For the purposes of this chapter the definitions set forth in this chapter and Chapter
18.06 WMC shall apply. Unless specifically defined in this chapter or Chapter
18.06 WMC, words or phrases used in this chapter shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning they have in common usage and to give this chapter its most reasonable application.
means to adjust, modify or rework a structure or parcel of land.
"Altered,"when referring to wetlands, means a wetland of which at least 50 percent has been graded, drained, devegetated, or replanted with non-wetland plants.
"Anadromous"means fish that are born in freshwater; migrate to and live a portion of their lives in saltwater; then return to freshwater to reproduce.
"Area of special flood hazard"means the land in the flood plain within a community subject to the one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year (also referred to as the "100-year flood"). Designations on flood insurance rate maps include the letter "A."
"Basement"means any area of the building including any sunken room or sunken portion of a room, having its floor below ground level (subgrade) on all sides.
"Best available information"means data, other than official flood insurance rate map data, from federal, state, or other sources, provided this data has either been generated using technically defensible methods or is based on reasonable historical analysis and experience.
"Best available science"means a valid scientific process or method of inquiry that is consistent with the criteria for establishing best available science as found in WAC
365-195-900, as amended.
means an area that surrounds and protects critical area functions from adverse impacts.
"City"is the city of Washougal, a Class Four municipality governed by the mayor and Washougal city council.
"Conservation covenant"means a recorded instrument entered into as a condition of approving a triggering application.
"Council"means the council of the city of Washougal.
"Creation (establishment)"means the manipulation of the physical, chemical, or biological characteristics present to develop a critical area or wetland on an upland or deepwater site, where a wetland did not previously exist.
Activities typically involve excavation of upland soils to elevations that will produce a wetland hydroperiod, create wetland soils and support the growth of hydrophytic plant species. Creation results in a net gain of wetland acres. |
means areas with a critical recharging effect on aquifers used for potable water, including areas where an aquifer that is a source of drinking water is vulnerable to contamination that would affect the potability of the water, or is susceptible to reduced recharge.
"Critical areas"means one of the following:
(2) Areas with a critical recharging effect on aquifers used for potable water, referred to in this chapter as "critical aquifer recharge areas";
Fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas;
Frequently flooded areas; and
Geologically hazardous areas.
"Critical facility"means a facility for which even a slight chance of flooding would be too great. Critical facilities include but are not limited to schools, hospitals, police, fire and emergency response installations, nursing homes, installations which produce, use, or store hazardous materials or hazardous waste.
"Designated floodway"means the regulatory floodway that has been delineated on the flood insurance rate map (FIRM) or a community's flood insurance study and is included in the community's flood damage prevention ordinance.
"Development"means any manmade change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations, or storage of equipment or materials located within the area of special flood hazard.
"Emergent wetland"means a wetland with at least 30 percent of the surface area covered by erect, rooted, herbaceous vegetation as the uppermost vegetative strata.
"Endangered species"means fish and wildlife species native to Washington that are seriously threatened with extinction throughout all or a significant part of their ranges within the state. State-listed endangered species are legally designated in WAC
232-12-014.
means the manipulation of the physical, chemical or biological characteristics of a wetland site to heighten, intensify or improve specific function(s) or to change the growth stage or composition of the existing vegetation. Enhancement is undertaken for the specified purposes such as water quality improvement, flood water retention or wildlife habitat. Enhancement results in a change in some wetland functions and can lead to a decline in other wetland functions, but does not result in a net gain of acres.
"Erosion hazard"means those areas containing soils which, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA NRCS) Soil Survey Program, may experience significant erosion. Erosion hazard areas also include coastal erosion-prone areas and channel migration zones.
"Exotic"means any species of plants or animals that are not native to the watershed.
"Fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas"means areas that serve a critical role in sustaining needed habitats and species for the functional integrity of the ecosystem, and which, if altered, may reduce the likelihood that the species will persist over the long term. These areas may include, but are not limited to, rare or vulnerable ecological systems, communities, and habitat or habitat elements, including seasonal ranges, breeding habitat, winter range, and movement corridors; and areas with high relative population density or species richness and locally important habitats and species. Fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas do not include such artificial features or constructs as irrigation delivery systems, irrigation infrastructure, irrigation canals, or drainage ditches that lie within the boundaries of, and are maintained by, a port district or an irrigation district or company. Fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas include the following:
(1) Areas with which state or federally designated endangered, threatened, and sensitive species have a primary association;
Habitats of local importance, including, but not limited to, areas designated as priority habitat by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife;
Naturally occurring ponds under 20 acres and their submerged aquatic beds that provide fish or wildlife habitat, including those artificial ponds intentionally created from dry areas in order to mitigate impacts to ponds;
Waters of the state, including lakes, rivers, ponds, streams, inland waters, underground waters, and all other surface waters and watercourses within the jurisdiction of the state of Washington;
Lakes, ponds, streams, and rivers planted with game fish by a governmental or tribal entity;
State natural area preserves and natural resource conservation areas; and
Land essential for preserving connections between habitat blocks and open spaces.
