermediate; precommercial thinning; reforestation; fertilization; prevention and suppression of diseases and insects; salvage of trees; and brush control.

*"Forest practice, conversion"

means the conversion of land to an active use incompatible with timber growing and where future nonforest uses will be located on currently forested land.

*"Frequently flooded areas"

means lands subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year.

"Function assessment" or "functions and values assessment"

means a set of procedures, applied by a qualified consultant, to identify the ecological functions being performed in a shoreline or critical area, usually by determining the presence of certain characteristics, and determining how well the area is performing those functions. Function assessments can be qualitative or quantitative and may consider social values potentially provided by an area. Function assessment methods must be consistent with best available science.

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G Definitions.

"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.

"Game fish"

means those species of fish that are classified by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as game fish (WAC 232-12-019).

"Genetically modified organism (GMO)"

means a plant, animal or microorganism whose genetic material has been manipulated by a molecular biological engineering technique (such as recombinant DNA technology using transgenic or cisgenic methods) resulting in a genetically distinct organism with an altered hereditary pattern of protein production by the chromosomes. Selective breeding, cross breeding, and creation of polyploidy are not included.

*"Geologically hazardous areas"

means areas that because of their susceptibility to erosion, sliding, earthquake, or other geological events are not suited to the siting of commercial, residential, or industrial development consistent with public health or safety concerns.

"Geologically unstable"

means the relative instability of a shoreform or land form for development purposes over the long term or the intended life of any proposed structure. Soil, slope, ground or surface water, other geologic conditions, vegetation and effects of development are common factors that contribute to instability. Areas characterized by banks or bluffs composed of unconsolidated alluvial or glacial deposits (till and drift material), severely fractured bedrock, active and substantial erosion, substantially deformed trees and shrubs, or active or inactive earth slides are likely to be considered geologically unstable.

"Geotechnical report" or "geotechnical analysis"

means a scientific study or evaluation that includes a description of the ground and surface hydrology and geology, the affected land form and its susceptibility to mass wasting, erosion, and other geologic hazards or processes, conclusions and recommendations regarding the effect of the proposed development on geologic conditions, the adequacy of the site to be developed, the impacts of the proposed development, alternative approaches to the proposed development, and measures to mitigate potential site-specific and cumulative geological and hydrological impacts of the proposed development, including the potential adverse impacts to adjacent and down-current properties. Geotechnical reports shall conform to accepted technical standards and must be prepared by qualified engineers or geologists who are knowledgeable about the regional and local geology.

*"Grade, existing"

means the elevation of the ground or site prior to any work being done or any changes being made to the ground or site.

*"Grade, finished"

means the final elevation of the ground level after development.

"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).

*"Grading"

means stripping, cutting, filling, or stockpiling earth to create new grade.

"Groin"

means a wall-like structure extending on an angle waterward from the shore. Its purpose is to build or preserve an accretion shoreform or berm on its 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.

"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).

*"Growth Management Act (GMA)"

means the State of Washington Growth Management Act, Chapter 36.70A RCW, as amended.

****"Guidelines"

means those standards adopted under Chapter 173-26 WAC, as amended, or any successor regulations thereof, that serve as standards for implementation of the policy of Chapter 90.58 RCW for regulations of uses of the shorelines, and that provide criteria to local governments and the Department of Ecology in developing master programs.

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H Definitions.

*"Habitat"

means the place or type of site where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives and grows.

"Habitat of special significance"

means eelgrass beds, kelp beds, rocky reef habitat, geoduck beds, hardshell clam beds, habitat having significant populations of or which are important to the feeding, reproduction or other life stages of Dungeness crabs, herring, lingcod/greenling, true cod, soles and flounders, rock fishes, cabezon and other large sculpins, or sea perch, wildlife refuges and habitats of endangered or threatened species, and other habitat that meets the 1986 Interim Guidelines for Salmon Net Pen Culture in Puget Sound, as determined on a case-by-case basis in consultation with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. See also "Critical habitat."

Hanging Aquaculture.

See "Floating aquaculture."

****"Harbor area"

means the area of navigable tidal waters as determined in Section 1 of Article 15 of the Washington State Constitution, which is forever reserved for landings, wharves, streets, and other conveniences of navigation and commerce. Harbor areas exist between the inner and outer harbor lines as established by the state harbor line commission. Harbor areas are managed by the Department of Natural Resources for the conveniences of navigation and commerce (RCW 79.105.060(5)).

"Hazard tree"

means any tree that presents a risk to persons or property due to a high probability of falling in the near future because of a debilitating disease, a structural defect, a root ball significantly exposed, or having been exposed to windthrow within the past 10 years. Hazardous trees include, but are not limited to, conditions where a permanent, primary structure or appurtenant or accessory structure is within one and one-half tree lengths of the base of the trunk. Where not immediately apparent to the administrator, the hazard tree determination shall be made after review of a report prepared by a certified arborist or forester.

"Hazardous area"

means any shoreline area 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.

"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.

*"Hazardous waste"

means those solid wastes designated by 40 CFR Part 261, and regulated as hazardous waste by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

"Hearings Board"

means the State Shorelines Hearings Board referenced in RCW 90.58.170.

*"Height, building"

means the vertical distance from grade plane to the average height of the highest roof surface (cf., International Building Code).

****"Historic"

means having considerable importance or influence in history; historical.

"Historic preservation professionals"

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:

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

Substantial contribution through research and publication to the body of scholarly knowledge in the field of American architectural history.

*"Historic site, structure or landmark"

means a site, structure or building of outstanding archaeological, historical or cultural significance. This is shown by its designation as such by the National or Washington State Register of Historic Places, designation as an historic landmark, or any such structure or feature for which the State Historic Preservation Officer has made a determination of significance pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.

*"Hotel"

(or "lodge") means a commercial building in which lodging is provided and offered to the public for compensation, and which is open to transient guests, and is not a motel or bed and breakfast inn.

