Chapter 17.08
DEFINITIONS*

Sections:

17.08.010    General.

17.08.020    Definitions.

*    Prior ordinance history: Ords. 387, 442, 458, 519, 539, 552, 567, 639, 692, 699, 724, 870 and 892.

    Chapter 17.08, Definitions, was reorganized at the city’s direction to combine Section 17.08.005 and Sections 17.08.015 through 17.08.970 into a single Section 17.08.020, Definitions.

    Ordinance 987, Section 1, repealed and recodified Section 17.52.090 to move the definitions to Section 17.08.020, and added and amended other definitions to Section 17.08.020.

17.08.010 General.

For the purposes of this title and to clarify the intent and meaning of certain words or terms, the following list of definitions is provided. All other words used in this title carry their customary meaning. Words in the present tense include the plural, and vice versa. Definitions associated with the use of shoreline or shoreline permits are contained in Title 17B, Shoreline Management Regulations. (Ord. 1426 § 3 (Exh. A) (part), 2019: Ord. 1295 § 5 (Exh. 1B), 2011: Ord. 908 § 5 (part), 1997)

17.08.020 Definitions.

“1991 annexation area” means that portion of the city which was annexed in 1991 and is commonly known as the Harbour Pointe Annexation, the boundaries of which generally run between Big Gulch Ravine and South Gulch Ravine. For a complete legal description of the area, see Mukilteo Ordinances 690 and 691.

“Access permit” means a permit obtainable from the State Department of Transportation allowing traffic ingress and egress to and from a state highway.

“Accessory building” means a subordinate building, the use of which is incidental to the use of the main building on the same lot but is not physically attached by walls or roof to the main building.

“Accessory dwelling unit” means a second dwelling unit on a single-family residential lot with a floor area less than sixty percent of the floor area of the principal dwelling unit on the lot and not more than seven hundred square feet. Accessory dwelling units shall not have more than one bedroom. Accessory dwelling units shall be considered multifamily units for purposes of calculating impact fees.

“Accessory use” means a use incidental and subordinate to the principal use and located on the same lot or in the same building as the principal use.

“Accidental causes” means natural events such as earthquakes, landslides, mudslides, floods, and storms and other events, such as fires, which are beyond the control of the owner.

“Active fault” means a fault that is considered likely to undergo renewed movement within a period of concern to humans. Faults are commonly considered to be active if the fault has moved one or more times in the last ten thousand years, but faults may also be considered active in some cases if movement has occurred in the last five hundred thousand years.

“Adequate transportation facilities” means transportation facilities that have the capacity to serve development without decreasing levels of service below the city’s adopted minimum standards.

“Adult arcade” means a commercial establishment containing individual viewing areas or booths where, for any form of consideration including a membership fee, one or more still or motion picture projectors, slide projectors, or other similar image producing machines are used to show films, motion pictures, video cassettes, slides, or other visual representations that are distinguished or characterized by a predominant emphasis on matters depicting, describing, or simulating any specified sexual activities or any specified anatomical areas.

“Adult cabaret” means a nightclub, bar, restaurant, tavern, or other similar commercial establishment, whether or not alcoholic beverages are served, that regularly features adult entertainment.

“Adult drive-in theater” means a commercial establishment where for any form of consideration, motion pictures, films, video cassettes, slides or other similar visual representations are regularly shown on an outdoor wall or screen that are distinguished or characterized by a predominant emphasis on matters depicting, describing, or simulating any specified sexual activities or any specified anatomical areas.

“Adult entertainment” means:

1.    Any exhibition, performance, or dance conducted in an adult entertainment facility where such exhibition, performance, or dance is distinguished or characterized by a predominant emphasis on matters depicting, describing, or simulating any specified sexual activities or any specified anatomical areas; or

2.    Any exhibition, performance, or dance intended to sexually stimulate any member of the public and conducted in an adult entertainment facility where such exhibition, performance, or dance is performed for, arranged with, or engaged in with fewer than all patrons in the adult entertainment facility at that time, with separate consideration paid, either directly or indirectly, for such performance, exhibition, or dance. For purposes of example and not limitations, such exhibitions, performances, or dances are commonly referred to as table dancing, couch dancing, taxi dancing, lap dancing, private dancing, or straddle dancing.

“Adult entertainment facility” means a commercial establishment defined herein as an adult arcade, adult cabaret, adult motel, adult motion picture theater, or adult retail store.

“Adult family home” means the regular family abode of a person or persons providing personal care, room and board to more than one but not more than four adults who are not related by blood, marriage or adoption to the person or persons providing the services; except that a total of eight unrelated persons may be permitted if the State Department of Social and Health Services determines that the home and the provider are capable of meeting standards and qualifications provided for by law (RCW 70.128.010). Adult family homes are a permitted use in all areas zoned for residential use (RCW 70.12.175).

“Adult motel” means a hotel, motel, or similar commercial establishment which:

1.    Offers sleeping accommodations to the public for any form of consideration and provides patrons with closed-circuit television transmissions, films, motion pictures, video cassettes, slides, or other visual representations that are distinguished or characterized by a predominant emphasis on matters depicting, describing, or simulating any specified sexual activities or any specified anatomical areas and that has a sign visible from the public right-of-way that advertises availability of this type of sexually oriented materials; or

2.    Offers a sleeping room for rent for a rental fee period of time that is less than ten hours; or

3.    Allows a tenant or occupant of a sleeping room to sub-rent the room for a period of time that is less than ten hours.

“Adult motion picture theater” means an enclosed commercial establishment where, for any form of consideration, motion pictures, films, video cassettes, slides, or other similar visual representations are regularly shown that are distinguished or characterized by a predominant emphasis on matters depicting, describing, or simulating any specified sexual activities or any specified anatomical areas.

“Adult retail store” means a commercial establishment such as a bookstore, video store, or novelty shop which as its principal business purpose offers for sale or rent, for any form of consideration, any one or more of the following:

1.    Books, magazines, periodicals, or other printed materials or photographs, films, motion pictures, video cassettes, slides, or other visual representations that are distinguished or characterized by a predominant emphasis on matters depicting, describing, or simulating any specified sexual activities or any specified anatomical areas; or

2.    Instruments, devices, or paraphernalia designed for use in connection with any specified sexual activities.

For the purpose of this definition, the term “principal business purpose” shall mean the business purpose that constitutes fifty percent or more of the stock-in-trade of a particular business establishment. The stock-in-trade of a particular business establishment shall be determined by examining either: (i) the retail dollar value of all sexually oriented materials compared to the retail dollar value of all nonsexually oriented materials readily available for purchase, rental, view, or use by patrons of the establishment, excluding inventory located in any portion of the premises not regularly open to patrons; or (ii) the total volume of shelf space and display area reserved for sexually oriented materials compared to the total volume of shelf space and display area reserved for nonsexually oriented materials.

“Agriculture” means tilling of the soil, the raising of crops, horticulture, viticulture, the harboring of livestock, pasturing, grazing, dairying, and/or animal husbandry including all uses customarily incidental thereto, except the following:

1.    Animal shelter buildings for horses and barns;

2.    Beekeeping;

3.    Harboring of chickens;

4.    Noncommercial individual or collective gardens;

5.    Medical cannabis collective gardens; and

6.    Any type of kennel, animal services facility or research facility using animals.

Agriculture uses are not a permitted use in the permitted use matrix in Section 17.16.040 and thus are not allowed.

“AKART” means all known, available, and reasonable methods of prevention, control, and treatment. See also the State Water Pollution Control Act, RCW 90.48.010 and 90.48.520.

“Alley” means a passageway open to the public travel which affords generally a secondary means of vehicular access to abutting lots and is not intended for general traffic circulation.

“Alluvial fan flooding” means flooding occurring on the surface of an alluvial fan or similar landform which originates at the apex and is characterized by high-velocity flows; active processes of erosion, sediment transport, and deposition; and unpredictable flow paths.

“Alterations” means a change or rearrangement of the structural part of existing facilities, or an enlargement by extending the sides or increasing the height or depth, or the moving from one location to another.

“Alternative fuel(s)” means any fuel or mixture of fuels that is not commonplace at service stations, such as biodiesel, ethanol, hydrogen, synthetic fuel, etc., at the time this code is adopted and reduces the use of gasoline, diesel or other fossil fuel products.

“Amusement facility” means commercial establishments, including but not limited to, theaters, dance halls, bowling alleys, skating rinks, miniature golf courses, arcades, waterslides, and other similar uses, which provides recreation either indoors or in a confined, intensively utilized outdoor area.

“Animal services” means providing care, selling, training, transporting, exhibiting, grooming, bathing, cosmetic care, guard service, or any other similar activity for animals.

“Animal services facility” means any location where activity takes place providing care, selling, training, transporting, exhibiting, grooming, bathing, cosmetic care, guard service, or any other similar activity for four or more animals, including veterinary offices, clinics and hospitals. These facilities do not include kennels of any type. If a veterinary office, clinic or hospital provides housing, boarding or breeding of animals not receiving medical treatment then they are kennels and must conform to all regulations in this title and Title 6 regarding kennels. No animal services facility shall harbor any inherently dangerous mammal or reptile as defined in Title 6.

“Animal shelter building” means a building used primarily or exclusively for the shelter of animals with at least three walls and a roof, including a door opening properly shielded from the wind and rain, commensurate to the size of the inhabiting animal. A building to provide shelter primarily or exclusively for human habitation is not an animal shelter building.

“Antenna” is any exterior apparatus designed for telephonic, radio, data, internet or other communications through the sending and/or receiving of radio frequency signals including, but not limited to, equipment attached to a tower, pole, light standard, building or other structure for the purpose of providing wireless services.

“Antenna equipment” means equipment, switches, wiring, cabling, power sources, shelters or cabinets associated with an antenna, located at the same fixed location as the antenna, and, when collocated on a structure, is mounted or installed at the same time as such antenna.

“Antenna facility” means an antenna and associated antenna equipment.

“Antenna height” is the vertical distance measured from average building elevation to the highest point of the antenna, or if on a rooftop or other structure, from the top of the roof or structure to the highest point of the antenna. For replacement structures, antenna height is measured from the top of the existing structure to the highest point of the antenna or new structure, whichever is greater.

“Apartment house” means a building or portion of a building arranged or designed to be occupied by three or more separate dwelling units.

“Applicant” means the person, party, firm, corporation, or other entity that proposes any activity or applies for permits or approvals from the city of Mukilteo.

“Approve” or “approval” means the decision or determination of the director that an action conforms to the city’s requirements.

“Approved small cell facility” is any small cell facility that has received all required permits.

“Art, artwork” means a device, element, or feature with the primary purpose to express, enhance, or illustrate an aesthetic quality, feeling, physical entity, idea, local condition, historical or cultural occurrence, or cultural or social value that does not contain figures, symbols, logos, trademarks, graphics, or written copy to promote products or services.

“Artificially created wetland” means wetlands created through purposeful human action from nonwetland sites, such as irrigation and drainage, grass-lined swales, canals, detention facilities, wastewater treatment facilities, farm ponds, and landscape amenities.

“As-built” means a final drawing of the actual installation of structures, materials and equipment.

“As-graded” means the surface condition after the completion of grading.

“Auto service station” means any area of land, including structures thereon, that is used for the sale of gasoline or other motor fuels, oils, lubricants, and auto accessories and which may or may not include washing, lubricating, and other minor servicing; specifically prohibiting stripping vehicles for parts, junking out of vehicles, prohibiting the overnight, on-site storage of private or rental motor vehicles numbering more than two times the number of inside repair stalls, or the on-site storage of private or rental vehicles, boats, or trailers except when parked in designated stalls as approved by the planning commission.

“Automobile repair, major” means property devoted to the storage and repair of trucks and automobiles, including body and fender works and painting. The term does not encompass the business of wrecking automobiles or impound car lots when conducted outside of a structure.

Automobile Repair, Minor. “Minor automobile repair” means general motor repair and replacement of parts to passenger cars and trucks not exceeding one and one-half tons capacity but not including collision repair or auto painting.

“Automobile towing” means the business of wrecking automobiles or impound car lots when conducted outside of a structure.

“Available transportation facilities” means that transportation facilities or services are in place or that a financial commitment is in place to provide the facilities or services within six years from the time of development.

“Average slope of property” means the highest land elevation on the property minus the lowest land elevation on the property (i.e., the elevation change on the property) divided by the horizontal distance between the highest and lowest elevation on the property, expressed as a percentage.

“B-99 fuel” means motor vehicle fuel that is composed as a mixture of ninety-nine percent of biodiesel derived from crops and one percent of diesel. This mixture allows for a subsidy from the federal government.

“B-100 fuel” means motor vehicle fuel that is composed entirely of biodiesel derived from crops or is a waste product from frying food in vegetable or seed oils.

“Background traffic” means the volume of traffic that is projected to occur on the street system as of the anticipated date of occupancy of any development.

“Barn” means the same as “animal shelter building for horses.”

“Bas-relief” means a sculptural carving, embossing, or casting that projects very little from the background material or building wall.

“Base station” is a structure or equipment at a fixed location that enables FCC-licensed or authorized wireless communications between user equipment and a communications network. The term does not encompass a tower as defined herein nor any equipment associated with a tower. Base station includes, without limitation:

1.    Equipment associated with wireless communications services as well as unlicensed wireless services and fixed wireless services such as microwave backhaul.

2.    Radio transceivers, antennas, coaxial or fiber-optic cable, regular and backup power supplies, and comparable equipment, regardless of technological configuration (including distributed antenna systems (“DAS”) and small cell networks).

3.    Any structure other than a tower that, at the time the relevant application is filed with the city under this section, supports or houses equipment described in subsections (1) and (2) of this definition that has been reviewed and approved under the applicable zoning or siting process, or under another state or local regulatory review process, even if the structure was not built for the sole or primary purpose of providing that support.

4.    The term does not include any structure that, at the time the relevant application is filed with the city under this section, does not support or house equipment described in subsections (1) and (2) of this definition.

“Basement” means that portion of a building which is partly or wholly below mean ground level (as defined in this section), but so located that at least one-half of the vertical distance from its floor to the finished ceiling is below the mean ground level.

“Basin plan” means a plan that assesses, evaluates, and proposes solutions to existing and potential future impacts to the beneficial uses of, and the physical, chemical, and biological properties of, waters of the state within a basin.

“Bay window” means a window that protrudes from the main exterior wall. To qualify as a bay, the bay must contain a window pane which extends at least sixty percent of the length and thirty-five percent of the height of the surface of the bay which lies parallel to the exterior wall.

“Bed and breakfast inn” means a facility in which one kitchen, a shared dining area and not more than a total of six guest rooms are available within a single-family residence and/or one outbuilding providing short-term lodging for paying guests in accordance with the provisions of Section 17.16.040(B)(20).

“Bedroom” means any conditioned space and habitable area (as defined by the International Residential Code) of a dwelling unit greater than seventy square feet in floor area located along an exterior wall with a window. The space shall not be considered a bedroom if there is an opening into another room greater than four feet wide without a door or if there is a half wall less than four feet high between the space and another room.

“Bench” means a relatively level step excavated into earth material on which fill is to be placed.

“Best available science” means using the most current, widely accepted scientific data, research, studies and/or reports in making land use and policy decisions when designating and protecting environmentally sensitive areas. See WAC 365-195-900.

“Best management practices” means the schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, pollution prevention and educational practices, and structural and/or managerial practices approved by the director that, when used singly or in combination, prevent or reduce the release of pollutants and other adverse impacts to waters of Washington State.

“Binding site plan” means a drawing to a scale specified by the Mukilteo Municipal Code which:

1.    Identifies and shows the areas and locations of all streets, roads, improvements, utilities, open spaces, and any other such matters specified by local regulations;

2.    Contains inscriptions or attachments setting forth such appropriate limitations and conditions for the use of the land as are established by the council or hearing examiner; and

3.    Contains provisions requiring conformity with the site plan by any development.

“Biodiesel” means a mono alkyl ester of long chain fatty acids derived from vegetable oils or animal fats for use in compression-ignition engines and that meets the requirements of the American Society for Testing and Materials specification D 6751 in effect as of January 1, 2003.

“Blank walls” means walls that meet the following criteria:

1.    Any wall or portion of a wall that has a surface area of four hundred square feet of vertical surface without a window, or building modulation or other architectural feature.

2.    Any ground level wall surface or section of a wall over four feet in height at ground level that is longer than fifteen feet as measured horizontally without having a ground level or window lying wholly or in part within that fifteen-foot section.

“BMP” means best management practice.

“Boardinghouse” means a dwelling or portion thereof, other than a motel or hotel, where lodging, with or without meals is provided for compensation for not more than four persons; provided, that such persons would not be included within the definition of “group care facility” occupants as listed in this chapter.

“Boat” means a vessel less than twenty tons, used as a private pleasure craft.

“Boathouse” means a structure specifically designed or used for storage of boats.

“Boat launching facility” means a facility used for launching of boats by auto or hand including ramps and other devices, along with adequate parking and maneuvering space.

“Borrow” means earth material acquired from an off-site location for use in grading on a site.

“Brush” means vegetation one foot to four feet in height.

“Buffer” means an area, typically adjacent or otherwise associated with an environmentally sensitive feature, which is retained in its natural state. No clearing, grading, or filling is permitted within a buffer (unless specifically conditioned otherwise).

