A-board sign: a type of portable sign with two (2) faces attached at the top so when the sign is deployed the bottom of the faces can be separated to create a stable sign. Also referred to as a sandwich board sign.

Abutting: the state of being next to, with a common boundary and no physical separation.

Accessory: secondary, subordinate and incidental to a primary use, building, or structure.

Accessory dwelling unit: a dwelling unit that is subordinate to a principal dwelling unit located on the same lot, either attached to the principal unit or located in a separate structure.

Adult family home: a residence of a person or persons licensed and regulated by the state under Chapter 70.128 RCW to provide personal care, special care, room, and board on a twenty-four (24) hour basis to more than one (1) but not more than six (6) adults who are not related by blood or marriage to the person or persons providing the services.

Adult use: a commercial establishment that offers its customers for viewing, purchase, loan, or otherwise, prurient or sexually explicit materials or entertainment.

Agricultural activities: uses, activities, and practices involved in the production of crops and livestock, including, but not limited to: producing, breeding, or increasing agricultural products; rotating and changing agricultural crops; allowing land used for agricultural activities to lie fallow in which it is plowed and tilled but left unseeded; allowing land used for agricultural activities to lie dormant as a result of adverse agricultural market conditions; allowing land used for agricultural activities to lie dormant because the land is enrolled in a local, state, or federal conservation program, or the land is subject to a conservation easement; conducting agricultural operations; maintaining, repairing, and replacing agricultural equipment; maintaining, repairing, and replacing agricultural facilities; and maintaining agricultural lands under production or cultivation.

Agricultural crop sales: retail sale of products that have been grown, raised, and/or harvested from a farm such as from roadside stands or self-pick establishments.

Agricultural land: those specific land areas as defined in RCW 84.34.020(2), on which agricultural activities are conducted.

Agricultural products: includes, but is not limited to, horticultural, viticultural, floricultural, vegetable, fruit, berry, grain, hops, hay, straw, turf, sod, seed, and apiary products; feed or forage for livestock; Christmas trees; hybrid cottonwood and similar hardwood trees grown as crops and harvested within twenty (20) years of planting; and livestock including both the animals themselves and animal products including, but not limited to, meat, upland finfish, poultry and poultry products, and dairy products.

Agriculture: soil tilling, crop raising, horticulture, viticulture, livestock farming, poultry, dairying, and/or animal husbandry.

Airport/heliport: a facility for landing and taking off of public or private aircraft, including taxiways, tie-down areas, hangars, servicing and terminals.

Alley: a public vehicular thoroughfare, occupying City right-of-way parallel to and between named or numbered City streets.

Alteration: any human-induced change, modification, or addition to an existing condition of a critical area or its buffer or to a building, site, or land use.

Alteration of watercourse: any action that will change the location of the channel occupied by water within the banks of any portion of a riverine water body.

Amusement arcade: a facility in which five (5) or more pinball machines, video games, or other player-operator amusement devices (excluding jukeboxes or gambling-related machines) are operated as a commercial activity.

Anchor use: a single commercial use occupying a minimum ground-floor area of thirty thousand (30,000) square feet that generates significant pedestrian traffic and increases the traffic of shoppers at or near its location.

Animal: see Title 7 SMC for definitions relating to animals.

Annexation: the addition of territory to the City as provided by State statute.

Antenna: a specific device, the surface of which is used to transmit and/or receive radio-frequency signals, microwave signals, or other signals transmitted to or from other antennas for commercial purposes.

Appeal: a request for a review of an interpretation of a regulatory provision or a reversal of a decision made pursuant to this title.

Aquaculture: the culture or farming of fish, shellfish, or other aquatic plants and animals.

Area of shallow flooding: a designated zone AO, AH, AR/AO or AR/AH (or VO) on a community’s Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) with a one percent or greater annual chance of flooding to an average depth of one to three feet where a clearly defined channel does not exist, where the path of flooding is unpredictable, and where velocity flow may be evident. Such flooding is characterized by ponding or sheet flow. Also referred to as the sheet flow area.

Area of special flood hazard: the land in the floodplain within a community subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. It is shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) as zone A, AO, AH, A1-30, AE, A99, AR (V, VO, V1-30, VE). “Special flood hazard area” is synonymous in meaning with the phrase “area of special flood hazard.”

Arterial: a roadway classification as identified in the Comprehensive Plan.

Arterial unit: a street, segment of a street, or portion of a street or a system of streets, consistent with the level-of-service methodology adopted in the City Comprehensive Plan and consistent with the criteria established by the Director, for the purpose of making level-of-service concurrency determinations.

Arterial unit in arrears: any arterial unit operating below the adopted level-of-service standard adopted in the Comprehensive Plan, except where improvements to such a unit have been programmed in the City six (6) year Transportation Improvement Program adopted pursuant to RCW 36.81.121 with funding identified that would remedy the deficiency within six (6) years.

Articulation: the method of giving emphasis to architectural elements to create a complementary pattern or rhythm, dividing large buildings into smaller identifiable pieces.

Articulation interval: the measure of articulation, the distance before architectural elements repeat.

Artisan manufacturing: the production of goods by the use of hand tools or small-scale, light mechanical equipment occurring within a fully enclosed building where such production requires no outdoor operations or storage, and where the production, operations, and storage of materials related to production occupy a limited floor area. Typical uses have negligible negative impact on surrounding properties and include woodworking and cabinet shops, ceramic studios, jewelry manufacturing and similar types of arts and crafts, production of alcohol, or food processing.

Assisted living: see Congregate care/assisted living facilities.

Attic: the space between the ceiling beams/joists of the top story and the roof rafters.

Auction house: an establishment or company that facilitates the buying and selling of assets.

Auto supply store: a retail business supplying goods and services for the operation and maintenance of automobiles and motorists’ needs, including petroleum products, tires, batteries, accessories and parts.

Automotive dismantling and/or wrecking: any disassembly, deconstruction, or breaking up of motor vehicles or trailers, or the storage, sale, or dumping of dismantled or wrecked vehicles or their parts.

Automotive service and repair: the storage and repair of motor vehicles, including mechanical work, body and fender works, and painting. The term does not include wrecking automobiles or impound car lots, when conducted outside of a structure. (Ord. 2401, 2020; Ord. 2425, 2022; Ord. 2495, 2024; Ord. 2533, 2025)

Balloon sign: an inflated sign that is attached to the ground or some other anchor and is not a free-floating conveyance.

Bank erosion hazard area: areas subject to regression or retreat, where the natural erosion of river or stream banks poses a risk to adjacent land and infrastructure, often exacerbated by flooding or human disturbance.

Banner sign: a temporary sign made of flexible material attached to a building or fence or strung between support posts.

Banner sign, commercial: a banner sign erected by a commercial for-profit entity.

Banner sign, noncommercial: a banner sign erected by a not-for-profit entity advertising an event or activity or displaying a message.

Base flood: the flood having a one (1) percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year (also referred to as the “100-year flood”). See Chapter 14.270 SMC and 44 CFR 59.1.

Base flood elevation (BFE): the elevation to which floodwater is anticipated to rise during the base flood.

Base station, wireless communications: a structure or equipment at a fixed location that enables FCC-licensed or authorized wireless communications between user equipment and a communications network. The term does not include a tower, as defined herein, or any equipment associated with a tower. Base station includes, without limitation:

Basement: a building story partly or wholly underground and having at least one-half (1/2) of its height, measured from its floor to its finished ceiling, below the average adjoining grade. For flood loads, a basement is the portion of a building having its floor below ground level on all sides.

Bed and breakfast: a single-family residence within which up to four (4) bedrooms are available for short-term lodging for paying guests.

Bed and breakfast inn: a commercial facility within which up to six (6) bedrooms are available for short-term lodging for paying guests.

Belt course: a contrasting horizontal layer of stones, bricks, tile, etc., in a wall.

Best available science: current scientific information used in the process to designate, protect, or restore critical areas that is derived from a valid scientific process as defined by WAC 365-195-900 through 925.

Bioengineering techniques: techniques that apply the principles of the biological, ecological, and soils sciences and structural engineering to build structures which, using live plant materials as a main structural component, stabilize the soil against erosion, sedimentation, and flooding. Also referred to as “soft armoring techniques.”

Blank wall: a wall as described in SMC 14.214.550 that does not provide visual interest with articulation, color and texture variety, windows, doors and other similar treatments.

Boarding house: an owner-occupied detached single-family residence where rooms are occupied by nonfamily members in exchange for compensation on a monthly or annual basis for periods of 30 days or longer. A rooming house shall have a maximum of three roomers/boarders occupying the residence at one time. Boarding houses must be operated in a manner consistent with SMC 14.207.075(7). “Rooming house” means the same as “boarding house.”

Bog: a low-nutrient, acidic wetland with organic soils and characteristic bog plants, as described in Washington State Wetland Rating System for Western Washington: 2023 Update (Washington State Department of Ecology Publication No. 23-06-009).

Bond: a financial security provided in an amount and form satisfactory to the regulations of this title to insure that required improvements are installed, and providing a warranty against defective material or workmanship.

Boundary line adjustment: a survey made for the purpose of adjusting or relocating existing property lines.

Breakwater: an in-water structure, either floating or not, designed and purposed to absorb, dampen, or reflect wave energy.

Buffer: an area contiguous to a critical area that is established to maintain and protect the functions and/or structural stability of the critical area.

Buildable area: the portion of a lot free of special restrictions or encumbrances that can be developed subject only to the dimensional and other requirements established in Chapter 14.210 SMC. Buildable area does not include setback areas established by this title for the land use designation area in which the lot is located.

Building: see Structure.

Building height: the vertical distance from a specified point on the ground to a specified point on a building. Refer to SMC 14.210.030(E).

Building Official: the person responsible for administering building codes in the City of Snohomish.

Building sign: any sign that is painted on, or attached directly to or supported by, an exterior building wall, including facade signs, awning signs, canopy signs, and marquees, but excluding window signs. Also referred to as a wall sign.

Bulb-out: a traffic-calming and pedestrian-safety device that narrows the street by widening the curb and sidewalk, typically at intersections. Also referred to as a curb extension.

Bulkhead: a solid or open wall of rock, concrete, steel, timber, or other material erected generally parallel to the shoreline for the purpose of protecting upland areas from inundation, saturation, waves, current, etc. A bulkhead may have earthen fill placed upland of the wall structure.

Bulkhead: a low wall or lower portion of a building wall containing a dimensional panel or constructed of contrasting material.