*"Household"

means one or more related or unrelated persons occupying a dwelling unit.

"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 75.20 RCW.

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I Definitions.

*"Illegal use"

means any use of land or a structure which is inconsistent with current codes and/or was inconsistent with previous codes in effect when the use or structure was established. An illegal use is different than a nonconforming use. (See also "Nonconforming.")

"Impervious surface"

means a hard surface area that either prevents or retards the entry of water into the soil mantle. Common impervious surfaces include, but are not limited to, roof tops, walkways, patios, driveways, parking lots or storage areas, concrete or asphalt paving, gravel roads, packed earthen materials, and other surfaces. Open, uncovered retention/detention facilities shall not be considered impervious surfaces for purposes of this program. Open, uncovered retention/detention facilities shall be considered impervious surfaces for purposes of runoff modeling.

*"Incidental"

means subordinate to, minor in significance, and bearing a reasonable relationship with the primary use.

*"Incompatible"

means uses and activities that are not compatible.

"Industrial development"

means facilities for processing, manufacturing, and storage of finished or semi-finished goods, including but not limited to oil, 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.

"Industrial pier"

means a fixed platform structure supported by piles in a water body that abuts the shore to provide access to or moorage of vessels or watercraft for industrial purposes, such as, but not limited to, mining, processing raw materials, manufacturing products from natural resources, and operations that include hazardous substances.

****"Industry"

means the production, processing, manufacturing, or fabrication of goods or materials. Warehousing and storage of materials or production is considered part of the industrial process.

*"Infiltration"

means the downward entry of water into the immediate surface of soil.

"Infrastructure"

means existing installed facilities and services including capital facilities such as water supply, sewage disposal, and storm drainage systems, and transportation facilities such as public roads.

****"Inner harbor line"

means a line located and established in navigable tidal waters between the line of ordinary high water and the outer harbor line, constituting the inner boundary of the harbor area.

****"In-stream structure"

means a human-made structure placed 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. In-stream structures may include those for hydroelectric generation, irrigation, water supply, flood control, transportation, utility service, transmission, fisheries enhancement, or other purposes.

*"Intensification of nonconforming use"

means any increase or expansion in the quality or quantity of products, goods, services, structures or adverse impacts upon parcels within the vicinity of the nonconforming use produced, generated, served, created or performed at the site of the legal nonconforming use by the owner or occupant of that legal nonconforming use.

*"Intensive"

means highly concentrated, very large, or considerable, in terms of Jefferson County standards and environment.

*"International Building Code (IBC)"

means the building code officially adopted by Jefferson County.

****"Intertidal"

means the area waterward of the ordinary high water mark and landward of the line of extreme low tide.

"Invasive species"

means a species that is (i) nonnative (or alien) to Jefferson County and (ii) 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. Includes noxious weeds that, when established, are highly destructive, competitive, or difficult to control by cultural or chemical practices, as per RCW 17.10.010.

"In-water finfish aquaculture"

means the farming or culture of vertebrate or cartilaginous food fish for market sale when raised in facilities located waterward of the ordinary high water mark in freshwater or saltwater water bodies, in either open-flow or contained systems. This includes net pens, sea cages, bag cages and similar floating/hanging containment structures and is intended to reflect the definition of "marine finfish rearing facilities" (RCW 90.48.220), but does not include temporary restoration/enhancement facilities used expressly to improve populations of native stocks and that meet the definition of "watershed restoration project" per RCW 89.08.460.

****"Island"

means a land mass completely surrounded by water.

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J Definitions.

****"Jetty"

means a structure generally perpendicular to the shore, extending through or past the intertidal zone. Jetties are built singly or in pairs at a harbor entrance or river mouth mainly to prevent accretion from littoral drift in an entrance channel. Jetties also serve to protect channels from storm waves or cross currents and to stabilize inlets through barrier beaches. Most jetties are of rip-rapped mound construction.

Joint Use Dock.

See "Community dock."

No K definitions.

L Definitions.

means a body of standing water in a depression of land or expanded part of a stream, of 20 acres or greater in total area. A lake is bounded by the OHWM, or where a stream enters the lake, the extension of the lake's OHWM within the stream. A lake is generally distinguished from marshes, bogs, and swamps by its greater depth.

"Land disturbing activity"

means any activity that results in movement of earth, or a change in the existing soil cover (both vegetative and nonvegetative) and/or the existing soil topography. Land disturbing activities include, but are not limited to, clearing, grading, filling, compaction, and excavation.

See "Filling."

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, rock slides, and rock falls.

*"Landslide hazard"

areas means areas potentially subject to risk of mass movement due to a combination of geologic, topographic, and hydrologic factors.

*"Landward"

means to or toward the land.

"Levee"

means a natural or artificial embankment on the bank of a river or stream for the purpose of keeping floodwaters from inundating adjacent land. Some levees have revetments on their sides.

"Liberal construction"

means that the interpretation of this document shall not only be based on the actual words and phrases used in it, but also by taking its deemed or stated purpose into account.

"Live-aboard"

means a seaworthy vessel that was designed primarily for navigation but is used as a residence. A boat or other floating structure is a residence if it is occupied 30 out of 45 days or 90 out of 365 days while moored or anchored in the same area, or if the local government, the marina, or the occupant of the boat defines it as a residence. The phrase "in the same area" means within a radius of one mile of any location where the same vessel previously moored or anchored. 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 a recreational or transient vessel (WAC 332-30-106).

"Log storage"

means the water storage of logs in rafts or otherwise prepared for shipment in water-borne commerce, but does not include the temporary holding of logs to be taken directly into a vessel or processing facility (RCW 79.105.060(10)).

*"Logging"

means activities related to and conducted for purposes of harvesting or processing timber. See also "Forest practices."

