Dupont City Zoning Code

To improve air quality, reduce traffic congestion, and reduce the consumption of petroleum fuels through employer-based programs that encourage the use of alternatives to the single occupant vehicle (SOV) for the commute trip.

To make optimal use of existing and planned transportation facilities to minimize development costs and preserve business opportunities in DuPont, Pierce County and the state of Washington.

To adopt a cooperative and coordinated approach to reducing the number of SOV trips and average vehicle miles traveled (VMT) to ensure consistency regarding CTR policies and implementation.

To treat affected employers in a fair and reasonable manner.

Affected Employer. The provisions of this chapter shall apply to any affected employer at any single worksite within the limits set forth in the city CTR plan.

Change in Status as an Affected Employer. Any of the following changes in an employer’s status may change the employer’s CTR program requirements:

Newly Affected Employers.

Notice to Known Affected Employers. Known affected employers located in the city shall receive written notification that they are subject to this chapter and any revisions to this chapter. Such notice shall be by certified mail or delivery, return receipt, addressed to the company’s chief executive officer, senior official, or CTR manager at the worksite. Such notification shall be delivered 30 days after the adoption of this chapter or any revisions to this chapter.

Self-Identification of Affected Employers. Employers who, for whatever reasons, do not receive notice within 30 days of adoption or amendment of this chapter shall identify themselves to the county within 60 days of the adoption of this chapter.

Notification of Nonapplicability. The employer shall notify the county, in writing, the nonapplicability of this chapter to their worksite.

CTR Program Description Requirements. The CTR program description presents the strategies to be undertaken by an employer to achieve the CTR goals for each goal year. Employers are encouraged to consider innovative strategies and combine program elements in a manner that will best suit their location, site characteristics, business type, and employees’ commuting needs. Employers are further encouraged to cooperate with each other and to form or use transportation management organizations in developing and implementing CTR programs.

At a minimum, the employer’s description must include:

Employee Transportation Coordinator.

Information Distribution.

Emergency Ride Home. The employer shall offer to its employees an emergency ride home program that guarantees employees a free ride home in emergency situations when they use alternative commute modes.

Additional Program Elements Designed to Achieve the Goals. In addition to the specific program elements described above, employer CTR programs shall include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following measures:

CTR Program Reporting.

Biennial Survey Measure of Employee Commute Behavior. In addition to the baseline measurement, employers shall conduct a program evaluation as a means of determining worksite progress toward meeting CTR goals. As part of the program evaluation, the employer shall utilize the state-provided survey measurement tool or state-approved equivalent format and strive to achieve at least a 70 percent response rate from employees at the worksite. The county will establish a countywide measurement schedule that will require employers to conduct the measurement survey on a two-year cycle. Depending on when a newly affected employer is identified, a baseline survey and measurement survey may be required during the established measurement schedule. For the purpose of this chapter, an employer shall not be required to survey more than once in a 12-month period.

Recordkeeping. Affected employers shall maintain a copy of official correspondences between the employer and the county, measurement results, and all supporting documentation for the descriptions and assertions made in any CTR report to the county for a minimum of 48 months. The county and the employer shall agree on the recordkeeping requirements as part of the accepted CTR program.

At any time, any affected employer may request that the county grant a modification from a CTR program requirement other than designation of the employee transportation coordinator, information distribution, surveying, and annual reports.

Modification of individual program measures shall not exempt an affected employer from complying with other required program measures.

Affected Employer May Request a CTR Program Modification or Waiver at Any Time. The department shall review such requests and notify the employer of its decision in writing within 30 days of the date the department receives the written request. The department shall review annually all modifications and exemptions and shall determine whether they will remain in effect during the following program year.

Newly Affected Employer. The first annual report submitted by a newly affected employer shall be accepted by the department as long as it addresses necessary baseline information and all required elements.

Review and Evaluation. The department’s review and evaluation shall address the employer’s good faith efforts toward meeting the CTR goals. Programs may be deemed acceptable or unacceptable based on the employer’s progress in reducing commute trips, as measured by reduction in SOV trips or reduction in average VMT. The employer shall provide adequate information and documentation of program implementation when required by the county.

Document Review. Within 90 days of the date the department receives an employer’s annual report, the department shall provide the employer with written notification of whether a CTR program is deemed acceptable or unacceptable. If the CTR program is deemed unacceptable, the notification must give cause for the rejection. The department may extend the review period up to 90 days. If the review period is extended, the implementation date for the employer’s CTR program shall be extended an equivalent number of days.

Review Criteria. The county shall use the following criteria to determine whether an affected employer shall be required to make modifications to its CTR program.