“Buildable area” is that portion of a lot within the setbacks established by the zoning district in which the lot lies. Open space tracts, native growth protection areas, drainage facilities, easements, or other similarly restricted land are not considered part of the buildable portion of a lot.

“Building” means any structure having a roof, but excluding all forms of vehicles even though immobilized. When a use is required to be within a building, or where special authority granted pursuant to this chapter requires that a use shall be within an entirely enclosed building, then the term “building” means one so designed and constructed that all exterior walls of the structure are solid from the ground to the roofline, and shall contain no openings except for windows and doors which are designed so that they may be enclosed.

“Building contractor” means a facility where a person or company that does plumbing, electrical, structural, finish, or other construction work, stores, or maintains their equipment or supplies.

“Building height” means the vertical distance from the mean ground level (prior to any elevation change in native existing grade except as approved through a plat or short plat) to the highest point of the coping of a flat roof or to the deck line of a mansard roof or to the height of the highest gable or roofline of a gable or pitched roof.

“Building line” means a line parallel to the lot line which touches the building wall nearest to the property line.

Building, Main. “Main building” means the principal building or other structure on a lot or building site designed or used to accommodate the primary use to which the premises are devoted.

“CAMP” means Mukilteo’s critical areas mitigation program, which identifies potential sites for wetland, stream, and buffer mitigation following a watershed approach.

“Camping” means pitching, using, or occupying camp facilities, such as tents, huts, temporary shelters, or vehicles (if said vehicle is being used as a temporary living quarters for the purposes of habitation), as evidenced by the use of camp paraphernalia such as tarpaulins, cots, beds, sleeping bags, blankets, mattresses, hammocks or portable cooking facilities and similar equipment.

“Camping vehicle” means a “recreational vehicle” whose overall length does not exceed thirty-two feet, a pickup camper, or similar vehicular dwelling. “Camping vehicles” are a type of “mobile home.”

“Camping vehicle park” means a tract of land developed and operated as a unit with provision for camping vehicle spaces, water and sewage facilities, roads, service buildings and recreation areas to accommodate two or more camping vehicles on a short-term basis.

“Camping vehicle space” means a plainly marked plot of ground for the placing of a camping vehicle within a camping vehicle park.

“Capacity” means the number of vehicles that may pass over a section of a transportation facility in a given time period under the prevailing roadway conditions. The calculation of capacity for any given transportation facility will be done according to the most recent edition of the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) or by alternative methods approved by the public works director.

“Caretaker’s quarters” means a structure used or designed as a dwelling for a person or persons employed on the premises.

“Carport” means a structure to house or protect motor vehicles owned or operated by the occupants of the main building and which has at least forty-five percent of the total area of its sides open to the weather.

“Category I wetlands” means those wetlands which meet any of the following criteria:

1.    Relatively undisturbed estuarine wetlands larger than one acre;

2.    Wetlands that are identified by scientists of the Washington Natural Heritage Program/DNR as high quality wetlands;

3.    Bogs;

4.    Mature and old-growth forested wetlands larger than one acre; or

5.    Wetlands in coastal lagoons; and wetlands that perform many functions well (scoring seventy points or more). These wetlands: (a) represent unique or rare wetland types; (b) are more sensitive to disturbance than most wetlands; (c) are relatively undisturbed and contain ecological attributes that are impossible to replace within a human lifetime; or (d) provide a high level of functions.

“Category II wetlands” means those wetlands which meet any of the following criteria:

1.    Estuarine wetlands smaller than one acre, or disturbed estuarine wetlands larger than one acre;

2.    Interdunal wetlands larger than one acre; or

3.    Wetlands with a moderately high level of functions (scoring between fifty-one and sixty-nine points).

“Category III wetlands” means those wetlands which meet any of the following criteria:

1.    Wetlands with a moderate level of functions (scoring between thirty and fifty points).

2.    Interdunal wetlands between one-tenth and one acre. Wetlands scoring between thirty and fifty points generally have been disturbed in some ways, and are often less diverse or more isolated from other natural resources in the landscape than Category II wetlands.

“Category IV wetlands” have the lowest levels of functions (scores less than thirty points) and are often heavily disturbed. These are wetlands that we should be able to replace, and in some cases be able to improve. However, experience has shown that replacement cannot be guaranteed in any specific case. These wetlands may provide some important functions, and also need to be protected to some degree.

“Certificate of concurrency” means a written document prepared by the public works director stating that a particular development meets the concurrency requirements of Chapter 17.15.

“Child care center” means an entity that regularly provides child day care, preschool and early learning services for a group of children for periods of less than twenty-four hours licensed by the Washington State Department of Early Learning under Chapter 170-295 WAC. Child care centers include “commercial day care,” “family day care” and “day nursery” entities.

“City” means the city of Mukilteo.

“City clerk” means the city clerk of Mukilteo or his/her designee.

“Civil engineer” means a professional engineer licensed in the state of Washington in civil engineering.

“Civil engineering” means the application of knowledge of the forces of nature, principles of mechanics and the properties of materials to the evaluation, design and construction of civil works for the beneficial uses of mankind.

“Cleaning establishment” means a business or other facility for the cleaning, dying, or pressing of clothes or other fabrics. This term shall include laundries, laundromats, and dry cleaners.

“Clearing” means the removal of trees, brush, grass, ground cover or other vegetative matter which may or may not change the conditions of the earth’s surface, but which does not change the ground contours.

“Clearing and grading permit” means the written permission of the permit authority to the permittee to proceed with the act of clearing, grading and land development within the provisions of Title 15.

“Clinic” means a building designed and used for the medical, dental or surgical diagnosis or treatment of outpatients under the care of doctors and/or nurses.

“Club/clubhouse/community club/country club” means an incorporated or unincorporated association of persons organized for a social, fraternal, athletic, recreational, educational, literary, political, civic or quasi-municipal interests or charitable purpose. Property owned by a club shall be deemed to be semi-private in character and is subject to regulations governing public buildings and places, excluding groups organized primarily to render a service which is normally considered a business.

“Collocation” means (1) mounting or installing an antenna facility on a pre-existing structure, and/or (2) modifying a structure for the purpose of mounting or installing an antenna facility on that structure. Provided that, for purposes of eligible facilities requests, “collocation” means the mounting or installation of transmission equipment on an eligible support structure for the purpose of transmitting and/or receiving radio frequency signals for communications purposes.

“Commercial animal rearing” is defined in Title 6 of this code and is a use which is allowed, if at all, only after issuance of a conditional use permit.

Commercial, Retail. “Retail commercial” means a use which dispenses commodities to the consuming public at retail, excluding printing, publishing and binding establishments, public utility facilities and offices, contractor’s offices, repair shops for household appliances and the like, business and professional offices, real estate offices, financial institutions, personal service shops, hotels, motels, offices for licensed practitioners, and hospitals.

“Commercial use” means the providing of goods, merchandise or services for compensation.

“Commission” means the planning commission of the city.

“Community storm drainage system” means any combination or system of storm drainage facilities which is designed and/or used to collect, convey, retain, detain, treat, abate or discharge stormwater runoff from three or more lots and a public or private street, road, alley or vehicular right-of-way.

“Community youth center” means a structure open to the general public that is owned or operated by the city of Mukilteo or another public agency or a charitable nonprofit agency and that is used predominantly by children for cultural, educational, recreational, or social purposes.

“Compaction” means the densification of a fill or naturally existing soils by mechanical means.

“Comprehensive drainage plan” means the latest version of the comprehensive drainage plan, if any, as adopted by the city.

“Comprehensive plan” means the comprehensive plan of the city, as adopted and amended.

“Computations” means calculations, including runoff coefficients and other pertinent data, made to determine the drainage plan with rates of flow of water given in cubic feet per second (cfs) and/or cubic meters per second (cms).

“Concealment elements” are transmission facilities designed to look like some feature other than a wireless tower or base station or which minimize the visual impact of an antenna by use of nonreflective materials, appropriate colors and/or a concealment canister.

“Concurrency” or “concurrent with the development” means that adequate transportation facilities or strategies needed to maintain the city’s adopted level of service standards during the p.m. peak hour on any roadway or on any critical roadway segment, or at any intersection, are available when the impacts of development occur, or that a financial commitment is in place to complete the facilities or strategies within six years. This definition includes the two concepts of “adequate transportation facilities” and “available transportation facilities” as defined in this section.

“Concurrency test” means the determination of a proposed development’s impact on transportation facilities by a comparison of the level of service (LOS) of the affected roadways, critical roadway segments, and intersections during the p.m. peak hour after testing for the impact of the proposed development, to the level of service standard that is set for those roadways or intersections.

Conditional (Special) Use. “Conditional use” means a use permitted in one or more zones as defined by this chapter, but which, because of size, technological processes or equipment, location in relation to improvements, aesthetic or physical impacts upon surrounding properties, or demands upon public facilities, requires a special degree of control to make such use consistent with and compatible to other existing or permissible uses in the same zone or zones. A conditional use is a form of special exception.

“Conditional use permit” means a permit issued by the city to locate a conditional use at a particular location.

“Conditioned space” means an area, room or space normally occupied by people and being heated by equipment for human habitation.

“Condominium apartment” means an apartment house wherein the respective dwelling units are spatially defined for individual private ownership and the grounds are under joint ownership and joint maintenance by the corporate owners within the conditions of an approved homeowners’ association.

“Conforming use” means an activity, the nature and type of which is permitted in the zone in which it is established.

“Connection permit” means the permit required to construct stormwater facilities and/or to make any additions, repairs or connections to the stormwater system. The permit shall consist of the approved construction plans signed by the director.

“Contouring” means a change of the ground surface to conform to a desired configuration.

Cooperative Apartment. See “apartment house.” “Cooperative apartment” means the same as condominium apartment, but ownership of both dwelling units and grounds are retained by the owners’ association.

“Cottage housing” means smaller scale detached single-family residential housing with common open space that is central to clusters of cottage housing units as provided for in Section 17.51.056, Cottage housing standards.

“Council” means the city council.

“Court” means an open, unoccupied space other than a yard, on the same lot with a building or buildings and which is bounded on two or more sides by the buildings or building including the open space in a house or apartment, providing access to the units thereof.

“Courtyard” means landscaped space enclosed on at least two sides by a single structure.

“Creation” means the producing or forming of a wetland through artificial means from an upland (dry) site, or the producing or forming of a stream through artificial means from an upland (dry) site.

Critical Areas. For the purpose of the critical area regulations contained in Chapters 17.52 through 17.52E, “critical areas” means those possessing existing slopes in excess of forty percent, or areas containing unstable soils or other geologic hazards, or natural drainage ways or ravines, areas of special flood hazard, areas of critical recharging effect on aquifers used for potable water, or areas that have been identified as providing significant wildlife habitat by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, wetland areas, or those areas defined as shorelines of Mukilteo, the state, or of statewide significance.

“Critical habitat” or “critical wildlife habitat” means habitat areas associated with threatened, endangered or sensitive species of plants or wildlife and which, if altered, could reduce the likelihood that the species will maintain and reproduce over the long term. Such areas are documented with reference to lists, categories and definitions of species promulgated by the Washington Department of Wildlife (Non-Game Data System Special Animal Species) as identified in WAC 232-12-011 or 232-12-014 and in the Priority Habitat Species lists compiled in compliance with WAC 365-190-080; or by rules and regulations adopted currently or hereafter by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Critical habitat also includes the following types of areas:

1.    Regionally rare native fish and wildlife habitat (i.e., one of five or fewer examples of the habitat type within the county);

2.    Type I wetlands as defined in these regulations;

3.    Documented commercial and/or recreational shellfish beds managed by the Washington Department of Fisheries;

4.    Class I streams as defined in these regulations;

5.    State Nature Area Preserves or Natural Resource Conservation Areas identified by state law and managed by the Department of Natural Resources; and

6.    Naturally occurring ponds stocked with game fish by government or tribal entities; and naturally occurring ponds of greater than one acre and less than twenty acres in area with cover of submerged aquatic vegetation, shrubs or trees not exceeding fifty percent of the area of surface water, and whose maximum depth does not exceed 6.6 feet.

Critical habitat does not include artificially created habitat and/or habitat created by purposeful human action, including but not limited to landscape amenities, detention facilities, grass-lined swales, and open space areas.

“Critical roadway segments” means roadway segments and their adjoining intersections identified as a critical roadway segment in the transportation element of the currently approved comprehensive plan.

“Critical root zone” means the area occupied by the root system of a tree and considered a zone of high sensitivity to disturbance such that damage from excavation, soil compaction or other means will likely lead to declining health and/or stability of the tree. The critical root zone is measured as seven times the root flare diameter.

“Critical slope area” means property which contains soil categories, ground water seepage, slopes, and steep slope factors which could trigger the need for site assessments as detailed in Section 17.52A.030, Critical slope areas.

“Curbline” means the line at the face of the curb nearest to the street or roadway. In the absence of a curb, the curbline shall be established by the city engineer as the edge of the traveled way.

“Current conditions” means the state, status, or condition of property at the time application is made for a project (or portion thereof) subject to this chapter. Current conditions may include but are not limited to buildings, impervious areas, and topography; provided, that such conditions are naturally occurring, or were legally created or lawfully conformed to the requirements of the city or other permitting authority at the time they were established. The advocate for a current condition shall have the burden of proving the conforming nature of the condition.

“Day care” means licensed care of children away from their own home a substantial portion of the day, by persons other than their parents or legal guardian.

Day Care, Commercial. “Commercial day care” means day care for more than six children, only within a nonresidential building.

Day Care, Family. “Family day care” means day care provided in the home for up to twelve children, including the children of the resident of the home, between the hours of six a.m. and seven p.m.

“Deck” means a roofless outdoor space built as an above-ground platform projecting from the wall of a building and connected to the ground by structural supports.

“Department” means the city of Mukilteo department of planning.

“Design storm” means a prescribed hyetograph and total precipitation amount (for a specific duration recurrence frequency) used to estimate runoff for a hypothetical storm or interest or concern for the purposes of analyzing existing drainage, designing new drainage or stormwater facilities, or assessing other impacts of a proposed project on the flow of surface water. A hyetograph is a graph of percentages of total precipitation for a series of time steps representing the total time during which the precipitation occurs. “Design storm” will typically refer to a twenty-five-year, six-hour-duration rainfall event but may be otherwise specified in the adopted storm drainage study, which when used for purposes of designing the conveyance system, will specify both the return period in years and the duration in hours. Also, the director may select a different design storm event if required to set design parameters.

“Detached building” means a building that has no common roof or wall with any other building on a lot.

“Detached structure” is a subordinate building (e.g., garage or accessory building) on the same lot as a single-family residence which is incidental to the use of the residence. A structure is considered detached when it does not have common walls or roofs. Breezeways, fences, trellises, tunnels, arches, or other architectural embellishments, do not constitute common walls or roofs under this definition.

“Detention” means the temporary storage of surface water in a stormwater facility before release to the stormwater system at a rate slower than that at which it is collected.

“Detention facilities” means facilities designed to hold runoff while gradually releasing it at a predetermined maximum rate.

“Detention facility” means an above or below ground stormwater facility, such as a pond or tank, that temporarily stores surface water and subsequently releases it at a slower rate than it is collected by the drainage facility system. There is little or no infiltration of stored stormwater.

“Developed conditions” means the state, status, or condition of property at the time a proposed project has been completed. Developed conditions may include but are not limited to buildings, impervious areas, and topography.

“Development” means any manmade change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to construction or exterior alteration of structures; grading, dredging, drilling, dumping, filling; removal of sand, gravel, or minerals; bulk heading; driving of pilings; placing of obstructions; or any project of a temporary or permanent nature which modifies structures, land, or shorelines and which does not fall within the allowable exemptions contained in the Mukilteo Municipal Code.

“Development,” for the purposes of Chapter 17.15, means any construction or expansion of any building, structure or use, or any change in the use of any building, structure or land, where the construction, expansion, or change will result in additional vehicle traffic on the transportation facilities within the city.

“Development agreement” means an agreement approved by an ordinance enacted by the Mukilteo city council, after a public hearing, that sets forth the development standards and other provisions that apply to and govern and vest the development, use, and mitigation of the development of real property for the duration of the agreement.

“Development approval” means any authorization issued by the city that approves any development.

“Development coverage” means all impervious surface areas within the subject property and abutting rights-of-way including, but not limited to, rooftops, streets, driveways, carports, accessory buildings and parking areas.

“Development on the waterfront” means a use consisting of the construction or exterior alteration of structures, dredging, drilling, dumping, filling, removal of any sand, gravel or minerals, bulkheading, driving of pilings, placing of obstructions, or any other project of a permanent or temporary nature on the shoreline.

“Development permit” means any written authorization of the city which authorizes commencement of development.

“Development regulations” or “regulation” means the controls placed on development or land use activities by the city, including, but not limited to, zoning ordinances, critical areas ordinances, shoreline master programs, planned unit development ordinances, subdivision ordinances, and binding site plan ordinances together with any amendments thereto. A development regulation does not include a decision to approve a development permit application even though the decision may be expressed in a resolution or ordinance of the legislative body of the city.

“Development standards” means the most recent engineering standards, drawings, plans and specifications for street standards, drainage, erosion, clearing, grading, subdivisions, landscaping, and connections to municipal water, sanitary sewer, and stormwater. Engineering standards are adopted by the public works director, which include the minimum requirements for design and construction, as approved by the city council.