*"Long-term commercial significance"

means lands with the growing capacity, productivity, soil composition, and economic viability for long-term agricultural, mineral or silvicultural production.

*"Lot"

means a designated tract, parcel or area of land established by plat, subdivision, or as otherwise permitted by law, to be separately owned, and utilized. The area below the ordinary high water mark may not be considered a part of the lot area for all purposes.

*"Lot of record"

means an undeveloped lot, tract or parcel of land shown on an officially recorded short plat or long plat or a parcel of land officially recorded or registered as a unit of property and described by platted lot number or by metes and bounds and lawfully established for conveyancing purposes on the date of recording of the instrument first referencing the lot. The term lot of record does not imply that the lot was created in conformity with the legal regulatory requirements for subdivision of property in accordance with Chapter 58.17 RCW or Chapter 18.35 JCC.

"Low intensity land use"

means a land use that has limited impact upon the land, resources and adjoining properties in terms of the scale of development, and frequency, amount, or concentration of use. Low intensity uses are mostly passive uses that do not substantially consume resources or leave noticeable or lasting adverse effects.

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M Definitions.

"Maintenance and repair"

means work required to keep existing improvements in their existing operational state. This does not include any modification that changes the character, scope, or size of the original structure, facility, utility or improved area.

"Marina"

means a wet moorage and/or dry storage facility for multiple pleasure crafts and/or commercial crafts where goods or services related to boating may be sold commercially. Launching facilities and covered moorage may also be included. Marinas may be open to the general public or restricted on the basis of property ownership or membership.

"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.

*"Master planned resort (MPR)"

means a self-contained and fully integrated planned unit development in a setting of significant natural amenities, with primary focus on destination resort facilities consisting of short-term visitor accommodations associated with a range of on-site indoor or outdoor recreational facilities. A master planned resort may include other residential uses within its boundaries, but only if the residential uses are integrated into and support the on-site recreational nature of the resort (cf., RCW 36.70A.360).

"May"

means the action is allowable, provided it conforms to the provisions of this program.

"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.

"Minerals"

means clay, coal, gravel, industrial minerals, metallic substances, peat, sand, stone, topsoil, and any other similar solid material or substance to be excavated from natural deposits on or in the earth for commercial, industrial, or construction use.

"Mining" or "mining operations"

means, in accordance with RCW 78.44.031, all mine-related activities, exclusive of reclamation, that include, but are not limited to activities that affect noise generation, air quality, surface and ground water quality, quantity, and flow, glare, pollution, traffic safety, ground vibrations, and/or significant or substantial impacts commonly regulated under land use provisions. Mining specifically includes:

Extraction of rock, stone, gravel, sand, earth, and other minerals;

Blasting, equipment maintenance, sorting, crushing, and loading;

On-site mineral processing including asphalt or concrete batching, concrete recycling, and other aggregate recycling; and

All methods of transporting minerals to and from the mine (including conveyors, piers, and barges), on-site road maintenance, maintenance of roads used extensively for surface mining activities, traffic safety, and traffic control.

Mining shall not include the following:

Excavation and grading at building construction sites where such construction is authorized by a valid building permit; or

Excavation and grading in public rights-of-way for the purpose of on-site road construction, or in private rights-of-way for the same purpose if authorized by the county; or

Excavation and grading for the purpose of developing ponds or manure lagoons for agricultural purposes; or

Excavation and grading in connection with and at the site of any creek, river, or flood-control or storm drainage channel for the purpose of enlarging hydraulic capacity or changing the location or constructing a new channel or storm drain where such work has been approved by the county; or

(E)

Excavation and grading where the excavated material will be used on the same property or on property contiguous to and under the same ownership as the excavation.

*"Mitigation"

means measures prescribed and implemented to avoid, minimize, lessen, or compensate for adverse impacts. Explicit in this definition is the following order of preference:

Avoiding an impact altogether by not taking a certain action or parts of actions;

Minimizing impacts by limiting the degree or magnitude of an action and its implementation;

Rectifying impacts by repairing, rehabilitating, or restoring the affected environment;

Reducing or eliminating an impact over time by preservation and maintenance operations during the life of the action;

Compensating for an impact by replacing or providing substitute resources or environments; and

Monitoring the mitigation and taking remedial action when necessary.

"Mitigation bank"

means a site where wetlands or similar habitats are restored, created, enhanced, or in exceptional circumstances, preserved, expressly for the purpose of providing compensatory mitigation in advance of authorized impacts to aquatic resources.

"Mitigation plan"

means a detailed plan indicating actions necessary to mitigate adverse impacts to shorelines and/or critical areas.

"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.

*"Mobile home"

means a factory-built dwelling built prior to June 15, 1976, to the standards other than the HUD Code, and acceptable under applicable state codes in effect at the time of construction or introduction of the home into the state. Mobile homes have not been built since the introduction of the HUD Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards Act. See also "Manufactured home" in Chapter 18.10 JCC.

*"Mobile home park"

means a development with two or more improved pads or spaces with required improvements and utilities designed to accommodate mobile homes, according to RCW 59.20.030(4).

"Monitoring"

means evaluating the effects of a development action on the biological, hydrological, pedological, and geological elements of natural systems and/or assessing the performance of required mitigation measures through data collection, analysis and reporting.

****"Mooring buoy"

means an anchored floating device in a water body used for the landing or storage of a vessel or water craft.

*"Motel"

means a commercial building or group of buildings in which lodging is provided to transient guests, offered to the public for compensation, and in which access to and from each room or unit is through an exterior door.

*"Motor home"

means a motor vehicle originally designed, reconstructed, or permanently altered to provide facilities for human habitation, which include lodging, cooking, and sewage disposal, and enclosed within a solid body shell with the vehicle, but excluding a camper or similar unit constructed separately and affixed to a motor vehicle (RCW 46.04.305).