Request for Conference. Within 10 days of receipt of written notice for an unacceptable CTR program, the county or employer may request a conference to discuss the department’s decision. This conference shall be scheduled during county official hours.

Implementation of CTR Program Modifications. If the county proposes modifications to an affected employer’s CTR program due to the CTR program’s unacceptability, the affected employer shall have 30 days to submit a revised CTR program that includes the proposed or other mutually agreed modifications.

Employer Intent to Modify. The employer shall notify the county in writing of its intent to substantially change or modify its approved program. Within 30 days, the county shall review the request. If found unacceptable, the county shall work collaboratively with the employer to design program modifications likely to result in improvements to the program over an agreed-upon length of time.

Leadership Certificate. Employers who meet at least one goal will receive a CTR certificate of leadership from the county.

Compliance. For purposes of this chapter, “compliance” shall mean fully implementing all provisions in an approved CTR program or making a good faith effort as defined in RCW 70.94.534(2) and this chapter.

Violations. The following constitute violations of this chapter:

Penalties.

Appeals. Any affected employer may appeal administrative decisions of the department director or designee regarding modification of goals, modification of CTR program elements, and penalties to the county hearing examiner pursuant to Pierce County Code Chapter 1.22. Appeals shall be filed within 30 days of the administrative decision.

Criteria. The hearing examiner will evaluate administrative decision appeals by determining whether the department’s decisions were consistent with CTR law, Chapter 468-63 WAC and this chapter. An appeal may be granted if the employer can show:

Judicial Appeal. An affected employer may appeal any decision of the hearing examiner to the Pierce County district court and any such appeal shall be limited to the record made before the examiner.

The following are designated cultural resource sites:

The city council may designate additional cultural resource sites eligible for inclusion in the State or National Registers of Historic Places.

Help achieve comprehensive plan goals of affordable housing;

Implement through regulations the responsibility of the city under state law to provide for housing opportunities for all economic segments of the community;

Preserve opportunities for affordable housing as the city continues to grow;

Create affordable housing opportunities as a result of increased development capacity in various zones of the city;

Encourage developments that include affordable housing and that combine local incentives provided by the city with resources available from other public and private sources.

Optional Residential Density Bonus for Affordable Housing.

Impact Fee Exemption. Within all zones, exemptions from impact fees for new residential construction are permitted in accordance with DMC § 26.05.120.

Duration. Affordable housing units that are provided under this section shall remain as affordable housing for a minimum of 50 years except, at the sole discretion of the city, approval may be for a shorter period so that federal underwriting standards are met. But in no case shall the time period be less than 30 years from the date of initial owner occupancy for ownership affordable housing units and for the life of the project for rental affordable housing units.

Designation of Affordable Housing Units. Prior to the issuance of any permit(s), the city shall review and approve the location and unit mix of the affordable housing units consistent with the following standards:

Timing/Phasing. The affordable housing units shall be available for occupancy in a time frame comparable to the availability of the rest of the dwelling units in the development.

Monitoring and Fee. The city reserves the right to establish in the affordability agreement referred to in DMC § 25.85.040 monitoring fees for the affordable housing unit, which can be adjusted over time to account for inflation. The purpose of any monitoring fee is for the review and processing of documents to maintain compliance with income and affordability restrictions of the affordability agreement.

Administrative Official. The director shall be responsible for administration of this chapter. The director may adopt administrative procedures for implementation of this section.

The purpose of this chapter is to:

This chapter is intended to help achieve these purposes by:

Whereas some of these requirements preserve certain trees and other requirements, such as parking lot landscaping, soften particular site features, the community as a whole needs a balance between its landscape areas and its pavements and structures. To this end, a portion of the land surface of certain types of development shall be landscape areas.

The minimum portion which must be a landscape area depends on the type or use, as follows:

Sensitive areas, sensitive area buffers, public parks, and land designated as open space shall not count toward this requirement. All other lands, including lands devoted to meeting other requirements of this chapter, shall count toward this requirement.

The city encourages some of the required percentage of landscape areas to be met by leaving land at its natural grade with native vegetation.

Street Trees. At time of street construction, or time of development of the adjoining land, street trees and related landscaping shall be provided in medians and parking strips within the right-of-way in accordance with the city's public works standards. Street trees shall be:

Interior Parking Lot Landscaping. To provide shade and visual relief, the interior of surface parking lots with 10 or more stalls shall be landscaped with at least one tree per six stalls.