“Diameter-breast-height (DBH)” means the diameter of any tree trunk, measured at 4.5 feet above average grade. Trees with multiple trunks that fork near DBH are measured at the narrowest part of the main stem below the fork. If the tree splits into several trunks close to ground level, the DBH for the whole tree is then found by taking the square root of the sum of all squared trunk stem DBHs.

“Director” or “lead director” means agent responsible for decisions specified within this code. Unless stated otherwise, the lead director shall refer to the director of planning and community development within Titles 16, 17 and 18, and the director of public works/city engineer, or their designee, within Titles 10, 12, 13 and 15.

“Distillery” means a facility where distillation spirits for consumption are produced, the sales and distribution of which are subject to regulation by the Washington State Liquor Control Board. On-site sales and samples may be allowed as an accessory use if no more than twenty percent of the gross floor area of the building(s) where the distillery production is located is devoted to sales and samples.

District. See Section 17.12.010. “District” means an area division of the city which is regulated according to use by the provisions of this title.

“Dock” means any facility for the moorage of boats, including but not limited to piers, wharves, and quays.

“Drainage area” means the watershed contributing water runoff to and including the subject property.

“Drainage basin” means a geographic and hydrologic subunit of a watershed.

“Drainage plan” means a plan for the collection, transport, treatment and discharge or recycle of water within the subject property.

“Drainage system” means the system comprised of all natural and artificial elements that collects, conveys, contains, and discharges surface and stormwater within, through or outside the city. The drainage system includes the stormwater system in the city and all receiving or discharging waters or channels outside the city.

“Drainage treatment/abatement facilities” means any facilities installed or constructed in conjunction with a drainage plan for the purpose of treatment or abatement of urban stormwater runoff, excluding retention or detention facilities.

“Dredging” means removal of earth from the bottom of a body of water usually for the purpose of deepening a navigational channel or obtaining bottom materials.

“Drive aisle” means a roadway on private property that is part of an internal vehicle circulation system of accessways which provides access for vehicles from a public street, alley, private road, or access easement to multifamily, commercial, mixed use, industrial or community use developments. Drive aisles may also be fire lanes. Standards for drive aisles are found in Section 17.56.100.

Drive aisles may be located on the parcel they serve, in a separate tract distinct from the parcel(s) they serve or within an easement on a distinct parcel or tract. Drive aisles may not be located in a public right-of-way. Drive aisles may serve multiple parcels, developments, businesses and/or property owners.

“Drive-in business” means a business where a customer is permitted or encouraged, either by design or physical facilities or by service and/or packaging procedure, to carry on his business, in the off-street parking area accessory to the business, while seated in his motor vehicle, excluding gas stations and theaters.

“Driveway” means a private roadway which provides access for vehicles from a public street, alley, private road, access easement, drive aisle or fire lane to a single-family detached dwelling unit and an accessory dwelling unit, if there is one. A driveway begins at the property line or edge of the public right-of-way, access easement or drive aisle and extends into the site. Driveways shall comply with Section 503 of the 2006 International Fire Code as exists now or hereafter amended.

“Driveway, common” is a driveway that provides vehicle access to two single-family detached dwelling units and associated accessory dwelling units, if there are any. Common driveways may not be located in a public right-of-way. Common driveways shall be located either in a separate tract or within an easement.

“Driveway, joint-use private” is a driveway that provides vehicle access to two single-family residential lots. Joint-use driveways may not be located in a public right-of-way. Joint-use driveways shall be located either in a separate tract or within an easement.

“Driveway, private residential” means a private roadway which provides access for vehicles from a public street, alley, private road, access easement, drive aisle or fire lane to a single-family residential lot. A driveway begins at the property line or edge of the public right-of-way, access easement or drive aisle and extends into the site.

Dwelling, Caretaker’s. “Caretaker’s dwelling” means a detached building designed for and used exclusively by a person, and his or her family, employed to provide security or custodial services for a principal use on the same lot.

Dwelling, Multifamily. “Multifamily dwelling” means a building designed to house two or more families living independently of each other although they may share one yard/outdoor open space in common. Types of multifamily dwellings include, but are not limited to, apartment houses, retirement apartments, single-family attached dwellings, duplexes and townhouses. Boardinghouses, group care facilities, hotels, housing for people with functional disabilities, motels, residential care facilities, retirement homes/housing, rooming houses and supportive living arrangements are not multifamily dwellings.

Dwelling, Single-Family. “Single-family dwelling” means a detached building designed for and occupied exclusively by one family. The term shall not include mobile homes, but does include manufactured homes.

Dwelling, Single-Family (Attached). “Single-family (attached) dwelling unit” means a group of row houses or townhouses containing two to eight residential buildings having a partition wall and separate foundations separating the dwelling units and where each unit has its primary outside access at the ground floor level. Buildings with nine or more units in a row or staggered with a common wall or faceplates are considered multifamily structures.

Dwelling, Two-Family (Duplex). “Two-family (duplex) dwelling” means a detached multifamily building containing two independent principal dwelling units designed to be occupied by two families living independently of each other in separate dwelling units. A principal dwelling unit with an accessory dwelling unit shall not be interpreted as a duplex.

“Dwelling unit” means a residential living unit with a minimum of one hundred twenty gross square feet of habitable area that provides complete independent living facilities for one or more people. Complete facilities require permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation as evidenced by an area large enough for a twin bed and the permanent installation of a stove, oven, kitchen sink, lavatory, water closet and bathtub or shower. “Independent facilities” means the unit has direct access to the outside, is not dependent on the living accommodations of another unit and the facilities are for the exclusive use of residents of the unit. Exception: Units within a hotel or bed and breakfast are not dwelling units even if they provide complete independent living facilities.

“Earth material” means any rock, soil, stone, sand, or any combination thereof.

Easement, Exclusive. “Exclusive easement” means an easement which provides access to one tract or lot. The adjacent lot encumbered by the exclusive easement shall not be included as a second user of the easement.

“Ecology Manual” means the Stormwater Management Manual for Western Washington, published by the Washington State Department of Ecology. The version in effect, including any administrative changes or amendments as necessary or appropriate to conform to local circumstances, is the most recent version that has been approved for city use by the director.

“Eligible facilities request” is any request for modification of an existing tower or base station that does not substantially change the physical dimensions of such tower or base station, involving:

1.    Collocation of new transmission equipment;

2.    Removal of transmission equipment; or

3.    Replacement of transmission equipment.

“Eligible support structure” is any tower or base station as defined in this section; provided, that it is existing at the time the relevant application is filed with the city.

“Emergency” means any natural or human-caused event or set of circumstances that disrupts or threatens to disrupt, or endangers or threatens to endanger, the operation, structural integrity or safety of the stormwater system, or endangers or threatens to endanger the health and safety of the public, or otherwise requires immediate action by the utility.

“Endangered species” means a species which is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

“Engineering geologist” means a geologist experienced and knowledgeable in engineering geology.

“Engineering geology” means the application of geologic knowledge and principles in the investigation and evaluation of naturally occurring rock and soil for use in the design of civil works.

Engineering Standards. See “Development standards.”

“Enhancement” means:

1.    For wetlands, the improvement of an existing viable wetland or buffer, such as by increasing plant diversity, increasing wildlife habitat, installing environmentally compatible erosion controls or removing nonindigenous plant or animal species; or

2.    For streams and wildlife habitat, the improvement of an existing habitat or an existing stream or associated buffer such as by increasing plant density or structural diversity, installing environmentally compatible erosion controls, or by removing nonindigenous or noxious species.

“Equipment facility” is any structure used to contain ancillary equipment for a wireless communications facility which includes cabinets, shelters, a buildout of an existing structure, pedestals, and other similar structures.

“Equipment structure” is a facility, shelter, cabinet or vault used to house and protect electronic or other associated equipment necessary for processing wireless communications signals. “Associated equipment” may include, for example, air conditioning, backup power supplies and emergency generators.

“Erosion” means the wearing away, detachment or movement of soil or the land surface by running water, wind, ice, gravity or other geological agents, including without limitation such processes as gravitational creep.

“Erosion hazard areas” means at least those areas identified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Resources Conservation Service as having a “severe” rill and inter-rill erosion hazard.

“Essential public facility” or “EPF” means a facility that is typically difficult to site, such as an airport, a state education facility, a state or regional transportation facility as defined in RCW 47.06.140, a state or local correctional facility, a solid waste handling facility, or an inpatient facility, including substance abuse facilities, mental health facilities, group homes, and secure community transition facilities as defined in RCW 71.09.020. The term “essential public facility” includes all facilities listed in RCW 36.70A.200, all facilities that appear on the list maintained by the State Office of Financial Management pursuant to RCW 36.70A.200(4), and all facilities listed as essential public facilities in the Mukilteo comprehensive plan.

“Essential public facility, local” means an EPF that is owned, operated, or sponsored by the city of Mukilteo, a special purpose district, Snohomish County (for facilities that do not provide service to the countywide population), or another unit of local government. An EPF is “sponsored” by a local government when it is to be owned or operated by a nongovernmental entity pursuant to a contract with the local government to provide the EPF.

“Essential public facility, regional” means an EPF that is owned, operated, or sponsored by Snohomish County or a regional agency whose boundaries encompass the city and which serves the countywide population or an area that is greater than the county. An EPF is “sponsored” by the county or a regional agency when it is to be owned or operated by a nongovernmental entity pursuant to a contract with the county or regional agency to provide the EPF.

“Essential public facility, state” means an EPF that is owned, operated, or sponsored by the state of Washington.

“Ethanol” means fuel that is derived from crops and is a flammable alcohol fuel that can be mixed with gasoline and is regulated like gasoline and can only be provided at a service station.

“Excavation” means the physical removal or movement of soil, rock, organic or other manmade or naturally occurring materials from their original position.

Existing. A constructed tower or base station is existing if it has been reviewed and approved under the applicable zoning or siting process, or under another state or local regulatory review process; provided, that a tower that has not been reviewed and reviewed because it was not in a zoned area when it was built, but was lawfully constructed, is existing for purposes of this section.

“Existing and ongoing agricultural activities” means and includes those activities conducted on lands defined in RCW 84.34.020(2), and those activities involved in the production of crops and livestock, including but not limited to operation and maintenance of farm and stock ponds or drainage ditches, irrigation systems, changes between agricultural activities, and normal operation, maintenance or repair of existing serviceable structures, facilities or improved areas. Activities which bring an area into agricultural use are not part of an ongoing activity. An operation ceases to be ongoing when the area on which it was conducted is proposed for conversion to a nonagricultural use or has lain idle for a period of longer than five years, unless the idle land is registered in a federal or state soils conservation program. Forest practices are not included in this definition.

“Existing grade” means the land elevation prior to grading.

“Exotic” means any species of plant or animal that is foreign (i.e., not native) to the Puget Sound area, not including commonly domesticated dogs, cats, or birds.

“Explosives” means any chemical compound, mixture or device, the primary or common purpose of which is to function by explosion. The term includes all items contained in the explosives list provided for in 26 CFR 181.23 and published annually in the Federal Register; provided, that for the purposes of this title, small arms ammunitions, small arms ammunitions primers, smokeless powder not exceeding fifty pounds, and black powder not exceeding five pounds shall not be defined as explosives.

“Extended family dwelling unit” means a separate secondary dwelling unit whether contained within a single-family dwelling or detached therefrom, occupied by a family member or members (which shall be limited to individuals related by blood, marriage, adoption); or by a non-family member whose specific purpose is the care of the owner-occupant of the property.

Non-family member caretakers shall only be permitted when the owner-occupant, by physical or mental malady, is unable to sufficiently perform for himself or herself, basic life functions (e.g., cooking, cleaning, transporting, personal safety, etc.). Non-family member caretakers shall be limited to registered nurses; licensed practical nurses; or other certified, registered, or commonly recognized health care professionals or aides; or other individuals whose purpose is to assist the owner-occupant with basic life functions.

“Fabrication shop” means an establishment for the fabricating of goods. The term shall include, but not be limited to, welding, cabinet, machine, and other similar shops.

“Facade” means the entire building frontage or street wall face, including the area from finished grade at the point of contact with the building to the top of the parapet, or eaves and the entire width of the building elevation. Towers, cupolas, parapets, pitched roofs, trusses, poles, chimneys and other architectural, artistic or mechanical features shall not be counted towards the facade area.

“Fallout shelter” means a structure or portion of a structure designed to provide protection to human life from nuclear fallout, air raids, storms or other emergencies.

“Family” means one or more persons related by blood, marriage, adoption or a group of not more than eight persons not related by blood, or marriage, living together as a single housekeeping unit in a dwelling unit.

“Fen” means a type of wetland found on organic soils, usually peat, where herbaceous hydrophytes are the dominant vegetation present.

“Fence(s)” means an artificially constructed barrier of any material or combination of materials erected to enclose or screen areas of land.

“Fill” or “filling” means the deposit, by artificial means, of soil, rock, organic or other manmade or naturally occurring materials which increases the ground surface elevation in a location other than the place from which it is excavated.

“Financial commitment” means that a source of public or private funds or combination thereof has been identified which will be sufficient to finance transportation facilities necessary to support development and that there is reasonable assurance that such funds will be timely put to that end.

“Financial institutions” means businesses dealing with financial transactions, to include, but not be limited to, banks, savings and loan institutions, mutual savings banks or their branches, and mortgage or finance companies or their branches.

“Finished grade” means the grade of the site after alterations are completed.

“Fire lane” means an emergency vehicle access in accordance with the International Fire Code as adopted by the Mukilteo Municipal Code and authorized under Chapter 8.20 as is now and may be amended. Fire lanes may be used to provide access to other than emergency vehicles.

“Fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas (HCAs)” means areas necessary for maintaining species in suitable habitats within their natural geographic distribution so that isolated sub-populations are not created as designated by WAC 365-190-080(5). These areas include:

1.    Areas with which state or federally designated endangered, threatened, and sensitive species have a primary association;

2.    Habitats of local importance, including but not limited to areas designated as priority habitat by the Department of Fish and Wildlife;

3.    Commercial and recreational shellfish areas;

4.    Kelp and eelgrass beds; forage fish (sandlance, surf smelt and herring) spawning areas;

5.    Naturally occurring ponds, under twenty acres and their submerged aquatic beds that provide fish or wildlife habitat, including those artificial ponds intentionally created from dry areas in order to mitigate impacts to ponds;

6.    Waters of the state, including lakes, rivers, ponds, streams, inland waters, underground waters, salt waters, and all other surface waters and watercourses within the jurisdiction of the state of Washington;

7.    Lakes, ponds, streams, and rivers planted with game fish by a governmental or tribal entity;

8.    State natural area preserves and natural resource conservation areas; and

9.    Land essential for preserving connections between habitat blocks and open spaces.

“Fish habitat areas” means areas adjacent to aquatic systems with flowing water (e.g., rivers, perennial or intermittent streams, seeps, springs) that contain elements of both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems which mutually influence each other. Fish habitat encompasses the area beginning at the ordinary high water line and extends to that portion of the terrestrial landscape that directly influences the aquatic ecosystem by providing shade, fine or large woody material, organic and inorganic debris, terrestrial insects, or habitat for fish-associated wildlife. It includes the entire extent of the floodplain because that area significantly influences and is influenced by the stream system during flood events. The fish habitat area encompasses the entire extent of vegetation adapted to wet conditions as well as adjacent upland plant communities that directly influence the stream system.

“Fix-it shop” means an establishment for the repair of small domestic appliances such as radios, televisions, toasters, cameras, and small machinery.

“Flag” means any fabric or bunting containing distinctive colors, patterns, or symbols, left loose to fly in the breeze attached to a freestanding vertical pole or to a pole attached to a building.

“Flood hazard area” means land in the floodplain within the city subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year.

“Floor area” means the sum of the gross horizontal areas of the floors of a building or buildings, measured from the exterior faces of exterior walls and from the centerline of division walls. Floor area includes: basement space, elevator shafts and stairwells at each floor, mechanical equipment rooms or attic spaces with headroom of more than seven feet, exterior steps or stairs, terraces and breezeways.

“Food truck” is a licensed and readily movable vehicle or trailer from which food intended for individual portion service is prepared and/or sold, with workers staying inside the vehicle but customers staying outside. This definition does not include businesses providing scheduled delivery of food products to individual businesses or residences.

“Forest practice” means any activity conducted on or directly pertaining to forest land and relating to growing, harvesting or processing timber, including but not limited to road and trail construction; harvesting, final and intermediate; precommercial thinning; reforestation; fertilization; prevention and suppression of diseases and insects; and salvage of trees and brush control.

“Foster home” is a residence licensed by the state which regularly provides care on a twenty-four-hour basis to at least one but not more than four foster children under the age of eighteen years.

“Fuel station” generally known as gas stations and referenced in the permitted use matrix, Chapter 17.16, service station, but can include the sale of gasoline, ethanol, diesel, biodiesel (e.g., B-99 or B-100 fuel) and other alternative fuels via permanent fuel dispensing operations that meet all codes. Only B-99 or B-100 fuel can be dispensed from an aboveground storage tank.