Bungalow court: a configuration of four (4) or more detached single-family residences arranged around and facing a common, shared pedestrian courtyard open to the street, with pedestrian access to the building entrances from the courtyard and street. Parking is aggregated on one (1) portion of the site rather than occurring at each unit, with no vehicular access within the courtyard.

Bus base: a facility for the storage, dispatch, repair, and maintenance of transit vehicles. (Ord. 2401, 2020; Ord. 2421, 2021; Ord. 2425, 2022; Ord. 2434, 2022; Ord. 2446, 2022; Ord. 2533, 2025)

Campground: a facility for temporary occupancy of tents and recreational vehicles.

Canopy cover: the percentage of a fixed area covered by the crown of a tree, measured by the horizontal projection of its outermost perimeter.

Capacity improvements: any construction activity that increases the ability of a street system to convey motorized and nonmotorized vehicles and/or people.

Caretaker residence: a permanent dwelling unit associated with an approved land use, which provides living facilities for a person charged with managing the property and/or improvements.

Cemetery, columbarium or mausoleum: land or structures used for burial of the dead. For purposes of this code, pet cemeteries are considered a subclassification of this use.

Cemetery Creek Special Project: the Cemetery Creek Sewer Trunkline, Segments 1 – 4.

Channel migration zone: the area along a river within which the channel(s) can be reasonably predicted to migrate over time as a result of natural and normally occurring hydrological and related processes when considered with the characteristics of the river and its surroundings.

Childcare: a nonresidential facility licensed by the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families for the care of children from birth through 12 years of age outside of the child’s home for periods of less than 24 hours a day. Childcare does not include “childcare, family” or any program exempt from licensing per RCW 43.216.010(2). A “preschool” is not a “childcare.” See SMC 14.25.170 for the definition of preschool.

Childcare, family: a facility licensed by the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families for the daytime care of children that is provided in a residential dwelling unit by the full-time occupant of the home. Family childcare facilities may provide care for up to 12 children, including children living in the home.

City: the City of Snohomish.

City Attorney: the Snohomish City Attorney.

City Council: the Snohomish City Council.

City Engineer: the Snohomish City Engineer.

City Planner: the same as the Snohomish Planning Director.

Civic: the term characterizing not-for-profit organizations and uses dedicated to arts, culture, education, recreation, government, transit, and municipal parking.

Civil drawings: construction drawings, calculations, and specifications prepared by a licensed engineer detailing the engineering aspects of a development proposal.

Clearing: the removal of timber, brush, ground cover, or other vegetation from a site and does not include grading.

Clinic: a building for licensed outpatient health services.

Club: a not-for-profit association of persons for a common purpose.

Collocation: the mounting or installation of transmission equipment on an eligible support structure for the purpose of transmitting and/or receiving radio frequency signals for communication purposes.

Commercial: a use that involves wholesale or retail trade, or the provision of services.

Commercial/industry accessory use: a use that is subordinate and incidental to a commercial or industry use; including employee exercise facilities, employee food service facilities, and employee daycare facilities; incidental storage of raw materials and finished products sold or manufactured on-site, and business owner or caretaker residence.

Community-based theater: a use where musical and dramatic performances are staged for public audiences. The term includes only those facilities owned and operated by a nonprofit organization. Accessory uses may include arts education, assembly uses, ticket sales, and concessions.

Community garden: a plot of land used in common for the noncommercial cultivation of plants by more than one (1) person or family.

Community residential facility: living quarters meeting applicable federal and state standards that function as a single housekeeping unit for eight (8) or more individuals excluding staff, providing such supportive services as counseling, rehabilitation, and medical supervision, excluding drug and alcohol detoxification and prisoner release participants.

Community residential facility – prisoner release: a community residential facility for prisoner release participants and programs such as halfway houses.

Community stable: a facility in which horses or other livestock are kept for boarding, training, breeding, rental, or riding lessons.

Comprehensive Plan: a generalized, coordinated land use policy statement of the City of Snohomish adopted pursuant to, and in compliance with, Chapter 36.70A RCW, also known as the Washington State Growth Management Act.

Conditional use: a use allowed only after review and with approval of conditions as necessary to make the use compatible with other permitted uses in the same vicinity and designation.

Condominium: real property, portions of which are designated for separate ownership and the remainder of which is designated for common ownership solely by the owners of those portions. Real property is not a condominium unless the undivided interests in the common elements are vested in the unit owners, and unless a declaration and a survey map and plans have been recorded pursuant to Chapter 64.34 RCW.

Conference center: a meeting facility, which may include accessory facilities for recreation, lodging, and related activities.

Congregate care/assisted living facilities: housing, licensed by the State of Washington, for seven (7) or more elderly and/or disabled persons, providing basic services and assuming general responsibility for the safety and well-being of residents under Chapters 18.20 RCW and 388-78A WAC. Kitchens and dining space may be provided in individual dwelling units. Practical nursing and Alzheimer’s care, recreational programs, and facilities may be provided. “Disabled” shall not include current illegal use of or addiction to a controlled substance, nor shall it include any person whose residency in the facility would constitute a direct threat to the health and safety of other individuals. The term shall not include alcoholism or drug treatment centers or housing facilities serving as an alternative to incarceration. For the purposes of this definition, “elderly” refers to persons fifty-five (55) years and older.

Construction site sign: a temporary sign placed on sites where an active building permit has been issued intended to display the names of the companies involved with the construction project.

Conversion: a change in use of a structure.

Cornice: a molded and projecting horizontal piece that crowns an architectural composition, such as a window, door, or building wall.

Cottage housing development: two (2) or more small, detached dwellings constructed on a single lot. Refer to Chapter 14.175 SMC.

County Auditor: the Snohomish County official as defined in Chapter 36.22 RCW.

County Treasurer: the Snohomish County official as defined in Chapter 36.29 RCW.

Covenant: a legal restriction on the actions of any land owner who is party to a contractual provision that is binding on real property.

Critical area report: a study and/or evaluation prepared by a qualified professional for development proposals located within protected environmentally sensitive areas and/or their buffers. Refer to SMC 14.255.070.

Critical areas: environmentally sensitive areas of land as defined under Chapter 36.70A RCW including the following areas and ecosystems:

Critical facility, flood hazard area: a facility for which even a slight chance of flooding might be too great. Critical facilities include (but are not limited to) schools, nursing homes, hospitals, police, fire and emergency response installations, and installations which produce, use, or store hazardous materials or hazardous waste.

Critical root zone (CRZ): the area of soil surrounding a tree at a circular distance from the trunk, where the roots are considered critical to the health of the tree. The CRZ is measured in feet from the face of the trunk, calculated as one foot for every one inch of tree trunk at DBH.

Critical wildlife habitat: areas which are associated with threatened, endangered, sensitive, or priority species of plants or wildlife and which, if altered, could reduce the likelihood that the species will maintain and reproduce over the long term. Such areas are documented in lists, categories, and definitions of species promulgated by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (Non-Game Data System Special Animal Species) as identified in WAC 220-200-100 or 220-610-010, and in the priority habitat species lists compiled per WAC 365-190-080; or by rules and regulations adopted currently or hereafter by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Critical wildlife habitat also includes:

Cul-de-sac: a road closed at one (1) end, where the closed end is a circular or near-circular shape providing a permanent turnaround.

Culturally modified tree (CMT): a tree that has been historically altered by indigenous people as part of traditional practices and as a living marker to identify places of cultural, historical, and/or archaeological significance for tribes. CMTs may also be referred to as a critical cultural resource (CCR), an organic archaeological object of high cultural significance. (Ord. 2401, 2020; Ord. 2425, 2022; Ord. 2434, 2022; Ord. 2445, 2022; Ord. 2516, 2025; Ord. 2533, 2025)

Daycare: see Childcare.

Daycare, adult: a facility licensed by the State for the daytime care of adults, with no overnight care.

Dedication: conveyance of land to a public agency for general public purposes.

Degraded wetland buffer: a buffer area which cannot fully protect its adjacent wetland due to one or more of the following existing conditions:

Density: the number of dwelling units on one acre of land.

Department: the City of Snohomish Department of Planning and Development Services.

Destination resort: an establishment for resource-based recreation which is intended to utilize outdoor recreational opportunities and which includes related services, such as food, overnight lodging, equipment rentals, entertainment, and other conveniences for guests of the resort.

Detached: physically separated and not sharing a wall or other building element; unconnected.

Detached dwelling: a residential structure not attached to another structure containing no more than one dwelling unit, located on a single lot with at least one other detached dwelling.

Detached dwelling development: two or more detached dwelling units constructed upon a single lot.

Detention: the temporary storage of stormwater runoff to control peak discharge rates and allow settling of stormwater sediment.

Detention facility: a drainage facility, such as a pond or tank, that temporarily stores stormwater runoff and releases it at a slower rate than it is collected by the drainage facility. The facility includes the flow control structure, the inlet and outlet pipes, and all maintenance access points.

Developer: the person who controls property for which development has been proposed, or the person applying for or receiving a permit or approval for a development.

Development: the construction or exterior alteration of structures; grading, dredging, drilling, or dumping; filling; removal of sand, gravel, or minerals; bulkheading; driving of pilings; or any project of a temporary or permanent nature which modifies structures, land, wetlands, or shorelines.

Development, floodplain: any manmade change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations or storage of equipment or materials located within the area of special flood hazard. Refer to Chapter 14.270 SMC.

Development right: one of a series of rights inherent in fee simple ownership of land. It represents the potential for the improvement of a parcel of property, as measured in the number of potential residential dwellings or square footage of commercial use allowed by the property’s land use designation and site attributes.

Diameter at breast height (DBH): the diameter or thickness of a tree trunk measured at four and one-half feet from the tree base. DBH is also known as diameter at standard height (DSH).

Direct traffic impact: any new vehicular trip added by new development to the City street system.

Directional sign: a sign designed to guide or direct pedestrian or vehicular traffic to an area, place, or convenience and may include incidental graphics such as trade names and trademarks.

Director: see Planning Director.

Distributed antenna system (DAS): a network consisting of transceiver equipment at a central hub site to support multiple antenna locations throughout the designed coverage area.

Diversity, habitat: variety or complexity of vegetation as indicated by stratification of plant communities, variety of plant species, and spacing of vegetation.

Dock: an anchored platform structure in or floating upon water to facilitate access to water or watercraft. Docks may provide moorage for watercraft, and may include ancillary features such as pilings, anchors, gangways, floats, and fingers.

Downstream analysis: an analysis of potential drainage impacts and drainage facilities downstream of the subject property and/or development activity.