Buffers. Though the comprehensive plan is designed to minimize adjacent, incompatible land uses, such incompatibilities sometimes arise in detailed site planning. In these cases, a buffer (see DMC § 25.10.020, B definitions) is required, as follows:

The city encourages landscape design which requires minimal irrigation. Water-conservative landscaping is generally achieved by:

All required landscape plans except those listed in subsection (4) of this section shall include a water conservation element including:

No landscape plan except those listed in subsection (4) of this section shall be approved whose irrigation projection exceeds the following per year, where the area is that of the proposed landscaping excluding retained native vegetation:

Subsections (2) and (3) of this section shall not apply to:

Before any land development to which this chapter is applicable, and before any land is cleared or graded, except when the clearing is pursuant to a forest practice permit which does not allow the land to convert to urban use, the proponent shall, along with other permit applications, submit a landscape plan. The landscape plan shall address all substantive requirements (see DMC §§ 25.90.020 through 25.90.050) applicable to the development.

The landscape plan may be conceptual in the early review phase of a development proposal, but by the time of formal permit application it shall contain sufficient information to determine whether the proposed landscape will satisfy this chapter. The administrator may provide proponents with standard form or list of landscape plan submittal requirements.

The landscape plan shall be designed or approved by a registered landscape architect or other professional deemed qualified by the administrator.

Review of landscape plans separate from formal land use applications shall be processed with a Type I procedure per DMC § 25.175.010(4) at no additional cost.

The landscaping plan shall be implemented before issuance of a certificate of occupancy, except that, with adequate assurance from the proponent, which may include posting of a performance bond, the administrator may extend the installation deadline to the next appropriate planting season.

Assure that the supply of off-street parking spaces reasonably satisfies demand at all but the peak demand times of year;

Avoid over-reliance on on-street parking; and

Retain enough scarcity so drivers have an incentive to utilize modes of transportation other than single-occupancy vehicles, and so permeable soils are not unnecessarily paved over.

The minimum required and maximum allowed number of parking spaces shall be as follows, computed to the nearest whole number:

The administrator shall determine parking requirements for uses not listed above, such as open-air activities, schools, plant nurseries, public utilities, outdoor recreation, mini-storage, and drive thru facilities (car wash, service stations, etc.) on a case-by-case basis.

For employers implementing commute trip reduction programs, whether over or under 100 employees, the administrator may reduce the required minimum number of parking spaces to reflect the reduction in parking needs caused by the commute trip reduction program.

Required off-street parking spaces shall be located in an appropriately zoned area within 500 feet walking distance from an entrance to the building served.

Parking spaces shall not be located within any required vision clearance triangle.

In residential areas, parking spaces shall not be located in required front yards.

In commercial areas, parking spaces shall not be located in required front yards or in required side yards abutting residential areas.

In manufacturing/research park areas, parking shall not be located in required front yards or within five feet of any property line.

In industrial areas, parking spaces shall not be located within 20 feet of the front property line.

Access a public thoroughfare(s) by means of a driveway(s) that is at least 10 feet wide per lane and located with respect to intersections and crosswalks so as not to endanger or impede traffic;

Incorporate maneuvering room so as not to require backing out onto a public street, except that parking spaces serving single-family residences and duplexes may utilize a street to back out provided the street is not an arterial and the driveway is at least 50 feet from the nearest street intersection;

Be surfaced with a dust-free, durable material;

Be designed to avoid on-site and off-site drainage problems;

Incorporate adequate traffic control devices to inform users of the designed use of spaces, ingress, egress, and maneuvering spaces. Parking spaces other than those for single-family residences shall be separately identified by striping, wheel-stops, or similar means;

Provide for convenient pedestrian movement from parking spaces to building entrances, sufficiently separated from vehicular traffic to ensure safety; and

Conform to the landscaping provisions of this title; and

All off-street parking lots shall be designed in accordance with city standards for stalls and aisles as set forth in the following table and figures:

Disabled parking shall be provided as required by state law.

For land uses for which this chapter requires a minimum number of parking spaces per employee, at least one of every 20 employee parking spaces, rounded to the nearest whole number, shall be reserved for high-occupancy vehicles.

Disabled parking, high-occupancy vehicles, and bicycles shall be given locational priority in parking space layout.

Loading Facilities Location. Off-street loading facilities shall be in all cases on the same lot or parcel of land as the structure they are intended to serve. In no case shall the off-street loading space be part of the area used to satisfy the off-street parking requirements.

No space for loading or unloading vehicles shall be so located that a vehicle using such loading space projects into any public street. Loading spaces shall be provided with access to an alley or street. Any required front, side, or rear yard may be used for loading an off-street loading space unless otherwise prohibited by this code.

