Chapter 17.04
ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
Sections:
17.04.040 Administration and interpretation.
17.04.050 Nonconforming uses, structures, and lots.
17.04.010 Purpose.
The purpose of this title is to implement the city’s comprehensive plan, thus to encourage the most appropriate use of land throughout the municipality; to lessen traffic congestion and accidents; to secure safety from fire; to provide adequate light and air; to prevent overcrowding of land; to avoid undue concentration of population; to promote a coordinated development of the unbuilt areas; to encourage the formation of neighborhood or community units; to secure an appropriate allotment of land area in new developments for all the requirements of community life; to conserve and restore natural beauty and other natural resources; to encourage and protect access to direct sunlight for solar energy systems; and to facilitate the adequate provision of transportation, water, sewerage, and other public uses and requirements. (Ord. 1013 § 1.01, 1985)
17.04.020 Jurisdiction.
The zones depicted on the zoning map attached to and forming a part of this title, on file in the office of the city clerk-treasurer and the regulations pertaining thereto, and the regulations pertaining to all zones are established as minimum standards for meeting the purpose of this title. No structure shall be erected, moved, reconstructed, altered or used, and no land shall be used or built upon, except as provided herein. (Ord. 1013 § 1.02, 1985)
17.04.030 Definitions.
“Accessory” means subordinate and incidental to, typically associated with, and located on the same ownership. Private garages attached to or within the residence shall adhere to the setback requirement of the residence. In all cases, there shall be a minimum off-street parking apron of twenty feet in length directly in front of all garage door entrances when accessing a street either to the front or side of a residence. Where garage doors access an alley, the off-street parking apron shall be at least ten feet; accessory structures shall not contain any habitable space or room.
“Accessory dwelling unit” (ADU) means a smaller, secondary residential unit on the same lot as a primary dwelling. ADUs are independently habitable, clearly subordinate to the primary dwelling, and provide the basic requirements of shelter, heating, cooking, and sanitation. An ADU is separated from the existing house by detachment, or if attached, by solid wall construction. There are two types of ADUs:
1. Garden cottages are detached structures. Examples include converted garages or new construction.
2. Accessory suites are attached to or part of the primary dwelling. Examples include converted living space, attached garages, basements or attics, additions, or a combination thereof.
“Adult entertainment” means any enterprise from which minors are excluded and which sells, rents or displays sexually explicit matter, including but not limited to adult bookstores, adult magazine stores, stores selling sexually oriented adult games or devices, adult motion picture theaters, adult peep shows, establishments where nude or topless dancing or specified sexual activities or displays regularly occur or other business.
“Adult or family day care facilities” means a daytime facility for an adult who needs some level of care but does not need the level of care provided by an RN or rehabilitative therapist. Facilities may provide services such as personal care, social services and activities, education, routine health monitoring, general therapeutic activities, meals, coordination of transportation, first aid and emergency care.
“Alcohol production establishment” means a business involved with the manufacturing, bottling, warehousing, and distribution of alcoholic beverages, excluding alcohol serving establishments and specifically including breweries, distilleries and wineries. Food and/or alcoholic beverage service may be allowed accessory to such establishments.
“Alcohol serving establishment” means a business licensed to allow on-premises consumption of liquor, wine or beer where the sale and on-premises consumption of said product is the prime source (more than fifty percent) of revenue for the premises. It is not meant to include restaurants where food is prepared and served on the premises and where the sale of liquor, wine or beer is incidental to and not the prime source of revenue for the premises.
“Area” means total horizontal area. “Lot area” for purposes of calculating buildable area shall not include:
1. The area encompassed in flag driveways to a property set back from a private or public drive, street or road;
2. Easements for ingress and/or egress; or
3. Easements for gas or power transmission lines.
“Building” means an enclosed structure capable of being heated. This word shall always be considered as being followed by the phrase “or portion thereof.”
“Child day care centers” provide temporary care of children as defined by the State Department of Social and Health Services, preschool or nursery school.
“Collective garden” means the growing, production, processing, transportation, and delivery of cannabis, by qualifying patients, for medical use, as set forth in Chapter 69.51A RCW, and subject to the following conditions:
1. No more than ten qualifying patients may participate in a single collective garden at any time;
2. A collective garden may contain no more than fifteen plants per patient up to a total of forty-five plants;
3. A collective garden may contain no more than twenty-four ounces of usable cannabis per patient up to a total of seventy-two ounces of usable cannabis;
4. A copy of each qualifying patient’s valid documentation, including a copy of the patient’s proof of identity, must be available at all times on the premises of the collective garden;
5. No usable cannabis from the collective garden is delivered to anyone other than one of the qualifying patients participating in the collective garden;
6. A collective garden may contain separate areas for growing, processing, and delivering to its qualified patients; provided, that these separate areas must be physically part of the same premises, and located on the same parcel or lot. A location utilized solely for the purpose of distributing cannabis shall not be considered a collective garden;
7. No more than one collective garden may be established on a single tax parcel; and
8. A collective garden may not be located within five hundred feet of the perimeter of the grounds of any elementary or secondary school.