***"Must"

means a mandate; the action is required.

"Multifamily dwelling"

means a single building, or portion thereof, designed for or occupied by three or more families living independently of each other in separate dwelling units on one lot of record and, for the purpose of this program, includes triplexes, fourplexes, apartment buildings, and residential condominiums.

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N Definitions.

*"National Register of Historic Places"

means the official federal list, established by the National Historic Preservation Act, of sites, districts, buildings, structures and objects significant in the nation's history and prehistory, or whose artistic or architectural value is unique.

*"Native vegetation"

means plant species that are indigenous to Jefferson County.

"Nearshore"

means the estuarine delta/marine shoreline and areas of shallow water from the top of the coastal bank or bluffs to the water at a depth of about 10 meters relative to mean lower low water.

"Net pens"

are finfish culturing systems that generally consist of two nets – an interior net to keep fish in and an exterior net to exclude predators. Net pens are typically anchored to the waterbody floor and suspended from the surface with a floatation structure; the netting continues above the water to a degree to stop fish from jumping out. Fish pen structures solely and directly established and managed for purposes of salmon enhancement and/or restoration are not considered net pens for purposes of this program.

"No net loss (NNL)"

means the maintenance of the aggregate total of the county shoreline ecological functions over time. The no net loss standard contained in WAC 173-26-186 requires that the impacts of shoreline use and/or development, whether permitted or exempt from permit requirements, be identified and mitigated such that there are no resulting adverse impacts on ecological functions or processes.

*"Noise"

means any sound not occurring in the natural environment which causes or tends to cause an adverse psychological or physiological effect on humans. This includes sounds arising from the amplification of noises generated by expected or permitted uses of a lot or structure.

"Nonconforming"

means a use or development which conformed to the applicable codes in effect on the date of its creation but which no longer complies because of changes in code requirements. Nonconformity is different than and not to be confused with illegality (see "Illegal use").

"Nonconforming lot"

means a legal lot of record in existence prior to the effective date of this program and any amendments thereto, on which it is not possible to construct a structure outside of/landward of the shoreline buffer or which does not otherwise meet the minimum lot size requirements as set forth in this program. Depth of lot is measured as the distance from ordinary high water mark to the inside edge of the frontage setback.

*"Nonconforming structure"

means a structure which does not conform to the dimensional regulations of this program, including but not limited to setback, buffer, height, lot coverage, density, and building configuration.

*"Nonconsumptive use"

means a use which does not permanently deplete, degrade, or destroy the resource involved.

(15)

O Definitions.

"Off-premises sign"

means a sign situated on premises other than those premises to which the sign's message is related.

****"Offshore"

means the sloping subtidal area seaward from the low intertidal.

"Off-site mitigation"

means to replace shoreline resources at a location away from the site that is impacted by development.

"On-premises sign"

means a sign situated on the premises to which the sign's message is related.

*"On-site waste disposal"

means any one of several means for disposal of sanitary waste on the property from which it is generated (e.g., septic tank and drainfield).

*"Open record hearing"

means a hearing, conducted by a single hearing body or officer that creates the record through testimony and submission of evidence and information, under procedures prescribed by ordinance or resolution. An open record hearing may be held prior to the decision on a project permit and is to be known as an open record predecision hearing. An open record hearing may be held on an appeal, and is to be known as an open record appeal hearing, if no open record predecision hearing has been held on the project permit.

*"Open space"

means lands committed to farming and forestry uses and any parcel, lot, or area of land or water essentially unimproved and set aside, dedicated, designated, or reserved for public or private use or enjoyment.

*"Open space tax program"

means a county program associated with property taxation. Land being used for agriculture may be enrolled in the tax program through the county assessor. The tax program is independent of land use designation (i.e., zoning) and these development regulations, except in the context of identifying existing and ongoing agriculture, as defined and regulated in this program.

*"Operator"

means any person who is in actual physical or electronic control of a powered watercraft, motor vehicle, aircraft, off-highway vehicle, or any other engine driven vehicle.

***"Ordinary high water mark"

or "OHWM" means that mark 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 exists on June 1, 1971, as it may naturally change thereafter, or as it may change hereafter in accordance with permits issued by Jefferson County or the Department of Ecology. On a site-specific basis, Department of Ecology has the final authority on determining where the ordinary high water mark is located (RCW 90.58.030).

****"Outer harbor line"

means a line located and established in navigable waters as provided in Section 1 of Article 15 of the Washington State Constitution, beyond which the state shall never sell or lease any rights whatsoever to private persons.

*"Owner"

means an individual, firm, business entity, trust, association, syndicate, partnership, or corporation having sufficient property interest to seek development of land.

*"Owner-occupied"

means the residential occupancy of a building or property by the owner.

(16)

P Definitions.

*"Park"

means a tract of land designated for and used by the public for recreation.

*"Parking lot"

means an off-street, ground level open area, usually improved, for the temporary storage of motor vehicles.

*"Parties of record"

means the land use permit applicant; persons who have testified at the open record hearing; and any persons who have submitted written comments concerning the application that form part of the public record (excluding persons who only signed petitions or mechanically produced form letters).

*"Performance standard"

means a set of criteria or limits relating to certain characteristics that a particular use or process may not exceed.

*"Permit center"

means the Jefferson County department of community development.

*"Permit review"

means the process of reviewing applications for project permits for consistency with the requirements of this program.

*"Permittee"

means the entity to whom a permit is granted.

*"Person"

means any individual, owner, contractor, tenant, partnership, corporation, business entity, association, organization, cooperative, public or municipal corporation, agency of a state or local governmental unit however designated, public or private institution, or an employee or agent of any of the foregoing entities.

*"Pervious surface"

means a surface that absorbs water.

"Pier"

means a fixed platform structure supported by piles in a water body that abuts the shore to provide landing for water-dependent recreation or moorage for vessels or watercraft and does not include above water storage.