“Fully funded transportation improvement” means a project in the most recently adopted transportation capital improvement program for the city or similar program of another jurisdiction that has sufficient revenues secured as a financial commitment for construction within six years. Unsecured revenues include those from unformed local improvement districts, insufficient developer contributions, or revenues not yet committed for expenditure by outside agencies.

“Game arcade” means an entertainment venue featuring primarily video games, simulators, and/or other amusement devices.

“Garage” means a building or a portion of a building designed or used primarily for shelter or storage of vehicles or boats, but not airplanes.

“Geologic sensitive areas” means areas within the city that are:

1.    Affected by, contain, or exhibit unstable or potentially unstable soil types, steep slopes, erosion, earth movement, slides, surface water runoff, ground water, liquefaction, within the one-hundred-year flood plain, or within a tsunami hazard area.

2.    Within the designated geologic sensitive area as shown on the city’s “geologic sensitive areas” map (see Attachment A at the end of Chapter 17.52A).

3.    Areas that may not be suited to development consistent with public health, safety, or environmental standards, because of their susceptibility to erosion, sliding, earthquake, or other geological events as designated by WAC 365-190-080(4).

“Governmental structures or facilities” means any facility operated by the city, state, federal government or special purpose district.

“Grade” means the vertical elevation of the ground surface.

“Grading” means any excavating, filling, leveling, or contouring of the ground surface or alteration of the earth materials’ physical properties by human or mechanical means.

“Greenhouse” means a structure designed and used to create an artificial climate for the growing of plants.

“Gross floor area” means the sum of the gross horizontal areas of the floors of a building or buildings, measured from exterior faces of exterior walls, and from the centerline of common walls.

1.    Gross floor area includes: basement space, elevator shafts and stairwell at each floor, mechanical equipment rooms or attic spaces with headroom of seven feet, six inches or more, penthouse floors, interior balconies and mezzanines, and enclosed porches.

2.    Gross floor area shall not include: accessory water tanks and cooling towers, mechanical equipment rooms or attic spaces with headroom of less than seven feet, six inches, exterior steps or stairs, terraces, breezeways, and open spaces.

“Ground cover” means root vegetation normally less than one foot in height.

“Ground water” means water in a saturated zone or stratum beneath the surface of land or below a surface water body.

“Ground water seepage” means the emergence of water at the ground surface (also called a spring) resulting from the ground water table intersection with the ground surface. Ground water seepage can either be continuous or intermittent and seasonal.

“Group care facility” means a structure which is used to house up to fifteen individuals who are not related to the permanent resident of the household and which is licensed by the state to provide shelter, supervision, and treatment, and/or training for the following populations: disadvantaged (troubled/homeless) and abused children, abused women, mentally ill and/or retarded, elderly and the handicapped. The definition excludes the following population groups: criminals, drug/alcohol abusers, sexual deviants, psychotics, severely mentally retarded, ex-offenders, those who demonstrate a known pattern of violence and/or property destruction, and residents of foster homes.

“Grubbing” refers to the removal of organic material from the ground surface such as sod, stumps, roots, or buried logs which may lower the ground surface but does not change the ground contours relative to each other.

“Gymnasium” means a building designed or used for various indoor sports activities, and for conducting programs of physical education or fitness.

“Habitat” or “wildlife habitat” means areas that provide food, protective cover, nesting, breeding or movement for fish and wildlife and with which individual species have a primary association. Wildlife habitat also includes ponds that meet the definition(s) of critical or secondary habitat in these regulations.

“Habitat buffer” means an area surrounding a defined wildlife habitat or wetland, which reduces adverse impacts to habitat/wetland functions from adjacent development; the area between a wildlife habitat or wetland and the upland which serves as a transition zone.

“Habitat management” means management of land to maintain species in suitable habitats within their natural geographic distribution so that isolated subpopulations (i.e., genetically isolated and unable to interbreed with adjacent populations of the same species) are not created. This does not imply maintaining all habitat or individuals of all species in all cases.

“Habitat map” means maps of plant cover types/communities used to indicate the potential presence of wildlife species. Over time, the city intends to integrate available habitat maps and information into a database that will be available to applicants, agencies and the general public.

“Hard surface” means an impervious surface, a permeable pavement, a deck, or a vegetated roof.

“Hazard areas” means areas designated as frequently flooded areas or geologic sensitive areas due to potential for erosion, landslide, seismic activity, mine collapse, or other geological condition.

“Hazardous materials” means any material, including any substance, waste, or combination thereof, which because of its characteristics may cause, or significantly contribute to, a substantial present or potential hazard to human health, safety, property or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed.

“Health club” means gymnasiums, private clubs, athletic, health, or recreational establishments.

“Hedges” means a dense row of shrubs or trees.

“Home occupation” means any use customarily conducted entirely within a dwelling and carried on by the inhabitants thereof, which use is clearly incidental and secondary to the use of the dwelling purposes and does not change the character thereof.

Home, Rest, Convalescent, Nursing. “Rest home,” “convalescent home,” or “nursing home” means a home operated similarly to a boardinghouse but not restricted to any number of guests or guest rooms, in which nursing, dietary, or other personal services are furnished to convalescents, invalids or aged persons, but in which homes are kept no persons suffering from an acute mental sickness, or from a contagious or communicable disease, and in which homes are performed no surgery or other primary treatments such as are customarily provided in hospitals, and in which no persons are kept or served who normally would be admitted to a mental hospital.

Home, Retirement for the Aged. “Retirement home for the aged” means a place of residence for three or more families or individuals in apartment like quarters, rented, cooperative or condominium, which may feature services to retired persons such as limited nursing facilities, minimum maintenance living accommodations, and recreation programs and facilities.

“Homeless temporary encampment” means a transient or interim gathering or community residing out of doors on a site with services provided and supervised by a sponsor or managing agency comprised of temporary enclosures (tents and other forms of portable shelter that are not permanently attached to the ground), which may include common areas designed to provide food, living and sanitary services to occupants of the encampment.

“Horse paddock” means a fenced area for confining, exercising or grazing of horses or ponies. Horse paddocks must meet the following requirements:

1.    A conditional use permit is required to have a horse paddock.

2.    All horse paddocks shall be set back at least ten feet from all property lines.

3.    The minimum lot size on which a horse paddock may be located is:

a.    One acre. If two horses/ponies are harbored on a single lot then the minimum lot size is two acres. If three horses/ponies are harbored on a single lot then the minimum lot size is three acres.

b.    If a farm management plan approved by the Snohomish Conservation District is obtained and submitted as part of the conditional use permit application, the minimum lot size on which a horse paddock or horse shelter building may be located is twenty thousand square feet with a maximum of three horses/ponies.

4.    The maximum number of horses/ponies that may be harbored on one lot is three.

5.    Adjacent lots with common ownership are considered to be one lot.

“Horse shelter building” means a building used partially or exclusively for the shelter of horses or ponies with at least three walls and a roof, including a door opening properly shielded from the wind and rain, commensurate to the size of the inhabiting animal and a fenced area for confining, grazing or exercising horses or ponies. Horse shelter buildings must meet the following requirements:

1.    A conditional use permit is required to have a horse shelter building.

2.    All horse shelter buildings shall be set back at least thirty-five feet from all property lines.

3.    The minimum lot size on which a horse shelter building may be located is:

a.    One acre. If two horses/ponies are harbored on a single lot then the minimum lot size is two acres. If three horses/ponies are harbored on a single lot then the minimum lot size is three acres.

b.    If a farm management plan approved by the Snohomish Conservation District is obtained and submitted as part of the conditional use permit application, the minimum lot size on which a horse paddock or horse shelter building may be located is twenty thousand square feet with a maximum of three horses/ponies.

4.    The maximum number of horses/ponies that may be harbored on one lot is three.

5.    Adjacent lots with common ownership are considered to be one lot.

“Hospital” means an establishment which provides accommodations, facilities and services over a continuous period of twenty-four hours or more, for observation, diagnosis and cure, of two or more individuals, not related by blood or marriage to the operator, who are suffering from illness, injury, deformity, or abnormality or from any condition requiring obstetrical, medical or surgical service.

Hospital, Animal. “Animal hospital” means a building or premises for the medical or surgical treatment of animals or pets, including dog, cat and veterinary hospitals.

“Hotel” means any building or portion thereof containing five or more separately occupied rooms that are rented or hired out to be occupied or which are occupied for sleeping purposes for compensation, whether the compensation be paid directly or indirectly. A central kitchen, dining room, private toilet facility and accessory shops and services catering to the general public can be provided. Institutions housing persons under legal restraint or requiring medical attention or care are not included in this definition.

“Housing for people with functional disabilities” means housing used, or intended for use, by persons with functional disabilities. The term includes, but is not limited to, adult family homes, residential care facilities, and housing for any supported living arrangement, as defined in this chapter.

“Hydrologist” means a professional who has experience or specialized training in hydrology.

“Hyperchlorinated” means water that contains more than ten mg/liter chlorine.

“Illicit connection” means any manmade conveyance that is connected to a municipal separate storm sewer without a permit, excluding roof drains and other similar type connections. Examples include sanitary sewer connections, floor drains, channels, pipelines, conduits, inlets, or outlets that are connected directly to the municipal separate storm sewer system.

“Illicit discharge” means any direct or indirect nonstormwater discharge to the city’s storm drain system, except as expressly allowed in Title 13.

“Impervious surface” means a nonvegetated surface area that either prevents or retards the entry of water into the soil mantle as under natural conditions prior to development or causes water to run off the surface in greater quantities or at an increased rate of flow from the flow present under natural conditions prior to development. A nonvegetated surface area which causes water to run off the surface in greater quantities or at an increased rate of flow from the flow present under natural conditions prior to development. Common impervious surfaces include, but are not limited to, roof tops, walkways, patios, driveways, parking lots or storage areas, concrete or asphalt paving, gravel roads, packed earthen materials, and oiled, macadam or other surfaces that similarly impede the natural infiltration of stormwater. Open, uncovered retention/detention facilities shall not be considered as impervious surfaces for the purposes of determining whether the thresholds for application of minimum requirements are exceeded. Open, uncovered retention/detention facilities shall be considered impervious surfaces for purposes of runoff modeling.

“Infiltration” means the downward movement of water from the surface to the subsoil.

“Infiltration facility” means a drainage facility designed to use the hydrologic process of surface and stormwater runoff soaking into the ground, commonly referred to as percolation, to dispose of surface and stormwater runoff.

“In-kind mitigation” means replacement of wetlands with substitute wetlands whose characteristics closely approximate those destroyed or degraded by a regulated activity.

Institution, Educational. “Educational institution” means a college or university supported by public or private funds, tuitions, contributions or endowments, giving advanced academic instructions as approved by the State Board of Education or by a recognized accrediting agency, excluding: preschools; elementary, junior, and senior high schools; trade and commercial schools; and fraternity and sorority houses.

“Intentionally created streams” means streams created through purposeful human action, such as irrigation and drainage ditches, grass-lined swales, and canals.

“Interflow” means that portion of precipitation that infiltrates into the soil and moves laterally through the upper soil horizons until intercepted by a stream channel or until it returns to the surface via a wetland, spring, or seep.

“Intermittent” means interrupted at intervals, periodic, recurrent, flowing in the same direction (streams), or depressions which fill on a frequent basis (ponds).

“Isolated wetland” means wetlands that are not hydrologically connected to other surface water features, either by aboveground flows or shallow subsurface flows, indicated by presence of hydrophytic vegetation or hydric soils between the wetland and the surface water features; or are directly associated, indicated by surface or subsurface flow, with streams with a mean annual flow less than five cfs.

“Jetty” means an artificial barrier used to change the natural littoral drift to protect inlet entrances from clogging by excessive sediment.

“Junkyard” means a lot, land or structure, or part thereof, used for the collecting, storage or sale of wastepaper, rags, scrap metal or discarded material, or for the collecting, dismantling, storage, salvaging or sale of parts of machinery or vehicles not in running condition.

“Kennel” means any facility, other than a hobby kennel, licensed to operate as a facility housing, boarding, and/or breeding dogs, cats, or other animals regardless of the number of animals harbored; or where there are more than two litters of kittens and/or puppies in any license year; or where four or more adult dogs and/or cats at least four months of age or combination thereof are kept, housed, boarded, or harbored for any purpose. No kennel shall harbor any inherently dangerous mammal or reptile as defined in Title 6.

Kennel, Commercial. “Commercial kennel” means any lot or building in which four or more dogs and/or cats at least four months of age are kept commercially for board or propagation or treatment.

“Kennel, hobby” means any facility at a private residence in a single-family residential zoning district where fewer than four adult dogs or cats, or a combination thereof, are bred or kept for hunting, training, organized show exhibition, field working, obedience trials, or for enjoyment of the species; provided, that dog and cat reproduction is limited to no more than two litters of puppies and/or kittens in any calendar year. No kennel shall harbor any inherently dangerous mammal or reptile as defined in Title 6.

“Key” means a designed compacted fill placed in a trench excavated in earth material beneath the toe of a proposed fill slope.

“Kitchen” means any rooms designed to be used for cooking and/or preparation of food.

“Laboratory” means a building or group of buildings in which are located facilities for scientific research, investigation, testing, or experimentation, but not facilities for the manufacture or sale of products, except as incidental to the main purpose of the laboratory.

“Land-disturbing activity” means any activity that results in a change in the existing soil cover (both vegetative and nonvegetative) and/or the existing soil topography. Land-disturbing activities include but are not limited to demolition, construction, clearing, grading, filling and excavation.

“Landscaping” means the placement, preservation, or replacement of trees, grass, shrubs, plants, flowers, and other vegetative materials in accordance with an approved landscaping plan meeting adopted landscaping plan, design, and installation standards. Artificial plants, shrubs, bushes, flowers, and materials in movable containers shall not be considered “landscaping” for purposes of this title. Vegetation planted as part of LID BMPs shall be considered “landscaping” for purposes of this title where all landscape requirements in this title are met.

“Landslide hazard areas” means areas that are potentially subject to risk of mass movement due to a combination of geologic, topographic, and hydrologic factors. These areas are typically susceptible to landslides because of a combination of factors including: bedrock, soil, slope gradient, slope aspect, geologic structure, ground water, or other factors.

“Large parcel new development” means development that includes the creation or addition of five thousand square feet or more of new impervious surface and/or land-disturbing activity of one acre or more within any rolling twelve-month period, except for the following:

1.     Development of an individual, detached single-family residence.

2.     Development of an individual, detached duplex residence.

3.     Commercial agriculture.

4.     Forest practices regulated under WAC Title 222 other than Class IV general forest practices that are conversions from timberland to other uses.

“Latecomer’s agreement” means a contract which provides for the reimbursement of persons who construct a public stormwater facility or system extension.

“Legal nonconforming sign” means any on-premises sign that does not comply with this title but was in compliance with this title (or Title 18 Snohomish County Code) when it was initially erected upon its current location.

“Level of service (LOS),” used in the context of traffic and transportation analysis, means a measure that describes the operational condition of the transportation system and acceptable adequacy requirements. Mukilteo’s transportation levels of service are set forth in the transportation element of the Mukilteo comprehensive plan and consist of six alphabetical categories corresponding to the amount of average delay per vehicle at signalized and unsignalized intersections, and average travel speed for urban street segments as defined in the most current version of the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM).

“Leveling” means a change of the ground surface generally to reduce the slope or eliminate small bumps or dips.

“Library” means an organized collection of resources made accessible to the public for reference or borrowing supported with money derived from taxation.

“Licensed practitioners” means those persons possessing a license earned as a result of passing an examination administered by a state or national board of examiners, commission, or professional association. The term also includes necessary support staff for the above-defined individuals. Such persons shall include, but not be limited to, the practice of medicine, surgery, osteopathy, chiropractic, chiropody, naturopathy, dentistry, nursing, physical therapy, optometry, or any other of the healing arts by person licensed by the state.

“Licensed professional” means a professional civil engineer that specializes in geotechnical engineering or a engineering geologist, licensed to practice in the state of Washington in accordance with either Chapter 18.43 or 18.220 RCW.

“Lot” means a single tract of land, no matter how legally described, whether by metes and bounds and/or by lot or lots and block designation as in a recorded plat, which at the time of applying for a building permit is designated by its owner or developer as the tract to be used, developed or built upon as a unit of land and assigned to the particular use for which the building permit is being secured and having frontage on or access to a public street or private road.

“Lot area” means the total horizontal area within the boundary lines of a lot. Where public right-of-way easements are located within or bordering a parcel, lot area computation shall not include that area contained within the easement.

Lot, Corner. “Corner lot” means a lot at the junction of and fronting on two or more intersecting streets or private roads.

“Lot coverage” means the amount of land area on a lot which may be covered by a building or structure.

“Lot depth” means the mean dimension of the lot from the front street line to the rear line.

Lot, Interior. “Interior lot” means a lot fronting on one street.

Lot, Legal Nonconforming. A preexisting, “legal nonconforming lot” is any lot which was a legal building site of record in the city either with the city or county.

Lot Line, Front. “Front lot line” means the lot line separating the lot from the street; or, in the case of a panhandle lot, the lot line chosen by the owner which separates the access corridor from the remainder of the lot; and in the case of a corner lot, the street frontage designated by the owner as the front lot line.

“Lot of record” is a lot which is a part of plat and/or subdivision as recorded by state law and has direct legal access to the public right-of-way or an easement approved by the city.

