HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOW 2011-06-27 Item 4A - Shoreline Master Program - Ordinance - Attachment A.03: Definitions 3. DEFINITIONS
The following definitions shall be used in the administration of the Master Program and
will be incorporated into the Definitions Chapter of the Zoning Code, TMC 18.10.
Accessory use: An accessory use is a use associated with the principle use on a shoreline
nroperty that is subordinate and incidental to the nrincinle use. An accessory use must be
minor in nature and cornnatible with uses in the immediate vicinitS7.
Appurtenance: means a structure that is necessarily connected to the use and enjoyment
of a single family residence, including a garage, deck, driveway, utilities, fences,
installation of a septic tank and drain field and grading 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 (WAC 173 -27 -040 (2) (g)).
Armoring: means the control of shoreline erosion with hardened structures, such as
bulkheads, sea walls, and riprap.
Bank: means the rising ground bordering a water body and forming an edge or slope.
Bioengineering: Means integrating living woody and herbaceous materials with organic
(plants, wood, jute mats, coir logs, etc) and inorganic materials (rocks, soils) to increase
the strength and structure of the soil along a riverbank, accomplished by a dense matrix
of roots which hold the soil together. The above ground vegetation increases the
resistance to flow and reduces flow velocities by dissipating energy.
Buffer: means an area separating two different types of uses or environments for the
purpose of reducing incompatibilities between them or reducing the potential adverse
impacts of one use or environment upon the other.
Bulkhead: means vertical structures erected parallel to and near the ordinary high water
mark for the purpose of protecting adjacent uplands from erosion, from the action of
waves or currents.
Channel migration zone: means the area along a river within which the channel(s) can
be reasonably predicted to migrate over time as a result of natural and normally occurring
hydrological and related processes when considered with the characteristics of the river
and its surroundings.
Dike: means an embankment or structure built in the river channel to contain or redirect
flow within the channel and prevent shoreline destabilization.
Development, shoreline: means a use consisting of the construction or exterior
alteration of structures; dredging; drilling; dumping; filling; removal of any sand, gravel,
or minerals; construction of bulkheads; driving of piling; placing of obstructions; or any
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project of a permanent or temporary nature which interferes with the normal public use of
the waters overlying lands subject to the Shoreline Management Act at any stage of water
level.
Ecological/ecosystem 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).
Ecosystem -wide 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.
Environment designation: means the term used to describe the character of the
shoreline in Tukwila based upon the recommended classification system established by
WAC 173 -26 -211 and as further refined by Tukwila's SMP.
Feasible: means, for the purpose of the Shoreline Master Program, that an action, such
as a development project, mitigation, or preservation requirement, meets all of the
following conditions:
1. 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;
2. The action provides a reasonable likelihood of achieving its intended purpose; and
3. 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.
Flood plain: means that land area susceptible to inundation with a one percent chance of
being equaled or exceeded in any given year (synonymous with one hundred -year flood
plain). The limit of this area shall be based upon flood ordinance regulation maps or a
reasonable method which meets the objectives of the Shoreline Management Act...
Flood hazard reduction: means actions taken to reduce flood damage or hazards. Flood
hazard reduction measures may consist of nonstructural or indirect measures, such as
setbacks, land use controls, wetland restoration, dike removal, use relocation,
bioengineering measures, and storm water management programs; and of structural
measures such as dikes and levees intended to contain flow within the channel, channel
realignment, and elevation of structures consistent with the National Flood Insurance
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Program.
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.
Grading: means activity that results in change of the cover or topography of the earth, or
any activity that may cause erosion, including clearing, excavation, filling, and
stockpiling
Large Woody Debris (LWD): means whole trees with root wads and limbs attached,
cut logs at least 4 inches in diameter along most of their length, root wads at least 6.5 feet
long and 8 inches in diameter. Large woody debris is installed to address a deficiency of
habitat and natural channel forming processes.
Levee: means a broad embankment of earth built parallel with the river channel to
contain flow within the channel and prevent flooding from a designated design storm.
Levee, Minimum Profile: means, where there is room, the minimum levee profile for
any new or reconstructed levee is the King County `Briscoe Levee" profile 2.5:1
overall slope with 15 foot mid -slope bench for maintenance access and native vegetation
plantings. Where there is insufficient room for a levee backslope due to the presence of
legal nonconforming structures existing at the time of the adoption of this SMP, a
floodwall may be substituted. The figure below illustrates the minimum levee profile.