Dredging: the removal, displacement, and/or disposal of unconsolidated earth material such as sand, silt, gravel, or other submerged materials, from the bottom of water bodies, ditches, or wetlands; maintenance dredging and/or support activities are included in this definition.

Dripline: the distance from the tree trunk that is equal to the furthest extent of the tree’s crown.

Driveway: a private travel lane for the passage of vehicles, which provides access from a public or private road to an individual development or dwelling.

Drug store: an establishment engaged in the retail sale of prescription drugs, nonprescription medicines, cosmetics, and related supplies.

Duplex: a residential structure containing two attached dwelling units that have a common wall. The term does not include a mobile home or a home with an accessory dwelling unit.

Dwelling unit: a space with internal accessibility to all portions of the space that provides complete, independent living facilities for one or more persons and that includes permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation. (Ord. 2401, 2020; Ord. 2444, 2022; Ord. 2516, 2025)

Earth station: a ground-based terminal equipped to receive and transmit signals from or to communications satellites.

Easement: an encumbrance on land that provides for the use of that land, or a portion thereof, for specified purposes, to specifically named parties or to the public.

Eating/drinking: any establishment providing meals and/or beverages to customers.

Ecology: the Washington State Department of Ecology unless specifically stated otherwise.

Electronic changing message sign: an electronically activated sign whose message content, either in whole or in part, may be changed by means of electronic or digital programming.

Elevated building: for flood insurance purposes, a nonbasement building that has its lowest elevated floor raised above ground level by foundation walls, shear walls, posts, piers, pilings, or columns.

Elevation certificate: an administrative tool of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) that can be used to provide elevation information, to determine the proper insurance premium rate, and to support a request for a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) or Letter of Map Revision based on fill (LOMR-F).

Eligible support structure, wireless communications: any tower or base station that exists at the time a wireless communications facility application is filed with the City.

Emergency housing: temporary housing and shelter for individuals and families who are homeless or at imminent risk of becoming homeless as defined in RCW 36.70A.030(14) and 36.70A.030(15).

Enclosed: totally concealed from expected human viewpoints by building, wall, fence, floors, doors, windows, or other structure or obscuring element.

Endangered and threatened species, Federally designated: fish and wildlife species identified by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or NOAA Fisheries as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act, 16 USC Section 1531, et seq.

Endangered, threatened, and sensitive species, State designated: fish and wildlife species native to the State of Washington and identified by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as sensitive, threatened, or endangered species.

Energy resource recovery facility: a facility used to capture the heat value of solid waste for conversion to steam, electricity, or heat by direct combustion.

Enhancement, critical area: the manipulation of the physical, chemical, or biological characteristics of wildlife habitat, a critical area or its buffer to heighten, intensify, or improve specific function(s) or to change the growth stage or composition of the vegetation present by means including, but not limited to, increasing plant density or diversity, removing nonindigenous or noxious species, or controlling erosion.

Environmental checklist (SEPA): a form filled out to determine whether an action might have an impact on the environment, pursuant to Chapter 43.21C RCW.

Environmental impact statement: a written document required under the State Environmental Policy Act and prepared in accordance with Chapter 197-11 WAC, describing the impacts that could result from an action and how such impacts might be mitigated.

Erosion control: the design and installation of measures to control erosion and sedimentation during and after construction and to permanently stabilize soil exposed during and after construction using a combination of structural control measures, cover measures, and construction practices.

Erosion hazard areas: those areas with naturally occurring slopes, containing soils which are at high risk from being worn away by water according to the mapped description units of the United States Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service Soil Classification System. Erosion hazard areas also include channel migration zones. (Ord. 2401, 2020; Ord. 2434, 2022; Ord. 2492, 2024; Ord. 2533, 2025)

Fabrication shop: an establishment for the creation of products from refined materials.

Facade: the exterior wall of a building.

Family: one (1) or more persons related by blood, adoption, or marriage, or a group of persons not related by blood, adoption, or marriage, living together as a single housekeeping unit in a dwelling unit. Facilities housing individuals who are incarcerated as the result of a conviction or other court order shall not be included within this definition of “family.”

Family childcare: see Family daycare.

Fair share cost: the proportional share of the cost of system improvements that is attributable to a project’s impacts on the system.

Farm stand: a use engaged in the sale of agricultural products produced or grown predominantly on site, which may include a structure or outdoor table where the products are sold directly to the public.

Fault rupture hazard area: areas with the potential to cause ground displacement along fault lines during an earthquake, leading to both surface disruption and structural damage to structures and infrastructure.

FCC: the Federal Communications Commission or successor agency.

Feather sign or feather flag: a sign made of flexible material that is generally, but not always, rectangular in shape and attached to a pole on one (1) side so the sign can move with the wind.

Fence: a manmade exterior barrier erected to enclose, screen or separate areas of land. Vegetation, such as a hedge, is not a fence.

Fence, open: a fence where there is a minimum of one (1) inch opening for every two (2) inches of solid material evenly distributed across the length of the fence.

Fence, solid: a fence with no openings or openings less than one (1) inch wide or with less than one (1) inch opening for every two (2) inches of solid material.

Fill: the addition of soil, sand, rock, gravel, sediment, or any other earthen or organic material to an area in a manner that raises the elevation of, or creates, dry land.

Final plat: the final drawing of a subdivision and dedication prepared for filing for record with the County Auditor.

Fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas (FWHCAs): areas that serve a critical role in sustaining needed habitats and species for the functional integrity of the ecosystem, and that, if altered, may reduce the likelihood that the species will persist over the long term. These areas may include, but are not limited to, rare or vulnerable ecological systems, communities, and habitat or habitat elements, including seasonal ranges, breeding habitat, winter range, and movement corridors, and areas with high relative population density or species richness, including locally designated important habitats and species. These areas also include habitat for endangered, threatened and sensitive species; priority habitats and areas associated with priority species; riparian management areas; habitats of local importance, and water bodies; forage fish spawning areas; naturally occurring ponds less than 20 acres; waters of the State; natural area preserves; natural resource conservation areas; and State wildlife areas. Fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas do not include artificial features or constructs such as irrigation delivery systems, irrigation infrastructure, irrigation canals, or drainage ditches that lie within the boundaries of, and are maintained by, a port district or an irrigation district or company.

Fish habitat: habitat used by any fish at any life stage at any time of the year, including potential habitat likely to be used by fish which could be recovered by restoration or management and includes off-channel habitat (WAC 222-16-030).

Fitness center: an establishment whose primary function is the provision of services, equipment, instruction, and facilities for physical exercise.

Flood or flooding:

Flood hazard area, special (“Special flood hazard area”): the land in the floodplain that is subject to a one (1) percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year.

Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM): the official map on which the Federal Insurance Administrator has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.

Flood Insurance Study (FIS): an examination, evaluation and determination of flood hazards and, if appropriate, corresponding water surface elevations, or an examination, evaluation and determination of mudslide (i.e., mudflow) and/or flood-related erosion hazards. Also known as the Flood Elevation Study.

Floodplain or flood-prone area: any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from any source. See “Flood” or “flooding.”

Floodplain Administrator: the City of Snohomish official designated to administer and enforce the floodplain management regulations.

Floodplain management: the operation of an overall program of corrective and preventive measures for reducing flood damage, including but not limited to emergency preparedness plans, flood control works, and floodplain management regulations.

Floodplain management regulations: state or local regulations, in any combination thereof, which provide standards for the purpose of flood damage prevention and reduction.

Floodproofing: any combination of structural and nonstructural additions, changes or adjustments to properties and structures, which reduces or eliminates flood damages to lands, water and sanitary facilities, structures and contents of buildings.

Floodway: the channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation by more than one (1) foot. Also referred to as “regulatory floodway.”

Floor area: the floor space defined by the exterior walls of a building or structure as measured in square feet.

Floor area, gross: the sum of all floor spaces defined by exterior walls, including unoccupied accessory areas, basements, and mezzanines on all floor levels.

Floor area ratio: the ratio of a building’s gross floor area to the size of the lot upon which it is built.

Forecourt private frontage: a private frontage type wherein a portion of the facade is close to the frontage line and the central portion is set back. (See SMC 14.212.1010).

Forest research: the development, advancement, and dissemination of the science and technology of forest conservation and associated resources.

Foster home: a residence licensed by the state to provide care on a twenty-four (24) hour basis to at least one (1) but not more than six (6) unrelated persons under the age of eighteen (18) years.

Fraternity, sorority, or group student house: a building occupied by and maintained exclusively for students affiliated with an academic or professional college or university or other recognized institution of higher learning and when regulated by such institution.

Freestanding sign: a sign standing directly upon the ground and being detached from any building or similar structure.

Frontage: the area between a building facade and the centerline of the adjacent street, inclusive of its built and planted components. Frontage is divided into the private frontage and the public frontage.

Frontage coverage: the minimum percentage of the length of the principal frontage occupied by the primary facade(s) within the front setback.

Frontage improvements: improvements to rights-of-way abutting a development. Generally, frontage improvements consist of appropriate base materials, lane paving, bus pullouts and waiting areas where necessary, bicycle lanes and bicycle paths where applicable, storm drainage improvements, curbs, gutters and sidewalks.

Frontage line: a property line that coincides with the edge or margin of the street (not alley) public right-of-way.

Frontage, private: see Private frontage.

Frontage, public: see Public frontage.

Fuel dealers: establishments engaged in the business of delivering, distributing, or offering for sale any gasoline, kerosene, distillate, road oil, lubricating oil, petroleum, or greases or any oil and/or gas product except prepackaged petroleum products.

Functionally dependent use: a use which cannot perform its intended purpose unless it is located or carried out in close proximity to water. The term includes only docking facilities, port facilities that are necessary for the loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, and ship building and ship repair facilities, and does not include long term storage or related manufacturing facilities.

Functions and values, critical areas: the services provided by critical areas to society, including, but not limited to, improving and maintaining water quality, providing fish and wildlife habitat, supporting terrestrial and aquatic food chains, reducing flooding and erosive flows, wave attenuation, historical or archaeological importance, educational opportunities, and recreation.

Functions and values, ecosystem: the benefits, products, conditions, and environmental qualities of an ecosystem that result from interactions among ecosystem processes, including providing fish and wildlife habitat, sequestering carbon, attenuating peak streamflows, maintaining aquifer water levels, reducing pollutant concentrations, and regulating stream temperatures.

Functions and values, FWHCAs: the beneficial roles served by FWHCAs, including habitat for breeding, rearing, foraging, protection and escape, migration, and over-wintering. FWHCAs affect the quality of habitat by providing complexity of physical structure, supporting biological diversity, regulating stormwater runoff and infiltration, removing pollutants from water, and maintaining appropriate temperatures.

