Kelso City Zoning Code

Cemeteries and other burial plots while used for that purpose;

Divisions made by testamentary provisions or the laws of descent;

A division for the purpose of lease when the land is to be developed as a mobile home park and a binding site plan has been approved pursuant to the requirements of the zoning code (this title);

Condominium plats, when prepared and filed in accordance with the Horizontal Property Regimes Act, Chapter 64.32 or 64.34 RCW, and a binding site plan has been approved pursuant to the requirements of the zoning code (this title);

Divisions of land into lots, parcels or tracts, each of which is at least forty acres or one-sixteenth of a section in area;

Divisions of land due to condemnation or sale under threat thereof, by any agency or division of government vested with the power of condemnation.

Any person, firm, or corporation who knowingly violates or fails to comply with any term or provision of this section shall be deemed to have committed a misdemeanor and, if found guilty, shall be subject to a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars, and/or to imprisonment not to exceed ninety days or to both such fine and imprisonment. Each day shall be a separate offense. In the event of a continuing violation or failure to comply, the second and subsequent days shall constitute a gross misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars and/or imprisonment not to exceed three hundred sixty-five days or both such time and imprisonment. Continuing violation shall mean the same type of violation which is committed within a year of the initial violation.

As an additional concurrent penalty, it shall be a Class 1 civil infraction, punishable by a fine of two hundred fifty dollars, for a person, firm, or corporation to violate or fail to comply with any term or provision of this section. Each day shall be a separate infraction.

Filing of Application. The subdivider shall prepare a preliminary plat and environmental checklist, together with improvement plans and other supplementary material required to indicate his general program and objectives, and shall submit an application on forms provided by the department, and a minimum of five copies of the preliminary plat, accompanied by all information required by the Table of Required Information at Section 17.42.150, along with two hard copies of the supplementary data and one electronic copy of the preliminary plat and supplementary data, to the planning department. The planning department shall assign the subdivision a permanent file number. The planning department shall inform the applicant within twenty-eight days of the date of receipt of the application of any deficiencies found in the preliminary plat application. The planning department shall return the application to the plat applicant if it is deemed incomplete or inaccurate. The time set forth in Chapter 36.70B RCW for hearing plat applications shall not run until all information has been provided in a complete and accurate manner as determined by the planning department. Resubmittals with the necessary information making the application complete must be submitted within six months of original filing. If not, the file shall be considered void and unexpended filing fees refunded.

Environmental Checklist and Impact Statements. Preliminary plats submitted to the planning department may be required to be accompanied by an environmental checklist. If it is determined that an environmental impact statement is required to be completed, then the plat shall not be considered as submitted until the final environmental impact statement has been completed. No public hearing on the preliminary plat shall be held until the final environmental impact statement (if required) has been completed and been made available for the general public.

Responsibility for Data Accuracy. Accuracy for all data and information submitted on or with a preliminary plat shall be the responsibility of the applicant. Any proposed plat found to be inaccurate or misleading so as to hamper the decision of the hearing examiner and/or the city council shall be returned to the applicant with a letter stating that the plat must be corrected and returned to the planning department.

General. Preliminary plats shall be prepared in conformance with the requirements set forth in this section.

Format.

Kelso engineering department;

Cowlitz County health department;

Cowlitz 2 fire department;

Kelso parks, recreation and cultural services department;

Kelso School District;

Cowlitz PUD;

Cascade Natural Gas;

Cowlitz County assessor;

Appropriate engineer and city or county officials when such plats are located within one mile of a city or county boundary;

Department of Transportation, when such plats are located within three hundred feet of a state highway right-of-way;

Other public officials, agencies, community groups or citizens as required by law.

Notice of the date, time and place of the public hearing shall be given as follows:

All hearing notices shall include a description of the location of the proposed subdivision. The description may be in the form of either a vicinity location sketch or a written description other than a legal description.

The burden is on the applicant to establish that the review criteria are met.

Council and Examiner Inquiry into Public Use and Interest. The council, hearing examiner and planning department shall inquire into the public use and interest proposed to be served by the establishment of the subdivision and dedication. The council or hearing examiner shall determine if appropriate provisions are made for, but not limited to, the public health, safety and general welfare, for open spaces, drainage ways, streets, alleys, other public ways, water supplies, sanitary wastes, parks and playgrounds, sites for schools and school grounds, fire protection and other public facilities, and shall consider all other relevant facts, including the physical characteristics of the site and determine whether the public interest will be served by the subdivision and dedication. If the council or hearing examiner find that the proposed plat makes appropriate provisions for the above, then it shall be approved. If the council or hearing examiner find that the proposed plat does not make such appropriate provisions or that the public use and interest will not be served, then the council or hearing examiner shall disapprove the proposed plat.

