40.460.540 Public Access

A.    Provisions for adequate public access shall be incorporated into all shoreline development proposals and erosion control measures that involve public funding unless the applicant demonstrates public access is not feasible due to one (1) or more of the provisions of Section 40.460.540(B)(1) through (5).

B.    Consistent with constitutional limitations, provisions for adequate public access shall be incorporated into all land divisions and other shoreline development proposals (except residential development of less than five (5) parcels), unless this requirement is clearly inappropriate to the total proposal. Public access will not be required where the applicant demonstrates one (1) or more of the following:

1.    Unavoidable health or safety hazards to the public exist that cannot be prevented by any practical means;

2.    Inherent security requirements of the use cannot be satisfied through the application of alternative design features or other solutions;

3.    The cost of providing the access, easement, alternative amenity, or mitigating the impacts of public access is unreasonably disproportionate to the total proposed development;

4.    Significant environmental impacts that cannot be mitigated will result from the public access; or

5.    Significant undue and unavoidable conflict between public access requirements and the proposed use and/or adjacent uses would occur; provided, that the applicant has first demonstrated and the county determines that all reasonable alternatives have been evaluated and found infeasible, including but not limited to:

a.    Regulating access by such means as maintaining a gate and/or limiting hours of use;

b.    Designing separation of uses and activities (including, but not limited to, fences, terracing, use of one-way glazing, hedges, landscaping); and

c.    Provisions for access at a site geographically separated from the proposal such as a street end, vista or trail system.

C.    Public access sites shall be connected to barrier free route of travel and shall include facilities based on criteria within the Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility guidelines.

D.    Public access shall include provisions for protecting adjacent properties from trespass and other possible adverse impacts to neighboring properties.

E.    Signs indicating the public’s right of access to shoreline areas shall be installed and maintained in conspicuous locations.

F.    Required public access shall be fully developed and available for public use at the time of occupancy of the use or activity.

G.    Public access shall consist of a dedication of land or a physical improvement in the form of a walkway, trail, bikeway, corridor, viewpoint, park, deck, observation tower, pier, boat launching ramp, dock or pier area, or other area serving as a means of view and/or physical approach to public waters and may include interpretive centers and displays.

H.    Public access easements and permit conditions shall be recorded on the deed of title and/or on the face of a plat or short plat as a condition running contemporaneous with the authorized land use, as a minimum. Said recording with the County Auditor’s Office shall occur at the time of permit approval.

I.    Future actions by the applicant, successors in interest, or other parties shall not diminish the usefulness or value of the public access provided.

J.    Maintenance of the public access facility shall be the responsibility of the owner unless otherwise accepted by a public or nonprofit agency through a formal agreement approved by the Shoreline Administrator and recorded with the County Auditor’s Office.

(Added: Ord. 2012-07-16)