Chapter 25.10 DEFINITIONS

Unless otherwise defined in this chapter, the definitions contained in SMC Title 21A (the development code), Chapter 90.58 RCW and Chapter 173-14 WAC shall apply. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.020 Access.

(1) “Public access” means actual unobstructed access available to the general public from land to the ordinary high water mark or to the wetland directly abutting the ordinary high water mark.

(2) “Limited public access” means:

(a) Actual physical access from land to the ordinary high water mark or to the wetland directly abutting the ordinary high water mark, such access being limited to specific groups of people or to certain regularly prescribed times; or

(b) Visual access available to the general public to the shoreline and adjacent water body, such access being specifically provided for in the development of the site. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.030 Applicant.

“Applicant” means a property owner or a public agency or public or private utility that owns a right-of-way or other easement or has been adjudicated the right to such an easement pursuant to RCW 8.12.090, or any person or entity designated or named in writing by the property or easement owner to be the applicant, in an application for a development proposal, permit, or approval. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.040 Aquatic resource practices.

“Aquatic resource practices” means the culture or farming of fin fish, shellfish, algae or other plants or animals in fresh or marine waters. Excluded from the definition of aquatic resource practices are related commercial or industrial uses such as wholesale or retail sales; or final processing, packing, or freezing. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.050 Average grade level.

“Average grade level” means the average of the natural or existing topography at the center of all exterior walls of a building or structure to be placed on a site; provided, that in the case of structures to be built over water, average grade level shall be the elevation of ordinary high water. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.060 Backfill.

“Backfill” means the placement of earth material behind a retaining wall or structure. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.070 Berm.

“Berm” means one or several linear mounds of sand and gravel generally paralleling the shore at or landward of the ordinary high water mark which are normally stable because of material size or vegetation. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.080 Breakwater.

“Breakwater” means an off-shore structure either floating or not that may or may not be connected to the shore, such structure being designated to absorb and/or reflect back into the water body the energy of the waves. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.090 Bulkhead.

“Bulkhead” means a solid or open pile wall of rock, concrete, steel, timber or other materials or a combination of these materials erected generally parallel to and near the ordinary high water mark for the purpose of protecting adjacent wetlands and uplands from waves or currents. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.100 Clearcut logging or clearcutting.

“Clearcut logging” or “clearcutting” means the removal of the entire merchantable timber stand from an area. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.110 Department.

“Department” means the department of community development. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.120 Development.

“Development” means any development as defined in Chapter 90.58 RCW as now or hereafter amended. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.130 Director.

“Director” means the director of the department of community development. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.140 Dredging.

“Dredging” is 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 natural wetlands; maintenance dredging and/or support activities are included in this definition. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.150 Earth material.

“Earth material” is rock, natural soil, or combination thereof. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.160 End haul construction.

“End haul construction” means the transportation of excess excavation material along the road surface to construct a road of balanced volumes of cut and fill. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.170 Environment.

“Environment” or “master program environment” or “shoreline environment” means the categories of shorelines of the state established by the City of Sammamish shoreline management master program to differentiate between areas whose features imply differing objectives regarding their use and future development. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.180 Excavation.

“Excavation” means the artificial movement of earth material. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.190 Float.

“Float” means a structure or device that is not a breakwater and that is moored, anchored, or otherwise secured in the waters of the City and that is not connected to the shoreline. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.200 Floating home.

“Floating home” means a houseboat, boat or building constructed on a float, used in whole or in part for human habitation as a dwelling unit, and that is moored, anchored, or otherwise secured in waters within the City of Sammamish. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.210 Height.

“Height” shall be measured from average grade level to the highest point of a structure; provided, that appurtenances such as television antennas and chimneys shall not be used in calculating height. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.220 Landfill.

“Landfill” is the placement of earth material by artificial means. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.230 Littoral drift.

“Littoral drift” means the natural movement of sediment along marine or lake shorelines by wave breaker action in response to prevailing winds. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.240 Lot.

“Lot” means a legal building site that is described by reference to a recorded plat, by metes and bounds, or by section, township and range that has direct legal access to a street or has access to a street over an easement approved by the City; provided, that an owner of all or a contiguous portion of a plat that has been vacated consistent with the provisions of state law shall have only one lot within the meaning of this title. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.250 Master program.

“Master program” means the comprehensive shoreline use plan for the City of Sammamish consisting of:

(1) The use regulations and procedures contained in this title; and

(2) The goals, objectives, and policies of the City’s shoreline management master program that are contained in a separate document and adopted by ordinance. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.260 Natural hatchery.

“Natural hatchery” means 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. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.270 Nonconforming use or development.

“Nonconforming use or development” means those uses and structures that have been lawfully established or constructed prior to November 22, 1976, which no longer conform to the applicable regulations of the master program. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.280 Nonwater related use.

“Nonwater related use” means a use that is neither water dependent nor water related. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.290 Normal protective bulkhead common to single‑family residences.

“Normal protective bulkhead common to single-family residences” means a bulkhead constructed on a building site zoned to permit one single-family residence and containing one single-family residence. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.300 Open space, required.

“Required open space” means a portion of the area of a building site, which is required by this title, as set forth in different designations contained in this title, to be maintained as open area to be available for use by the persons specified in a development. Open spaces are required to be free and clear of buildings and structures and to remain open and unobstructed from the ground to the sky. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.310 Ordinary high water mark.

“Ordinary high water mark” means the ordinary high water mark as defined in Chapter 90.58 RCW as now or hereafter amended. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.320 Person.