Lot, Panhandle. “Panhandle lot” means an irregularly-shaped lot, also known as a “pipestem” lot, “panhandle” lot, or “flag-and-pole” lot, which has a narrow access corridor such that lot coverage must occur on the interior portion of the lot. Such lots are only permitted subject to the following conditions:

1.    That the access corridor has a minimum street frontage of twenty feet;

2.    That the access corridor has a maximum length of one hundred fifty feet;

3.    That density calculations shall be determined based upon the minimum lot width line;

4.    That the access corridor has and shall maintain a minimum height clearance of twelve feet;

5.    That in platted subdivisions no more than two such lots shall occur for every fifteen lots in the subdivision;

6.    That in platted subdivisions such lots shall be restricted to use in cul-de-sacs or where topography substantially interferes with the normal frontage required by the underlying zoning district; and

7.    That in platted subdivisions use of such lots shall require a showing that they are necessary to maintain the integrity and quality of the proposed development.

Lot, Through. “Through lot” means a lot fronting on two streets that do not intersect on the parcel’s lot lines.

“Lot width” means the distance between the side lot lines as measured along a line:

1.    Parallel to the front lot line; or

2.    If the front lot line is a curve, parallel to the tangent thereof, and at a distance from the front lot line equal to the depth of the required front yard; or

3.    If for a triangular or other taper-shaped lot narrowest at the front lot line, parallel to the front lot line at a point representing one-half of the lot depth.

“Low impact development (LID)” means a stormwater and land use management strategy that strives to mimic pre-disturbance hydrologic processes of infiltration, filtration, storage, evaporation and transpiration by emphasizing conservation, use of on-site natural features, site planning, and distributed stormwater management practices that are integrated into a project design.

“Low impact development (LID) best management practices (BMPs)” means distributed stormwater management practices, integrated into a project design, that emphasize pre-disturbance hydrologic processes of infiltration, filtration, storage, evaporation and transpiration. LID BMPs include, but are not limited to: bioretention, rain gardens, permeable pavements, roof downspout controls, dispersion, soil quality and depth, minimum excavation foundations, vegetated roofs, and water reuse.

“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.

“Maintenance standards” means utility maintenance standards, if any, which may include but are not limited to minimum requirements for maintaining stormwater facilities so they function as intended, as adopted by the city’s public works director.

“Major aboveground utility facility” means a structure or improvement installed aboveground and outside public right-of-way, including electrical substations; water towers and site development including garages and storage buildings; sewer lift station; natural gas regulating stations containing aboveground structures; and man-made regional detention or retention facilities.

“Managing agency” means an organization that organizes and manages a homeless encampment. A “managing agency” may be the same entity as the sponsor.

“Mansard roof” means a sloped roof or roof-like facade architecturally able to be treated as a building wall.

“Manufactured home” means a structure designed and constructed to be transportable in one or more sections, is built on a permanent chassis, and designed to be used as a dwelling unit when connected to the required utilities that include plumbing, heating, and electrical systems contained therein. “Manufactured homes” must meet or exceed the standards established by federal law 42 U.S.C. 5401-5403 and meet or exceed the requirements for a “designated manufactured home” as defined in RCW 35.63.160, now or hereafter amended. “Manufactured homes” do not include “mobile homes” or “modular homes.”

Manufacturing, Heavy. “Heavy manufacturing” means a use engaged in the basic processing and manufacturing of materials or products predominately from extracted or raw materials, or a use engaged in storage of, or manufacturing processes using flammable or explosive materials, or storage or manufacturing processes that potentially involve hazardous or commonly recognized offensive conditions.

Manufacturing, Light. “Light manufacturing” means a use engaged in the manufacture, predominantly from previously prepared materials, of finished products or parts, including processing, fabrication, assembly, treatment, packaging, incidental storage, sales and distribution of such products, but excluding basic industrial processing.

“Marijuana” or “cannabis” means all parts of the plant cannabis, whether growing or not.

“Marijuana facility” means a state-licensed marijuana production, processing, or retail facility or a medical cannabis collective garden. Marijuana facilities shall not be a home occupation as defined in this chapter.

“Marijuana processing facility” means an entity licensed by the state of Washington to process, package, and label usable marijuana and marijuana-infused products for sale at wholesale to marijuana retailers. A marijuana processing facility shall not be a home occupation as defined in this chapter.

“Marijuana production facility” means an entity licensed by the state of Washington to produce marijuana for sale at wholesale to marijuana processor licensees and to other marijuana producers. A marijuana production facility shall not be a home occupation as defined in this chapter.

“Marijuana retail facility” means an entity licensed by the state of Washington to sell only usable marijuana, marijuana-infused products and marijuana paraphernalia to persons twenty-one years of age and older. A marijuana retail facility shall not be a home occupation as defined in this chapter.

“Marina” means a facility providing for the rental or public use of moorage for pleasure craft and which may include accessory facilities such as sales, rentals, and servicing of these craft.

“Mass wasting potential; high and low” is a general term for a variety of processes by which large masses of rock or earth material are moved down slope by gravity, either slowly or quickly.

“Mature forested buffer” means a critical area buffer where at least one acre is covered by trees greater than twenty feet in height with a crown cover of at least thirty percent and where at least eight trees/acre are eighty to two hundred years old or have average diameters (dbh) exceeding twenty-one inches (fifty-three centimeters) measured from the uphill side of the tree trunk at four and one-half feet up from the ground.

“Mature forested wetland” means wetlands which are dominated by woody vegetation (such as alder, cedar, hemlock, spruce, cottonwood, and some willow species, etc.) that is over twenty feet tall, and at least fifty years old for deciduous trees and eighty years old for evergreens.

Mean Depth. The “mean depth” of a lot is the depth of the lot measured on a line approximately perpendicular to the fronting street and midway between the side lines of the lot.

“Mean ground level” means the calculation of the arithmetic mean of the elevations of the prior undisturbed ground level, as of May 5, 1986, except that the RD 20.0, RD 12.5(S), RD 9.6(S), RD 8.4, RD 7.2, WFB, MRD, CB(S), PCB(S), BP, IP, LI, and HI zones shall be the prior undisturbed ground level as of July 22, 1998, of the four corners of the smallest rectangle which will enclose all of the current or proposed building walls containing the habitable, working, storage, common and garage areas. If a corner of the rectangle projects beyond the property, the elevation of the corner shall be deemed to be the arithmetic mean elevation of the two points projected downward where the two sides of the rectangle cross the property line. Application of this definition to lots where all four corners of the rectangle are located on the property is illustrated on Exhibit A in this section. Application of this definition to lots where a corner projects beyond the boundaries of the property is illustrated on Exhibit B in this section.

MHR. Mukilteo habitat reserve is a component of the Mukilteo CAMP. The MHR identifies potential sites for off-site buffer mitigation for projects that do not have feasible on-site mitigation options. The MHR sites were chosen for their highly functional ecological conditions, which would be preserved through establishment of permanent conservation easements.

“Microcells” is defined in accord with RCW 80.36.375.

“Mini-self storage facility” means a building or group of buildings consisting of individual, small, self-contained units that are leased or owned for the storage of business, household goods, and/or contractors supplies.

“Mitigate” or “mitigation” means and includes, in order of preference:

1.    Avoiding the impact altogether by not taking a certain action or parts of actions;

2.    Minimizing impacts by limiting the degree or magnitude of the action and its implementation;

3.    Rectifying the impact by repairing, rehabilitating, or restoring the affected environment;

4.    Reducing or eliminating the impact over time by preservation and maintenance operations pursuant to activities undertaken during the life of the action;

5.    Compensating for the impact by replacing or providing substitute resources or environments.

While monitoring without additional actions is not considered mitigation for the purposes of these regulations, it may be a part of a comprehensive mitigation program.

“Mobile home” means a dwelling unit that is either a self-propelled licensed vehicle or a trailer. “Mobile homes” are not “manufactured homes.” Types of mobile homes include, but are not limited to, “motor homes,” “recreational vehicles” and “camping vehicles.” “Mobile homes” may not be used for living purposes except where permitted as a caretaker’s dwelling or as a temporary use in residential zoning districts as allowed in Chapter 17.16.

“Mobile or temporary fuel dispensing” means a certified vehicle licensed by the state of Washington with fuel nozzles that fit into passenger or small truck vehicles and have shut-off nozzles of no more than thirty gallons of fuel for the purposes of providing mobile dispensing of biodiesel of only B-99 or B-100, operated by business license holder, dispensed only by the operator or employee at mobile distribution sites (no self-serve), and only in specified locations or at service stations.

“Modular home” means a factory-assembled structure designed primarily for use as a dwelling when connected to the required utilities that include plumbing, heating, and electrical systems contained therein, does not contain its own running gear, and must be mounted on a permanent foundation. “Modular homes” are not “manufactured homes,” “mobile homes” or “motor homes.”

“Modulation” means the stepping back or projecting forward of portions of a building facade within specified intervals of building width and depth, as a means of breaking up the apparent bulk of a structure’s continuous exterior walls.

“Moorage” means any device or structure used to secure a vessel for temporary anchorage, but which is not attached to the vessel (such as a pier or buoy).

Motel. A “motel” is a building or buildings, detached or in connected units or designed as a single structure, the units of which are used as individual sleeping units having their own private toilet facilities and may or may not have their own kitchen facilities, and are designed and used exclusively for the accommodation of transient automobile travelers. Accommodations for trailers are not included. The term includes tourist court, motor lodge, auto court, cabin court, motor inn and similar names.

“Motor home” means a motor vehicle originally designed, reconstructed, or permanently altered to provide facilities for human habitation, which include lodging and cooking or sewage disposal, and is enclosed within a solid body shell with the vehicle, but excludes a camper or like unit constructed separately and affixed to a motor vehicle. “Motor homes” are a type of “mobile home.”

“Motor vehicle fuel” means gasoline and any other inflammable gas or liquid, by whatsoever name the gasoline, gas, or liquid may be known or sold, the chief use of which is as fuel for the propulsion of motor vehicles or motorboats.

“Moved-in building” means structures proposed to be relocated to a site within the city of Mukilteo. “Manufactured homes” are exempted from regulations regarding “moved-in buildings.”

Multi-Modal (Intermodal) Facility. “Multi-modal facility” or “intermodal” means a facility or terminal that is a hub which links transportation services which could include: local transit, inter-city buses, carpools, vanpools, ferries, commuter rail, pedestrian and bicycle access, taxis and airport shuttles.

“Multiple-building (multi-tenant) complex” means a group of structures housing at least one retail business, office, commercial venture or multifamily dwelling; or a single structure containing more than one business or multifamily dwelling with separating walls and at least one outside access for each unit.

“Municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4)” means a conveyance or system of conveyances (including roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, manmade channels, or storm drains):

1.    Owned or operated by the city of Mukilteo;

2.    Designed or used for collection or conveying of stormwater;

3.    Which is not part of a publicly owned treatment works (POTW). “POTW” means any device or system used in treatment of municipal sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature which is publicly owned; and

4.    Which is not a combined sewer. “Combined sewer” means a system that collects sanitary sewage and stormwater in a single sewer system.

“National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Stormwater Discharge Permit” means a permit issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (or by the Washington Department of Ecology under authority delegated pursuant to 33 USC Section 1342(b)) that authorizes the discharge of pollutants to waters of the United States, whether the permit is applicable on an individual, group, or general area-wide basis.

“Native growth protection area” means a protected corridor vegetated with native trees, shrubs and groundcover that connects critical areas or permanently preserved natural areas within or adjacent to and across the project site. The corridor should be maintained to exclude nonnative, invasive species.

“Native vegetation” means plant species, other than noxious weeds, that are indigenous to the area in question and which reasonably could have been expected to naturally occur on the site.

“New development” means land-disturbing activities, including Class IV—general forest practices that are conversions from timberland to other uses; structural development, including construction or installation of a building or other structure; creation of impervious surfaces; and subdivision, short subdivision and binding site plans, as defined and applied in Chapter 58.17 RCW. Projects meeting the definition of redevelopment shall not be considered new development.

“Nonconforming structure” means a structure which was legally constructed prior to the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter but which would not be permitted as a new structure under the terms of this title because such structure is not in conformance with the setback, height, lot coverage, or open space requirements of the zone in which it is located.

“Nonconforming use” means a use which lawfully occupied a building or land at the time this title became effective, but which use, because of the passage or application of this title, or amendment thereof, does not conform with the use regulations of the district in which it is located.

“Nonstormwater discharge” means any discharge to the storm drain system that is not composed entirely of stormwater.

Nursery, Day. “Day nursery” means an agency or institution which provides supplemented parental care during the day or by the hour for a group of children, with or without compensation.

“Nursing home” means a structure and/or premises licensed as required by state law for nursing, dietary care and other personal services rendered to convalescents, invalids and aged persons, but excluding contagious, communicable, or mental illness cases and surgery or primary treatments such as are customarily provided for in hospitals.

“Off-street parking” means parking facilities for motor vehicles on other than a public street or alley which contain a minimum square footage of one hundred sixty-two square feet for each vehicle.

“Old Town” means the geographic area of the original Mukilteo settlement generally described as north of 6th Street and west of Japanese Gulch to Puget Sound and the area west of Mukilteo Speedway to Puget Sound between 6th and 11th Streets.

“One-hundred-year, twenty-four-hour storm” means a storm with a twenty-four-hour duration with a one-one hundredth probability of occurring in any twelve-month period.

“Open space, active” means all common space designated and intended for the purposes of recreation and active use, such as parks, plazas, playgrounds, and sport courts.

“Open space, development” is that part of a lot, or any number of lots or portions thereof, brought together under one development plan for an entire parcel, other than required yards, which:

1.     Are free and clear of buildings, structures and paved areas used for automobile parking or vehicular access and to remain open and unobstructed from the ground to the sky; and

2.     Are accessible (and made available at all times) to all persons occupying a dwelling unit of the structures located on the lot.

“Open space, land use” as a use in Table 17.16.040 means those uses such as public parks, private parks, NGPAs, stormwater detention facilities or similar uses that provide wildlife and critical habitat, passive recreational uses, and environmental education activities that are generally free and clear of buildings, structures and paved areas used for automobile parking or vehicular access and to remain open and unobstructed from the ground to the sky.

“Open space, passive” means all common open space not meeting the definition of active recreational open space, including, but not limited to, critical areas and their associated buffers, and LID facilities.

“Operate,” for purposes of the public stormwater system, means to manage on a full-time basis a stormwater facility or the flow of water through any portion of the stormwater system.

“Operational best management practices (BMPs)” means a type of source control BMP. They are schedules of activities, prohibition of practices, and other managerial practices to prevent or reduce pollutants from entering stormwater. Examples include formation of a pollution prevention team, good housekeeping practices, preventive maintenance procedures, spill prevention and clean-up, street sweeping, employee training, inspections of pollutant sources and BMPs, and record keeping. They can also include process changes, raw material/product changes, and recycling wastes.

“Ordinary high water mark—streams (OHWM-Streams)” means the mark that will be found by examining the bed and banks of a stream and ascertaining where the presence and action of waters are so common and usual, and so long maintained in ordinary years, as to mark upon the soil a vegetative character distinct from that of the abutting upland. In any area where the ordinary high water mark cannot be found, the line of mean high water shall substitute. In any area where neither can be found, the top of the channel bank shall be substituted.

“Out-of-kind mitigation” means replacement of wetlands whose characteristics do not closely approximate those destroyed or degraded by a regulated activity.

“Overstory” means vegetation above ten feet in height.

“Overwater structure” means a structure extending on or over the surface of the water which has one or more walls, with or without a roof.

“Parapet” means that part of the wall which extends above the roof.

“Park and ride lot” means a parking lot designed to park vehicles and designated as a parking facility specifically intended for use by public transportation and ridesharing patrons from that location.

Park, Private. “Private park” means a privately owned parcel maintained for purposes of pleasure, exercise, amusement or ornament opened to the public or to a restricted community. Uses include, but are not limited to, trails, tot lots/playground, and small-scale sports courts and gathering areas.

Park, Public. “Public park” means a parcel maintained for purposes of pleasure, exercise, amusement or ornament, being owned by and opened to the public. Uses include, but are not limited to, trails, tot lots/playground, and small-scale sports courts and gathering areas.

“Parking garage” means a structure that is built to provide the parking of vehicles above or below ground. This is not the same as a “garage” used to park a car or truck (equal to or less than ten thousand GTW) for residential use.

Parking Lots, Commercial. “Commercial parking lots” means a lot designed for the parking of more than two vehicles, which is within or adjacent to a commercial or industrial district and for which there is an hourly, daily, weekly or monthly charge for the parking of a private vehicle.

Parking Structures, Commercial. “Commercial parking structures” means a parking structure designed for the parking of more than nine vehicles and for which there is an hourly, daily, weekly or monthly charge for the parking of a private vehicle.

“Peak discharge” means the maximum surface water runoff rates determined for the design storm at the point of discharge from the subject property.

“Pedestrian-oriented building facades” means ground floor facades which employ at least one of the following characteristics:

1.    Transparent window areas or window displays along at least seventy-five percent of the ground floor facade. The window area must cover the area between two feet and eight feet above the sidewalk or walkway surface.

2.    A combination of sculptural, mosaic, or bas-relief artwork, and transparent window areas or window displays (as described above) over at least seventy-five percent of the ground floor facade.