Loading Berth Design.

It shall be unlawful to store or accumulate goods in a loading space if it renders the loading space useless for loading and unloading operations.

Single-family and multifamily dwelling that will be served by curbside recycling at each dwelling unit;

Public or private park;

Unstaffed facility;

Construction site; and

Structural alteration or increases in gross floor area that do not exceed 20 percent of the existing building.

Sites in which screening of the garbage and recycling area is accomplished by the buildings or other site improvements such that the garbage or recycling area is not visible from an adjacent lot or public street.

May not be located in required yards required by the DMC;

May not be located in buffer areas required by the DMC;

Shall comply with the requirements of Chapter 25.70 DMC.

Be located adjacent to the refuse area, easily accessible to users and have adequate vertical and turning clearances for collection equipment;

Not interfere with the primary use of the site including the use by vehicles or pedestrians. The storage area shall not be located in area incompatible with noise, odor and increased pedestrian or vehicular traffic.

On lots with zero setback requirements, the enclosure shall be located at least five feet from the respective property line;

The enclosure shall be designed and finished to match the primary building in terms of design and materials;

The enclosure shall be sized for both general refuse and recycling bins;

The enclosure shall be located on a flat and level area of a minimum of 100 square feet, surfaced with concrete with a concrete apron and at the same grade as the service vehicle access;

Service opening shall be 10 feet wide and designed such that the refuse and recycling bins are not visible from public streets, on-site access route or parking area, or the enclosure shall be fully gated. If gated, a separate three-foot wide pedestrian opening is required unless the service gate includes an automated closing assembly.

Preserving and protecting critical areas by regulating development adjacent to and within them and their buffers;

Educating the public as to the long-term importance of environmentally critical areas and the responsibilities of the city to protect and preserve the natural environment for future generations;

Directing a policy of no net loss of wetland and stream function, value, and area within the city;

Preventing, to the extent practicable, adverse cumulative impacts to water quality, wetlands, stream corridors, and fish and wildlife habitats using best available science;

Encouraging improvements to, and good stewardship of, surface water bodies and watercourses;

Protecting the public from injury, loss of life, property damage or financial loss due to flooding, erosion, landslides, seismic events, soil subsidence or steep slope failures;

Providing the city of DuPont with information necessary to approve, condition, or deny public or private development proposals;

Alerting appraisers, assessors, owners, potential buyers, or lessees to the development limitations of critical areas while also providing city officials, officers and agents with sufficient information to adequately protect critical areas when approving, conditioning or denying;

Providing predictability and consistency to the city of DuPont's development review process;

Implementing the policies of the State Environmental Policy Act, the Growth Management Act, Chapter 43.21C RCW, the city of DuPont comprehensive plan (adopted 2015 and as amended), and city-related plans and policies.

Abrogation and Greater Restrictions. This chapter shall be so construed as to achieve its purposes without abrogating any existing regulations. However, where this chapter imposes greater restrictions, the provisions of this chapter shall prevail.

Interpretation. The provisions of this chapter shall be held to be minimum requirements in their interpretation and application and shall be liberally construed to serve the purposes of this chapter.

Compliance with this chapter shall constitute adequate mitigation of impacts to sensitive areas pursuant to the State Environmental Policy Act.

This chapter addresses only the city's critical areas – it does not designate any natural resource lands as defined by the Growth Management Act.

Regulations in this chapter shall be implemented to protect the public health, safety, and welfare by:

This chapter establishes regulations for the protection of properties which contain or are adjacent to critical areas. Critical areas are those which are now or may in the future be identified under the provisions of this chapter. The provisions of this chapter apply to development projects and actions undertaken by individuals and private or public entities. Actions may include, but are not limited to, landscaping and planting of exotic or ornamental vegetation; erection of garden structures such as sheds, fences, gazebos, etc.; clearing or alteration of existing natural vegetation; habitat enhancement or restoration; other alteration of property within or adjacent to a critical area; or any submitted development project.

Conflicting Provisions. The regulations in this chapter do not abrogate the DuPont Municipal Code but do supersede any conflicting regulations in the DuPont Municipal Code. If more than one regulation applies to the subject property, then the regulation that provides the greatest protection to critical areas applies. For properties within jurisdiction of the Shoreline Management Act, the regulations of the City of DuPont Shoreline Master Program supersede any conflict in regulation in this chapter.

Other Jurisdictions. Nothing in these regulations eliminates or otherwise affects the responsibility of the applicant or property owner to comply with applicable local, state, and federal laws regulating development activities in critical areas, as herein defined.