For preliminary approval, the hearing examiner shall find:

The hearing examiner shall consider the physical characteristics of the proposed subdivision site and may recommend disapproval and in the case of the council disapprove the plat because of any identified or suspected natural limitations, including but not limited to slope, soil stability, flood hazard, inundation, swamp conditions, drainage conditions and location in or proximity to environmentally sensitive areas as described in Chapter 17.38. Any disruption of areas identified or suspected of being environmentally sensitive will not endanger the public health, safety or welfare.

Dedication. Dedication of land or payment of fees to any public body may be required as a condition of subdivision approval. Evidence of such dedication and/or payment shall accompany final plat approval.

Improvements. Improvements of land subject to the provisions of Section 17.42.120.

Release from Damages from Other Property Owners. The council or hearing examiner shall not, as a condition of plat approval, require an applicant to obtain a release from damages from other property owners.

Flood Hazard Areas. The council or hearing examiner shall consider the physical characteristics of a proposed subdivision site, and may disapprove a proposed plat because of flood, inundation or swamp conditions. Construction of protective improvements may be required as a condition of approval, and such improvements shall be noted on the final plat.

Health Department. As a condition of preliminary plat approval, the health department may require lot sizes larger than the minimum permitted by the zoning code in those instances where topography, soils, water table or other conditions make larger lot sizes necessary in order to prevent possible health hazards due to water contamination or sewage disposal system malfunction.

Parks. When a preliminary plat contains a portion of a trail or open space network which is indicated in the park plan element of the comprehensive plan or other officially adopted plan, an area encompassing such trail or open space network may be required to be set aside for its intended purpose by the granting of a trail or open space easement to the city, dedication or reservation for future purchase by the public. The council or hearing examiner may determine a reasonable time or specify the event, limiting the effective period of the reservation.

Shoreline Management. Whenever a preliminary plat is wholly or partially located within an area subject to the jurisdiction of the Shoreline Management Act of 1971, Chapter 90.58 RCW, the applicant shall comply with the city of Kelso shoreline master program, Chapter 17.40 of this code and Chapter 90.58 RCW.

Unforeseen circumstances or conditions necessitate the extension of the preliminary plat;

Termination of the preliminary plat would result in unreasonable hardship to the applicant and the applicant is not responsible for the delay;

An extension of the preliminary plat will not cause substantial detriment to existing uses in the immediate vicinity of the subject property or to the community as a whole.

Survey of Subdivision and Preparation of Plat. The survey of the proposed subdivision and preparation of the plat shall be made by or under the supervision of a registered land surveyor who shall certify on the plat that it is a true and correct representation of the lands actually surveyed.

Drafting Standards. All final plats shall be drawn in accordance with the following:

Street Monuments. The surveyor preparing the plat shall submit a street monumentation plat to the engineering department for approval prior to setting any permanent street monuments. The engineering department shall determine the number and location of permanent control monuments in streets within and leading into the plat, if any. All street monuments shall conform to the standard specifications of the American Public Works Association or as amended by city standard plans.

Content.

The engineering department shall examine the map as to sufficiency of affidavits and acknowledgments, correctness of surveying data, mathematical data and computations, and such other matters as require checking to ensure compliance with the provisions of state laws pertaining to subdivisions, with this chapter and with the conditions of approval. Traverse sheets (computation of coordinates) and work sheets showing the closure of the exterior boundaries and of each irregular lot and block and the calculation of each lot size shall be furnished. If the final plat is found to be in correct form and the matters shown thereon are sufficient, the engineering department shall certify the plat and return to the planning department.

In addition to a statement of approval from the engineering department, the following approvals must be submitted in writing to the planning department prior to its certification of the final plat:

If each department determines that the final plat conforms fully with all applicable regulations and standards, they shall then affix their signatures to the final plat.

Upon confirmation of compliance with the conditions of approval, and subsequent to affixing its signature to the final plat, the planning department will schedule final consideration of the plat map before the council.