*"Planned rural residential development (PRRD)"

means development characterized by a unified site design, clustered residential units, and areas of common open space pursuant to Article VI-M of Chapter 18.15 JCC.

*"Planning department"

means the Jefferson County department of community development.

*"Plat"

means a map or representation of a subdivision or short subdivision of land showing the division of a parcel of land into lots, roads, dedications, common areas, restrictions and easements, as regulated by Chapter 58.17 RCW and this program.

*"Playing field"

means a land area designed and used for outdoor games, such as baseball, football, soccer, track events and tennis. It includes public outdoor swimming pools.

"Port"

means a legal entity established for purposes of acquiring, constructing, maintaining, operating, developing and regulating harbor improvements, rail or motor vehicle transfer and terminal facilities, water transfer and terminal facilities, air transfer and terminal facilities, or any combination of such transfer and terminal facilities, and other commercial transportation, transfer, handling, storage and terminal facilities, and industrial improvements.

*"Predecision hearing, open record"

means a hearing, conducted by the hearing examiner, that creates the county's record through testimony and submittal of evidence and information, under procedures prescribed by the county by ordinance or resolution. An open record predecision hearing may be held prior to the county's decision on a project permit (RCW 36.70B.020).

*"Preliminary plat"

means a neat and approximate drawing of a proposed subdivision showing the general layout of streets, lots, blocks (if applicable) and other elements of a subdivision consistent with the provisions of this program.

"Preservation"

means actions taken to ensure the permanent protection of existing, ecologically important areas that the county has deemed worthy of long-term protection.

"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/spawning.

*"Primary use"

means the principal use of a property.

"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 fish and wildlife breeding habitat; important fish or wildlife seasonal range; important fish or wildlife movement corridor; rearing and foraging habitat; 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 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)).

"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.

*"Prohibited use"

means any use or activity which is specifically not allowed by this program. A prohibited use cannot be authorized through a variance or conditional use permit.

"Project"

means any proposed or existing activity regulated by Jefferson County.

****"Project area"

means all areas at and around a proposed shoreline development that would be affected directly or indirectly by the proposal for which a project proponent is seeking approval under this master program, and not simply the immediate area involved in the project. That is, the project area may consist of an area larger than the affected lot or parcel. Direct effects are those caused by the proposed project and occur at the same time and place. Indirect effects are those caused by the proposed project and are later in time, but still are reasonably certain to occur. The shoreline administrator is vested with the authority to define the project area.

*"Proof of ownership"

means a photocopy of a recorded deed to property and/or a current title insurance policy insuring the status of an applicant as the owner in fee title to real property.

"Proponent"

means the owner, sponsor, authorized agent and/or permit applicant of any proposed use or development on or affecting shorelines of the state.

*"Provision"

means any written language contained in this program, including without limitation any definition, policy, goal, regulation, requirement, standard, authorization, or prohibition.

*"Public facilities (and services)"

"Pruning"

means the removal of any of a tree's living branches.

(dd)

"Public access"

is a goal of the Shoreline Management Act that supports the public's right to get to, view and use the state's public waters, both saltwater and freshwater, the water/land interface and associated shoreline area. 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 scenic roads and overlooks, viewing towers and other public sites or facilities. Public access can be established by easement or other means and may not always include a facility or structure. Public access is intended to connect people to public lands and waters, not to allow trespassing on private property.

(ee)

means facilities which serve the general public including streets, roads, ferries, sidewalks, street and road lighting systems, traffic signals, community water systems, community sewage treatment systems, storm sewer systems, parks and recreational facilities, and libraries (see RCW 36.70A.030). Some public facilities are essential public facilities.

(ff)

"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.

(gg)

*"Public transportation systems"

means public facilities for air, water, or land transportation.

(hh)

"Public use"

means the use of any land, water, or building by a public agency for the general public, or by the public itself.

"Public utility"

means a use owned or operated by a public or publicly licensed or franchised agency that provides essential public services such as telephone exchanges, electric substations, radio and television stations, wireless communications services, gas and water regulation stations and other facilities of this nature.

(17)

Q Definitions.

"Qualified professional" or "qualified consultant"

means a person with experience and training with expertise appropriate for the relevant subject. A qualified professional/consultant must have obtained a B.S. or B.A. degree or have appropriate education and experience.

"Qualified geotechnical engineer"

means a professional engineering geologist or geotechnical engineer, licensed in the state of Washington.

(18)

R Definitions.

*"Rare, endangered, threatened and sensitive species"

means plant and animal species identified and listed by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Washington Natural Heritage Program, Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as being severely limited or threatened with extinction within their native ranges.

*"RCW"

means the Revised Code of Washington.

"Reach"

means a section of shoreline and associated planning area that is mapped and described as a unit due to relatively homogenous characteristics that include land use and/or natural features, such as a drift cell location and other factors.

"Reasonably foreseeable,"

in the context of this program and the Comprehensive Plan, means predictable by an average person based on existing conditions, anticipated build-out, and approved/pending permits.

"Recharge"

means the process involved in the absorption and addition of water from the unsaturated zone to ground water.

"Reclamation"

means, in accordance with RCW 78.44.031, rehabilitation for the appropriate future use of disturbed areas resulting from surface mining.

*"Recording"

means the filing of a document(s) for recordation with the county auditor.

*"Recreational development"

means parks and facilities for camping, indoor and outdoor sports, and similar developments.

"Recreation, shoreline"

means a commercial or public activity intended for personal enjoyment and leisure. Most shoreline recreation occurs outdoors and can be either passive (such as observation or recording activities such as photography, painting, bird watching, viewing of water conditions or shoreline features, nature study and related activities) or active (such as: fishing, clamming, hunting, beach combing, rock climbing; boating, swimming, hiking, bicycling, horseback riding, camping, picnicking, and similar activities). Existing rules for health, safety and public conduct are not exempted by an action being deemed recreational.