“Pedestrian-oriented space” means an area between a building and a street, access road, or along a pedestrian path which promotes visual and pedestrian access onto the site and which provides pedestrian-oriented amenities and landscaping to enhance the public’s use of the space for passive activities such as resting, reading, picnicking, etc.

“Pedestrian-oriented use (or business)” means a commercial enterprise with customers who commonly arrive by foot; or with signage, advertising, window display, and entryways oriented toward pedestrian traffic. Pedestrian-oriented businesses may include restaurants, retail shops, personal service businesses, travel services, banks (except drive-through windows), and similar establishments.

“People with functional disabilities” means:

1.    A person who because of a recognized chronic physical or mental condition or disease is functionally disabled to the extent of:

a.    Needing care, supervision or monitoring to perform activities of daily living or instrumental activities of daily living, or

b.    Needing support to ameliorate or compensate for the effects of the functional disabilities so as to lead as independent a life as possible, or

c.    Having a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more of such person’s major life activities, or

d.    Having a record of having such an impairment; or

2.    Being regarded as having such an impairment, but such term does not include current, illegal use of or active addictions to a controlled substance.

“Permeable pavement” 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 is a hard surface, as defined herein, and often includes an aggregate base that provides structural support and acts as a stormwater reservoir.

“Permanent erosion control” means continuous on-site and off-site control measures that are needed to control conveyance or deposition of earth, turbidity or pollutants after development, construction or restoration.

“Permanent fuel dispensing” means that fuel can only be dispensed at service stations that have been permitted outright or under a conditional use permit as specified in Chapter 17.16.

“Permanent stormwater quality control plan (PSQCP)” means a plan prepared in accordance with the Ecology Manual which includes permanent BMPs for the control of pollution from stormwater after construction and/or land-disturbing activity has been completed. For small sites, this requirement is met by implementing a small parcel erosion and sediment control plan (SPESCP).

“Permit authority” means the administrative staff or hearing body designated by the city under Chapter 17.13, Project Permit Review Procedures, to approve, approve with conditions, or deny all applications, appeals, or legislative actions.

“Permitted use” means a use that is allowed in a district as a matter of right and which is not subject to the special conditions of a conditional use or an accessory use.

“Permittee” means the person(s) or entity to whom a permit is issued.

“Person” means any individual, association, organization, partnership, firm, corporation or other entity recognized by law and acting as either the owner of a premises or as the owner’s agent.

“Personal service shops” means a facility used for administering personal services including, but not limited to, beauty shops, barber shops, tanning salons, tailoring, shoe repairing and other similar uses, excluding uses such as massage parlors, body painting studios and other uses otherwise expressly provided for.

“Personal wireless service facilities” means facilities for the provision of personal wireless services.

“Personal wireless services” means commercial mobile services, unlicensed wireless services, and common carrier wireless exchange access services, as defined by federal laws and regulations.

“Places of worship” means an establishment, the principal purpose of which is religious worship and for which the principal building or other structure contains the sanctuary or principal place of worship, and including accessory uses in the main building or in separate buildings or structures, including Sunday school rooms and religious education classrooms, assembly rooms, kitchen, library room or reading room, recreation hall, a one-family dwelling unit and residences on the site for nuns and clergy, but excluding facilities for training for religious orders.

“Playground” means a public outdoor recreation area for children, usually equipped with swings, slides, and other playground equipment, owned and/or managed by a city, county, state, or federal government.

“P.M. peak-hour traffic” means the total number of vehicle trips traveling to or from a development project during the consecutive sixty-minute period between two-thirty p.m. and six-thirty p.m. which experiences the highest number of vehicle trips traveling to and from the development project.

“Pollutant” means anything which causes or contributes to pollution. Pollutants may include, but are not limited to: paints, varnishes, and solvents; oil and other automotive fluids; nonhazardous liquid and solid wastes and yard wastes; refuse, rubbish, garbage, litter, or other discarded or abandoned objects and accumulation, so that same may cause or contribute to pollution; floatables; pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers; hazardous substances and wastes; sewage, fecal coliform and pathogens; dissolved and particulate metals; animal wastes; wastes and residues that result from constructing a building or structure; and noxious or offensive matter of any kind.

“Pollution” means contamination, pollution, or other alteration of the physical, chemical, or biological properties of the stormwater system or waters of the state (as defined in RCW 90.48.020), including without limitation change in temperature, taste, color, turbidity, or odor of the water, or the discharge of any liquid, gaseous, solid, radioactive or other substance into any waters of the state as will or is likely to create a nuisance or render such waters harmful, detrimental or injurious to the public health, safety, or welfare, or to domestic, commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational, or other legitimate beneficial uses, or to livestock, wild animals, birds, fish or other aquatic life.

“Pond” means a naturally existing body of standing water which exists on a year-round basis and occurs in a depression of land or expanded portion of a stream. Ponds subject to these regulations must be greater than one acre in area and otherwise meet the definition of critical habitat.

“Porous soil types” means soils, as identified by the National Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, that contain voids, pores, interstices, or other openings which allow the passing of water.

“Premises” means any building, lot, parcel of land, or portion of land, whether improved or unimproved, including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.

“Print shop” means an establishment employing twenty-five or fewer persons which provides custom printing services to the public. The term may include publishing of books, magazines, periodicals or newspapers when within the above employment limits.

“Printing plant” means an establishment employing more than twenty-five persons which is engaged in the publishing of books, magazines, periodicals, or newspapers, and may include the provision of custom printing services to the public.

“Priority habitat” is a habitat type with unique or significant value to many species. An area identified and mapped as priority habitat has one or more of the following attributes: (1) comparatively high fish and wildlife density; (2) comparatively high fish and wildlife species diversity; (3) important fish and wildlife breeding habitat; (4) important fish and wildlife seasonal ranges; (5) important fish and wildlife movement corridors; (6) limited availability; (7) high vulnerability to habitat alteration; and (8) unique or dependent species.

A priority habitat may be described by a unique vegetation type or by a dominant plant species that is of primary importance to fish and wildlife (e.g., oak woodlands, juniper savannah). A priority habitat may also be described by a successional stage (e.g., old growth and mature forests). Alternatively, a priority habitat may consist of specific habitat features (e.g., talus slopes, caves, snags) of key value to fish and wildlife.

“Priority species” are fish and wildlife species requiring protective measures and/or management actions to ensure their survival. A species identified and mapped as priority species fit one or more of the following criteria:

1.    Criterion 1—State-Listed and Candidate Species. State-listed species are native fish and wildlife species legally designated as endangered (WAC 232-12-014), threatened (WAC 232-12-011), or sensitive (WAC 232-12-011). State candidate species are fish and wildlife species that will be reviewed by the department (POL-M-6001) for possible listing as endangered, threatened, or sensitive according to the process and criteria defined in WAC 232-12-297.

2.    Criterion 2—Vulnerable Aggregations. Vulnerable aggregations include species or groups of animals susceptible to significant population declines, within a specific area or statewide, by virtue of their inclination to aggregate. Examples include heron rookeries, seabird concentrations, marine mammal haulouts, shellfish beds, and fish spawning and rearing areas.

3.    Criterion 3—Species of Recreational, Commercial, and/or Tribal Importance. Native and nonnative fish and wildlife species of recreational or commercial importance, and recognized species used for tribal ceremonial and subsistence purposes, whose biological or ecological characteristics make them vulnerable to decline in Washington or that are dependent on habitats that are highly vulnerable or are in limited availability.

“Private open space” means decks, lanais and yard spaces for the exclusive use of dwelling occupants.

“Private stormwater facility” means any stormwater facility or portion of the stormwater facility which is not a public stormwater facility.

“Professional finding” means a written professional opinion with the professional’s seal, if registered, stating the facts observed or found and comparison of the characteristics of the work with the known minimal required criteria, followed by an opinion of the suitability of such work to perform the intended function.

“Program” means the surface water management program described in Chapter 13.12.

“Project” means a proposal for development.

“Property owner” means any person that owns or has a legal interest in property or has been authorized by such person to act on its behalf.

“Public facilities” means all municipal, county or state-owned facilities, including but not limited to governmental administration offices, libraries, fire stations, police stations, municipal garages and yards, refuse disposal or transfer facilities, cemeteries, water, sewer, gas, steam or electrical distribution systems, pumping or regulation stations and transformer stations with service yards.

“Public place” means any area generally visible to public view and includes but is not limited to streets, sidewalks, bridges, alleys, plazas, parks, driveways, parking lots and automobiles whether moving or not.

“Public right-of-way” means a strip of land acquired by reservation, dedication, forced dedication, prescription or condemnation and intended to be utilized as a road, sidewalk or crosswalk, railroad, electric transmission lines, oil or gas pipeline, water line, sanitary storm sewer or other public use.

“Public stormwater facility” means those elements of the stormwater facility which are operated by the utility, and are either (1) located on property owned by the city or in a public right-of-way, or (2) if located on private property, the city has formally accepted and documented by deed, easement or similar instrument the obligation to operate that portion of the stormwater system.

“Public utility installations” are aboveground structures, facilities or equipment used by a utilities agency to provide public services such as electricity, gas, water, sewer, transportation, communications or storm drainage.

“Public works department” or “department” means the city of Mukilteo department of public works.

“Qualified consultant” means a professionally trained and/or certified wildlife or stream biologist or ecologist or other professional with expertise in the scientific disciplines necessary to identify, evaluate and manage habitat and/or streams.

“Qualified wetland specialist” means a professionally trained and/or certified wetlands biologist or wetlands ecologist.

“Rain garden” means a nonengineered 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.

“Reasonable use” means the minimum use a property owner is entitled to by virtue of the due process and takings clauses of the state and federal constitutions.

“Receiving bodies of water” means all watercourses including creeks, streams, and other bodies of water into which waters are directed, either naturally, or by manmade ditches, or in closed conduit systems.

“Recreation center or facility” means a supervised center that provides a broad range of activities and events including programming for persons under twenty-one years of age, owned and/or managed by a charitable nonprofit organization, city, county, state, or federal government. Examples include, but are not limited to, the Mukilteo YMCA and Mukilteo Boys and Girls Club.

“Recreational uses not otherwise listed” means uses of an active recreational nature which are not covered under the definitions of “open space, public” or “parks, public” which may include, but are not limited to, sports and athletic fields (as principal uses), and large outdoor amphitheaters or gathering areas.

“Recreational vehicle” means a vehicular-type unit primarily designed for recreational camping or travel use that has its own motive power or is mounted on or towed by another vehicle. The units include travel trailers, fifth-wheel trailers, folding camping trailers, truck campers, and motor homes. “Recreational vehicles” are a type of “mobile home” but are not a “manufactured home.” “Recreational vehicles” may not be used for living purposes except where permitted as a caretaker’s dwelling or as a temporary use in residential zoning districts as allowed in Chapter 17.16.

“Redevelopment” means, on an already substantially developed site (i.e., has thirty-five percent or more of existing impervious surface coverage), the creation or addition of impervious surfaces; the expansion of a building footprint or addition or replacement of a structure; structural development, including but not limited to construction, installation, or expansion of a building or other structure and/or replacement of impervious surface that is not part of a routine maintenance activity; land-disturbing activities associated with structural or impervious surface development; and any change in use that has the potential of releasing pollutants from the site.

“Registered professional” means a person currently licensed by the state to practice in engineering, architecture, landscape architecture, and/or surveying.

“Regulated activity” means activities occurring in or near and/or potentially affecting wetlands or wetland buffers, or critical wildlife habitat or buffer, or a stream or stream buffer that are subject to the provisions of this chapter. Regulated activities generally include but are not limited to any filling, dredging, dumping or stockpiling, draining, excavation, flooding, construction or reconstruction, driving pilings, obstructing, shading, clearing or harvesting.

“Regulatory agencies” means appropriate departments of a governmental body.

“Rehabilitation” means the reestablishment of a viable stream from a previously filled or degraded stream reach.

“Residence” means a building or structure, or portion thereof, which is designed for and used to provide a place of abode for human beings.

“Residential care facility” means a facility, licensed by the state, that cares for at least five but not more than eight people with functional disabilities, that has not been licensed as an adult family home pursuant to RCW 70.128.175.

“Restoration” means the reestablishment of a viable wetland from a previously filled or degraded wetland site.

“Retain” or “retention” means the storage of stormwater for a considerable length of time with no surface outflow (i.e., release occurs only through evaporation, plant transpiration, or infiltration).

“Retention/detention (R/D) facilities” means a type of drainage facility designed either to hold water for a considerable length of time and then release it by evaporation, plant transpiration, and/or infiltration into the ground; or to hold surface and stormwater runoff for a short period of time and then release it to the surface and stormwater management system.

“Retirement apartments” are dwelling units exclusively designed for and occupied by senior citizen residents sixty-two years of age or older in accordance with the requirements of state and/or federal programs for senior citizen housing.

“Retirement housing” are dwellings exclusively designed for and occupied by senior citizen residents sixty-two years of age or older, except there is no minimum age for the spouse, in a building with central kitchen facilities providing meals for residents. “Retirement housing” covers a range of service levels, from no services (“independent living”) to minimal meal service and housekeeping (“semi-independent living”) to an increased level of assistance with daily life functions (“assisted living”). This definition does not include facilities which provide short or long term care for seniors and other persons who need skilled nursing care but does not require hospitalization, such as nursing homes.

“Rills” means steep-sided channels resulting from accelerated erosion. A rill is generally a few inches deep and not wide enough to be an obstacle to farm machinery. Rill erosion tends to occur on slopes, particularly steep slopes with poor vegetative cover.

Road, Private. “Private road” means a roadway owned and maintained by one or more private individuals, serving more than two single-family residential parcels and which provides vehicular access from a public right-of-way or within abutting properties. A private road may include pedestrian and bicycle facilities.

“Private street” means the same as private road.

“Roadway” means any type of improved vehicular access. Types of private roadways are driveway, common driveway, drive aisles and private roads. Types of public roadways include, but are not necessarily limited to, public streets and alleys.

“Roofline” means the top edge of a roof or parapet, the top line of a building silhouette.

“Rooming house” means an owner-occupied dwelling or portion thereof other than a motel or hotel, whereby only temporary living quarters are provided for compensation for not more than four persons, excluding persons who would be included within the definition of group care facilities.

“Rough grade” means the stage of construction at which the ground elevations are near the finished elevations planned.

“Scale, architectural” means the perceived relative height and bulk of a building relative to that of neighboring buildings. A building’s apparent height and bulk may be reduced by modulating facades and having pitched roofs or setback building walls above two stories.

“Scale, human” means the perceived size of a building relative to a human being. A building is considered to have “good” human scale if there is an expression of human activity or use that indicates the building’s size. For example, traditionally sized doors, windows, and balconies are elements that respond to the size of the human body, so these elements in a building indicate a building’s overall size.

School, Elementary, Middle, Junior or Senior High. “Elementary school,” “middle school,” “junior high school” or “senior high school,” including public, private, and parochial schools, means an institution of learning recognized by the Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

“Secondary habitat” means habitat areas that offer less diversity of animal and plant species than critical habitat but that are known to support species survivability. Secondary habitat areas do not satisfy the definition for critical or tertiary habitat, and meet one of the following criteria:

a.    Priority habitat as identified by the Washington Department of Wildlife Priority Habitat lists prepared in compliance with WAC 365-190-080;

b.    Naturally occurring ponds of less than twenty acres but greater than one acre in area including all of the following attributes: not stocked with salmonids or game fish by tribal or government entities; impounded water of less than twenty acres; cover of submerged aquatic vegetation, shrubs or trees not exceeding fifty percent of the total area of surface water; and seasonally or permanently submerged and having little or no flow of water; or

c.    Fish and wildlife habitats with significant functions and values that may not be adequately replicated through creation or restoration as measured according to the following attributes: habitat diversity; wildlife density; wildlife species richness; documented wildlife breeding or spawning habitat; documented wildlife seasonal ranges; documented significant movement corridors; areas with limited availability; areas with high vulnerability; and Class II streams as defined in these regulations.

While not regulated by these regulations, priority habitat may be regulated by other governmental agencies.

“Sediment” means waterborne particles, graded or undefined, occurring by erosive action.

“Sedimentation” means the process of deposition of soil and organic particles displaced, transported, and deposited by water or wind.

“Seeps” means spots where water emanates from the earth, often forming the source of a small stream.

“Seismic hazard areas” are those areas subject to risk of damage as a result of earthquake induced ground shaking, slope failure, settlement, soil liquefaction, lateral spreading, or surface faulting.

“Semi-private facility” means any facility to which a class or group of the public is permitted to attend or use subject to the regulations of a club or other organization owning or regulating the facility.

“Sensitive areas” means those portions of the shoreline which: (1) contain or substantially contribute to the maintenance of endangered or valuable forms of life; (2) contain steep slopes, marshes, or other areas having unstable or potentially hazardous topographic, geologic, or hydrologic features; or (3) have significant historical, cultural, scientific or educational value.

“Sensitive lands” means lands possessing slopes in excess of twenty-five percent on unstable soil, natural drainage, geological or vegetative characteristics which pose potentially hazardous impacts for occupants of the land or its neighbors.

“Service provider” is defined in accord with RCW 35.99.010(6). Service provider shall include those infrastructure companies that provide telecommunications services or equipment to enable the deployment of personal wireless services.