No additional lots, tracts, parcels, building sites or land divisions are created;

All resulting parcels contain sufficient area and dimensions to meet all applicable requirements for a building site, zoning code, and building and fire separation standards;

All resulting parcels comply with any restrictive covenants contained on the face of the final plat, short plat, or large lot plat, if any; and all resulting lots do not violate previous conditions of preliminary plat, short plat, or large lot approval;

Each resulting parcel has legal access;

The map includes acknowledged signatures of all parties having an interest in lots the lines of which are being adjusted;

Legal descriptions of each of the resulting parcels conform to applicable standards; together with the signature of a title company representative or licensed land surveyor which attests to the accuracy of the legal description or survey describing the adjusted lot lines; and

The boundary line adjustment is not intended solely to evade public improvements requirements that would be associated with a replat or other new land division approval.

There is compliance with the requirements above;

The county treasurer has certified that all taxes on the land have been fully paid and discharged; and

A final map including any record of survey has been approved by the department and filed for record with Cowlitz County auditor.

Within a Short Subdivision. Land within a short subdivision, the short plat of which has been approved within five years immediately preceding, may not be further divided in any manner, without the filing of a final subdivision plat thereof; provided, that any short plat containing fewer than nine parcels may be altered within the five-year period to create a total of nine lots within the original short plat boundaries.

Where there have been no sales of any lots in a short subdivision, nothing contained in this section shall prohibit a subdivider from completely with-drawing his entire short plat and thereafter presenting a new application.

Within a Recorded Plat. Unless otherwise restricted by resolution or city ordinance, lots recorded pursuant to Section 17.42.060 may be further divided pursuant to the requirements of this section.

The planning department shall distribute copies of the preliminary short plat application to the entities listed in Section 17.42.040(D).

The planning department shall then set a date for return of findings and recommendations from each reviewing party. If the findings and recommendations are not so returned, then the planning department may make such findings as it deems just.

Its conformance to the requirements of the city’s zoning code, general purposes of the comprehensive plan, and planning standards and specifications as adopted by the laws of the state and the city;

Whether appropriate provisions are made in the short subdivision for drainage ways, streets, alleys, other public ways, water supplies and sanitary wastes;

The physical characteristics of the short subdivision site and may disapprove because of flood, inundation or swamp conditions. It may require construction of protective improvements as a condition of approval;

All other relevant facts to determine whether the public use and interest will be served by the short subdivision.

For any short plat application that does not include any variance or other concurrent Class 3 approval, the decision shall be a Class 1 decision under Chapter 17.08. The community development department may:

For any short plat application that includes a variance application or any other concurrent Class 3 approval, the decision shall be a Class 3 decision under Chapter 17.08. The community development department will submit the preliminary short subdivision application to the hearing examiner for the examiner’s consideration. The examiner shall hear the application in accordance with the procedures of Chapter 17.08, and with such notice as is required for hearings on preliminary plat applications. The hearing examiner’s decision shall be a final decision of the city.

Hearing Examiner Review, If Aggrieved. Any person aggrieved by the decision of the community development department may appeal that decision to the hearing examiner. Such appeal must be made in writing, within fourteen calendar days from the date the community development department’s written decision was made. Such appeals shall be filed with the community development department in writing and shall contain a brief description of why error is assigned to the department’s determination and shall be accompanied by a filing fee. The appeal shall be heard pursuant to Section 17.08.060, and notice shall be required as is provided for hearings on preliminary plat applications.

Conditional Approvals. When the preliminary short subdivision approval is contingent upon meeting of conditions, construction of improvements or corrections, or time is necessary for obtaining of required certifications, then the approval action shall be conditional approval which shall, at the option of the approving body, be conditioned upon fulfillment within one year from the date of the action. When the approval is conditioned upon fulfillment within one year, then upon application within the time period and upon good cause shown, the approving body may grant one additional one-year time period.

Final approval of the short plat shall not be given until:

The action approving a final short plat shall become effective when the plat is recorded with the county auditor.

The subdivider shall submit four dark line prints to the department.

The survey of the proposed short subdivision and preparation of the final map shall be made by or under the supervision of a registered land surveyor who shall certify on the map that it is a true and correct representation of the lands actually surveyed.

The map shall be prepared on a sheet of reproducible material having dimensions of eighteen inches by twenty-four inches and at a horizontal scale between two hundred feet to the inch and fifty feet to the inch. The following shall be shown on the final short plat map:

Supporting Documents. The following documentation shall accompany each application for final approval of a short plat: A current title report or plat certificate confirming that the title of the lands as described and shown in the plat is in the name of the owners signing the declaration of short subdivision and showing restrictions encumbering the land.