"Reestablishment"

means measures taken to intentionally restore an altered or damaged natural feature or process including:

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;

Actions performed to reestablish structural and functional characteristics of the critical area that have been lost by alteration, past management activities, or other events; and

Restoration can include restoration of wetland functions and values on a site where wetlands previously existed, but are no longer present due to lack of water or hydric soils.

****"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.

"Renovation"

means to restore to an earlier condition as by repairing or remodeling. "Renovation" shall include any interior changes to the building and those exterior changes that do not substantially change the character of the existing structure.

"Resident fish"

means a fish species that completes all stages of its life cycle within freshwater and frequently within a local area.

"Residential development"

means development of land with dwelling units for nontransient occupancy including single-family, multifamily, and creation of new residential lots by land division. For the purposes of this program, accessory dwelling units, garages, and other similar structures accessory to a dwelling unit shall also be considered residential development (see also "Dwelling unit" and "Accessory dwelling unit").

*"Resource-based industrial"

means a forest resource-based industrial land use designation that recognizes existing, active sawmills and related activities.

*"Resource lands"

means agricultural, forest, and mineral lands that have long-term commercial significance.

*"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 fill, removal of intrusive shoreline structures and removal or treatment of toxic materials. Restoration does not imply a requirement for returning the shoreline area to aboriginal or pre-European settlement conditions.

*"Restriction"

means a limitation placed upon the use of parcel(s) of land.

"Revetment"

means a sloped wall constructed of rip-rap or other suitable material placed on stream banks or other shorelines to retard bank erosion and minimize lateral stream movement.

"Rip-rap"

means dense, hard, angular rock free from cracks or other defects conducive to weathering often used for bulkheads, revetments or similar slope/bank stabilization purposes.

"Riparian corridor, zone or area"

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.

****"River"

means a large natural stream of water emptying into any ocean, lake, or other body of water, and usually fed along its course by converging tributaries.

*"Road"

means an improved and maintained public or private right-of-way which provides vehicular access to abutting properties, and which may also include provision for public utilities, pedestrian access, cut and fill slopes, and drainage.

*"Runoff"

means water originating from rainfall and other precipitation that is found in drainage facilities, rivers, streams, springs, seeps, ponds, lakes and wetlands as well as shallow ground water. In addition, that portion of rainfall or other precipitation that becomes surface flow and interflow.

*"Rural lands"

means the class of land use designations which are intended to preserve the rural character of the county. Rural land designations include the following: rural residential, rural commercial, and rural industrial.

*"Rural residential designation"

means the land use designation in the Comprehensive Plan designed to recognize existing residential development patterns of the rural landscape and provide for a variety of residential living opportunities at densities which maintain the primarily rural residential character of an area.

(19)

S Definitions.

*"Sale"

means the conveyance for consideration of legal or beneficial ownership.

*"Saltwater intrusion"

or "seawater intrusion" means the underground flow of salt water into wells and aquifers.

****"Scientific and educational facilities"

means those sites, structures, or facilities that provide unique insight into our natural and cultural heritage.

*"Screening"

means a method of visually shielding or obscuring a structure or use from view by fencing, walls, trees, or densely planted vegetation.

*"Seaward"

means to or toward the sea.

****"Seawall"

means a structure whose primary purpose is to protect the shore from erosion by water waves. Seawalls are similar but typically more massive than bulkheads because they are designed to resist the full force of waves.

"Sedimentation"

means the process by which material is transported and deposited by water or wind.

"Setback"

means the distance a building structure is placed behind a specified limit such as a lot line or shoreline buffer.

"Shared use"

means a facility shared by two or more lots/parcels. This can apply to facilities for adjoining lots or facilities shared between waterfront and upland properties; comparable to "Community structure" per JCC § 18.10.030. See also "Community dock."

"Shellfish"

means invertebrate organisms of the phyla Arthropoda (class Crustacea), Mollusca (class Pelecypoda) and Echinodermata. Shellfish possess a full, partial or vestigial hard outer shell, carapace or exoskeleton. Examples include, but are not limited to, crabs and shrimp, clams, oysters, mussels and other bivalves, snails, limpets, abalone and other single-shelled gastropods, and sea urchins, sea cucumbers, sea stars.

"Shellfish habitat conservation areas"

are 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 as designated as shellfish habitat conservation areas pursuant to WAC 365-190-80. 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.

"Shore armoring" or "structural shoreline armoring"

refers to the placement of bulkheads and other hard structures on the shoreline to provide stabilization and reduce or prevent erosion caused by wave action, currents and/or the natural transport of sediments along the shoreline. Groins, jetties, breakwaters, revetments, sea walls are examples of other types of shoreline armoring.

***"Shorelands"

or "shoreland areas" means those lands extending landward for 200 feet in all directions as measured on a horizontal plane from and perpendicular to 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 173-22 WAC, as may be amended; the same to be designated as to location by the Department of Ecology, as defined by Chapter 90.58 RCW.

***"Shorelines"

are 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 the following, which are excluded:

Shorelines of statewide significance;

Shorelines on segments of streams upstream of a point where the mean annual flow is 20 cubic feet per second (20 cfs) or less and the wetlands associated with such upstream segments; and

Shorelines on lakes less than 20 acres in size and wetlands associated with such small lakes.

"Shoreline conditional use"

means a use, development, substantial development, or unclassified use that, owing to some special characteristics attendant to its typical operation or installation, may be allowed in certain circumstances when consistent with criteria specified herein.

"Shoreline conditional use permit"

means a permit issued by Jefferson County and approved by Ecology stating that the land uses and activities meet all criteria set forth in this program, and all conditions of approval in accordance with the procedural requirements of this program.

"Shoreline jurisdiction"

means all shorelines of the state and shorelands.