"Flood" or "flooding"means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from: (1) the overflow of inland or tidal waters; (2) the unusual and rapid accumulation of runoff of surface waters from any source; (3) mudflow; or (4) collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a lake or similar body of water as a result of erosion or undermining caused by waves or currents of water exceeding anticipated cyclical levels that result in a flood as defined in subsections
1 through
3 of this definition.
means the official map of a community on which FEMA has delineated the special flood hazard areas (SFHAs), the base flood elevations (BFEs), and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.
"Flood insurance study"means the official report provided by the Federal Insurance Administration that includes flood profiles and the water surface elevation of the base flood.
"Floodway"means the channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than one foot. For areas of special flood hazard studied in detail, the floodway boundary is delineated upon the flood insurance rate maps. In all other areas of special flood hazard, the floodway boundary shall be determined by the use of other base flood data.
"Floodway fringe"shall mean the land between the boundary of the floodway and the limits of the 100-year floodplain.
"Forested wetland"means a wetland with at least 30 percent of the surface area covered by a canopy of woody obligate, facultative wet, or facultative plants greater than 20 feet in height.
"Frequently flooded areas"means lands in the floodplain subject to at least a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year, or within areas subject to flooding due to high groundwater. These areas include, but are not limited to, streams, rivers, lakes, coastal areas, wetlands, and areas where high groundwater forms ponds on the ground surface.
"Functions"means the beneficial roles served by wetlands including the control of flood waters, maintenance of summer stream flows, filtration of pollutants, recharge of ground water, and provision of significant habitat areas for fish and wildlife.
"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.
"Habitat"means the environment occupied by individuals of a particular species, population or community.
"Headwaters"means springs, lakes, ponds, or wetlands providing significant sources of water to a stream.
"High intensity land use"means roadways, commercial, industrial, and multifamily (more than four units per parcel) land uses.
"Hydric soil"means a soil that formed under conditions of saturation, flooding or ponding long enough during the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions in the upper part. Hydric soils that occur in areas having positive indicators of hydrophytic vegetation and wetland hydrology are wetland soils.
"Hydrophytic vegetation"means macrophytic plant life growing in water or on a substrate that is at least periodically deficient in oxygen as a result of excessive water content. The presence of hydrophytic vegetation shall be determined following the methods described in the wetlands delineation manual.
"Intermittent stream"means a surface stream with no measurable flow during 30 consecutive days in a normal water year.
"JARPA"means joint aquatics resource permit application.
"Landslide hazard"means areas at risk of mass movement due to a combination of geologic, topographic, and hydrologic factors. They include any areas susceptible to landslide because of any combination of bedrock, soil, slope (gradient), slope aspect, structure, hydrology, or other factors, and include, at a minimum, the following:
(1) Areas of historic failures, such as:
(a) Those areas delineated by the USDA NRCS as having a significant limitation for building site development;
Those coastal areas mapped as Class U (unstable), UOS (unstable old slides), and URS (unstable recent slides) in the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) Washington coastal atlas; or
Areas designated as quaternary slumps, earthflows, mudflows, lahars, or landslides on maps published by the U.S. Geological Survey or Washington State Department of Natural Resources;
Areas with all three of the following characteristics:
(a) Slopes steeper than 15 percent;
Hillsides intersecting geologic contacts with a relatively permeable sediment overlying a relatively impermeable sediment or bedrock; and
Springs or groundwater seepage;
Areas that have shown movement during the Holocene epoch (from 10,000 years ago to the present) or which are underlain or covered by mass wastage debris of this epoch;
Slopes that are parallel or subparallel to planes of weakness (such as bedding planes, joint systems, and fault planes) in subsurface materials;
Slopes having gradients steeper than 80 percent subject to rockfall during seismic shaking;
Areas potentially unstable as a result of rapid stream incision, stream bank erosion, and undercutting by wave action, including stream channel migration zones;
Areas that show evidence of, or are at risk from, snow avalanches;
Areas located in a canyon or on an active alluvial fan, presently or potentially subject to inundation by debris flows or catastrophic flooding; and
Any area with a slope of 40 percent or steeper and with a vertical relief of 10 or more feet except areas composed of bedrock. A slope is delineated by establishing its toe and top and measured by averaging the inclination over at least 10 feet of vertical relief.
