Title
Critical Area Ordinance Update - Briefing
Recommended Action
Information only. No action requested.
Report
Issue:
The City is required to review and update as needed its Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) as part of the Comprehensive Plan Update to ensure the environmental regulations reflect the Best Available Science (BAS).
Staff Contact:
Kernen Lien, Planning Manager, Community Development, 360.570.3746
Presenter(s):
Kernen Lien, Planning Manager, Community Development
Background and Analysis:
Sites that are encumbered by critical areas (environmental constraints such as wetlands) are regulated by the Critical Area Ordinance which is a science-based set of regulations that protect environmentally sensitive areas through the use of buffers and similar limitations on development. The City is required to re-review emerging scientific methods to ensure our regulations are soundly based on science as a component of the Comprehensive Plan Amendment.
In 1990, with passage of the Washington State Growth Management Act (GMA), comprehensive planning for critical areas became a requirement for cities. With each update, these regulations have continued to evolve to integrate the best available science regarding how to preserve and protect environmentally fragile areas. The CAO addresses five types of environmentally protected areas: Aquifer Recharge Areas, or drinking water /wellhead protection areas, important habitats and species, streams and important riparian areas, wetlands, and landslide hazard areas. Frequently flooded areas are addressed in a different section of the code but are considered a member of the CAO family. Marine shorelines and freshwater shorelines as regulated by the Shoreline Master Plan.
The City is obligated to conduct a technical review of the best available science and to then evaluate our development regulations for effectiveness in protecting the functions and values of critical areas. A comprehensive scientific review was previously cond...
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