§ 21.70.020. Definitions.

As used in this chapter:

"Arcade" means a covered walk with shops along one side and a line of arches or columns on the other side.

"Architectural features" means a prominent or significant part or element of a building, structure, or site.

"Bioretention" means engineered facilities that store and treat stormwater by passing it through a specified soil profile, and either retain or detain the treated stormwater for flow attenuation. Refer to the current Thurston County Drainage Design and Erosion Control Manual (TCC Chapter 15.05).

"Blank wall" means a wall that meets the following criteria: a ground floor street wall or building wall or segment of a wall which is within fifty feet of the public right-of-way and which is longer than fifteen horizontal feet without having a ground level window door, or building facade modulation at least one foot in depth, or other architectural feature lying wholly or in part within that fifteen feet length.

"Building prominence" means and includes the size, scale and bulk of a building or similar features.

"Compatibility" means harmony in the appearance of two or more external design features in the same vicinity.

"Continuity" means unity of composition between design elements of a building or a group of buildings and the landscape development.

"Development" means the erection, alteration, enlargement, demolition, maintenance, or use of any structure or the alteration or use of any land above, at or below ground or water level, and all acts authorized by a Thurston County regulation.

"Duplex" means a structure on a single lot containing two dwelling units, each of which is totally separated from the other by an unpierced wall extending from ground to roof or an unpierced ceiling and floor extending from exterior wall to exterior wall, except for a common stairwell exterior to both dwelling units.

"Dwelling unit" means one or more rooms, designed, occupied or intended for occupancy as separate living quarters, with cooking, sleeping and sanitary facilities provided within the dwelling unit for the exclusive use of a single family maintaining a household.

"Harmony" means a quality that represents an appropriate and congruent arrangement of parts, as in an arrangement of varied architectural and landscape elements.

"Key multimodal intersections" means key intersections of roads and pedestrian systems that serve as a focus for pedestrians, bike and transit opportunities. Map designations for key multimodal intersections emphasize such opportunities showing conceptual pedestrian links with key components of each neighborhood. Such intersections are to be placed at strategic junctures along the multimodal corridors where they can be the most advantageous to the function and purpose of promoting multimodal activities. Designated intersections are intended to provide guidance or location of pedestrian and other multimodal improvements which may include such things as street furniture, transit improvements, bike racks, drinking fountains, street merchant pads and other similar amenities to improve and enhance pedestrian and multimodal activities. The exact location of such intersections is based upon guidance provided on the Lacey Joint Plan and site specific analysis at the time of development applications.

"Low Impact Development (LID) facility" means distributed stormwater management practices, integrated into a project design that strives to mimic pre-disturbance hydrologic processes of infiltration, filtration, storage, evaporation and transpiration. LID facilities include, but are not limited to: bioretention, rain gardens, permeable paving, roof downspout controls, dispersion, soil quality and depth, minimal excavation foundations, vegetated roofs, and water re-use.

"Low Impact Development (LID) principles" means land use management strategies that emphasize conservation, use of on-site natural features, and site planning to minimize impervious surfaces, native vegetation loss, and stormwater runoff.

"Mixed use zones" means zoning designations which allow both commercial and residential uses; includes CBD Zone 6, the mixed use moderate and mixed use high density corridors, the Hawks Prairie district and the neighborhood commercial zone.

"Multifamily" means three or more living units under the same ownership where land has not been divided, i.e., triplex, quadraplex and apartment units.

"Native vegetation" means vegetation comprised of plant species, other than noxious weeds, that are indigenous to the coastal region of the Pacific Northwest and which reasonably could have been expected to naturally occur on the site. Examples include trees such as Douglas fir, Western Hemlock, Western Red Cedar, Alder, Big-leaf Maple, and Vine Maple; shrubs such as willow, elderberry, salmonberry and salal; and herbaceous plants such as sword fern, foam flower, and fireweed.

"Natural features" means vegetation indigenous to the site.

"Performance guarantee" means any security that may be accepted by a municipality as a security that improvements required as part of an application for development are satisfactorily completed.

"Permeable paving" means pervious concrete, porous asphalt, permeable pavers or other forms of pervious or porous paving material intended to allow passage of water through the pavement section. It often includes an aggregate base that provides structural support and acts as a stormwater reservoir.

"Proportion" means balanced relationship of parts of a building, landscape, structures, or buildings to each other and the whole.

"Rain garden" means a non-engineered shallow, landscaped depression, with compost-amended native soils and adapted plants. The depression is designed to pond and temporarily store stormwater runoff from adjacent areas, and to allow stormwater to pass through the amended soil profile.

"Single-family" means a dwelling unit which is designed for and occupied by not more than one family and under separate ownership. "Single-family detached" means a dwelling unit which is designed for and occupied by not more than one family and surrounded by yards, which is not attached to any other dwelling unit.

"Street wall" means a building wall that faces or is parallel to the street frontage.

"Transition areas" means that portion of property used to mitigate adverse impacts of proposed development on adjacent, existing developments with incompatible uses. Within the transition area, heights shall be restricted to those compatible with adjacent uses. These height restriction shall apply to that property adjacent to the required landscaping buffer. Beyond this, heights may increase up to the maximum height and density permitted in the underlying zone. Such impacts may employ the following techniques: buffers, clustering, height limitations, landscaping, landscaping berms and fences.

"Tree protection professional" means a licensed professional with academic and/or field experience that makes him or her a recognized expert in tree preservation and management. The tree protection professional shall be a member of the Society of American Foresters, the Association of Consulting Foresters, and shall have specific experience with tree management in the state of Washington. Additionally, the tree protection professional shall have the necessary training and experience to use and apply the International Society of Arboriculture's guide to evaluation and management of trees, and to successfully provide the necessary expertise relating to management of trees specified in this chapter.

"Vegetated LID facility" means bioretention, rain gardens, dispersion, and vegetated roofs.

"Vegetated roofs" (also known as ecoroofs and green roofs) mean thin layers of engineered soil and vegetation constructed on top of conventional flat or sloped roofs.

"Visually integrated" means the use of elements which connect a development to existing environments.

"Visual linkage" means the usage of building and landscape elements which interconnect with existing single or multifamily developments.

"Visual relief" means the act of providing building or landscaping variations that add interest to a site.

"Zones with pedestrian emphasis" means zoning designations based upon Comprehensive Plan language with expressed intent of emphasizing pedestrian-friendly development. This includes the mixed use corridor zones, the Hawks Prairie district, the neighborhood and community commercial zones, and the moderate and high density residential zones.

(Ord. 11274 § 1 (part), 1996; Ord. No. 15390, § 1(Att. A, § V), 11-29-2016)