*"Shoreline Management Act (SMA)"

means the Shoreline Management Act of 1971 (Chapter 90.58 RCW), as amended.

"Shoreline master program"

("SMP" or "program") means the Jefferson County shoreline master program.

**"Shoreline modification activities"

means those actions that modify the physical configuration or qualities of the shoreline area, usually through the construction of a physical element such as a bulkhead, dock or other shoreline structure. They can include other actions, such as clearing, grading, or filling.

"Shoreline permit"

means a shoreline substantial development permit (SSDP), a shoreline conditional use permit, or a shoreline variance, or any combination thereof issued by Jefferson County pursuant to Chapter 90.58 RCW.

"Shoreline stabilization"

means nonstructural modifications to the existing shoreline intended to reduce or prevent erosion of uplands or beaches and/or influence wave action, currents and/or the natural transport of sediments along the shoreline. This includes use of bioengineering and other forms of vegetative stabilization.

****"Shorelines of statewide significance (SSWS)"

with respect to Jefferson County are identified as follows:

The area between the ordinary high water mark and the western boundary of the state, within Jefferson County and state of Washington jurisdiction, including harbors, bays, estuaries, and inlets.

The area between the ordinary high water mark and the western boundary of the state, within Jefferson County and state of Washington jurisdiction, including harbors, bays, estuaries, and inlets.

The 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 associated wetlands.

Those areas of Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca between the ordinary high water mark and the line of extreme low tide, which are Hood Canal from Tala Point to Foulweather Bluff, south to the Mason-Jefferson County line, including associated wetlands.

Those areas of Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca and adjacent salt waters north to the Canadian line and lying seaward from the line of extreme low tide.

Those natural rivers or segments thereof downstream from a point where the mean annual flow is measured at 1,000 cubic feet per second or more. In Jefferson County these rivers include portions of the Bogachiel River, Clearwater River, Hoh River, and Quinault River.

(vii)

Those shorelands associated with the areas described in subsection (19)(w)(i), (ii), and (iv) of this definition.

***"Shorelines of the state"

means the total of all shorelines and shorelines of statewide significance within Washington State.

*"Short plat"

means a neat and accurate drawing of a short subdivision, prepared for filing for record with the county auditor, and containing all elements and requirements set forth in Chapter 18.35 JCC.

*"Should"

means that the particular action is preferred unless there is a demonstrated, compelling reason, based on policy of the Act and this program, against taking the action (WAC 173-26-020(32)).

*"Sign"

means any object, device, display or structure, or part thereof, situated outdoors or indoors, which is used to advertise, identify, display, direct or attract attention to an object, person, institution, organization, business, product, service, event or location by any means, including words, letters, figures, design, symbols, fixtures, colors, illumination or projected images. Excluded from this definition are signs required by law, such as handicapped parking signs, and the flags of national and state governments.

*"Sign, commercial or industrial"

means a sign that directs attention to a business or profession, to a commodity or service sold, offered, or manufactured, or to an entertainment offered on the premises where the sign is located.

"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.

(dd)

*"Single-family residence"

means a dwelling unit designed for and occupied by no more than one family.

(ee)

"Site plan approval advance determination (SPAAD)"

means a review of a proposed development on a particular parcel for site requirements and constraints to allow prospective land buyers, owners or developers a means to obtain a five-year authorization prior to obtaining building permits for the development action. The intent is to reduce costs and aid financing and serves to vest a proposed development to current regulations.

means:

Gradient.

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.

(gg)

*"Small-scale"

means of a size or intensity which has minimal impacts on the surrounding area and which makes minimal demands on the existing infrastructure.

(hh)

"Soil"

means all unconsolidated materials above bedrock described in the Soil Conservation Service Classification System or by the Unified Soils Classification System.

****"Solid waste handling and disposal facilities"

*"Solid waste"

means all putrescible and nonputrescible solid and semi-solid wastes, except wastes identified in WAC 173-304-015, including, but not limited to, junk vehicles, garbage, rubbish, ashes, industrial wastes, swill, demolition and construction wastes, abandoned vehicles or parts thereof, and discarded commodities, but excluding agricultural wastes and crop residues returned to the soil at agronomic rates. This includes all liquid, solid and semi-solid materials which are not the primary products of public, private, industrial, commercial, mining and agricultural operations. Solid waste includes but is not limited to sludge from wastewater treatment plants and septage from septic tanks, wood waste, dangerous waste, and problem wastes. Unrecovered residues from recycling operations shall be considered solid waste.

(jj)

means any land or structure where solid waste is stored, collected, transported, or processed in any form, whether loose, baled or containerized, including but not limited to the following: transfer stations, landfills, or solid waste loading facilities. Solid waste handling and disposal facilities do not include the following: handling or disposal of solid waste as an incidental part of an otherwise permitted use; and solid waste recycling and reclamation activities not conducted on the same site as and accessory to the handling and disposal of garbage and refuse.

(kk)

*"Solid waste disposal"

means the act or process of disposing of rubbish and garbage.

(ll)

SPAAD.

See "Site plan approval advance determination."

(mm)

"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.

(nn)

*"Storage yard, outdoor"

means an outdoor area used for the storage of equipment, vehicles or materials for periods exceeding 72 hours.

(oo)

****"Stormwater"

means rain or snow melt that does not naturally infiltrate into the ground but runs off surfaces such as rooftops, streets, or lawns, directly or indirectly, into streams and other water bodies or through constructed infiltration facilities into the ground.

(pp)

"Stream"

means an area 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.

(qq)

"Strict construction"

means an interpretation that considers only the literal words of a writing, as compared to liberal construction.

(rr)

*"Structure"

means a permanent or temporary edifice or building 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 (WAC 173-27-030). Retaining walls, bulkheads, fences, landscaping walls/decorative rockeries, and similar improvements to real property are examples of structures. Geoduck tubes are not considered structures for purposes of this program.