Funeral home/crematory: an establishment providing services to arrange and conduct for funerals and memorial services, including care, preparation, disposition, and cremation of deceased persons.

Future Land Use Map: the official City of Snohomish map which is a part of the Comprehensive Plan, and which defines the boundaries of the land use designations. (Ord. 2401, 2020; Ord. 2425, 2022; Ord. 2429, 2021; Ord. 2434, 2022; Ord. 2519, 2025; Ord. 2528, 2025; Ord. 2533, 2025)

Garage, private: a building or portion of a building in which motor vehicles used by the occupants of the building or buildings on the premises are stored or kept, without provisions for repairing or servicing such vehicles for profit.

Garage, public: a building or a portion of a commercial building designed or used primarily for temporary shelter or storage of vehicles in exchange for a fee, or accessory to a commercial use.

Gasoline service station: a facility for the retail sale of gasoline and other automobile fuels available at pump islands, together with light general maintenance of automobiles and/or a convenience store.

Geologically hazardous area: an area susceptible to significant or severe risk of landslides, erosion, or seismic activity and designated pursuant to Chapter 14.275 SMC. These areas are defined as not generally suitable for the siting of commercial, residential, or industrial development consistent with public health and safety concerns unless determined otherwise with documentation provided by a qualified professional and in compliance with the appropriate performance standards.

Golf facility: a public or private facility for playing golf, including golf courses, driving ranges, miniature golf, and related pro shops, caddy shacks, restaurants, offices, meeting rooms, and storage facilities.

Governmental facility: a facility owned, or leased and operated by an agency of the federal, state, special district, or local government.

Grade: the vertical elevation of the ground surface.

Grading: the movement or redistribution of the soil, sand, rock, gravel, sediment, or other material on a site in a manner that alters the natural contour of the land.

Ground-disturbing activity: any development, construction, or related operation which could alter a site, including but not limited to tree or tree stump removal, road or building construction, or grading.

Ground floor: the lowest story of a building located at or near, but not below, the nearest street level. (Ord. 2401, 2020; Ord. 2434, 2022; Ord. 2533, 2025)

Habitable floor: any floor usable for living, working, sleeping, eating, cooking, or recreation, excluding floors used only for storage.

Habitat assessment: a written document that describes a project, identifies and analyzes the project’s impacts to habitat for species discussed in the “Endangered Species Act – Section 7 Consultation Final Biological Opinion and Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Essential Fish Habitat Consultation for the Implementation of the National Flood Insurance Program in the State of Washington, Phase One Document – Puget Sound Region,” and provides an effects determination.

Habitat corridor: areas of relatively undisturbed and unbroken tracts of vegetation that connect fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas, priority habitats, areas identified as biologically diverse, or valuable habitats within a city or urban growth area.

Habitats of local importance: FWHCAs which are not designated as priority habitats and species by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife but are designated as locally significant by the City.

Hatchery: a facility for the rearing and/or holding of fish, the design of which is compatible with the natural environment and contains minimal development necessary for fish propagation.

Hazard tree: any tree that has a high likelihood of failure that poses risk of causing damage or injury due to its proximity to a structure and/or infrastructure.

Hazardous substances: any liquid, solid, gas, or sludge, including any material, substance, product, commodity, or waste, regardless of quantity, that exhibits any of the physical, chemical, or biological properties described in WAC 173-303-090 or 173-303-100.

Headwaters: springs, lakes, ponds or wetlands that provide significant sources of water to a stream.

Hearing Examiner: the City of Snohomish Hearing Examiner. A third-party land use attorney who is charged with conducting open record public hearings and given authority to make decisions on certain land use permits and appeals. Refer to Chapter 14.95 SMC.

Heavy equipment repair: the sale, repair and maintenance of self-powered, self-propelled, or pull-type equipment and machinery intended for heavy duty work such as earthmoving, construction, lifting, drilling, or paving, including engines.

Hedgerow: a relatively narrow, vegetated strip of native trees, shrubs, and grasses or groundcovers designed as a buffer between adjacent land uses and critical areas or wildlife areas.

Height overlay: a designated area for which additional building height is permitted through incentives, including but not limited to, Transfer of Development Rights.

Helipad: a landing area designed for the landing of helicopters, including associated parking, lighting, and related safety/security improvements.

Heritage tree: a tree designated for retention. Heritage trees may include trees of historic importance, individual importance, and/or cultural importance, such as culturally modified trees (CMTs).

Highest adjacent grade: for development in flood hazard areas only, the highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.

Highway Capacity Manual: the Highway Capacity Manual, Special Report 209, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, 2016, 500 Fifth Street NW, Washington, D.C., amendments thereto, and any supplemental editions or documents published by the Transportation Research Board adopted by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration.

Historic structure: any structure that is:

Impact fee: a payment of money imposed as a condition of development approval to pay for new or expanded public facilities needed to serve new growth, that is reasonably related to the additional demand and need for public facilities created by the growth.

Impervious surface: a nonvegetated surface area that prevents or slows the entry of water into the soil and causes water to run off the surface in greater quantities or at an increased rate of flow from the flow under natural conditions prior to development. Common impervious surfaces include, but are not limited to, structures, roof tops, walkways, patios, driveways, carports, parking lots or storage areas, concrete or asphalt paving, gravel, packed earthen materials, soil surface areas compacted by construction operations, and oiled or macadam or other surfaces which similarly impede the natural infiltration of stormwater.

In-kind mitigation/compensation: replacement of critical areas with substitute areas whose characteristics and functions closely approximate or improve those destroyed or degraded by a regulated activity.

In-water utility: infrastructure related to public infrastructure for domestic water, stormwater, wastewater, or power generation, which by nature and common design must be located in or in the immediate vicinity of a river, stream, or lake.

Inadequate street condition: any street condition, whether existing on the street system or created by a new development’s access or impact on the street system, which jeopardizes the safety of all street users, as determined by the City Engineer.

Incidental sign: a small informational sign not legible from the public right-of-way intended for the convenience of the public while on the premises.

Individual transportation and taxi: an establishment engaged in furnishing individual or small group transportation by motor vehicle.

Industry use: all activities involved in the processing or fabricating of a product. (Ord. 2401, 2020; Ord. 2519, 2025; Ord. 2533, 2025)

Jail: a facility operated by a governmental agency for the incarceration of persons for the purpose of punishment, correction, and rehabilitation following conviction of an offense.

Jetty: an artificial barrier used to change the natural littoral drift to protect inlet watercourse entrances from clogging by excess sediment. (Ord. 2401, 2020)

Land use designation: the same as zone or zoning district.

Landing field: a runway or landing area which is designed, used or intended to be used by private aircraft, including necessary taxiways, storage, and tie-down areas.

Landscaping: the artificial application of plants and manmade materials to improve the appearance of real property.

Landslide: downslope movement of a mass of soil, rock, snow or ice including, but not limited to, rock falls, slumps, mudflows, debris flows, torrents, earth flows and snow avalanches.

Landslide hazard area: areas subject to landslides based on a combination of geologic, topographic, and hydrologic factors, including areas susceptible to landslide because of any combination of bedrock, soil, slope (gradient), slope aspect, structure, hydrology, or other factors; this includes, at a minimum, the following:

Level of service (LOS): a qualitative measure used in the context of traffic and transportation analysis, describing operational conditions of the transportation system and acceptable adequacy requirements. LOS standards for vehicular traffic are defined by the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) and calculated by a methodology endorsed by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). LOS standards for vehicle, pedestrian, and bicycle facilities are adopted by the City per the Transportation Element of the Comprehensive Plan.

Light manufacturing: processing and fabricating activities which provide minimal hazards or nuisance related to noise, vibration, glare, odor, smoke, dust, air pollution, toxins, fire, explosion, or traffic. Light manufacturing uses include, but are not limited to, the processing, fabrication, assembly, treatment, packaging, incidental storage, and distribution of previously prepared materials or finished products or parts. Light manufacturing uses do not include the basic industrial processing of unfinished unprocessed raw materials.

Lightwell: a below-grade entrance or recess designed to allow light into basements.

Limits of disturbance: the boundary between the area of minimum protection around a tree and the allowable site disturbance from construction or development.

Liner building: a building specifically designed to mask a parking structure from a frontage.

Liquefaction hazard areas: areas typically underlain by cohesionless soils of low density, usually in association with a shallow groundwater table, that lose substantial strength during earthquakes.

Live-work unit: a single unit consisting of a complete residential dwelling and a commercial workspace, thus allowing the resident to live and work in the same location. Live-work units are considered commercial uses for the purposes of land use and design review.

Loading space: an area required to be maintained on certain business, commercial and industry lots, in addition to regular yard requirements, used for the loading and unloading of trucks and other vehicles.

Log storage: a facility for open or enclosed storage of logs, including incidental offices and repair facilities for on-site equipment.

Lot: a piece of land having fixed boundaries, either as part of a subdivision or through metes and bounds description. The term does not include easements, divisions, or descriptions created solely for access purposes, utility purposes, open space or mitigation purposes, or tax record purposes by the Snohomish County Assessor’s Office.

Lot area: the total measured horizontal area contained within the lot lines of a lot, typically in acreage or square footage.

Lot, corner (corner lot): a lot with two (2) frontages on intersecting streets.

Lot coverage: the area of a lot covered with a structure.

Lot, interior: a lot bounded by no more than one (1) street, road, or private road with the remainder of the lot lines abutting other lots, tracts, or alleys.

Lot line: see Property line.

Lot, parent: the initial lot from which unit lots are subdivided pursuant to SMC 14.215.125.

Lot width: the distance between the side lines of a lot, as measured by scaling a circle of the applicable diameter within the boundaries of the lot; provided, that an access easement shall not be included. Examples of how lot width is measured are shown in the following diagram:

Lots, contiguous: lots with a common property line.

Low impact development (LID): a stormwater and land use management strategy that strives to mimic hydrologic conditions by emphasizing the pre-disturbance hydrologic process of infiltration, filtration, storage, evaporation, and transpiration.

Low impact development (LID) facilities: distributed stormwater management practices, integrated into a project design, that emphasize pre-disturbance hydrologic processes of infiltration, filtration, storage, evaporation, and transpiration. LID best management practices include, but are not limited to, bioretention, rain gardens, permeable materials, roof downspout controls, dispersion, soil quality and depth, minimal excavation foundations, vegetated roofs, and water reuse.