SEPA Compliance. Nothing in these regulations or the decisions made pursuant to these regulations affects the authority of the city to review, condition, and deny projects under the State Environmental Policy Act, Chapter 43.21C RCW.

Wetlands and Lakes. Wetland and lake ecosystems in the city of DuPont support a diverse, unique, and rich group of plant and animal life. Habitat is especially productive at the interface between land and water ecosystems. This interface fluctuates seasonally based on hydrologic conditions and is subject to localized flooding at times which accentuates the function and importance of assigned buffers. Some species require wetland habitats for breeding, nesting, rearing of young, and feeding. Wetlands in DuPont also have a positive effect on water quality downstream or in aquifers by removing pollutants through the processes of sediment trapping, nutrient removal, and chemical detoxification. Wetlands also regulate the flow, retention, and release of stormwater to surface and ground water systems. Eleven of the 14 wetlands historically identified in DuPont appear to be hydrologically connected to ground water sources. Development in or adjacent to wetlands can, therefore, result in: increased soil erosion and sedimentation of downstream water bodies; degraded water quality in streams and aquifers; loss of wildlife habitat; loss of ground water discharge and recharge areas; loss of stormwater retention and detention capacity. Development or alterations in or adjacent to, or in close enough proximity as determined by the director to, wetlands, lakes, and their riparian buffers must incorporate the ARC mitigation sequencing during the planning process. DuPont encourages impact avoidance as the preferred alternative to any proposal.

Fish and Wildlife Habitat Conservation Areas. The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife defines, identifies and maps priority habitat and species and prepares management recommendations for them. Priority habitat types found in urban growth areas like DuPont include wetlands, critical drainage corridors, marine bluffs, and urban natural open space. Fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas are defined in DMC § 25.105.030.140 and are consistent with state agency definitions. Some of these areas, especially wetlands and critical drainage corridors, provide excellent animal and bird habitat areas. This section outlines techniques for the city to use in evaluating land uses and protecting habitat areas which may be adversely impacted by these uses. These regulations are intended to provide reasonable measures to protect and conserve the habitat of fish and wildlife species and thereby maintain or increase their populations within DuPont.

Geologically Hazardous Areas. The bluffs, ravines and hillsides of DuPont are distinctive physical features that contribute to the natural beauty of the city. These areas provide open space and viewing points of extraordinary vistas and serve to define the boundaries between different parts of the city. These areas are stabilized by existing vegetation, which moderate the effects of runoff and erosion from wind and rain. The natural drainage patterns on hillsides contribute to the amount of ground water recharge. Development on hillsides can, therefore, result in: loss of slope and soil stability, causing increased erosion and the potential for slope failures; increased runoff from removal of vegetation, which reduces the percolation of precipitation into the soil and intensifies erosion; destruction of the city's aesthetic resources; major public expenditures to repair damaged facilities and to protect against future damages due to slope instability caused by development activities.

Lands determined to be susceptible to landslide or erosion hazard areas (including channel migration zones), are hereby designated as geologically hazardous areas. Development in these geologic hazard areas can put human life, safety, health, and development at risk, alter geologic processes, adversely affect natural resources, and put the development and surrounding developments and uses at risk.

Aquifer Recharge Areas. Aquifer recharge areas are characterized as porous geologic formations which store surface water that has percolated into the soil (ground water). Currently the Red Salmon Springs Aquifer and the Outwash/Lakewood Glacier Aquifer are used as drinking water sources for the city of DuPont. This section provides protection measures to effectively maintain the quality of potable ground water by prevention of contamination. Development in aquifer recharge areas shall be subject to the standards described in this section.

The approval authority determines that it would provide environmentally appropriate compensation for the proposed impacts.

The mitigation will occur on a site identified using the site selection and prioritization process in the approved in-lieu-fee program instrument.

The proposed use of credits is consistent with the terms and conditions of the approved in-lieu-fee program instrument.

Land acquisition and initial physical and biological improvements of the mitigation site must be completed within three years of the credit sale.

Projects using in-lieu-fee credits shall have debits associated with the proposed impacts calculated by the applicant's qualified wetland scientist using the method consistent with the credit assessment method specified in the approved instrument for the in-lieu-fee program.

Credits from an approved in-lieu-fee program may be used to compensate for impacts located within the service area specified in the approved in-lieu-fee instrument.

Exemptions.

Exceptions.

Nonexempt actions and development within or adjacent to a critical area shall be processed with a Type III procedure as set forth in DMC § 25.175.010.