Street Monuments. The surveyor preparing the plat shall submit a street monumentation plan to the public works department for approval prior to setting any permanent street monuments. The public works department shall determine the number and location of permanent control monuments in streets within and leading into the short plat, if any. All street monuments shall conform to the standard specifications of the American Public Works Association or as amended by city standard plans.

A binding site plan application shall be considered under zoning and other land use controls in effect at the time that a complete binding site plan application is filed. Any vacant or redeveloped lot within an approved binding site plan shall comply with the standards in place at the time the development application is made.

Indicate in large print the title “Binding Site Plan” and the name of the proposed development;

Be drawn on paper having dimensions of eighteen inches by twenty-four inches at a horizontal scale between one inch equals twenty feet and one inch equals one hundred feet that is represented graphically;

Include a north arrow and indicate a plan preparation date;

Contain a legal description;

Bear the seal of a registered land surveyor or registered professional engineer licensed to practice in the state.

Location and dimensions of existing and proposed site ingress and egress;

Layout and dimensions of internal vehicular and pedestrian circulation system;

Location, area and dimensions of proposed lots;

Layout and dimensions of emergency access to each lot;

Proposed land uses for each lot;

Impervious and pervious coverage for each lot and the site;

Location and dimensions of existing and proposed buildings or proposed building envelopes and the distances from property lines;

Location and dimensions of existing (to remain) and proposed landscape areas;

Location and dimensions of existing and proposed stormwater drainage and retention areas;

Location and dimensions of existing (to remain) and proposed parking areas;

Location of existing and proposed utilities;

An environmental checklist, if subject to SEPA; and

Supporting documentation or technical reports.

Copies of the preliminary binding site plan application shall be distributed as applicable to those entities listed in Section 17.42.040(D).

Notice shall be provided as set forth in Section 17.42.040(H) and mailed to all of the property owners adjacent to and within three hundred feet of the exterior boundary of the subject property.

The community planning and development department shall set a date for return of recommendations from each reviewing party. If recommendations are not returned by that date, then the department may make findings as it deems just.

The binding site plan conforms with requirements of all city and state ordinances, codes, standards and policies including those found in: the zoning ordinance, the building code, the fire code, public works standards, the state environmental policy act, and the comprehensive plan.

Appropriate provisions have been made for streets, utilities, drainage ways, water supplies and sanitary wastes.

The physical characteristics of the site are not subject to flooding, inundation or swamp conditions.

The public use and interest will be served by the plan.

Review and Approval. The binding site plan application shall be reviewed by the director. The director may take the following actions on the application: approve, approve with conditions, deny, or return it to the applicant for correction.

Conditional Approvals. When the preliminary binding site plan approval is contingent upon conditions, then the conditions shall be completed and a final plan filed within two years from the date of the conditional approval.

A current title report covering all properties within the boundaries of the site;

Recordable easements for all necessary and planned utilities;

Recordable easements for all shared ingress, egress, roadway and emergency accesses;

Recordable easements or covenants for use of shared open space, parking, stormwater facilities;

Recordable easements or covenants for maintenance and restrictions on redevelopment of shared areas;

Approximate building locations, and a phasing plan and time schedule if the site is intended to be developed in phases; and

The following notes on the face of the plan:

Final approval of the binding site plan shall not be given until:

The applicant shall file the approved binding site plan and any accompanying documents with the county auditor for recording and return to the department one eleven-inch-by-seventeen-inch and two eighteen-inch-by-twenty-four-inch copies of the recorded binding site plan, and two copies each of any accompanying documents.

Unless otherwise restricted by resolution or city ordinance, recorded binding site plans may be further divided pursuant to the requirements of this section.

Any application for alteration or vacation shall be processed in accordance with the requirements for approval of a binding site plan as set forth in this subsection.

The required public improvements shall be paid for directly by the developer unless otherwise agreed by the city.

The improvement and/or upgrading of public facilities shall be done in conformance with the Kelso Engineering Design Manual (KEDM).

Failure to provide final installation of required public facility improvements to city engineering standards will be cause for the lack of issuance of a final building permit certificate of occupancy based on inspection and approval by the city engineer.