“Person” means an individual, partnership, corporation, association, organization, cooperative, public or municipal corporation, or agency of any governmental unit however designated. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.330 Pier or dock.

“Pier” or “dock” means a structure built in or over or floating upon the water extending from the shore, which may be used as a landing place for marine transport or for air or water craft or recreational activities. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.340 Recreational development.

“Recreational development” means a private or public development operated and devoted to facilities and equipment for recreational purposes, including but not limited to swimming pools, tennis courts, playgrounds, picnic areas, campgrounds, resorts and other similar uses whether the use of such area is limited to those paying a fee or free to the public. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.350 Redesignation.

“Redesignation” means a change in the shoreline environment designation by the procedures provided in Chapter 25.35 SMC. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.360 Regeneration.

“Regeneration” means the renewal of a tree crop, whether by natural or artificial means. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.370 Residential development.

(1) “Single-family residential development” or “single-family development” means development consisting of one or more one-family dwellings.

(2) “Multifamily residential development” or “multifamily development” means development consisting of one or more two-family dwellings and/or multiple dwellings. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.380 Riprap.

“Riprap” means hard angular quarry rock used for revetments or other bank stabilization projects. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.390 Sediment.

“Sediment” is material settled from suspension in a liquid medium. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.400 Selective cutting.

“Selective cutting” means the removal of certain trees selected for cutting so as not to interfere with the growth and development of the remaining trees. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.410 Shoreline management conditional use.

“Shoreline management conditional use” or “shoreline conditional use” means a use specifically designated as a shoreline conditional use in the shoreline management master program. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.420 Shoreline management variance.

“Shoreline management variance” means an adjustment in the application of the regulations of the shoreline management master program consistent with Chapter 173-14 WAC. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.430 Shoreline protection.

“Shoreline protection” means a structure or device, including but not limited to breakwaters, bulkheads, jetties, groins and riprap, which is placed so as to prevent erosion or to alter the normal currents, wave actions or other natural forces or actions of a water body. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.440 Shoreline setback.

“Shoreline setback” means a required open space measured horizontally upland from and perpendicular to the ordinary high water mark, or a required open space along shorelines which are steep slopes, slide areas or floodplains. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.450 Shorelines.

“Shorelines” means all of the water areas within the City of Sammamish, including reservoirs, and their associated wetlands together with the lands underlying them; except:

(1) Shorelines on segments of streams upstream of a point where the mean annual flow is 20 cubic feet per second or less and the wetlands associated with such upstream segments;

(2) Shorelines on lakes less than 20 acres in size and wetlands associated with such lakes. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.460 Shorelines of statewide significance.

“Shorelines of statewide significance” means those shorelines described in RCW 90.58.030 (2)(e) that are within the City of Sammamish. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.470 Shorelines of the state.

“Shorelines of the state” are total of all “shorelines” and “shorelines of statewide significance” within the City. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.480 Side cast slopes.

“Side cast slopes” means slopes of landfill compacted by natural settling over time. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.490 Sign.

“Sign” means any letters, figures, design, symbol, light, structure, billboard, trademark or device intended or used to attract attention to any activity, service, place, subject, person, firm, corporation, public performance, article, machine, merchandise or thing. Excluded from definition and regulation by this title are official traffic signs or signals, official public notices, signs required by law, warning signs, the flag of a government or noncommercial institution such as schools and temporary signs worn or carried by people. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.500 Slash.

“Slash” means the branches, bark, tops, chunks, cull logs, uprooted stumps and broken or uprooted trees that remain on the ground after logging. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.510 Solid waste.

“Solid waste” means all putrescible and nonputrescible solid and semisolid wastes including but not limited to garbage, rubbish, ashes, industrial wastes, swill, demolition and construction wastes, abandoned vehicles or parts thereof and discarded commodities. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.520 Stringer bridge.

A “stringer bridge” is a bridge constructed of lengths of timber supporting a number of smaller transverse members. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.530 Substantial development.

“Substantial development” means any development that requires a shoreline management substantial development permit, as defined in RCW 90.58.030(3)(e) as now or hereafter amended. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.540 Utilities.

“Utilities” are all lines and facilities related to the distribution, collection, transmission or disposal of water, storm and sanitary sewage, oil, gas, power or refuse. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.550 Water dependent use.

“Water dependent use” or “water dependent development” means a principal use that can only exist where the land-water interface provides biological or physical conditions necessary for the use. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.560 Water related use.

“Water related use” or “water related development” means a principal use that is not intrinsically dependent on a location abutting the ordinary high water mark but that:

(1) Promotes the public’s enjoyment of or access to the water; or

(2) Gains a cost savings or revenue-differentiating advantage, which is not associated with land rents or costs, from being located within the shorelines of the state that could not be obtained at an upland location.

Such uses include but are not limited to residential development, boat sales, or restaurants. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.570 Water transmission pipeline.

“Water transmission pipeline” means a facility having as its primary purpose the transmission of water by a municipal purveyor for sale for domestic, commercial, and industrial use. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)

25.10.580 Wetlands.

“Wetland,” “associated wetlands,” or “wetland areas” means those lands extending landward for 200 feet in all directions as measured on a horizontal plane from the ordinary high water mark; and all marshes, bogs, swamps, floodways, river deltas, and the entire 100-year floodplains associated with the streams, lakes and tidal waters that are subject to the provisions of this title, the same to be designated as to location by the Washington State Department of Ecology. Floodplains shall not include those areas that are effectively protected from the 100-year flood by authorized flood control devices or other legal improvements. (Ord. O99-29 § 1)