Lowest floor: the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area of a building, including the basement and excluding unfinished or flood resistant enclosures, used solely for parking of vehicles, building access, or storage in an area other than a basement area; provided, that such enclosure is not built so as to render the structure in violation of the applicable nonelevation design requirements of Chapter 14.270 SMC (i.e., provided there are adequate flood ventilation openings). (Ord. 2401, 2020; Ord. 2429, 2021; Ord. 2516, 2025; Ord. 2519, 2025; Ord. 2528, 2025; Ord. 2533, 2025)

Manufactured home: a structure, transportable in one (1) or more sections, which is built on a permanent chassis and is designed for use with or without a permanent foundation when attached to the required utilities. The term “manufactured home” does not include “recreational vehicle.”

Manufactured home park or subdivision: a parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two (2) or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.

Manufacturing, heavy: the assembly, fabrication, storage, testing, and/or processing of goods and materials using processes that ordinarily create noise, smoke, airborne particulates, fumes, odors, glare, or health and safety hazards. Includes all uses that are not “light manufacturing” including the processing of raw materials. Such uses generally do not create products purchased directly by consumers.

Manufacturing, light: processing and fabricating activities that create minimal safety hazards or nuisances related to noise, vibration, glare, odor, smoke, dust, air pollution, toxins, fire, explosion, or traffic. Light manufacturing uses include, but are not limited to, the processing, fabrication, assembly, treatment, packaging, incidental storage, and distribution of previously prepared materials or finished products or parts. Light manufacturing uses do not include the basic industrial processing of unfinished unprocessed raw materials.

Marina: a water-dependent facility that provides docking, launching, storage, supplies, moorage and other accessory services limited to showers, toilets, self-service laundries, and boat fueling, for five (5) or more pleasure and/or commercial water craft.

Maximum dwelling units: the highest number of units per acre permitted in the project’s land use designation. See also “Density.”

Mean sea level: for purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program, the vertical datum to which base flood elevations shown on a community’s Flood Insurance Rate Map are referenced.

Membership organization: a club or organization, whether incorporated or otherwise, that holds meetings for a common purpose of social or charitable activities. Such meetings may include activities such as eating and drinking or entertainment. Membership organizations do not provide lodging or retail activity to the general public.

Minimum lot size: the smallest area of a unit of real estate allowed for the property to be used or developed pursuant to the regulations of the land use designation in which it is located.

Minor variance: a departure of no more than ten (10) percent from a dimensional standard of this Development Code.

Mitigation: avoiding, minimizing, or compensating for adverse impacts on critical areas. Mitigation, in the following sequential order of preference, is:

Mitigation for individual actions may include a combination of the above measures.

Mixed-use: a building or site that includes a mix of permitted residential and nonresidential uses.

Mobile home park: a development with two (2) or more improved pads or spaces designed to accommodate manufactured homes and other prefabricated structures, built in a factory on a permanently attached chassis before being transported to site.

Modulation: variegation of a flat façade using recesses and offsets in wall surfaces for architectural effect and interest. Vertical building modulation may be used to meet façade articulation standards.

Monopole: a style of freestanding wireless communications antenna support structure consisting of a single shaft usually composed of two (2) or more hollow sections that are attached to a foundation on the ground. This type of antenna support structure is designed to support itself without the use of guy wires or other stabilization devices.

Monument sign: a ground-based freestanding sign which is constructed or connected directly on or to a sign support consisting of a permanent solid base material foundation.

Multifamily: a development of two (2) or more attached dwelling units.

Multifamily unit: a dwelling unit in a multifamily structure. (Ord. 2401, 2020; Ord. 2425, 2022; Ord. 2434, 2022)

Native vegetation: indigenous plant species that occur naturally in a particular region or environment.

New construction: for the purposes of determining insurance rates in flood hazard areas, structures for which the “start of construction” commenced on or after the effective date of an initial Flood Insurance Rate Map or after December 31, 1974, whichever is later, and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures. For floodplain management purposes, “new construction” means structures for which the “start of construction” commenced on or after the effective date of a floodplain management regulation adopted by a community and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.

No net loss: avoiding new adverse impacts to ecological processes and functions. The term “net” recognizes that any development has potential for short-term or long-term impacts and that through application of appropriate development standards, avoidance of impacts and use of mitigation measures, those impacts will not diminish the resources and values as they currently exist. This standard is achieved by appropriately regulating individual developments through the permit review process.

Nonconforming: an existing structure, lot, or use lawfully created but no longer fully consistent with present regulations after passage of an ordinance codified in this title.

Nuisance tree: a tree that is causing significant physical damage to a structure and/or infrastructure and cannot be corrected through reasonable practices such as pruning, bracing, or cabling.

Nursing/convalescent home: a structure and/or premises required to be licensed as a nursing home under Chapter 18.51 RCW and providing convalescent or chronic care, or both, for a period in excess of twenty-four (24) consecutive hours for patients who, by reason of illness or infirmity, are unable to properly care for themselves; but excluding contagious, communicable, or mental illness cases and surgery or primary treatments such as are customarily provided for in hospitals. Group residential facilities and treatment centers are also excluded. (Ord. 2401, 2020; Ord. 2516, 2025; Ord. 2529, 2025)

Off-site highway sign: a sign located along, and oriented to, SR-9 and/or US-2 for the purpose of identifying, and providing travel information to, one (1) or more Snohomish businesses not otherwise visible from the highway(s).

Off-site sign: a sign advertising, identifying, or relating to an establishment, merchandise, service, or entertainment which is not sold, produced, manufactured, or furnished at the property on which such sign is located, e.g., billboards.

Off-site street or street improvement: an improvement to an existing or proposed City street, which is required or recommended in accordance with this title in order to improve the capacity of the street system to mitigate the impact of a development.

Off-street parking: parking that is not in a public right-of-way.

Office: a place of business where commercial, professional, or bureaucratic work is performed. An office is limited to the building or portion thereof where such activities are performed, as well as associated parking for employees, patrons, and company vehicles. Retail activities and personal services cannot take place in an office.

Open parking: in the Pilchuck District only, a parking area not fully enclosed within a building and visible from adjacent streets or properties.

Open porch: a roofed space, open along two (2) or more sides, and adjunct to a residential building, commonly serving to shelter an entrance and provide a private outdoor space.

Open space: the area of a lot or development site not covered by structures, streets, driveways, parking and loading spaces, or storage yards.

Ordinary high water mark (OHWM): that mark which is found by examining the bed and banks of a water body and ascertaining where the presence and action of waters are so common and usual, and so long continued in all ordinary years, that the soils and vegetation have a character distinct from that of the abutting upland area. It also can also be established by fluctuations of water and indicated by physical characteristics such as a clear, natural line impressed on the bank, shelving, changes in the character of soil, destruction of terrestrial vegetation, the presence of litter and debris, or other appropriate means that consider the characteristics of the surrounding areas. Where the ordinary high water mark cannot be found, it shall be the line of mean high water in areas adjoining fresh water. Where it is contested, its determination shall rest with the Washington Department of Ecology (WAC 173-22-030(11)).

Out-of-kind mitigation: replacement of wetlands with wetlands whose characteristics do not closely approximate those being damaged or degraded.

Outbuilding: an accessory structure on the same lot as, and usually located toward the rear of, a principal building.

Outdoor advertising service: sales, design, and fabrication of signage and other outdoor promotions for a business or product. (Ord. 2401, 2020; Ord. 2434, 2022; Ord. 2533, 2025)

Park: a site maintained for purposes of active or passive recreation, including pleasure, exercise, amusement or ornamentation.

Parking requirement: the minimum number of parking spaces required by this title for specified uses.

Parking space: the area designated to store a vehicle plus the necessary maneuvering area.

Parking structure: a structure or portion of a structure, enclosed on all frontages except for limited access/egress points and light/ventilation windows, designed for vehicle parking. Parking structures may be at, below, or above the adjacent sidewalk grade.

Party of record: a person who shows interest in a project or issue by testifying or offering written comments about a land use decision or other matter before the Hearing Examiner, Planning Commission, Design Review Board, or City Council. All applicants are automatically considered to be a party of record.

Passenger transportation service: transit service available to the public for a fare, including but not limited to buses, vanpools, tour and charter buses, and taxicabs.

Peak hour trips: total inbound and outbound trips during the peak hour periods (most commonly the p.m. peak between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. on weekdays), as determined by the Public Works Director.

Pedestrian street: see Woonerf.

Permanent sign: a sign constructed of weather-resistant material and intended for permanent use and that does not otherwise meet the definition of “temporary sign.” Wall-mounted sign holders designed for insertion of signs and posters shall be considered permanent signage and subject to all standards of this title.

Permanent supportive housing: subsidized housing for individuals who need support services to retain tenancy, as defined in RCW 36.70A.030(31), and that may include associated support services.

Permitted use: a use that is allowed by right.

Personal services: a business or occupation which provides goods and services for the nonmedical physical and mental care and support to individuals, such as, but not limited to, barbershops, beauty salons, tattoo parlors, and similar establishments.

Pervious surface: surface material that allows stormwater to infiltrate into the ground, such as landscape, pasture, native vegetation areas, and permeable pavement.

Pier: see Dock.

Place of worship: a building or portion of a building dedicated to religious worship or religious education purposes including a church, synagogue, parish hall, temple, mosque, or any assembly hall associated with religious worship. A place of worship may include accessory uses associated with it such as private schools, preschools and daycares, reading rooms, assembly rooms, emergency housing, permanent supportive housing, and residences for clergy and unordained monks, friars, nuns, and religious brothers and sisters.

Planning Commission: the City of Snohomish Planning Commission.

Planning Director: the manager of the City of Snohomish Department of Planning and Development Services. It means the same as City Planner as provided in Chapter 2.34 SMC.

Plat: the drawing of a subdivision of land and other elements as required pursuant to Chapter 58.17 RCW.

Podium parking structure: in the Pilchuck District only, a portion of a building intended for vehicle storage built below the main building mass and partially submerged below the elevation of the adjacent sidewalk.

Portable readerboard sign: a portable sign, supported by feet or wheels, with changeable letters and generally internally illuminated.

Portable sign: a freestanding temporary sign which is capable of being moved by one (1) person and is not permanently affixed to the ground, a structure, or a building.

Preliminary plat: a detailed graphic depiction of a proposed subdivision and associated text showing the layout of property boundaries, tracts, easements, land use, streets, utilities, drainage, and other elements that furnish a basis of approval for the proposed subdivision.

Preschool: a facility licensed by the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families whose primary function is to provide academic learning services to children 30 months through six years of age not attending kindergarten or elementary school as defined in SMC 14.25.200. Preschools operate on a definite school year schedule and follow a stated academic curriculum, and accept only children 30 months through six years of age. Preschools may offer supervised play, socializing, and childcare services, but not as a primary function.