A complete critical area development application shall contain the information contained in this section in addition to the information required by DMC § 25.175.020 in addition to any specific submittal requirements of this chapter.

Permit Submittal Requirements.

Permit Review Criteria.

Peer Review. The director may require a third-party peer review of any report or study required of an applicant to implement the provision of this chapter to ensure accuracy of the information. The applicant shall bear the burden of any costs associated with this peer review. The director is authorized to hire a third-party consultant to perform this review upon completion of a three-party contract with the applicant to pay for the peer review prior to review of any permit proposal.

Notice. The owner of any property containing critical areas or buffers on which a development project is submitted shall file for record with Pierce County a notice approved in form by the city. Such notice shall provide notice in the public record of the presence of any critical areas or buffers. The owner shall submit proof to the city that the notice has been filed for record within 30 days after the approval of a development permit. The notice shall run with the land, and failure to provide such notice to any purchase prior to transferring any interest in the property shall be a violation of this chapter.

Performance Security. The city may require the applicant of a development proposal to post a financial security, in a form and amount determined by the director, sufficient to guarantee satisfactory workmanship, materials, and performance of structures and improvements allowed or required by application of this chapter. The city shall release the security upon determining that all structures and improvements have been satisfactorily completed.

Maintenance Security. The city may require the applicant whose development proposal is subject to a mitigation plan to post a maintenance/ monitoring financial security instrument in a form and amount determined sufficient to guarantee satisfactory performance for a period of up to five years, or longer if determined by the director to ensure success of the required mitigation. The duration of maintenance/monitoring obligations shall be established by the city after consideration of the nature of the proposed mitigation and the likelihood and expense of mitigation failures. The city shall release the security upon determining that the effectiveness and success of the mitigation plan has been satisfactory. The performance standards of the mitigation plan shall be agreed upon by the city and the applicant during the review process.

Nonconforming Structures and Improvements. Structures and improvements in existence on the date the ordinance codified in this chapter becomes effective and that do not meet the setback or buffer requirements of this chapter for any defined critical area shall be considered legal nonconforming uses. Future alteration, reconstruction, or expansion of legal nonconforming structures permitted under this section must meet all the requirements of this chapter.

No permit granted pursuant to this chapter, except as permitted pursuant to DMC § 25.105.070, shall remove an applicant’s obligation to comply in all respects with the applicable provisions of any other federal, state, or local law or regulation.

These regulations and the city inventory maps may from time to time be amended in accordance with the procedures and requirements in the general statutes and as new information concerning critical areas becomes available.

The city’s shoreline master program at Chapter 25.170 DMC incorporates the critical areas ordinance by reference. Therefore, amendments to this chapter that are intended to alter development regulations applicable to shorelines jurisdiction must be processed as an amendment to the city of DuPont shoreline master program and shall be subject to approval by the Department of Ecology.

The Pierce County assessor’s office shall consider critical area regulations in determining the fair market value of land.

Any undeveloped critical area property which has recorded upon it an easement or which is the subject of a perpetual conservation restriction with the city or a nonprofit organization to permanently control some or all regulated activities in that portion of land assessed consistent with those restrictions shall also be considered for exemption from special assessments to defray the cost of municipal improvements such as sanitary sewers, storm sewers, and water mains.

To ensure adequate levels of service on transportation facilities for existing land uses as well as new development;

To provide transportation facilities that achieve and maintain the city’s level of service standards as established in the comprehensive plan; and

To ensure that the city’s level of service standards are achieved concurrently with development as required by the Growth Management Act.

The following development permit applications shall be subject to a concurrency test which shall be conducted in the processing of the development permit application:

The city shall not issue a development permit until:

Certificate of Concurrency.

Concurrency shall be established and determined as follows:

Any proposed development that creates no additional impacts on any transportation facility;

Any project that is a component of another proposed development and that was included in a prior application for a finding of concurrency;

Any application for a residential building permit if the dwelling unit is a part of a subdivision or short plat that submitted an application and that has undergone a concurrency test and received concurrency approval as part of plat approval; and

Any permit for development that generates less than the number of trips described in DMC § 25.115.020(1)(c).

If mitigation is determined necessary to maintain level of service standards for an impacted transportation facility, the applicant may choose among the following actions:

Acceptable impact mitigation requires a finding of the following:

The purpose of this chapter is to:

This chapter is intended to help achieve these purposes by:

Tree retention shall constitute an integral design goal in all public and private site design processes. Retention is particularly desired for trees that are especially large, well-formed, historic, grouped, close to a sensitive area, visually prominent, part of a recognizable landmark, or valuable as wildlife habitat.