(ss)

*"Subdivision"

means the division or redivision of land into lots, tracts, parcels, sites or divisions for the purpose of sale, lease or transfer of ownership.

(tt)

"Substantial development"

means any development of which the total cost or fair market value exceeds $5,718 or as adjusted by the state legislature, or any development which materially interferes with the normal public use of the water or shorelines of the state; except the classes of development listed (a) through (l) under RCW 90.58.030(3)(e).

(uu)

****"Substantially degrade"

means to cause damage or harm to an area's ecological functions. An action is considered to substantially degrade the environment under any of the following criteria:

The damaged ecological function or functions affect other related functions or the viability of the larger ecosystem; or

The degrading action may cause damage or harm to shoreline ecological functions under foreseeable conditions; or

Scientific evidence indicates that the action may contribute to damage or harm to ecological functions as part of cumulative impacts from similar permitted development on nearby shorelines.

(vv)

****"Subtidal"

means the area waterward of the line of extreme low tide.

(ww)

*"Sustainable"

means actions or activities which preserve and enhance resources for future generations.

(20)

T Definitions.

*"Threatened species"

means a species that is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future, as classified by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Department of Natural Resources, Washington Natural Heritage Program, or the federal Endangered Species Act.

*"Threshold determination"

means the decision by the responsible official under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) regarding the likelihood that a project or other action (WAC 197-11-704) will have a probable significant adverse impact on an element of the environment.

"Toe"

means the lowest part of a slope or cliff; the downslope end of an alluvial fan, landslide, etc.

***"Tombolo"

means a causeway-like accretion spit connecting an offshore rock or island with the main shore, such as the formation that connects Hood Head to the southern shore of Paradise Bay, near the Hood Canal Bridge.

"Topping"

means the removal of any part of a tree's main stem.

"Trimming"

means the removal of living plant matter from any type of vegetation and includes limbing, thinning, shaping, tree pruning and topping.

(21)

U Definitions.

"Unavoidable"

means adverse impacts that remain after all appropriate avoidance and minimization measures have been implemented.

*"Uplands"

means dry lands landward of OHWM.

*"Urban growth area (UGA)"

means an area designated by the county within which urban growth is to be encouraged and outside of which growth is not intended to be urban in nature (cf., Chapter 36.70A RCW).

*"Use"

means the purpose that land or building or structures now serve or for which they are or may be occupied, maintained, arranged, designed, or intended.

*"Utility distribution lines"

means pipes, wires, and associated structural supports.

*"Utility facilities"

means facilities directly used for the distribution or transmission of services to an area, excluding utility service offices.

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V Definitions.

*"Variance (or shoreline variance) permit"

means a type of permit that can provide relief from the dimensional requirements of this program. A variance may only be granted when all of the criteria listed at WAC 173-27-170 are met. The variance is intended to allow only a minimum degree of variation from setback or other standards, just enough to afford relief and to allow a reasonable use of a property. Variances approved by Jefferson County must also be approved, denied, or approved with conditions by Ecology.

"Vegetation"

means all live plant material, including native and nonnative, woody and herbaceous, deciduous and evergreen, trees and understory groundcover, aquatic and terrestrial.

"Vegetative debris"

means all dead and downed plant material, naturally expired or portions of a plant removed intentionally, such as by trimming, resulting from native and nonnative, woody and herbaceous, deciduous and evergreen, trees and understory groundcover, aquatic and terrestrial source. Examples include, but are not limited to, leaves, needles, branches, limbs, annual herbaceous growth, and grass clippings. A standing tree snag is not considered vegetative debris for the purposes of this program.

"Vegetation removal"

means physical extraction, including the whole plant plus its root structure, or trimming in excess of that which a plant can survive even though the root structure is left in place, or chemical expiration of plant material.

"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 as per WAC 332-30-103.

*"Vicinity"

means, in rural and resource lands, the area within one mile of the exterior boundary of a given parcel (JCC § 18.10.220).

****"View protection"

means protection of the visual quality of the shoreline resource and maintenance of view corridors to and from waterways and their adjacent shoreland features.

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W Definitions.

*"WAC"

means the Washington Administrative Code.

****"Waste disposal"

means refuse composed of garbage, rubbish, ashes, dead animals, demolition wastes, automobile parts, and similar material.

**"Water-dependent use"

means a use or portion of a use that requires direct contact with the water and cannot exist at a nonwater location due to the intrinsic nature of its operations. Ferry terminals, public fishing piers, marinas, and shellfish aquaculture are examples of water-dependent uses. Residential development is not a water-dependent use but is a preferred use of shorelines of the state.

**"Water-enjoyment use"

means a recreational use or other use that facilitates public access to the shoreline as a primary characteristic 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 characteristic of the use and which through location, design, and operation ensures 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 shoreline-oriented space within the project must be devoted to the specific aspects of the use that fosters shoreline enjoyment. A restaurant or similar use may qualify as a water-enjoyment use, provided it includes public access to the shoreline.

"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 for priority uses under the Act.

"Water quality"

means the characteristics of water, including flow or amount and related physical, chemical, aesthetic, recreation-related, and biological characteristics.

**"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 because of one of the following:

A functional requirement for a waterfront location such as the arrival or shipment of materials by water or the need for large quantities of water; or

The use provides a necessary service supportive of the water-dependent activities and the proximity of the use to its customers makes its services less expensive and/or more convenient. Water-related uses include manufacturers of ship parts large enough that transportation becomes a significant factor in the product's cost; professional services for primarily water-dependent activities and storage of water-transported foods. Other examples of water-related uses may include the warehousing of goods transported by water, seafood processing plants, hydroelectric generating plants, gravel storage when transported by barge, oil refineries where transport is by tanker, and log storage for water-borne transportation.

"Watershed"

means a geographic region within which water drains into a particular river, stream or body of water.

***"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.