§ 24.30.060. Wetland buffers—Reconfiguration.

The approval authority may authorize or require reconfiguration of wetland buffers as follows:

A.

Preservation of High Quality Habitat.

1.

If the wetland or buffer contains variations in sensitivity or habitat quality the approval authority, in consultation with WDFW or Ecology, may require reconfiguration of the buffer to preserve the higher quality/sensitive habitat.

2.

If necessary to maintain connectivity to areas that provide important associated wildlife habitat, or if the area abutting the standard buffer contains habitat sustaining species listed under the federal Endangered Species Act (64 FR 14307), state priority wildlife species, or species of local importance (see TCC 24.25.065(C), the approval authority may, in consultation with WDFW, require reconfiguration of buffers to provide connection to the adjacent habitat.

3.

Reconfigured buffers authorized by this section shall be no less than the width specified in Table 24.30-1 to maintain water quality, or no less than seventy-five percent of the standard buffer, whichever is greater, and shall contain the same square footage as the standard buffer. The reconfigured buffer shall not exceed one hundred percent of the square footage of the standard buffer, as modified pursuant to TCC 24.30.050(B) or 24.30.055, without the landowner's consent.

B.

Development Consistent with Preservation of Wetland and Buffer Functions. The approval authority may reconfigure the buffer width, except for buffers associated with bogs and wetlands of high conservation value, to accommodate proposed development. If necessary, the approval authority may have a qualified professional review and evaluate the submitted information at the applicant's expense. The applicant shall demonstrate compliance with all of the criteria below.

1.

The proposed use cannot be accommodated on the site without reconfiguration of the buffer (see Section 24.30.050).

2.

The scale, design, or orientation of the proposed land use has been adjusted to the extent practical to minimize buffer alteration.

3.

Demonstration that the wetland and/or buffer contains variations in sensitivity due to existing physical characteristics (e.g., variations in topography, soils, vegetation, or wildlife usage), and that the wetland functions would benefit from a wider buffer in places, and would not be adversely impacted by a narrower buffer in other places.

4.

If the wetland has a wildlife habitat score of five or more points under Ecology's Washington State Wetland Rating System for Western Washington, the applicant shall submit a habitat assessment demonstrating that wildlife habitat will not be significantly diminished and that documented habitat-sustaining priority or locally important wildlife species (see Section 24.25.065) will not be affected.

5.

The reduction in buffer width will occur where it will have the least potential impact on the wetland and buffer functions. Area will be added to portions of the buffer where it would most benefit wetland and buffer functions. The reconfigured buffer shall maintain all wetland functions.

6.

Any landscaped area shall extend no more than fifteen feet from the edge of the structure's footprint (outside wall at the foundation) toward the wetland if the buffer width reduction allows the landscaped area to intrude into the area that was formerly buffer.

7.

The reconfigured buffer shall be no less than one hundred feet wide at any point, or no less than seventy-five percent of the standard buffer, whichever is more. The reconfigured buffer shall contain the same square footage as the standard buffer. It shall not exceed one hundred percent of square footage of the standard buffer, as modified pursuant to TCC 24.30.050(B) or 24.30.055, without the landowner's consent.

8.

The reconfiguration is accomplished within the project site boundaries or in an abutting conservation easement or tract approved by the county that protects the buffer from alteration, except as provided for in this section.

C.

Other buffer reconfigurations that do not meet the above criteria require a reasonable use exception (Chapter 24.45 TCC).

(Ord. No. 14773, § 3(Att. B), 7-24-2012; Ord. No. 15291, § 1(Att. A), 5-10-2016)