All landmark (see DMC § 25.10.120, L definitions) Oregon white oak trees shall be retained, along with any native understory within a protection zone one and one-half times the radius of the oak's canopy, unless the landmark oaks are within a proposed street right-of-way which is integral to the neighborhood and cannot reasonably be moved, or unless overall neighborhood densities cannot be met. In such cases, up to 30 percent of the landmark oak trees may be removed, when consistent with the standards in the table of DMC § 25.120.040(1). At least half of all other (non-oak) landmark trees shall be retained. In the industrial district and manufacturing/research park district, landmark trees which are in the building footprint, parking lot or storm retention area may be removed; provided, that tree retention is achieved along street boundaries and when abutting a residential district.

The following minimum number of trees (other than street trees) per acre, expressed as an average over the entire neighborhood plan, site plan, subdivision, or short plat, shall be retained; provided, that nothing in the following shall require the retention of more than half of the existing trees, other than oak:

When the application before the city contains oak management mapping units, trees retained therein shall count toward meeting the above requirement.

No clearing, grading, trenching, cutting, impervious surfacing, or other construction shall be allowed within the drip line of any tree to be retained, or within one and one-half times the radius of the canopy in the case of oak trees to be retained, nor shall grades be lowered or raised so near as to jeopardize said trees; unless there is no other alternative and the intrusion is the minimum possible as determined by the administrator. Temporary barriers shall be installed around trees requiring protection during construction.

All landscape plans required by DMC § 25.90.060 shall include:

All trees retained by means of this chapter, including those on single-family residential lots, shall remain protected for their life, except as noted in subsection (8) of this section. The plat or site plan on which the tree is located shall contain the following note: “This plat is also subject to an approved tree retention plan which requires that certain trees be preserved. That plan, which is binding on all owners, is on file with the City Planning Department.” To further inform future lot owners, a copy of the approved tree retention plan shall be provided each owner at closing on each lot.

Trees required to be retained by this chapter shall not be removed unless the administrator determines in writing that they have become hazardous or diseased or threaten to damage public or private property. Whoever removes a street tree or required tree shall replace it with a tree approved by the city.

Additional tree retention requirements for areas adjacent to the Puget Sound Bluff in Hoffman Hill Village may be found in Section II.B.2 of the Settlement Agreement for Lone Star Northwest DuPont Project dated December 25, 1994. Additional tree retention requirements for areas of the Puget Sound Bluff north of Sequalitchew Creek and along the north side of Sequalitchew Creek may be found in Exhibit A to Ordinance 95-521, page 36, section 9.

DuPont's groves of Oregon white oaks constitute a unique resource demanding separate treatment. Accordingly, in 1996, Jones & Stokes Associates, Inc., prepared oak management recommendations under contract to the city. To implement those recommendations, the following mapping units are hereby established. Exhibit A attached to the ordinance codified in this chapter and found on file in the office of the city clerk shows their location. The regulations pertaining to these mapping units are as follows:

Areas preserved per the above requirement shall be known as oak preserves.

Temporary fences shall be placed around oak preserves during construction to avoid disturbance.

No cuts, fills, or trenching shall occur in oak preserves. Grading near oak preserves shall utilize natural contours when possible to avoid creating pedestals or bodies where oaks are growing.

Oaks in preserves shall not be irrigated unless an arborist experienced with oaks determines that, due to drought, they need deep watering around the drip line. Oak trees in areas surrounded by impervious surfaces may be more susceptible to drought.

Landscaping in oak preserves shall be limited to native shrubs, grasses, or herbs. In Mapping Unit MO-17a’s preserves, native understory shrubs such as snowberry may be planted.

The owners of oak preserves shall remove nonnative shrubs therein, such as Scot’s broom.

Douglas firs shall be removed in oak preserves as needed to ensure oak survival, except that, in MO-13, Douglas firs shall not be removed or topped unless an arborist experienced with oaks determines they are growing within the crown of oak trees and significantly affecting the oaks’ growth.

Oak preserves shall not be mowed except in Mapping Unit MO-17a, and in any oak preserve as necessary for fire control or for Scot’s Broom control.

Oaks in preserves shall not be cut, but may be pruned by an arborist experienced with oaks, during the dormant season, to remove dead, weakened, diseased, or dangerous branches.

Title. This chapter shall be entitled “Wireless Communications Facilities.”