“Service station or auto service station” means any area of land, including structures thereon, that is used for the sale of gasoline or other motor vehicle fuels, oils, lubricants, and auto accessories and which may or may not include washing, lubricating, and other minor servicing; specifically prohibiting stripping vehicles for parts, junking out of vehicles, prohibiting the overnight, on-site storage of private or rental motor vehicles numbering more than two times the number of inside repair stalls, or the on-site storage of private or rental vehicles, boats, or trailers except when parked in designated stalls. Service stations can include the sale of gasoline, ethanol, diesel, biodiesel (e.g., B-99 or B-100 fuel) and other alternative fuels and dispensed via permanent fuel dispensing operations that meet all codes. Only B-99 or B-100 fuel can be dispensed from an aboveground storage tank that is either integral to the service station design or is contained in a three-sided covered enclosure that is architecturally similar to the service station or other structure design or a design that is approved by the planning director.

“Setback” or “yard requirements” means the required open space distance that buildings, uses or structures must be removed from their lot lines.

“Setback line” means a line parallel to the property line and located at the minimum distance required by the code or ordinance between a building wall and a property line or other reference.

“Sexually oriented materials” means any books, magazines, periodicals, or other printed materials or any photographs, films, motion pictures, video cassettes, slides, or other visual representations that are distinguished or characterized by a predominant emphasis on matters depicting, describing, or simulating any specified sexual activities or any specified anatomical areas. The term “sexually oriented materials” includes any instruments, devices, or paraphernalia designed for use in connection with any specified sexual activities.

“Ship” means a vessel of twenty tons or upward; or a vessel of less than twenty tons if registered, enrolled, or documented under the laws of the United States, but does not include private noncommercial pleasure craft.

“Sign” means any device, structure, fixture, painting, or placard that uses graphics, symbols, or written copy and is used or intended to attract attention to the subject matter for commercial or noncommercial purposes.

• “A-frame sign” means a freestanding, two-panel, foldable, portable sign made of rigid material.

• “Banner” means any sign of flexible material, such as fabric, pliable plastic, or other similar nonrigid material, with no enclosing framework or electrical components and that is supported or anchored on two or more edges or at all four corners, or along either one edge or two corners with weights installed that reduce the reaction of the sign to wind.

• “Billboard” means a permanent outdoor advertising off-site sign containing a message, commercial or otherwise, unrelated to any use or activity on the subject property on which the sign is located, excluding civic events signs, government signs, and instructional signs.

• “Changeable copy sign” means a sign with copy that can be changed or altered by manual means and without changing or altering the sign frame, sign supports, or electrical parts.

• “Commercial sign” means a sign that bears or contains statements, words or pictures that are defined as commercial speech under the prevailing statutes or applicable case law. This generally includes signs designed, intended or used for a business transaction or that advertises the exchange of goods and services.

• “Copy area” means the graphic content of a sign surface, including, but not limited to, graphics, letters, numbers, figures, symbols, and trademarks.

• “Directional sign” means a sign that is primarily designed to safely guide or direct pedestrian or vehicular traffic to an area, business, place, or convenience.

• “Freestanding sign” means a sign on a frame, pole, or other support structure that is not attached to a building or fence.

• “Monument sign” means a two-sided freestanding sign having the appearance of a solid base equal to or greater in width that the width of the sign copy area above the base.

• “Neighborhood” or “community identification sign” means a permanent sign designed to identify the name of a subdivision, neighborhood, community, community center, city facility, city entrance or school.

• “Noncommercial sign” means a sign that does not meet the definition of a commercial sign.

• “Pole/pylon sign” means any freestanding sign that does not meet the definition of a monument or portable sign. These signs are composed of the sign cabinet or base and a pole or pylon structure which is placed on or anchored in the ground.

• “Projecting sign” means a sign, other than a wall sign, which is attached to and projects from a building wall or other structure not specifically designed to support the sign.

• “Roof sign” means a sign mounted on a roof or mounted in a way that makes the sign extend higher than the building roof line.

• “Sign area” means the entire area of a sign on which copy is placed, excluding the sign’s structure, architectural embellishments, and framework.

• “Suspended sign” means a sign that is suspended from, and generally perpendicular to, a structure or awning and intended to be seen from a public sidewalk or other pedestrian corridor.

• “Temporary sign” means any sign intended to be displayed for a limited time only and not permanently attached to the ground or a structure.

• “Wall sign” means any sign painted on, or attached directly to, a building wall or awning where the sign is parallel to (and projects less than eighteen inches from) the wall or facade.

• “Window sign” means any sign applied to or mounted on a window that is visible to the general public.

“Sign structure” means any structure that supports or is capable of supporting any sign as defined in this chapter. A sign structure may be either incorporated into the building structure(s) or maintained as a separate entity. Structures that perform a separate use, such as a telephone booth, bus shelter, Goodwill container, etc., are not considered sign structures.

“Significant tree” means an evergreen tree eight inches or greater DBH and deciduous trees twelve inches or greater DBH.

“Siltation” means deposition of fine textured sediment in streams and surface waters.

“Site” means any parcel or combination of contiguous parcels or lots. For road projects, the length of the project site and the right-of-way boundaries define the site.

“Site assessment” means a complete land use analysis consisting of a geotechnical report prepared by a registered professional engineer licensed in the state of Washington, a grading and temporary erosion control plan, and a landscape/re-vegetation plan describing a development proposal and its environmental characteristics and impacts.

“Site-built home” means a dwelling unit constructed on a site where it will be permanently located. The design and construction of “site-built homes” are regulated by the city of Mukilteo building code now or hereafter amended.

“Site wireless communication facility” is defined as towers other than towers in the public rights-of-way, the current boundaries of the leased or owned property surrounding the tower and any access or utility easements currently related to the site, and, for other eligible support structures, further restricted to that area in proximity to the structure and to other transmission equipment already deployed on the ground.

“Slope” means an inclined earth surface; the inclination of which is expressed as the ratio of horizontal run to vertical rise, expressed as the vertical rise divided by the horizontal run multiplied by one hundred percent.

“Small cell” and “small cell network” are defined in accord with RCW 80.36.375.

“Small parcel erosion and sediment control plan (SPESCP)” means a plan prepared in accordance with the Ecology Manual which includes temporary BMPs to control pollution generated during the construction phase occurring on a site.

“Small storm drainage system” means any combination or system of storm drainage facilities which does not meet the definition of a community storm drainage system.

“Small wireless facility” has the same meaning as defined in 47 CFR 1.6002.

“Social service center” means a facility licensed by the state to provide therapy or counseling for only a portion of a twenty-four-hour day to one or more persons needing such therapy or counseling due to physical, mental, emotional, or other handicaps; provided, that, such term shall not include schools, hospitals, or day care facilities.

“Soil” means unconsolidated mineral and organic material on the immediate surface of the earth that serves as a natural medium for the growth of land plants.

“Soils engineering” means the application of the principles of soils mechanics in the investigation, evaluation and design of civil works involving the use of earth materials and the inspection and/or testing of the construction thereof.

“Source control best management practices (BMPs)” means a structure or operation intended to prevent pollutants from coming into contact with stormwater through physical separation of areas or careful management of activities that are sources of pollutants. Examples include erosion control practices, maintenance of stormwater facilities, providing roofs over storage and working areas, and directing wash water and similar discharges to the sanitary sewer or a dead-end sump. The Ecology Manual separates source control BMPs into two types. Operational source control BMPs are non-structural practices that prevent or reduce pollutants from entering stormwater. Structural source control BMPs are physical, structural, or mechanical devices or facilities that are intended to prevent pollutants from entering stormwater. See the Ecology Manual for details.

“Specified anatomical areas” means and includes any of the following:

1.    The human male genitals in a discernibly turgid state, even if completely and opaquely covered; or

2.    Less than completely and opaquely covered human genitals, pubic region, anus, buttocks, or female breast below the top of the areola.

“Specified sexual activities” means and includes any of the following:

1.    The caressing, fondling, or other erotic touching of human genitals, pubic region, buttocks, anus, or female breasts; or

2.    Sex acts, normal or perverted, actual or simulated, including intercourse, oral copulation, or sodomy; or

3.    Masturbation, actual or simulated; or

4.    Excretory functions as part of, or in connection with, any of the sexual activities specified in this definition.

“Sponsor” means a local place of worship or other local, community-based organization that has an agreement with the managing agency to provide basic services and support for the residents of a homeless encampment and liaison with the surrounding community and joins with the managing agency in an application for a temporary use permit. A “sponsor” may be the same entity as the managing agency.

“Stage” means a defined increment of work.

“Steep slopes” are naturally occurring slopes that rise ten feet or more for every twenty-five feet horizontal (i.e., forty percent or greater, also represented as a twenty-two degree angle). A slope is delineated by establishing its toe and top. Existing slopes modified with engineering oversight or in accordance with standard construction industry techniques are not considered steep slopes.

“Storm drainage study, adopted” refers to a detailed analysis for each drainage basin which compares the capabilities and needs for runoff accommodation due to various combinations of development, land use, structural and nonstructural management alternatives. The study recommends the form, location and extent of quantity and quality control measures which optimally would meet the legal constraints, water quality standards and community standards, as well as identifying the institutional and funding requirements for plan implementation.

“Storm return interval” is an expression of the probability with which a storm of a given intensity and duration can be expected to occur; term used by a hydrologist to predict runoff quantities.

“Stormwater” means that portion of precipitation that does not naturally percolate into the ground or evaporate, but flows via overland flow, interflow, pipes and other features of a stormwater drainage system into a defined surface water body, or a constructed infiltration facility.

Stormwater Connection Permit. See “Connection permit.”

“Stormwater detention facility” means a manmade open-air facility designed to hold runoff stormwater for a considerable length of time while gradually releasing it at a predetermined maximum rate or consuming it by evaporation, plant transpiration or infiltration into the soil.

“Stormwater drainage system” or “stormwater system” means constructed and natural features which function together as a system to collect, convey, channel, hold, inhibit, retain, detain, infiltrate, divert, treat or filter stormwater.

“Stormwater facility” means a constructed component of a stormwater drainage system designed or constructed to perform a particular function, or multiple functions. Stormwater facilities include, but are not limited to, pipes, swales, ditches, culverts, street gutters, detention ponds, retention ponds, constructed wetlands, infiltration devices, catch basins, oil/water separators, and biofiltration swales.

“Stormwater minimum requirements” means the minimum technical requirements for new development and redevelopment as found in Appendix I of the NPDES Phase II Municipal Stormwater Permit, the Ecology Manual and the development standards.

“Stormwater permit” means the permit required to construct stormwater facilities and/or to make any additions, repairs or connections to the stormwater system. The permit shall consist of the approved construction plans signed by the director.

“Stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP)” means a document which describes the BMPs and activities to be implemented to identify sources of pollution or contamination at a premises and the actions to eliminate or reduce pollutant discharges to stormwater, stormwater conveyance systems, and/or receiving waters to the maximum extent practicable. An SWPPP will contain a narrative and drawings. The narrative contains concise information concerning existing site conditions, construction schedules, and other pertinent items that are not contained on the drawings. The drawings and notes describe where best management practices (BMPs) should be installed, the performance BMPs are expected to achieve, and actions to be taken if the performance goals are not achieved.

“Stormwater site plan” means a comprehensive report containing all of the technical information and analyses necessary for the city to evaluate a proposed new development or redevelopment project for compliance with stormwater requirements. Contents of the stormwater site plan will vary with the type and size of the project, and individual site characteristics. It includes a construction stormwater pollution prevention plan (construction SWPPP), and a permanent stormwater control plan (PSCPlan).

“Stormwater treatment best management practices (BMPs)” means BMPs that are intended to remove pollutants from stormwater using gravity, settling, filtration, biological uptake, soil adsorption, and other processes.

“Story” means that portion of a building included between the surface of any floor and the surface of the floor next above it. If there is no floor above it, then the space between the floor and the ceiling next above it is considered a story. If the finished floor level directly above the basement or cellar is more than six feet above mean ground level, the basement or cellar is considered a story.

“Stream” means water contained within a channel, either perennial or intermittent, and classified according to WAC 222-16-030 and as listed under water typing system. Streams also include open natural watercourses modified by man. Streams do not include irrigation ditches, waste ways, drains, outfalls, operational spillways, channels, stormwater runoff facilities or other wholly artificial watercourses, except those that directly result from the modification to a natural watercourse.

“Stream buffer area” means a naturally vegetated and undisturbed, enhanced or revegetated zone surrounding a natural, restored or newly created stream that is an integral part of a stream ecosystem, and protects a stream from adverse impacts to the integrity and value of a stream.

“Stream report” means a report, prepared by a qualified consultant, that evaluates stream functions and values, consistent with the format and requirements established by this chapter.

“Streambank erosion control BMPs” means BMPs designed to control or manage the rate and/or quantity of stormwater runoff in a manner that prevents erosion of stream banks.

“Street” means a public thoroughfare which affords the principal means of access to abutting properties.

“Street frontage” means the linear distance along the front lot line of a zone lot.

“Streetscape” means the visual character of a street as determined by various elements such as structures, greenery, open space, views, storm drainage facilities, etc.

“Structural alterations” means any change in load or stress of the loaded or stressed members of a building or structure.

“Structural diversity” means the relative degree of diversity or complexity of vegetation in a habitat area as indicated by the stratification or layering of different plant communities (e.g., ground cover, shrub layer and tree canopy); the variety of plant species; and the spacing or pattern of vegetation.

“Structural source control best management practices (BMPs)” means physical, structural, or mechanical devices or facilities that are intended to prevent pollutants from entering stormwater. Examples of structural source control BMPs include enclosing and/or covering the pollutant source (e.g., with a building or other enclosure, a roof over storage and working areas, temporary tarp), physically segregating the pollutant source to prevent contact with uncontaminated stormwater, or directing only contaminated stormwater to appropriate stormwater treatment BMPs.

“Structure” means a combination of materials constructed or erected on the ground or water, or attached to something having a location on the ground or water. For the purposes of Chapter 17.17, Wireless Communication Facilities (WCF) Attached and Detached, “structure” is a pole, tower, base station, or other building, whether or not it has an existing antenna facility, that is used or to be used for the provision of personal wireless service (whether on its own or commingled with other types of services).

“Subject property” means the tract of land which is the subject of the permit and/or approval action, as defined by the full legal description of all parcels involved in the proposed development.

“Substantial change” is a modification that substantially changes the physical dimensions of an eligible support structure if it meets any of the following criteria:

1.    For towers other than towers in the public rights-of-way, it increases the height of the tower by more than ten percent or by the height of one additional antenna array with separation from the nearest existing antenna not to exceed twenty feet, whichever is greater; for other eligible support structures, it increases the height of the structure by more than ten percent or more than ten feet, whichever is greater;

2.    For towers other than towers in the public rights-of-way, it involves adding an appurtenance to the body of the tower that would protrude from the edge of the tower more than twenty feet, or more than the width of the tower structure at the level of the appurtenance, whichever is greater; for other eligible support structures, it involves adding an appurtenance to the body of the structure that would protrude from the edge of the structure by more than six feet;

3.    For any eligible support structure, it involves installation of more than the standard number of new equipment cabinets for the technology involved, but not to exceed four cabinets; or, for towers in the public rights-of-way and base stations, it involves installation of any new equipment cabinets on the ground if there are no preexisting ground cabinets associated with the structure, or else involves installation of ground cabinets that are more than ten percent larger in height or overall volume than any other ground cabinets associated with the structure;

4.    It entails any excavation or deployment outside the current site;

5.    It would defeat the concealment elements of the eligible support structure; or

6.    It does not comply with conditions associated with the siting approval of the construction or modification of the eligible support structure or base station equipment; provided, however, that this limitation does not apply to any modification that is noncompliant only in a manner that would not exceed the thresholds identified above.

“Substrate” means the soil, sediment, decomposing organic matter or combination of those located on the bottom surface of the wetland.

“Supportive living arrangements” means a living unit owned or rented by one or more persons, but not by more than eight unrelated persons with functional disabilities to receive assistance with activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, and/or medical care from an individual or agency licensed and/or reimbursed by a public agency to provide such assistance.

“Surface and stormwater” means water originating from rainfall and other precipitation that is found in drainage facilities, rivers, streams, springs, seeps, ponds, lakes, and wetlands as well as shallow ground water.

“Surface waters” means water bodies exposing a free water surface, with or without movement, such as streams, lakes, bogs, and ponds.

“Tavern” means an establishment where alcoholic beverages of any kind are dispensed or sold for consumption on the premises. This term shall include beer parlors, bars, cabarets, and other similar places.

“Telecommunications service” is defined in accord with RCW 35.99.010(7).

“Temporary” means not having or requiring permanent attachment to the ground, or involving buildings which have no required permanent attachment to the ground.

“Temporary building” or “temporary structure” means a structure not having or requiring permanent attachment to the ground or involving structures which have no required permanent attachment to the ground.

“Temporary erosion and sediment control plan (TESCP)” means a plan designed in accordance with the Ecology Manual to implement BMPs to control pollution generated during land-disturbing activity.

“Temporary erosion control” means on-site control measures that are needed to control conveyance or deposition of earth, turbidity or pollutants during development, construction or restoration.