Typical Shoreline Buffer in Leveed Areas-Width Will Vary
Reconfigured Levee
Vegetated Bench
=10 Willows
2 2' 1.5 ;Existing Levee
r i i
Maintenance Easement Ordinary High
p Water Mark
OHWM
Reconfigured Slope averages 2.5:1 with bench i
Minimum Levee Profile
Not To Scale
Mean Higher High Water (MHHW): means the average of the higher high water
height of each tidal day, and used in determining the OHWM for the tidally influenced
portions of the river.
Native Vegetation: means vegetation with a genetic origin of Western Washington,
Northern Oregon and Southern British Columbia, not including cultivars.
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No Net Loss: means a standard intended to ensure that shoreline development or uses,
whether permitted or exempt, are located and designed to avoid loss or degradation of
shoreline ecological functions that are necessary to sustain shoreline natural resources.
Nonconforming: means a use or development which was lawfully constructed or
established prior to the effective date of the Shoreline Management Act or the Shoreline
Master Program or amendments thereto, but which does not conform to present
regulations or standards of the program.
Non water oriented uses: means those uses that are not water dependent, water related,
or water enjoyment.
Ordinary high water mark: means that mark that will be found by examining the bed
and banks and ascertaining where the presence and action of waters (all lakes, streams,
and tidal water) 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 thereafter in accordance with permits issued by a local government or
the Department of Ecology. In any area where the ordinary high water mark cannot be
found, the ordinary high water mark adjoining salt water shall be the line of mean higher
high tide and the ordinary high water mark adjoining fresh water shall be the line of mean
high water.
Overwater Structure: means any device or structure projecting over the OHWM,
including, but not limited to bridges, boat lifts, wharves, piers, docks, ramps, floats or
buoys.
Non conforming Structure: means a structure legally established prior to the effective
date of the Shoreline Master Program, but which does not conform to present regulations
or standards of the program.
Non conforming Use: means a use legally established prior to the effective date of the
Shoreline Master Program, but which does not conform to present regulations or
standards of the program.
Public Access: means the ability of the general public to reach, touch or enjoy the
water's edge, to travel on the waters of the state, and to view the water and the shoreline
from adjacent locations. Public access may be provided by an owner by easement,
covenant, or similar legal agreement of substantial walkways, corridors, parks, or other
areas serving as a means of view and/or physical approach to public waters. The Director
may approve limiting public access as to hours of availability, types of activity permitted,
location and area.
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Regional Detention Facility: means a stormwater detention and /or retention facility that
accepts flow from multiple parcels and /or public ROW. The facility may be public or
private.
Revetment: means a sloping structure built to increase bank strength and protect an
embankment, or shore against erosion by waves or river currents. A revetment is usually
built of rock rip -rap, wood, or poured concrete. One or more filter layers of smaller rock
or filter cloth and "toe" protection are included. A revetment typically slopes and has a
rough or jagged face. The slope differentiates it from a bulkhead, which is a vertical
structure.
Riparian: means the land along the margins of rivers and streams.
Riverbank analysis and report: means a scientific study or evaluation conducted by
qualified experts and the resulting report to evaluate the ground and/or surface hydrology
and geology, the geomorphology and hydraulic characteristics of the river, the affected
land form and its susceptibility to mass wasting, erosion, scouring and other geologic
hazards or fluvial processes. The report shall include conclusions and recommendations
regarding the effect of the proposed development on geologic and/or hydraulic
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, hydrological and hydraulic
impacts of the proposed development, including the potential adverse impacts to adjacent
and down current properties. Geotechnical /Hydrological /Hydraulic reports shall conform
to accepted technical standards and must be prepared by qualified professional engineers
or geologists who have professional expertise about the regional and local shoreline
geology and processes.
Shorelands or shoreland areas: means those lands extending landward for two hundred
feet in all directions as measured on a horizontal plane from the ordinary high watermark;
floodways and contiguous floodplain areas landward two hundred 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 the SMA.
Shoreline areas and shoreline jurisdiction: means all "shorelines of the state" and
"shorelands" as defined in RCW 90.58.030.
Shoreline functions: see Ecological functions.
Shoreline Jurisdiction: means the channel of the Green/Duwamish River, its banks, the
upland area, which extends from the ordinary high water mark landward for 200 feet on
each side of the river, floodways and all associated wetlands within its floodplain. For the
purpose of determining shoreline jurisdiction only the floodway shall not include those
lands that have historically been protected by flood control devices and therefore have
not been subject to flooding with reasonable regularity.
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Shoreline modifications: means those actions that modify the physical configuration or
qualities of the shoreline area, through the construction or alteration of a physical element
such as a dike, breakwater, pier, weir, dredged basin, fill, bulkhead, or other shoreline
structure. They can include other actions, such as clearing, grading, or application of
chemicals.