"Local habitat area"means an area that contains sufficient food, water, or cover for native terrestrial or aquatic species that the city of Washougal has identified in this chapter as being of significant local concern.
"Lowest floor"means the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement). An unfinished or flood-resistant enclosure, usable solely for parking of vehicles, building access or storage, in an area other than a basement area, is not considered a building's lowest floor; provided, that such enclosure is not built so as to render the structure in violation of the applicable nonelevation design requirements of this chapter.
"Manufactured home"means a structure, transportable in one or more sections, which is built on a permanent chassis and is designed for use with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. For floodplain management purposes the term "manufactured home" also includes park trailers, travel trailers, and other similar vehicles placed on a site for greater than 180 consecutive days. For insurance purposes the term "manufactured home" does not include park trailers, travel trailers, and other similar vehicles.
"Minimizing impacts to wetlands or buffers"means:
(1) Using appropriate and best available technology or best available science;
Taking affirmative steps to avoid or reduce impacts;
Sensitive site design and siting of facilities and construction staging areas away from regulated wetlands and their buffers;
Providing and maintaining protective measures such as siltation curtains, hay bales and other siltation prevention measures, scheduling the regulated activity to avoid interference with wildlife and fisheries rearing, resting, nesting or spawning activities; and
Not jeopardizing the continued existence of endangered, threatened, rare, sensitive, or monitor species as listed by the federal government or the state of Washington.
"Mitigation"means actions that the approving agency shall require so as to avoid or compensate for impacts to critical areas resulting from the proposed project activity. The type(s) of mitigation required shall be considered and implemented, where feasible, in the following sequential order of preference:
(1) Avoiding the impact altogether by not taking a certain action or parts of an action;
Minimizing impacts by limiting the degree or magnitude of the action and its implementation;
Rectifying the impact by repairing, rehabilitating, or restoring the affected environment;
Reducing or eliminating the impact over time by preservation and maintenance operations during the life of the action;
Compensating for the impact by replacing or providing substitute resources or environments; or
Monitoring the impact and taking appropriate corrective measures to achieve the identified goal.
"Native,"when referring to plants or plant communities, means those species or communities that are indigenous to the watershed, including extirpated species.
"New construction"means structures for which the "start of construction" commenced on or after the effective date of this chapter.
"Normal water year"means a 12-month period (October 1st through September 30th) with average precipitation based upon data from the past 50 years.
"Obligate," "facultative wet," and "facultative"refer to groupings of plants according to their frequency of occurrence in wetlands. Obligate wetland plants almost always (99 percent probability) occur in wetlands under natural conditions. Facultative wet plants usually (67 to 99 percent probability) occur in wetlands. Facultative plants are equally likely (34 to 66 percent probability) to occur in wetlands or non-wetlands. Such groupings are more fully defined in the wetlands delineation manual.
"Open water,"when not specifically defined by the rating criteria, means a proportion of open water to vegetative cover equal to 25 percent to 75 percent of the total wetland area during a majority of a normal water year.
"Ordinary high water mark"on all lakes, streams, and tidal water is 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 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 thereafter in accordance with permits issued by a local government or department; provided, that in any area where the ordinary high water line cannot be found, the ordinary high water line adjoining saltwater shall be the line of mean higher high tide and the ordinary high water mark adjoining fresh water shall be line of high water. (RCW
90.58.030(2)(b).)
means a stream with flowing water year-round during a normal water year.
"Person"means an individual, partnership, corporation, association, organization, cooperative, public or municipal corporation, or any agency of the state or local governmental unit however designated.
"Preservation (protection/maintenance)"means removing a threat to, or preventing the decline of, wetland conditions by an action in or near a wetland. This includes the purchase of land or easements, repairing water control structures or fences, or structural protection such as repairing a barrier island. Preservation does not result in a gain of wetland acres, may result in a gain in functions, and will be used only in exceptional circumstances.
"Priority habitat and species areas,"as defined by the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, are areas requiring protective measures for the perpetuation of fish and wildlife species due to their population status, their sensitivity to habitat alteration and/or their recreational, commercial, or tribal importance.
"Qualified wetland professional"generally means a person with at least two years of full-time professional experience and comprehensive training in wetlands issues, including experience performing wetland delineations using state and federal manuals, assessing wetland functions and values, analyzing wetland impacts, preparing wetland reports, developing and implementing mitigation plans, and recommending and designing wetland mitigation projects.