“Temporary wireless communication facility” is a nonpermanent facility installed on a short-term basis, for the purpose of evaluating the technical feasibility of a particular site for placement of a WCF or for providing emergency communications during a natural disaster or other emergency. Examples of temporary WCFs include, but are not limited to, placement of an antenna upon a fully extended bucket truck, crane, or other device capable of reaching the height necessary to evaluate the site for placement of a WCF.

“Tent” means a temporary structure, enclosure or shelter constructed of fabric or pliable material supported by any manner except by air or the contents that it protects.

“Terrace” means a relatively level step constructed in the face of a graded slope surface for drainage and maintenance purposes.

“Tertiary habitat” means habitat that supports some wildlife; does not satisfy the definition(s) of critical habitat or secondary habitat of these regulations; does not contain and has no documented use by threatened, endangered or sensitive species; does not currently possess essential characteristics necessary to support a diverse wildlife community; and does not contain essential characteristics that, if altered, would jeopardize the continued existence of wildlife. Tertiary habitat also includes habitat which has been created purposefully by human actions to serve other or multiple purposes, such as open space areas, landscape amenities, detention facilities and grass-lined swales. Tertiary habitat meets any of the following criteria:

1.    Class III streams; or

2.    Habitat that is less than one acre in area, with one vegetation class (e.g., herb, shrub, forest) and dominated by native plant species; or less than two acres, with one vegetation class, and dominated by at least fifty percent of total plant cover of invasive, ornamental, and/or exotic species.

“Theater” means a place of public assembly intended and expressly designed for the presentation of motion pictures, other than an adult theater.

“Threatened species” means a species that is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

“Tidelands” means those areas lying between the water’s edge or ordinary high water mark (OHWM) and the line of extreme low water. See Diagram A under “ordinary high water mark.”

“Toe” (of steep slope) means the lower limit of the area where the ground surface rises ten feet or more vertically within a horizontal distance of twenty-five feet.

“Top” (of steep slope) means a distinct break in slope, which separates slopes inclined less than forty percent from slopes greater than or equal to forty percent. Where no distinct break exists, the top is the uppermost limit where the ground drops vertically within a horizontal distance of twenty-five feet.

“Tower” is any structure built for the sole or primary purpose of supporting any FCC-licensed or authorized antennas and their associated facilities, including structures that are constructed for wireless communications services including, but not limited to, private, broadcast, and public safety services, as well as unlicensed wireless services and fixed wireless services such as microwave backhaul and the associated site.

“Townhouse” means a residential building which may include two to eight residential units in one building and has the characteristics of common wall construction between units and separate entrances and exits for each family unit.

“Transit center.” A transit center or multi-modal station means a dedicated transit facility located outside of the public right-of-way where several transit routes converge. A transit center is designed to accommodate several buses or multiple modes of transit that allows users to easily transfer between transit routes or modes. A transit center may provide transit passenger covered shelters and waiting areas, restrooms, and access for transit modes including buses, taxis and drop-off, but does not include spaces for transit passenger automobile parking (see “park and ride”).

“Transmission equipment” is equipment that facilitates transmission for any FCC-licensed or authorized wireless communication service, including, but not limited to, radio transceivers, antennas, coaxial or fiber-optic cable, and regular and backup power supply. The term includes equipment associated with wireless communications services including, but not limited to, private, broadcast, and public safety services, as well as unlicensed wireless services and fixed wireless services such as microwave backhaul.

“Transportation facilities” means and includes capital facilities related to air, water, or land transportation.

“Transportation strategies” or “transportation demand strategies (TDM)” means strategies aimed at changing travel behavior rather than expanding the committed road network to meet travel demand. Such strategies may include, but are not limited to, the promotion of work hour changes, ride-sharing options, parking policies, and telecommuting.

Travel Trailer. See “Camping vehicle.”

Treatment BMPs. See “Stormwater treatment BMPs.”

“Tree” means a woody perennial plant with one or more main stem(s) or trunk(s) which develop branches.

“Tree dripline” means the outermost circumference of a tree canopy or shrub where water drips from.

Tree, Significant. “Significant tree” means evergreen trees eight inches or greater in diameter as measured at least four feet above existing grade, and deciduous trees twelve inches or greater in diameter as measured at least four feet above existing grade.

“Tree topping” means to remove the uppermost part of a tree in a manner which keeps the tree alive and does not damage the root structure.

“Tsunami hazard areas” are coastal areas and large lake shoreline areas susceptible to flooding and inundation as a result of excessive wave action derived from seismic or other geologic events.

“Turning/decision point” means a location on a public street where a motorist has more than one option as to which direction to travel next on public right-of-way.

“Type I wetlands” means those wetlands which meet any of the following criteria:

1.    The documented presence of, or habitat documented by the Washington Department of Wildlife for species proposed or listed by the federal government or state of Washington as endangered, threatened, sensitive or priority;

2.    Sites that are documented or qualify as natural heritage wetlands sites, or high quality native wetland communities where significant functional values have not been altered (e.g., soils, hydrology, vegetation), and are not predominantly characterized by nonnative plant species;

3.    Wetlands with irreplaceable ecological functions, including: peat wetlands one-half acre or larger in area that have not been subject to significant hydrological modification (i.e., those without inflow or outflow systems such as drainage ways, channelization or stormwater diversion); mature forested wetlands greater than one acre in size; estuarine wetlands greater than five acres in area, or greater than one acre if the wetland meets four of the following criteria: contains at least two wetland habitat classes, shows minimum evidence of human-caused physical alteration, contains one or more functional tidal channels or is connected to a tidal stream, within one-quarter mile of other water bodies, is within a watershed with little-to-moderate point or non-point water quality problems, or land on more than three-quarters of the wetland’s border is agricultural, relatively undisturbed forest or open space;

4.    Eelgrass and kelp beds with greater than fifty percent cover during August or September; or

5.    Wetlands equal to or greater than ten acres in size having three or more wetland classes one of which is an open water zone a minimum of one-half acre in area or ten percent of the entire wetland being rated.

“ULID” means utility local improvement district.

“Uncontaminated water” means unpolluted water that is comprised entirely of ground water and/or rain water.

“Undergrounded areas” are public rights-of-way in which wireline utilities have been located or relocated underground.

“Understory” means vegetation four feet to ten feet in height.

“Unified enclosure” means a small wireless facility providing concealment of antennas and equipment within a single enclosure.

“Upland” means those dry land areas not included in the definition of “shoreline.”

“Usable cannabis” means dried flowers of the cannabis plant having a tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration greater than three-tenths of one percent per weight or volume. Usable cannabis excludes stems, stalks, leaves, seeds and roots. For purposes of this definition, “dried” means containing less than fifteen percent moisture content by weight.

“Usable land area” means total land area, less areas which are demonstrated to be undevelopable after application of other ordinances and policies, including, by way of example, and not limitation, Chapters 17.52 through 17.52E.

“Use” means the purpose for which land, buildings or structures now serve or for which they are occupied, maintained, arranged, designed, or intended.

“Utility” means an entity whose principal purpose is to provide electricity, water, sewer, storm drainage, gas, radio, television, telephone and/or other forms of communication utilizing electromagnetic spectrum to the public. “Utility” can specifically mean the city of Mukilteo surface water utility established pursuant to Chapter 13.16.

“Utility pole” is a structure designed and used primarily for the support of electrical wires, telephone wires, television cable, traffic signals, or lighting for streets, parking areas, or pedestrian paths.

“Variance” is the means by which an adjustment is made in the application of the specific regulations of this title to a particular piece of property.

“Vegetation” means all organic plant life growing on the surface of the earth.

“Vegetation-based LID BMPs” means distributed stormwater management practices, integrated into a project design, that emphasize pre-disturbance hydrologic processes of infiltration, filtration, storage, evaporation and transpiration. Vegetation-based LID BMPs are a subset of LID BMPs and include, but are not limited to, bioretention, rain gardens, and vegetated roofs.

“Veterinary clinic” means a structure or premises for medical or surgical treatment of animals.

“View” means a sight (as of a landscape) regarded for its pictorial quality.

“View corridor/vista” means a distant view through or along a street or openings between structures.

“Warehousing” means a use engaged in storage, wholesale, and distribution of manufactured products, supplies, and equipment, but excluding bulk storage of materials that are flammable, explosive, or that create hazardous or commonly recognized offensive conditions.

“Water body” means surface waters of the state, including but not limited to rivers, streams, lakes, marine waters, estuaries and wetlands.

“Water courses/streams” means the areas to which surface and subsurface waters naturally flow and which form a continuous channel through which water descends to natural outlets.

“Water-dependent uses” means activities for which direct accessibility to deep water is required because of the nature of their product and/or process (i.e., shipbuilding, marine repair and construction, tug and barge operations, log rafting, commercial fishing, public and private marina, terminal facilities).

“Water enjoyment use” means a recreational use, or other use facilitating public access to the shoreline; or uses that cater to recreational, cultural, educational, tourism, food and drink services, hotel/motel, and water-related retail promoting the recreational use or aesthetic enjoyment of the shoreline for a substantial number of people as a general characteristic of the use.

“Waterfront area” means all areas of tidelands and uplands lying above and within two hundred feet of the line of ordinary high tide. In the OS, DB and WMU zones the waterfront area is further defined as lying between the Burlington Northern’s railroad tracks and line of extreme low tide, extending south to the southern boundary of Mukilteo Lighthouse Park and extending east to the east boundary of the city.

“Water’s edge” means the line of the ordinary high water mark (OHWM).

“Wetland” or “wetlands” means areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas. Wetlands do not include those artificial wetlands intentionally created from nonwetland sites, including but not limited to, irrigation and drainage ditches, grass-lined swales, canals, detention facilities, wastewater treatment facilities, farm ponds, and landscape amenities, or those wetlands created after July 1, 1990, that were unintentionally created as a result of the construction of a road, street, or highway. Wetlands may include those artificial wetlands intentionally created to mitigate conversion of wetlands.

“Wetland buffer area” means a naturally vegetated and undisturbed, enhanced or revegetated zone surrounding a natural, restored or newly created wetland that is an integral part of a wetland ecosystem, and protects a wetland from adverse impacts to the integrity and value of a wetland. Wetland buffers serve to moderate runoff volume and flow rates; reduce sediment, chemical nutrient and toxic pollutants; provide shading to maintain desirable water temperatures; provide habitat for wildlife, and protect wetland resources from harmful intrusion.

“Wetland category” is a description of a wetland systems based on the classification system used in the most current edition of the Washington State Wetlands Rating System – Western Washington, prepared by the Washington State Department of Ecology.

“Wetland classification” means “wetland category” for the purposes of these regulations.

“Wetland creation” means an action to intentionally establish a wetland or a portion of a wetland where one did not formerly exist.

“Wetland delineation” means identification of wetlands and delineation of their boundaries pursuant to this chapter, done in accordance with the approved federal wetland delineation manual and applicable regional supplements. All areas within the city meeting the wetland designation criteria in that procedure are hereby designated critical areas and are subject to the provisions of Chapter 17.52B.

“Wetland determination” means a report prepared by a qualified wetland specialist or city staff that identifies and characterizes wetlands consistent with applicable provisions of this chapter. A determination does not include a formal delineation.

“Wetland enhancement” means the alteration of an existing wetland or habitat to improve or increase its characteristics and processes without degrading other existing functions. Enhancements are to be distinguished from wetland creation or restoration projects.

“Wetland functions and values” mean the beneficial biological, physical, and other purposes generally served by wetlands, including but not limited to, helping to maintain water quality, storing and conveying stormwater and floodwater, recharging ground water, providing wildlife habitat, and service as areas for recreation, education, scientific study and aesthetic enjoyment.

“Wetland impacts” means the effect of any human-induced alteration to the wetland and surrounding buffer, and includes impacts on any downstream anadromous fish.

“Wetland off-site mitigation” means to mitigate impacts to wetlands away from the site on which a wetland has been adversely impacted by a regulated activity.

“Wetland on-site mitigation” means to mitigate impacts to wetlands at or adjacent to the site on which a wetland has been adversely impacted by a regulated activity within the same watershed.

“Wetland restoration” is the action to reestablish a wetland in an area which was historically wetland but which does not now provide or contain the necessary functional characteristics.

“Wetlands specialist” is a person who has earned a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in biology, natural resources, or physical sciences with specific or related course work in wetland ecology, botany, or soils science from an accredited college or university, and two years professional experience in wetland delineation, wetland functional assessment and mitigation techniques or equivalent experience; or any person certified by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers or Society of Wetland Scientists.

“Wholesale” means the sale of goods in relatively large quantities at a reduced price to retailers.

“Wildlife report” means a report, prepared by a qualified consultant, that evaluates plant communities and wildlife functions and values on a site, consistent with the format and requirements established by this chapter.

“Wireless communication antenna array” is one or more rods, panels, discs or similar devices used for the transmission or reception of radio frequency signals through electromagnetic energy, which may include omni-directional antenna (whip), directional antenna (panel), and parabolic antenna (dish).

“Wireless communication facility” or “WCF” is any unstaffed facility for the transmission and/or reception of wireless communications services, usually consisting of an antenna array, transmission cables, equipment facilities, and support structure.

Wireless Communication Facility, Attached. “Attached wireless communication facility” is a wireless communication facility that is affixed to an existing structure, utility pole, traffic light, or water tower.

Wireless Communication Facility, Detached. “Detached wireless communication facility” is any wireless communication facility that is independent of any existing structure, utility pole, traffic light, or water tower.

“Wireless communication support structure” means a structure designed and constructed specifically to support an antenna array, and may include a monopole, self-supporting tower, guy-wire support tower, and other similar structures.

“Wireless communications” means any personal wireless services as designated in the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, which includes FCC-licensed commercial wireless telecommunications services including cellular, personal communications services, specialized mobile radio, enhanced specialized mobile radio, paging, and similar services that currently exist or that may in the future be developed.

“Yard” means the required open space in front, rear, or side on the same lot with a building or proposed building.

Yard, Front. “Front yard” means the required open space extending from the principal street line to the building line and including the full width of the lot to its side lines. On corner lots the front yard is the yard upon which the principal building fronts.

Yard, Rear. “Rear yard” means the required open space extending from the rear lot line to the main building line and including the full width of the lot to its side lines.

Yard, Side. “Side yard” means the required open space extending from the front yard to the rear yard and from the main building to the side lot line.

“Youth-oriented facility” means community youth centers and facilities owned or operated by nonprofit organizations for the purpose of providing recreational and/or educational opportunities for youth, including, but not limited to, Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCAs, YWCAs, little league baseball and other youth sports associations.

“Zero lot line development” means a type of single-family residential development allowed under Chapter 17.51 in which single-family detached dwelling is constructed coincident with a side and/or rear lot line. The outdoor yard space which results can then be grouped and utilized to its maximum benefit. Each dwelling in a zero lot line development shall be located on its own individually platted lot.

“Zone” means an area accurately defined as to boundaries and locations on the official zoning map and within which area only certain types of land uses are permitted. (Ord. 1488 § 1, 2024; Ord. 1476 § 1, 2024; Ord. 1458 § 2 (Exh. B), 2022; Ord. 1426 § 3 (Exh. A) (part), 2019; Ord. 1411 § 1, 2018; Ord. 1403 § 3 (Exh. C), 2017; Ord. 1390 § 3 (Exh. C), 2016; Ord. 1385 § 3, 2016; Ord. 1342 §§ 4, 5, 2013; Ord. 1333 § 1, 2013; Ord. 1332 § 1, 2013; Ord. 1314 § 2, 2012; Ord. 1309 § 1, 2012; Ord. 1304 §§ 1, 2, 2012; Ord. 1302 § 1, 2012; Ord. 1295 § 6, 2011; Ord. 1288 § 1, 2011; Ord. 1262 §§ 1, 2, 2010; Ord. 1256 §§ 1, 2, 2010; Ord. 1252 § 2, 2010; Ord. 1222 § 3 (Exh. B), 2009; Ord. 1219 § 1 (Exh. A), 2009; amended during 8-08 supplement; Ord. 1198 §§ 2, 3, 2008; Ord. 1197 § 1, 2008; Ord. 1196 §§ 1, 2, 3 (part), 2008; Ord. 1194 § 1, 2008; Ord. 1171 § 2 (part), 2007; Ord. 1155 § 4, 2006; Ord. 1153 § 4, 2006; Ord. 1149 § 1, 2006; Ord. 1131 § 1, 2005; Ord. 1127 § 1, 2005; Ord. 1124 §§ 3, 4, 2005; Ord. 1112 §§ 1, 2, 2005; Ord. 1111 § 1, 2005; Ord. 1107 § 1, 2004; Ord. 1088 § 9, 2003; Ord. 1034 § 1, 2001; Ord. 1022 §§ 1, 2, 2000; Ord. 987 § 1, 2000; Ord. 1007 § 1 (part), 1999; Ord. 990 § 1 (part), 1999; Ord. 981 Exh. A, 1999; Ord. 970 § 1, 1998; Ord. 965 §§ 3, 4, 1998; Ord. 948 § 4, 1999; Ord. 956 § 1, 1998; Ord. 946 § 1, 1998; Ord. 949 §§ 1, 2, 1998; Ord. 945 § 1, 1998; Ord. 937 § 1, 1998; Ord. 927 § 2, 1998; Ord. 908 § 5, 1997)