Shoreline restoration or ecological restoration: means the re- establishment or
upgrading of impaired ecological shoreline processes functions or habitats, including any
project approved by the Federal, State, King County, or City government or the WRIA 9
Steering Committee with the intent of providing habitat restoration and where the future
use of the site is restricted through a deed restriction to prohibit non habitat uses.. This
may be accomplished through measures including, but not limited to, re- vegetation,
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
Shoreline Significant Tree: means a single trunked tree that is 4 inches or more in
diameter at a height of 4 feet above the ground or a multi trunked tree with a diameter of
2 inches or more (such as willows or vine maple).
Shoreline Stabilization: means actions taken to protect riverbanks or adjacent uplands
from erosion resulting from the action of waves or river currents. "Hard" structural
stabilization includes levees, bulkheads and revetments. "Soft" shoreline stabilization
includes use of bioengineering measures where vegetation, logs, and /or certain types of
rock is used to address erosion control and /or slope stability.
Shorelines: means the line at ordinary high water surrounding any body of water of 20
acres or larger or where the mean annual flow is 20 cubic feet per second or greater.
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 ecological impacts to 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.
Substantial development: means any development of which the total cost or fair market
value exceeds five thousand dollars, or anv de.velonlnent which anaterially interferes with
the normal Dublic use of the water or shorelines of the state. "I'he dollar threshold
established in this definition will be adiusted for inflation by the office of financial
rnanalrement every five years- beainnins), July 1, 2007, based anon chan <,,es in the
consumer price index durin that time period. "Consumer price index" means, for any
calendar year, that year's annual average consumer mice index. Seattle. Washington area.
for urban wane earners and clerical. workers, all .items. compiled by the bureau of labor
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and statistics. United States department of labor. as-adj by the State mot }lt ft)f
iii fl a ti o n. oF aivy dde-velo l:.e!: ma il. t,�,.+�,• ,1 t l tir;
the N\•,rt tines of the s t ate. The following shall not be considered substantial
developments for the purpose of the Shoreline Management Act, but are not exempt from
complying with the substantive requirements of this SMP:
1. Normal maintenance or repair of existing structures or developments,
including damage by accident, fire, or elements;
2. Emergency construction necessary to protect property from damage by the
elements;
3. Construction and practices normal or necessary for farming, irrigation, and
ranching activities, including agricultural service roads and utilities on
shorelands, and the construction and maintenance of irrigation structures
including but not limited to head gates, pumping facilities, and irrigation
channels. A feedlot of any size, all processing plants, other activities of a
commercial nature, alteration of the contour of the shorelands by leveling or
filling other than that which results from normal cultivation, shall not be
considered normal or necessary farming or ranching activities. A feedlot shall
be an enclosure or facility used or capable of being used for feeding livestock
hay, grain, silage, or other livestock feed, but shall not include land for
growing crops or vegetation for livestock feeding and/or grazing, nor shall it
include normal livestock wintering operations;
4. Construction or modification of navigational aids such as channel markers and
anchor buoys;
5. Construction on shorelands by an owner, lessee, or contract purchaser of a
single family residence for his own use or for the use of his or her family,
which residence does not exceed a height of thirty -five feet above average
grade level and which meets all requirements of the state agency or local
government having jurisdiction thereof, other than requirements imposed
pursuant to this chapter;
6. Construction of a dock, including a community dock, designed for pleasure
craft only, for the private noncommercial use of the owner, lessee, or contract
purchaser of single and multiple family residences. This exception applies if
either: (A) In salt waters, the fair market value of the dock does not exceed
two thousand five hundred dollars; or (B) in fresh waters, the fair market
value of the dock does not exceed ten thousand dollars, but if subsequent
construction having a fair market value exceeding two thousand five hundred
dollars occurs within five years of completion of the prior construction, the
subsequent construction shall be considered a substantial development for the
purpose of this chapter;
7. Operation, maintenance, or construction of canals, waterways, drains,
reservoirs, or other facilities that now exist or are hereafter created or
developed as a part of an irrigation system for the primary purpose of making
use of system waters, including return flow and artificially stored groundwater
for the irrigation of lands;
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8. The marking of property lines or corners on state owned lands, when such
marking does not significantly interfere with normal public use of the surface
of the water;
9. Operation and maintenance of any system of dikes, ditches, drains, or other
facilities existing on September 8, 1975, which were created, developed, or
utilized primarily as a part of an agricultural drainage or diking system;
10. Site exploration and investigation activities that are prerequisite to preparation
of an application for development authorization under this chapter, i£
a. The activity does not interfere with the normal public use of the
surface waters;
b. The activity will have no significant adverse impact on the
environment including, but not limited to, fish, wildlife, fish or
wildlife habitat, water quality, and aesthetic values;
c. The activity does not involve the installation of a structure, and upon
completion of the activity the vegetation and land configuration of the
site are restored to conditions existing before the activity;
d. A private entity seeking development authorization under this section
first posts a performance bond or provides other evidence of financial
responsibility to the local jurisdiction to ensure that the site is restored
to preexisting conditions; and
e. The activity is not subject to the permit requirements of RCW
90.58.550 (Oil and Natural Gas exploration in marine waters);
11. The process of removing or controlling an aquatic noxious weed, as defined in
RCW 17.26.020. through the use of an herbicide or other treatment methods
applicable to weed control that are recommended by a final environmental
impact statement published by the department of agriculture or the department
jointly with other state agencies under chapter 43.21C RCW.
