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 Thurston County
 Code of Ordinances
 Title 24. CRITICAL AREAS
 Chapter 24.30. WETLANDS

  § 24.30.055. Wetland buffers—Increased width.  

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  • The approval authority shall require an increase in the buffer width specified in Table 24.30-1 when a wider buffer is necessary to protect wetland and buffer functions, specified in subsections (A) and (B) below. Buffer widths expanded pursuant to this section shall not be decreased through other provisions of this chapter.

    A.

    Steep Slopes. If the wetland buffer contains a slope greater than thirty percent that is at least fifteen feet high, the buffer shall be sized per Table 24.30-1 or the approval authority, in consultation with a qualified professional, may increase the buffer width up to twenty-five percent to protect water quality and prevent impacts from erosion. Slopes defined as geologic hazard areas shall meet the standards of Chapter 24.15 TCC.

    B.

    Inadequate Vegetative Cover to Maintain Water Quality. If the standard buffer specified in Table 24.30-1 has inadequate vegetative cover to protect the wetland from sedimentation, excess nutrients, pollutants or damaging changes in pH, the approval authority, in consultation with a qualified professional, may increase the buffer width twenty-five percent to protect water quality. (For purposes of this section, inadequate buffers lack dense, continuous vegetation spanning a distance specified Table 24.30-1 for maintenance of water quality, or as modified by subsection (A) above.)

    In lieu of increasing the buffer width, the approval authority may allow implementation of a buffer planting plan as described in a revegetation/enhancement plan. This buffer planting plan shall provide for planting of all bare and sparsely vegetated areas within the portion of the buffer needed to maintain water quality (per Table 24.30-1 or as modified by subsection (A) above) with grasses and native shrubs, at densities that will effectively filter/absorb sediment, nutrients and pollutants, as determined by the approval authority. The applicant shall submit a surety consistent with Chapter 24.70 TCC and provide for monitoring and maintenance to ensure survival or replacement of the planted vegetation.

(Ord. No. 14773, § 3(Att. B), 7-24-2012)