Primary entrance: the main/principal point of pedestrian access into a building, located parallel to and visible from the adjacent street or its tangent.

Primary facade: the exterior wall of a building that faces the principal frontage.

Principal building: the primary habitable structure on a lot.

Principal frontage: the private frontage designated to bear the address and main entrance to the building.

Print shop: an establishment employing twenty-five (25) or fewer persons, which provides custom printing services to the public. The term may include publishing of books, magazines, periodicals or newspapers.

Priority area: The area within a priority species’ natural geographic distribution within which protective measures and/or management actions are needed to support viable populations over the long term and avoid creating isolated subpopulations.

Priority habitat: a State of Washington habitat type with unique or significant value to many species; an area with one or more of the following attributes:

Examples of priority habitats include, but are not limited to, instream, riparian, Oregon white oak woodlands, and freshwater wetlands.

Priority habitats and species (PHS): important fish and wildlife species and habitats as determined by the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. Priority habitats include endangered, threatened, sensitive, candidate, and vulnerable species and habitats deemed priorities of WDFW and reflective of best available science.

Priority species: a State of Washington fish or wildlife species requiring protective measures and/or management actions to ensure its survival. A priority species fits one or more of the following criteria:

Private frontage:

Physical elements of the private frontage include, but are not limited to, a building’s primary entrance treatments and setback areas. (see SMC 14.212.1010)

Processing: activities which alter or refine an existing product.

Processing of materials: the series of operations that transforms industrial materials from a raw-material state into finished parts or products.

Professional office: a place of business which is used by licensed professionals or persons in generally recognized professions of a technical, scientific, or other academic discipline, and does not involve outside storage or fabrication, or on-site sale or transfer of commodities.

Project: a development, construction, or management activity located in a defined geographic area, whether private or public.

Project area: all areas, including those within fifty (50) feet of the area, proposed to be disturbed, altered, or used by the proposed activity or the construction of any proposed structures. When the action binds the land, such as a subdivision, short subdivision, site development plan, binding site plan, or rezone, the project area shall include the entire parcel, at a minimum.

Property line: a legal perimeter boundary of a unit of real estate, delineating and limiting land ownership.

Property line, front: the perimeter boundary of a unit of real estate separating it from the street. In the case of corner lots where there are two (2) or more property lines that abut streets, the front property line shall be the property line abutting the street from which the primary pedestrian entrance is taken.

Property line, rear: the perimeter boundary of a unit of real estate which is opposite and most distant from the front property line. In the case of triangular or other irregularly shaped lots, an imaginary line twenty (20) feet in length located entirely within the lot, parallel to and at a maximum distance from the front lot line. When a lot extends into and beyond the mean low water line of a body of water, the rear property line shall be the mean low water line.

Property line, side: any perimeter boundary of a unit of real estate other than a front or rear property line.

Proportionate share: that portion of the cost of public facility improvements that is reasonably related to the service demands and needs of a new development.

Protected tree: a tree designated for retention due to its contribution to the health of the community and the ecological services it provides to the site upon which it is located.

Provisional use: a term that characterizes a land use proposed in the Pilchuck District requiring special consideration due either to its potential impacts on the neighborhood and land uses in the vicinity and/or to typical or uncertain aspects of its physical organization, design, or function.

Public agency office: a place for the administration of any governmental activity or program.

Public agency yard: a governmental facility for open or enclosed storage, repair, and maintenance of vehicles, equipment, or related materials, excluding document storage.

Public frontage: the area of the street right-of-way extending from the edge of the vehicle lanes of the adjacent roadway(s) to the frontage line. Physical elements of the public frontage include, but are not limited to, the curb, sidewalk, planter strip, street trees, and streetlights.

Public hearing: an official meeting open to all interested parties and where testimony from interested parties on a particular matter is heard prior to issuance of a decision by the decision-making authority.

Public street: a roadway which is controlled by the City, other than an alley.

Public tree: any tree located on property owned in fee-simple by the City of Snohomish or in public easements such as within the public right-of-way, also referred to as “street trees.”

Public use: an activity operated by the federal, state, county, or City government or a special purpose district. (Ord. 2401, 2020; Ord. 2434, 2022; Ord. 2445, 2022; Ord. 2492, 2024; Ord. 2516, 2025; Ord. 2519, 2025; Ord. 2533, 2025)

Qualified consultant: a scientist or other professional with the expertise and credentials necessary to provide competent advice on the matter in question.

Qualified geotechnical professional: a person with experience and training in analyzing, evaluating, and mitigating any of the following: landslide, erosion, seismic, volcanic and/or mine hazards, or hydrogeology, fluvial geomorphology and river dynamics. A geotechnical professional shall be licensed in the State of Washington as an engineering geologist or professional engineer. In accordance with WAC 196-27-020 and 308-15-140, engineering geologists and professional engineers shall affix their signatures or seals only to plans or documents dealing with subject matter in which they are qualified by training or experience.

Qualified landscape designer: a person who possesses a degree from an accredited institute of higher learning in one (1) of the following fields or who has completed apprenticeship requirements in one (1) of the following fields: landscape architecture, horticulture, floriculture, arboriculture, botany, wetland science, urban forestry, or a similar field. A qualified landscape designer may also be a person determined by the City Planner to be qualified based upon that person’s education, professional referrals, related experience, work history, and examples of comparable landscape design projects.

Qualified tree professional: an arborist, landscape architect, horticulturalist, or other professional with the expertise, credentials, and licenses necessary to perform assessments, prepare reports, and provide competent advice on the matter of tree health.

Qualified wetland professional: a professional wetland scientist with at least two (2) years of full-time work experience as a wetlands professional, including delineating wetlands using the federal manual and supplements, preparing wetlands reports, conducting function assessments, and developing and implementing mitigation plans. (Ord. 2401, 2020; Ord. 2516, 2025; Ord. 2533, 2025)

Reasonable use means the minimum economic use a property owner is entitled to by virtue of the due process and takings clauses of the state and federal constitutions.

Reasonably safe from flooding means development that is designed and built to be safe from flooding based on consideration of current flood elevation studies, historical data, high water marks and other reliable date known to the community. In unnumbered A zones where flood elevation information is not available and cannot be obtained by practicable means, reasonably safe from flooding means that the lowest floor is at least two (2) feet above the highest adjacent grade.

Receiving site or area means one (1) or more properties designated by ordinance to which Transfer of Development Rights credits may be transferred for the right to develop property in excess of the development potential entitled by-right.

Recreational use means a private or public facility designed and used to provide recreational opportunities to the public.

Recreational vehicle, floodplain: a vehicle:

Recreational vehicle parks means land, which may or may not include utility hook-up facilities, where two (2) or more recreational vehicles may park as short-term (less than thirty (30) days) living or recreation quarters.

Regional transit authority facility means lands and improvements thereto including vessel terminals, equipment, vehicles, trains, stations and passenger waiting areas except bus stops, and other components necessary to support the transit system as defined in RCW 81.112.020.

Rehabilitation: the manipulation of the physical, chemical, or biological characteristics of a site with the goal of repairing natural/historic functions and environmental processes to a degraded wetland. Rehabilitation results in a gain in wetland function, but does not result in a gain in wetland acres.

Repair or maintenance means an activity that restores the character, scope, size, and design of a serviceable area, structure, or land use to its previously authorized and undamaged condition without changing the character, size, or scope of the original development.

Research development and testing means a facility engaged in activities directed toward the innovation, introduction, and improvement of products and processes.

Residence or residential means a building or part thereof containing dwelling units or rooming units, including houses, multifamily dwellings, boarding houses, and rooming houses. The term excludes hotels, motels, and correctional, medical, and convalescent facilities.

Residential development means the creation and construction of single-family residences, including appurtenant structures and uses. Residential development also includes multifamily development and the creation of new residential lots through land subdivision. Residential development does not include hotels, motels, bed and breakfast facilities, convalescent or similar health-care facilities.

Resource accessory use means a use, structure, or part of a structure, that is customarily subordinate and incidental to an agricultural resource use, including housing of agricultural workers on site, on-site storage of agricultural products or equipment, or other uses as specified in this Development Code.

Restaurant, drive-through/walk-up means a limited-service establishment serving prepared food and/or beverages dispensed by an attendant while customers remain outside the building or in vehicles in designated stacking aisles. Such establishments may include an interior seating area, but their usual and customary business is for their patrons to be served through the attendant window and for them to consume their purchases off site. Such establishments include, but are not limited to, fast food restaurants and beverage stands.

Restaurant, sit-down means a full-service establishment with a bona fide kitchen facility and dining area that prepares and serves food and/or beverages. Such establishments may have an exterior drive-through and/or walk-up facility and offer carryout services but its usual and customary business is to provide service to patrons consuming their purchases at the site.

Restoration: measures taken to restore or upgrade an altered, impaired, diminished, or damaged feature, process, function, or structure to its original condition. When applied to critical areas, such measures can include:

Retirement apartments means dwelling units exclusively designed for and occupied by residents sixty-two (62) years of age or older in accordance with the requirements of state and/or federal programs for senior citizen housing. There is no minimum age requirement for the spouse of a resident who is sixty-two (62) years of age or older.

Revegetation: removal of invasive species or intrusive structures, and removal or treatment of toxic materials.

RF means radio frequency on the radio spectrum.

Right-of-way means land purchased by or dedicated to the public for the movement of vehicular or pedestrian traffic.

Riparian area: a defined area adjacent to aquatic systems encompassing both sides of a water body with flowing water, containing elements of both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems that mutually influence each other. Riparian areas are three-dimensional: longitudinal up and down streams, lateral to the width of the riparian ecosystem, and vertical from below the water table to above the canopy of mature site-potential trees. Riparian areas are defined differently in and for the purposes of the City of Snohomish Shoreline Management Master Program.

Riparian buffer: the area extending from the riparian management area outward and functions to protect the riparian management area and stream, river, or lake to reduce or prevent adverse impacts to water quality, fisheries, and aquatic biodiversity from human activities occurring beyond the buffer. Together, the riparian management area and riparian buffer are the areas that have the potential to provide full riparian functions and combine to form the riparian area.

Riparian management zone: the regulated area that includes the land adjacent to a lake, stream, or river measured horizontally from the ordinary high water mark to a specified distance from the water body that has the potential to provide full riparian functions.

Riprap means angular quarry rock used for revetments or other bank stabilization projects.

Road, private means see Street, private.