12. Watershed restoration projects, which means a public or private project
authorized by the sponsor of a watershed restoration plan that implements the
plan or a part of the plan and consists of one or more of the following
activities:
a. A project that involves less than ten miles of stream reach, in which
less than twenty -five cubic yards of sand, gravel, or soil is removed,
imported, disturbed or discharged, and in which no existing vegetation
is removed except as minimally necessary to facilitate additional
plantings;
b. A project for the restoration of an eroded or unstable stream bank that
employs the principles of bioengineering, including limited use of rock
as a stabilization only at the toe of the bank, and with primary
emphasis on using native vegetation to control the erosive forces of
flowing water; or
c. A project primarily designed to improve fish and wildlife habitat,
remove or reduce impediments to migration of fish, or enhance the
fishery resource available for use by all of the citizen of the state,
provided that any structure, other than a bridge or culvert or instream
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habitat enhancement structure associated with the project, is less than
two hundred square feet in floor area and is located above the ordinary
high water mark of the stream.
13. Watershed restoration plan, which means a plan, developed or sponsored by
the department of fish and wildlife, the department of ecology, the department
of natural resources, the department of transportation, a federally recognized
Indian tribe acting within and pursuant to its authority, a city, a county or a
conservation district that provides a general program and implementation
measures or actions for the preservation, restoration, re- creation, or
enhancement of the natural resources, character, and ecology of a stream,
stream segment, drainage area or watershed for which agency and public
review has been conducted pursuant to the State Environmental Policy Act.
14. A public or private project that is designed to improve fish or wildlife habitat
or fish passage, when all of the following apply:
a. The project has been approved in writing by the department of fish and
wildlife;
b. The project has received hydraulic project approval by the department
of fish and wildlife pursuant to chapter 77.55 RCW; and
c. The local government has determined that the project is substantially
consistent with the local shoreline master program. The local
government shall make such determination in a timely manner and
provide it by letter to the project proponent.
Additional criteria for determining eligibility of fish habitat projects are found
in WAC 173 -27 -040 2 (p) and apply to this exemption.
Water- dependent: means a use or portion of a use which cannot exist in a location that
is not adjacent to the water and which is dependent on the water by reason of the intrinsic
nature of its operations. Examples of water dependent uses include ship cargo terminal
loading areas, marinas, ship building and dry docking, float plane facilities, sewer
outfalls, and shoreline ecological restoration projects.
Water- enjoyment: means a recreational use or other use that facilitates public access to
the shoreline as a primary characteristic of the 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. Examples of water enjoyment uses
include parks, piers, museums, restaurants, educational /scientific reserves, resorts and
mixed use projects.
Water- oriented: means a use that is water dependent, water related or water enjoyment
or a combination of such uses.
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Water related: means a use or portion of a use which is not intrinsically dependent on a
waterfront location but whose economic viability is dependent upon a waterfront location
because:
1. The use has 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
2. The use provides a necessary service supportive of the water dependent uses and
the proximity of the use to its customers makes its services less expensive and /or
more convenient.
Examples of water related uses are warehousing of goods transported by water, seafood
processing plants, hydroelectric generating plants, gravel storage when transported by
barge, log storage or oil refineries where transport is by tanker.
WRIA: means Water Resource Inventory Area river basin planning and management
areas formalized under Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 173 500 -04 and
authorized under the Water Resources Act of 1971, Revised Code of Washington (RCW)
90.54. WRIA 9 refers to the Green/Duwamish River Basin within which Tukwila is
located.
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