A.    Title.    Title 40 of the Clark County Code (CCC) constitutes and may be cited as the Unified Development Code (UDC).B.    Purpose.    In order to improve public service and efficiency, the county has adopted the UDC, which consolidates the county’s development-related codes into a single document. The UDC applies to all of unincorporated Clark County and includes:1.    Land use zoning districts and use regulations;2.    Development standards for signs, landscaping and screening, parking and loading, transportation and circulation, stormwater, sanitary sewer, and water;3.    Standards for the protection of critical areas;4.    Procedures for the development and division of land, amendment of the code, and processing under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA); and5.    Impact fees.C.    Organization.    The text of the UDC is organized as follows:1.    Title. The UDC in its entirety is Title 40 of the Clark County Code.2.    Subtitles. Subtitles, which are numbered as 40.#, establish the major categories and start new chapter number series.3.    Chapters. Chapters are numbered as 40.###, with the second group of numbers representing the chapter number, the first digit of which is the subtitle number.4.    Sections. Sections are numbered as 40.###.###, with the second group of numbers representing the chapter number and the third group of numbers representing the section number.5.    Subsections. Subsections levels are indicated by alphanumeric characters in the following hierarchy: A, 1, a, (1), (a), (i) and [a].

No development shall occur nor shall any building or other structure be constructed, improved, altered, enlarged or moved; nor shall any use or occupancy of premises within the county be commenced or changed; nor shall any condition of or upon real property be caused or maintained, after the effective date of the UDC, except in conformity with conditions established hereunder. It is unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to erect, construct, establish, move into, alter, enlarge, use or cause to be used, any buildings, structures, improvements or use of premises contrary to the provisions of this title. Where the UDC imposes greater restrictions than those imposed or required by other rules, regulations or ordinances, the provisions of the UDC shall control.

If it should be found by a court of competent jurisdiction that any portion of the UDC, including text and maps adopted hereby, does not qualify under the authority of Chapter 35.63 RCW, such finding shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this title.If any provision of the UDC, including text and maps adopted hereby, or the application of the provision to any person or circumstances, is held invalid, then the rest of the UDC or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances, should not be affected.

The adopted UDC shall replace and supersede the following:A.    Streets and Roads (Chapters 12.05A, 12.06 and 12.41, Clark County Code).B.    Public Works (Chapters 13.04, 13.08A, 13.29, 13.36, 13.40A, 13.51, 13.55, 13.60, and 13.70, Clark County Code).C.    Land Division Ordinance (Title 17, Clark County Code).D.    Zoning (Title 18, Clark County Code).E.    Clark County Environmental Policy Ordinance (Title 20, Clark County Code).

A.    Designation of Responsible Official.1.    Unless otherwise noted, the director of the Community Development Department (“director”) or the director’s designee shall be the responsible official and shall interpret and apply the provisions of the UDC.2.    Where noted in the UDC, the County Engineer shall interpret and apply the provisions of the UDC relating to transportation and circulation facilities.3.    The Clark County Building Official shall interpret and apply the provisions of Title 14.(Amended: Ord. 2009-07-01)B.    Responsible Official Authority.    Unless otherwise noted, it shall be the responsibility of the responsible official to interpret and apply the provisions of the UDC. An interpretation shall be subject to appeal pursuant to Subtitle 40.5. The responsible official’s response shall be in writing and kept on permanent file.

It shall be the duty of the responsible official to determine the applicability of the UDC for enforcement purposes. All departments, officials and public employees of the county vested with the duty or authority to issue permits, shall conform to the provisions of the UDC and shall issue no permit, certificate or license for any use, building or purpose which violates or fails to comply with conditions or standards imposed by the UDC. Any permit, certificate or license issued in conflict with the provisions of the UDC, intentionally or otherwise, shall be void. The responsible official shall be responsible for carrying out the enforcement provisions of Title 32 of the Clark County Code, at such time as a violation has been determined under the provisions of Title 32.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section shall apply to terms in this title. In addition to definitions provided below, there are chapter-specific or section-specific definitions in the following sections:• Section 40.240.040, Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Districts;• Section 40.250.010, Airport Environs Overlay Districts (AE-1, AE-2);• Section 40.250.030, Historic Preservation;• Section 40.260.050, Bed and Breakfast Establishments;• Section 40.260.100, Home Businesses;• Section 40.260.250, Wireless Communications Facilities;• Section 40.310.010, Sign Standards;• Section 40.386.010, Stormwater and Erosion Control;• Section 40.410.010, Critical Aquifer Recharge Areas (CARAs);• Section 40.420.010, Flood Hazard Areas;• Section 40.430.010, Geologic Hazard Areas;• Chapter 40.460, Shoreline Master Program;• Section 40.560.030, Amendments Docket;• Chapter 40.570, State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA); and• Section 40.610.020, Development Impact Fees.(Amended: Ord. 2009-06-01; Ord. 2012-07-16; Ord. 2015-11-24; Ord. 2017-07-04; Ord. 2018-01-09; Ord. 2018-01-17; Ord. 2019-05-07; Ord. 2019-07-01; Ord. 2023-03-01; Ord. 2024-03-01; Ord. 2025-07-01)(Amended: Ord. 2009-01-01; Ord. 2012-07-15; Ord. 2019-05-07; Ord. 2019-07-01; Ord. 2021-12-02; Ord. 2023-01-08; Ord. 2024-03-01; Ord. 2025-07-01)