Rockery means a type of functional freestanding wall comprised of interlocking dry-stacked rocks without mortar or steel reinforcement. See also “Wall, retaining.”

Roofline means the highest edge of the roof or the top of a parapet, whichever establishes the top line of the structure when viewed in a horizontal plane.

Roomer/boarder means a resident of a single-family dwelling or approved accessory dwelling unit who is not a member of the family occupying the single-family dwelling. Compensation may or may not be provided. (Ord. 2401, 2020; Ord. 2425, 2022; Ord. 2434, 2022; Ord. 2507, 2024; Ord. 2533, 2025)

School: any institution of learning, such as an elementary, middle, junior high, or high school, which offers instruction as required by the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, including associated meeting rooms, auditoriums, and athletic facilities. See SMC 14.25.170 for the definition of “preschool.”

School bus base: an establishment for the storage, dispatch, repair, and maintenance of school transit vehicles.

School district support facility: facilities, other than schools and bus bases, which are necessary for operating a school district, including administration, central kitchens, maintenance and storage facilities.

Screening: any fence, horticulture, or other sight-obscuring barrier, which visually separates two (2) activities.

Seasonal retail stand: a temporary, open-air stand or place for the seasonal sale of agricultural products, in which any necessary appurtenances are portable and capable of being dismantled or removed from the site that is generally a vacant lot or parking lot.

Secondary frontage: on corner lots, the private frontage that is not the principal frontage.

Seismic hazard area: areas subject to severe risk of damage as a result of earthquake-induced ground shaking, slope failure, settlement, soil liquefaction, or debris flow.

Self-service storage facility: a facility for leasing or renting individual storage units.

Sending site or area: one (1) or more properties from which Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) credits may be transferred to use in a designated TDR receiving site as provided in SMC 14.222.030.

SEPA: the State Environmental Policy Act, Chapter 43.21C RCW.

Setback: the required minimum distance between structures on a lot and a property line, measured horizontally and perpendicular to the property line if straight or to a tangent thereto if curved.

Setback, exterior: the setback as defined herein, measured from the property line abutting public right-of-way.

Setback, front yard: the required minimum distance between the front property line and a parallel line as measured horizontally within the lot, where a structure may be built pursuant to this title.

Setback, interior: the setback as defined herein, measured from the property line adjoining another property.

Setback, rear yard: the required minimum distance between the rear property line and a parallel line as measured within the lot, where a structure may be built pursuant to this title.

Setback, side yard: the required minimum distance between the side property line and a parallel line as measured within the lot, where a structure may be built pursuant to this title.

Shall: the prescribed action is mandatory; the action must be done.

Shorelands or shoreland areas: those lands extending landward for two hundred (200) feet in all directions as measured on a horizontal plane from the ordinary high water mark; floodways and contiguous floodplain areas landward two hundred (200) feet from such floodways; and all wetlands and river deltas associated with the streams and lakes that are subject to the provisions of Chapter 90.58 RCW.

Shoreline environment designations: a regulatory classification of shorelines of the state established in the Shoreline Master Program to differentiate between areas subject to differing objectives regarding their use and future development. Refer to SMC 14.250.080.

Shoreline jurisdiction: all shorelines of the state and “shorelands” as defined in RCW 90.58.030. Refer to SMC 14.250.030.

Shorelines: all of the water areas within Snohomish and their associated shorelands, together with the lands underlying them, except:

Shorelines of statewide significance: those shorelines described in RCW 90.58.030(2)(f). Within the City of Snohomish, the Snohomish River is designated as a shoreline of statewide significance.

Shorelines of the state: the total of all “shorelines” and “shorelines of statewide significance” within the state, as defined in RCW 90.58.030.

Short plat: the drawing of a subdivision of land into four (4) or fewer lots. Also referred to as a short subdivision.

Short-term rental: a furnished dwelling unit, or room within a dwelling, or an accessory dwelling unit, rented out on a daily or weekly basis. “Vacation rental” means the same as “short-term rental.”

Should: that the particular action is required unless it can be demonstrated undertaking the action is not feasible or there is a compelling reason that it would be in the public interest not to take the action.

Side street: for corner lots, the street adjacent to the secondary frontage.

Sight obstruction: any building, structure or horticultural material, which restricts the vision of automobile and/or pedestrian traffic while using the right-of-way for travel.

Sign: any device, structure, fixture, or placard that is visible from a public right-of-way or surrounding properties and uses graphics, symbols, logos, trademarks, or written copy intended to identify any place, subject, firm, business establishment, product, goods, service, point of sale, or event, including devices that stream, televise, or otherwise display an electronic visual message, picture, video, or image, with or without sound.

Sign area: that area enclosed by straight lines drawn around the periphery of the sign, excluding any supporting structure which does not form a part of the sign. The area of a double-faced sign (display surface on opposite sides of a single board) shall be computed on the basis of one (1) sign face.

Significant tree: a deciduous and evergreen tree eight inches or greater in diameter measured at a point four feet above the ground, other than alders and cottonwoods (Alnas rubra and Populis trichocarpa).

Single-family, attached: any residential dwelling sharing a vertical wall with one (1) or more dwellings on separate lots, with each dwelling having its own access to the outside. No portion of an attached single-family dwelling is located over another dwelling.

Single-family, detached: a dwelling containing one (1) residential unit not attached to any other dwelling.

Single-family dwelling: a building containing one (1) residential dwelling unit on one (1) lot. The term excludes non-HUD-certified mobile homes and travel trailers, recreational vehicles, tents, and other forms of portable or temporary housing.

Site plan: a map or aerial drawing showing the location of buildings, structures, landscaping, parking areas, driveways, streets, property lines, and other pertinent features, both existing and proposed, drawn to scale.

Slope: an inclined earth surface, the inclination of which is expressed as the ratio of horizontal distance to vertical distance.

Social services: assistance or activities provided to individuals to promote their physical, mental, and social well-being.

Special pavements: a general term for alternatives to standard concrete or asphalt pavement. The term may include, but is not limited to, bricks, cobbles, precast pavers, aggregates, and patterned concrete. The term typically does not include asphalt, whether stamped or colored.

Specialized instruction school: an establishment providing specialized instruction in such matters as art, dance, music, cooking, driving, pet obedience training and other technical and general educational areas, but not having the full range of facilities, such as sports fields and auditoriums, commonly included in a typical high school or college campus.

Species, listed: any species listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act or State endangered, threatened, and sensitive, or priority lists (see WAC 220-610-110 or page 6 of “Priority Habitat and Species List,” Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2008, Olympia, WA. 177 pp).

Spectrum Act: Section 6409(a) of the Middle Class Tax Relief Act and Job Creation Act, 47 USC Section 1455(a) (providing, in part, “…a State or local government may not deny, and shall approve, any eligible facilities request for a modification of any existing wireless tower or base station that does not substantially change the physical dimensions of such tower or base station.”).

Sports club: an establishment operating facilities for physical fitness, sports, or recreation.

Start of construction: the first land-disturbing activity associated with permitted development, including land preparation such as clearing, grading, and filling; installation of streets, utilities, and walkways; excavation for basements, footings, piers, or foundations; erection of temporary forms. If no land disturbance is proposed, start of construction is the first permanent framing or assembly of a structure of any part thereof. For floodplain management purposes pursuant to Chapter 14.270 SMC, the definition in 44 CFR 59.1 shall apply.

Storage: the keeping of materials for an indefinite period of time in a specific area whether enclosed or not.

Stormwater: that portion of precipitation that does not naturally percolate into the ground or evaporate, but flows via overland flow, interflow, pipes and other features of a stormwater drainage system into a defined surface water body or a constructed infiltration facility.

Stormwater conveyance: parts of a stormwater facility (such as pipes, culverts, swales, etc.) that are constructed specifically to transport water from one point to another. See “Stormwater facility.”

Stormwater facility: a constructed component of a stormwater drainage system, designed or constructed to perform a particular function or multiple functions. Stormwater facilities include, but are not limited to, pipes, swales, ditches, culverts, street gutters, detention ponds, retention ponds, constructed wetlands, infiltration devices, catch basins, oil/water separators, biofiltration swales, bioretention, permeable pavement, and vegetated roofs.

Story: that habitable level within a building included between the upper surface of any floor and the upper surface of the floor next above, excluding an attic or basement. In situations where the finished floor level directly above a basement or cellar is more than six (6) feet above grade, the basement or cellar shall be considered a story.

Stream: water contained within a defined channel or bed, either perennial or intermittent, and classified according to WAC 222-16-030 or 222-16-031. Streams include natural watercourses modified by humans but do not include drainage ditches which are not modifications of natural watercourses.

Street: an open passage for the circulation of vehicles, that where appropriate, may include nonmotorized facilities.

Street, private: a roadway owned and maintained by one (1) or more private individuals, serving more than one (1) single-family residential parcel and which provides vehicular access from a public right-of-way. A private street may include nonmotorized facilities.

Street system: those existing or proposed City streets within the transportation service area.

Street vacation: the process whereby the City agrees to relinquish its interest in a right-of-way to a adjacent land owners.

Streetscape: the scenery and elements that a person would visually experience in the street space, including buildings, storefronts, signage, sidewalks, street furnishings, landscaping, lighting, and amenities.

String course: a narrow horizontal band of masonry or similar building material extending across the facade that creates a visual distinction between the facade areas above and below. A string course may be flush or projecting, and may be flat surfaced, molded, textured, or carved.

Structure: a constructed object in a fixed position relative to the ground. Fences and retaining walls are not a type of structure. Retaining walls and structures completely buried and below grade are exempted from the application of setback requirements in Chapter 14.210 SMC. For floodplain management purposes pursuant to Chapter 14.270 SMC the definition in 44 CFR 59.1 shall apply.

Structured parking: see Parking structure.

Student housing: a structure where all of the residential units are specifically designed and used for long-term lodging by students of an educational institution such as a college or university. Such structures may include sororities, fraternities, dormitories, residence halls, and lodging houses.

Subdivision: the division, for the purpose of sale or lease, of land into lots capable of being sold separately, including re-subdivisions. See “Plat.”

Subregional utility: an above-ground facility, with incidental storage buildings, which is a subset of a regional utility.

Substantial damage: damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before damaged condition would equal or exceed fifty (50) percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.

Substantial improvement: for construction in a flood hazard area, any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty (50) percent of the market value of the structure before the “start of construction” of the improvement. This term includes structures which have incurred “substantial damage,” regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not include:

Supervised drug injection facility: a legally supervised, medically supervised facility designed to provide a location where individuals are able to consume illicit drugs intravenously. “Supervised drug consumption facility” and “safe injection site” mean the same as supervised drug injection facility.

