This chapter is adopted as an official land use control for the unincorporated areas of County of Cowlitz, State of Washington, and is established to serve the public, health, safety and general welfare and to provide the economic, social and aesthetic advantages resulting from an orderly planned use of land resources and is a means of carrying out the general purposes set forth and defined in the adopted Comprehensive Plan of Cowlitz County as provided for by Chapter 36.70 RCW. The basic purpose of this chapter is to classify uses and to regulate the location of uses which are mutually compatible, and to protect each such group of uses from the intrusion of incompatible uses. To further accomplish the goal of compatibility, varying degrees of regulations are established for certain uses specified herein. A further purpose of this chapter is to provide a suitable environment for living, business and industry, and to maintain reasonable population densities and reasonable intensities of land use, all for the general purpose of conserving the quality of the environment, public health, safety, convenience and general welfare. Land uses and development located within the unzoned areas (U) of the unincorporated portions of the county shall be governed by the relevant development guidelines and the goals and policies of the Comprehensive Plan land use category for the parcel on which the use or development is proposed. [Ord. 24-042 § 1, 5-14-24; Ord. 4107, § 1.02, 4-14-75.]