"Recreational vehicle"means a vehicle that is: (1) built on a separate chassis, (2) 400 square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection; (3) is designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light duty truck; and (4) is designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.
"Regulated activities"include land clearing, grading, placement of fill or waste material, removal of protected native vegetation, construction and other habitat-altering activities.
"Restoration"means the manipulation of physical, chemical or biological characteristics of a site with the goal of returning natural or historic functions to a former or degraded wetland. Restoration is divided into the following two classes:
(1) Reestablishment, which is the manipulation of physical, chemical or biological characteristics with the goal of returning natural or historic functions to a former wetland. This results in a net gain of wetland acres.
Rehabilitation, which is the manipulation of physical, chemical or biological characteristics of a site with the goal of repairing natural or historic functions of a degraded wetland. This results in the gain in wetland function but does not result in a gain in wetland acres.
"Review authority"means the decision maker that issues the final land use order, not the appeal authority.
"Riparian habitat area"is defined as areas adjacent to aquatic systems with flowing water (e.g., rivers, perennial or intermittent streams, seeps, springs) that contain elements of both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems which mutually influence each other.
"Scrub-shrub wetland"means a wetland with at least 30 percent of its surface area covered by woody vegetation less than 20 feet in height as the uppermost strata.
"Seismic hazard areas"means areas subject to severe risk of damage as a result of earthquake-induced ground shaking, slope failure, settlement, soil liquefaction, debris flows, lahars, or tsunamis.
"Sensitive species"are species native to Washington that are vulnerable or declining, and are likely to become endangered or threatened in a significant portion of their ranges within the state, without cooperative management or the removal of the threats. These species are designated in WAC
232-12-011.
includes substantial improvements and means the date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, placement of a manufactured home on a foundation or other permanent construction beyond the stage of excavation was within 180 days of the permit date.
(1) The "actual start" means either the first placement of permanent construction of a structure on a site, such as the pouring of slab or footings, the installation of piles, the construction of columns, or any work beyond the stage of excavation, or the placement of a manufactured home on a foundation.
Permanent construction does not include:
(a) Land preparation, such as clearing, grading and filling;
Installation of streets and/or walkways;
Excavation for a basement, footings, piers, or foundation or the erection of temporary forms;
Construction of accessory buildings, such as garages or sheds not occupied as dwelling units or not part of the main structure.
For a substantial improvement, the actual start of construction means the first alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor, or other structural part of a building, whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the building.
"Stormwater management facilities"include biofiltration swales, filter strips, bubbler diffusers, detention ponds, retention ponds, wet ponds, and similar facilities designed and intended to control and treat stormwater, but not including ditches designed and intended primarily for conveyance.
"Streams (water types),"for the purposes of this chapter, are defined by the water type system used by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources based on WAC
222-16-030 or
222-16-031 (as adopted) and as shown in Table 16.04.055(6)(a). Streams do not include manmade ditches that are not a diversion of a natural stream channel.
means a walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage tank that is principally above ground.
"Substantial damage"means damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the costs of restoring the structure to its before damaged condition would equal or exceed 50 percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
"Substantial improvement"means any repair, reconstruction, or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the structure either: (1) before the improvement or repair is started; or (2) if the structure has been damaged and is being restored, before the damage occurred. For the purpose of this definition "substantial improvement" is considered to occur when the first alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor, or other structural part of the building commences, whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the structure. The term can exclude:
(1) Any project for improvement of a structure to correct pre-cited existing violations of state or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which have been previously identified by city officials and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions; or
Any alteration of a structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places or a state inventory of historic places.
"Threatened"species are native to the state of Washington and likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future throughout a significant portion of their ranges within the state without cooperative management or the removal of threats. Threatened species are legally designated in WAC
232-12-011.
means a use or a portion of a use that requires direct contact with the water and cannot exist at a non-water location due to the intrinsic nature of its operations.
"Watershed"means an area draining to a single surface water system as shown on the Clark County wetland watershed map.
"Wetland(s)"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 do 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 from non-wetland 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 non-wetland areas created to mitigate conversion of wetlands.
"Wetland classes and subclasses"means descriptive classes of the wetlands taxonomic classification system of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (Cowardin, et al. 1978).
(Ord. 1543 § 1, 2006; Ord. 1725 § 3 (Exh. A), 2012; Ord. 1921 § 1 (Exh. A), 2020; Ord. 1955 § 1 (Exh. A), 2022)