Before requesting final approval of any division of land pursuant to this chapter, the developer shall install required improvements and repair any existing streets and other public facilities damaged in the development of a subdivision. In lieu of the completion of the actual construction of any required minor improvements or minor repairs to existing improvements, the developer may enter into a developer’s agreement consistent with Chapter 17.46 for the installation of minor improvements or minor repairs to existing improvements. Minor improvements shall include, but not be limited to, landscaping, tree planting, and street lights. Prior to and as a condition of entering into such an agreement, the director of public works or the director’s designee shall determine whether the delay in construction of such minor repairs or minor improvements shall constitute a hazard to public health and safety. The agreement shall provide that if the work is not completed within one year, plus any approved extension of time not to exceed six months, the city may complete the work and recover the full cost and expense thereof from the developer. In no event shall completion of such work exceed one and one-half years from the execution of such agreement. The agreement shall also contain an indemnification supported by liability insurance in an amount determined by the city’s risk manager to be sufficient to cover foreseeable liability for the city and its agents. In addition, the agreement must contain a provision whereby the developer will be responsible for the successful growth and/or operation of, and all repairs to, the improvements for a two-year period following their installation. Costs and reasonable attorney’s fees for the city shall be provided for in the agreement in the event of default. The developer shall also execute and deliver to the city engineer, or the city engineer’s designee, an easement, in a form acceptable to the city attorney, allowing the city’s agents to enter upon the subject property to perform the necessary improvement in the event of default.

The developer shall file with the agreement, to assure his full and faithful performance thereof, one of the following:

Such assurance of full and faithful performance shall be for one hundred twenty-five percent of a sum determined by the city engineer, or the city engineer’s designee, as sufficient to cover the cost of the improvements and repairs, including related engineering, incidental expenses, inflation and contingencies.

If the developer fails to carry out provisions of the agreement and the city has unreimbursed costs or expenses resulting from such failure, the city shall call on the developer’s financial security for reimbursement. If the amount of the developer’s financial security exceeds the cost and expense incurred by the city, the remainder shall be released. If the amount of the developer’s financial security is less than the cost and expense incurred by the city, the developer shall be liable to the city for the difference in addition to all costs, including reasonable attorney’s fees, of recovery of such amount, including, but not limited to, reasonable attorney’s fees.

In the alternative, if requested by the applicant, and approved by the city in accordance with this chapter, the parties may enter into an agreement authorizing mitigation payment in lieu of construction of certain improvements that have already been identified and funded as a planned improvement by the city. Such payments may be approved where the applicant submits information showing that existing physical or topographical conditions, or other factors, make the construction or extension of a public facility concurrent with development impractical, the applicant may dedicate right-of-way and a public utility easement. The amount of the payment shall be equal to one hundred twenty-five percent of the estimated cost for the design and construction of the facility, or the developer’s proportional share thereof, as calculated by the city. Such agreements shall provide that the city shall expend the payment within five years of collection or refund such payment to the applicant in accordance with RCW 82.02.020.

To the department, paper copies of as-built drawings reflecting any change to previously approved construction drawings. No changes in improvements may be made without prior approval of the department;

To the fire department, two copies of the plat and drawings showing the actual location of all mains, hydrants, valves and other fire improvements;

As-built plans shall include a statement, sworn to by the subdivider’s registered engineer, that the drawings show the actual location of the improvements required to be shown therein.

Access to Streets. All developments shall be served by an opened, constructed and maintained street to which the street system within the development must connect.

Street Standards. All streets shall be designed and constructed in conformance with the adopted Kelso Engineering Design Manual in effect as of the date of filing and be approved by the engineering department.

Sanitary Sewer. New subdivisions within the city of Kelso shall be connected to the public sanitary sewer service. Individual sewer disposal or septic systems shall not be permitted for any new development unless it can be demonstrated that public sanitary sewer is not feasible to serve the site.

Water. New subdivisions within the city of Kelso shall be connected to the public water system. Individual wells shall not be permitted for any new lot unless it can be demonstrated that the public water system is not capable of serving the site.

Sidewalk Standards. Sidewalks and/or walkways shall be provided in accordance with the adopted Kelso Engineering Design Manual in effect as of the date of filing and be approved by the engineering department.

Street Signs. Street signs shall be specified by the engineering department.

Landscaping Within Street Rights-of-Way. A developer proposing landscaped areas within city rights-of-way shall submit a landscape design plat to the engineering department for approval. Further, the landscape design plan shall also be reviewed by the fire department to ensure that fire apparatus access is not impeded by planned landscaping within city rights-of-way. If approved, the final plat or plan for such development shall contain a covenant that such areas shall be maintained by the developer and his successor and may be reduced or eliminated if deemed necessary for or detrimental to city street purposes and/or fire apparatus access.

Street Lighting. Street lighting shall be provided in accordance with the adopted Kelso Engineering Design Manual.