Swimming pool, public: an outdoor or indoor structure intended for swimming or recreational bathing, including in-ground and aboveground structures, and with accessory facilities, services and amenities such as supervision, instruction, changing rooms, showers, meeting rooms, and limited retail sales. Also referred to as an aquatic center. (Ord. 2401, 2020; Ord. 2425, 2022; Ord. 2434, 2022; Ord. 2445, 2022; Ord. 2446, 2022; Ord. 2456, 2022; Ord. 2516, 2025; Ord. 2533, 2025)

TDR certificate: a recorded document issued by Snohomish County representing one (1) Transfer of Development Rights credit that may be submitted as part of an application for development of a receiving site to allow additional development consistent with the adopted exchange rate.

TDR credit: a tradable commodity representing one (1) certified development right.

TDR exchange rate: the development increment represented by one (1) Transfer of Development Rights credit for a specific receiving area, as may be measured in building area, building height, lot coverage, residential density, number of residential dwellings, or other development provisions as provided by this title.

Temporary sign: any sign intended to be displayed for a limited period of time and that is not permanently mounted, painted on a structure, or otherwise affixed.

Temporary WCF: a nonpermanent WCF installed on a short-term basis, for the purpose of evaluating the technical feasibility of a particular site for placement of a WCF, for providing news coverage of a limited event, or for providing emergency communications during a natural disaster or other emergencies that may threaten the public health, safety and welfare.

Theater: an establishment primarily engaged in the indoor exhibition of motion pictures or of live theatrical presentations.

Threshold determination: the decision required under SEPA as to whether a proposal will (determination of significance) or will not (determination of nonsignificance) require an environmental impact statement.

Title: when applied to real estate, a document evidencing ownership.

Tower, wireless: any structure built for the sole or primary purpose of supporting any FCC-licensed or FCC-authorized antenna, including any structure that is constructed for wireless communication service. This term does not include base station.

Townhouse (also rowhouse): any residential dwelling sharing a vertical wall with a dwelling on the same or a separate lot. No portion of any townhouse is above or below another townhouse.

Tract: a separate piece of property created as part of a subdivision and intended for a particular specialized purpose other than an individual subdivided lot.

Transfer of development rights (TDR): the mechanism by which the entitlement to develop property may be sold from a designated sending site and purchased for use at an eligible receiving site where it can be exchanged for the license to place an increment of development on the receiving site in excess of the level of development allowed by-right.

Transfer station: a staffed facility where individuals and route collection vehicles deposit solid waste for transport to a permanent disposal site, including solid waste recycling facilities.

Transit park and ride lot: a vehicle parking area for access to a public transit system.

Transitional housing: housing and supportive services for homeless persons or families for up to two years to facilitate the movement of homeless persons and families into independent living, as defined in RCW 84.36.043(3)(c).

Transmission equipment: equipment that facilitates transmission of any FCC-licensed or FCC-authorized wireless communication service.

Transportation Element: the element of the City’s Comprehensive Plan that consists of transportation goals and policies, an inventory of transportation facilities and services, adopted level of service standards for the street system, an analysis of the street system’s deficiencies and needs, prioritized street system improvements and management strategies, and a multiyear financial plan, adopted pursuant to Chapter 36.70A RCW.

Transportation Master Plan: the City approved document that provides the framework to guide the growth and development of the City’s transportation infrastructure.

Transportation service area: the entire geographic area of the City.

Travel trailer: an enclosed space mounted on wheels for towing, designed as a human domicile, which is not a manufactured home.

Treatment facility: substance use treatment programs including mobile and fixed-site medication units, recovery residences, and harm reduction programs excluding safe injection sites; inpatient facilities including substance use disorder treatment facilities and behavioral health services as defined in RCW 71.24.025, and community facilities as defined in RCW 72.05.020.

Tree protection zone (TPZ): a defined area as determined by a qualified professional arborist, in which certain activities are prohibited or restricted to prevent or minimize impacts from construction or development. TPZ is measured in feet from the face of the trunk and may be determined using critical root zone, dripline, exploratory root excavations, or other methodologies. The established TPZ is the location of tree protection fencing, often referred to as “limits of disturbance.”

Tree topping: significant cutting back of the leader stem or major branches, resulting in severely altering the growth potential of a tree. This definition does not apply when the sole purpose is to create a snag or snags for wildlife habitat. (Ord. 2401, 2020; Ord. 2492, 2024; Ord. 2516, 2025)

Unavoidable impacts: adverse impacts that remain after all appropriate and practicable avoidance and minimization have been achieved.

Unit lot: one (1) of the individual lots created by the subdivision of a parent lot pursuant to SMC 14.215.125.

Upper floor/story: any story above the ground floor.

Utilities or utility facilities: services and facilities that produce, convey, store or process electric power, gas, sewage, water, communications, oil, and waste. This includes drainage conveyances and swales. On-site utility features serving a primary use, such as a water, sewer or gas line to a residence, are “accessory utilities” and shall be considered a part of the primary use. For the purposes of this title, “utility facilities” does not mean infrastructure for administrative or support functions, such as professional offices, customer service centers, fleet maintenance facilities, storage yards, etc. (Ord. 2401, 2020)

Variance: a grant of relief from certain requirements of this title that permits construction in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited.

Variance, flood hazard: a grant of relief by a community from the terms of a floodplain management regulation.

Vegetated low impact development (LID) facilities: includes bioretention, rain gardens, dispersion, vegetated roofs, and natural treatment areas.

Video board: a device such as a television, computer monitor, flat panel display, plasma screen, or similar video electronic medium used as signage.

Vocational school: an institution that offers postsecondary educational programs designed to prepare individuals with skills and training required for a specific trade, occupation, or profession. (Ord. 2401, 2020; Ord. 2533, 2025)

Wall, freestanding: an exterior standalone wall not attached to another structure nor supporting a roof or other overhead structure.

Wall, freestanding, decorative: a freestanding wall with a primary purpose other than to resist the lateral displacement of soil. For the most part, the primary purpose of decorative freestanding walls is to serve an aesthetic, screening, or buffering purpose.

Wall, freestanding, functional: a freestanding wall whose primary purpose is to resist the lateral displacement of soil. Retaining walls and rockeries are types of functional freestanding walls.

Wall, landscape: a low retaining wall, no taller than two (2) feet in height, to retain landscape features within a site.

Wall, retaining: a structure designed and constructed to hold back material and prevent it from sliding or eroding.

Water surface elevation: the height in relation to the vertical datum utilized in the applicable flood insurance study of floods of various magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplains of coastal or riverine areas.

WCF project: a WCF for which a permit is required by the City.

Weather protection: a projecting element such as an awning, canopy, or roof form that provides shelter for pedestrians.

Wetland creation: the manipulation of the physical, chemical, or biological characteristics of a site to develop a wetland on an upland or deepwater site where a wetland did not previously exist. Creation results in a gain in wetland acreage and function. A typical method for wetland creation includes, but is not necessarily limited to, the excavation of upland soils to elevations that will produce a wetland hydroperiod and hydric soils, and support the growth of hydrophytic plant species.

Wetland, mature and old growth forested: a wetland having at least one contiguous acre of either old-growth forest or mature forest, as described in Washington State Wetland Rating System for Western Washington: 2023 Update (Washington State Department of Ecology Publication No. 23-06-009).

Wetland mitigation bank: a site where wetlands are restored, created, enhanced, or in exceptional circumstances, preserved, expressly for the purpose of providing compensatory mitigation in advance of unavoidable impacts to wetlands or other aquatic resources to compensate for future, permitted impacts to similar resources. Impacts mitigated through wetland mitigation banks are not typically known at the time of bank certification.

Wetland mosaic: an area with a concentration of multiple small wetlands, in which each patch of wetland is less than one (1) acre; on average, patches are less than one hundred (100) feet from each other; and areas delineated as vegetated wetland are more than fifty (50) percent of the total area of the entire mosaic, including uplands and open water.

Wetland, non-Federally regulated: a wetland that is not jurisdictional under the Federal Clean Water Act. Sometimes referred to as “isolated wetlands,” these wetlands remain regulated under State and local laws and rules, whether or not they are protected by Federal law.

Wetland of high conservation value: a wetland that has been identified by scientists from the Washington Natural Heritage Program (WNHP) as an important ecosystem for maintaining plant diversity in Washington State.

Wetland re-establishment: the manipulation of the physical, chemical, or biological characteristics of a site with the goal of returning natural or historic functions to a former wetland. Re-establishment results in rebuilding a former wetland and results in a gain in wetland acres and functions. Activities could include removing fill material, plugging ditches, or breaking drain tiles.

Wetland rehabilitation: the manipulation of the physical, chemical, or biological characteristics of a site with the goal of repairing natural or historic functions of a degraded wetland. Activities to rehabilitate a wetland could involve breaching a dike to reconnect wetlands to a floodplain. Rehabilitation results in a gain in wetland function but does not result in a gain in wetland acres.

Wetlands: those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas. Wetlands do not include those artificial wetlands intentionally created from nonwetland sites, including, but not limited to, irrigation and drainage ditches, grass-lined swales, canals, detention facilities, wastewater treatment facilities, farm ponds, and landscape amenities, or those wetlands created after July 1, 1990, that were unintentionally created as a result of the construction of a road, street, or highway. Wetlands may include those artificial wetlands intentionally created from nonwetland areas to mitigate the conversion of wetlands.

Wildlife shelter: a place where stray, lost, or abandoned domestic animals, and sick or wounded wildlife are temporarily kept and rehabilitated.

Window sign: any sign located inside or on, affixed to, or located within the frame of a window of a building intended to be seen in, on, or through a window and that is visible from the exterior of the window.

Wireless communications facility (WCF): any antenna, associated equipment, base station, small cell system, tower, and/or transmission equipment.

Wireless communications service: without limitation, all FCC-licensed backhaul and other fixed wireless services, broadcast, private, and public safety communication services, and unlicensed wireless services.

Woonerf: a segment of right-of-way with limited demarcation of travel lanes where vehicles share the road equally with bicyclists and pedestrians.

Work release facility: a licensed facility used to support an alternative sentencing option offered by a correctional department within their jurisdiction. (Ord. 2401, 2020; Ord. 2425, 2022; Ord. 2434, 2022; Ord. 2533, 2025)

Zone: a regulatory district or geographical classification corresponding to the regulations of this title that restrict the physical development and uses of land. Also referred to as a land use designation.

Zoning District: also referred to as a land use designation. (Ord. 2401, 2020; Ord. 2429, 2021)