Purpose and Intent. The purpose and intent of this chapter is to:

The requirements of this chapter:

Federal Requirements. All WCFs shall meet the current standards and regulations of the FAA, the FCC and any other agency of the federal government with the authority to regulate WCFs. If such standards and regulations are changed, then the owners of the WCF governed by this chapter shall bring such facility into compliance with such revised standards and regulations within the time period mandated by the controlling federal agency. Failure to meet such revised standards and regulations shall constitute grounds for the removal of the WCF at the owner's expense.

Operation and Maintenance. To ensure the structural integrity of WCFs, the owner of a WCF shall ensure that it is maintained in compliance with standards contained in applicable local building and safety codes. If upon inspection, the city determines that a WCF fails to comply with such codes and constitutes a danger to persons or property, then, upon written notice being provided to the owner of the WCF, the owner shall have 30 days from the date of notice to bring such WCF into compliance. Upon good cause shown by the owner, the city may extend such compliance period not to exceed 90 days from the date of said notice. If the owner fails to bring such WCF into compliance within said time period, the city may remove such WCF at the owner's expense. No hazardous materials shall be permitted in association with WCFs, except those necessary for the operations of the WCF and only in accordance with all applicable laws governing such materials.

Radio Frequency Standards. All WCFs shall comply with federal standards for radio frequency emissions. If concerns regarding compliance with radio frequency emissions standards for a WCF have been made to the city, the city may request that the owner or operator of the WCF provide information demonstrating compliance. If such information is not sufficient, in the reasonable discretion of the city, to demonstrate compliance, the city may request and the owner or operator of the WCF shall submit a project implementation report which provides cumulative field measurements of radio frequency emissions of all antennas installed at the subject site, and which compares the results with established federal standards. If, upon review, the city finds that the facility does not meet federal standards, the city may require corrective action within a reasonable period of time, and if not corrected, may require removal of the WCF pursuant to subsection (1) of this section. Any reasonable costs incurred by the city, including reasonable consulting costs to verify compliance with these requirements, shall be paid by the applicant.

Signal Interference. All WCFs shall be designed and sited so as not to cause interference with the normal operation of radio, television, telephone and other communication services utilized by adjacent residential and nonresidential properties; nor shall any such facilities interfere with any public safety communications. The applicant shall provide a written statement (“signal interference letter”) from a qualified radio frequency engineer, certifying that a technical evaluation of existing and proposed facilities indicates no potential interference problems.

Abandonment and Removal. A WCF may be determined to be abandoned for discontinued use or if the facility falls into disrepair or noncompliance due to neglect of maintenance.

Noise generated on the site must not exceed the levels permitted in this code, except that a WCF owner or operator shall be permitted to exceed code noise standards for a reasonable period during repairs, not to exceed two hours without prior authorization from the city.

Hazardous Materials. No hazardous materials shall be permitted in association with WCFs in the right-of-way, except those necessary for the operations of the WCF and only in accordance with all applicable laws governing such materials.

Permit Required. A WCF permit must be obtained prior to construction, installation, and/or placement within the city of any WCF in the city. Except for complete applications for eligible facilities requests, applications for WCFs shall be processed in accordance with the project permit processing requirements of Chapter 25.175 DMC. Final decisions and appeal authorities for such permits are as described in Chapter 25.175 DMC.

Exemption for Certain Accessory Wireless Communication Antennas. Accessory wireless communication antennas are exempt from WCF permit requirements. The following are exempt from this chapter:

WCF Permit Application Submittal Requirements. The following information shall be required as part of every permit application:

Building Permits. In addition to submittal requirements in subsections (1) and (3) of this section, accessory wireless communication antennas are not required to obtain building permits unless alteration of a structure is required to accommodate the equipment. WCF applicants for facilities that are not exempt accessory wireless communication antennas requiring building permits shall submit:

Permit Applications. Applications for WCF permits shall be submitted to and processed by the community development department. Applicants for WCFs must obtain a WCF permit prior to construction of the facility. A WCF permit may include conditions to mitigate potential impacts that result from the facility. WCF permit applications shall be processed and reviewed in accordance with Chapter 25.175 DMC.

Compliance with Zoning Provisions Required. Pursuant to requirements of DMC Title 25 all WCFs must comply with the requirements of each zoned district for permitted, accessory, and conditional uses.

Utility Permits. In addition to WCF permits and conditional use permits, WCF applicants must submit an application, plans, specifications, and other materials necessary to obtain any applicable utility permits. Utility permits may be applied for either concurrently with or after site plan or conditional permit approvals.

Procedure for Towers. In addition to submittal requirements for WCF permits in subsection (3) of this section, submittals must also include:

Specific Review Procedures for Eligible Facilities Requests.