9. With the exception of one address sign, signage is prohibited.
“Commerce” means trade in goods and/or services excluding industry.
“Conditional use” means a use allowed only by conditional use permit in a particular zone, including uses accessory to the conditional use.
“Coordinated local zoning” is zoning which permits off-site treatment and storage facilities in one jurisdiction to serve the off-site facility needs of other jurisdictions; provided, the coordinated zoning is documented by signed agreements between all affected jurisdictions.
“Corner lot” means a lot with frontage on more than one public right-of-way, excluding alleys.
“Dependent relative cottage” means a single-family residence which:
1. Is located on the same lot as another single-family residence;
2. Is inhabited only by the relative of the other single-family residence which relative is only able to safely maintain a separate household due to the support or supervisory care of family members in close proximity;
3. Is designed for ease of removal, dismantling, or conversion to an accessory use after termination of use as a dependent relative cottage; and
4. Meets the setback requirements for an accessory building.
“Duplex” means a building containing two dwelling units. A duplex must be built on site and consists of one structure with two residential units. The units must be connected by a common wall or a carport. Duplex units should be constructed with a compatible design and materials to the surrounding neighborhood. In addition, in the instance where a duplex unit is created by the addition of another unit to an existing unit, the new unit must be compatible with the design and materials of the existing unit.
“Dwelling unit” means a building or buildings providing complete housekeeping facilities including bathroom and kitchen for one household only, excluding recreational vehicles, trailers, boat, prisons and medical care facilities.
“Essential public facility (EPF)” means any public facility or facilities owned or operated by a unit of local or state government, public or private utility, transportation company or an other entity that provides a public service as its primary mission, and is difficult to site. EPFs include those facilities listed in RCW 36.70A.200. EPFs include, but are not limited to, those facilities which are difficult to site, such as airports, state educational facilities, state and regional transportation facilities, state and local correctional facilities, solid waste handling facilities power generation or communications facilities, in-patient facilities (including substance abuse facilities, mental health facilities and group home facilities not classified as single-family residences) and secure community transition facilities as defined in this section. For the purposes of Chapter 17.88, animal shelters housing more than fifty animals at any one time and hazardous waste storage/disposal/processing/handling facilities shall be reviewed as EPFs.
“Fence” means a linear structure or controlled plant growth more than three feet high, the primary purpose of which is to enclose, divide or screen.
“Floor area” means combined area of all floors of a building measuring from the exterior faces of the exterior walls, excluding spaces lacking standing headroom. Common open areas in shopping malls are excluded for the purpose of computing required off-street parking.
“Gross density” means the total number of dwelling units located on a parcel of land divided by the total area of the parcel.
“Group home” means a building providing lodging to four or more persons unrelated to the principal residing family, excluding multifamily residences, “hotels” (defined as commercial buildings providing lodging for ten or more persons on a transient basis), “hospitals” (defined as medical care facilities whose patients are partly or entirely nonresidents thereof), and institutions of involuntary detention. This definition includes, among other things, boardinghouses and bed and breakfast establishments. “Adult or family day care” and “child day care” facilities are not included under the group home definition. “Adult or family day care facilities” means a daytime facility for an adult who needs some level of care but does not need the level of care provided by an RN or rehabilitative therapist. Facilities may provide services such as personal care, social services and activities, education, routine health monitoring, general therapeutic activities, meals, coordination of transportation, first aid and emergency care. “Child day care centers” provide temporary care of children as defined by the State Department of Social and Health Services, preschool or nursery school.
“Hazardous waste” means all dangerous waste (DW) and extremely hazardous waste (EHW) as defined in RCW 70.105.010.
“Hazardous waste storage” means the holding of dangerous waste for a temporary period as regulated by the state of Washington dangerous waste regulations, Chapter 173-303 WAC. (Hazardous waste treatment and storage facilities are facilities that require an interim or final status permit from the Department of Ecology under dangerous waste regulations, Chapter 173-303 WAC.)
“Hazardous waste treatment” means the physical, chemical, or biological processing of dangerous waste to make wastes nondangerous or less dangerous, safer for transport, amenable for energy or material resource recovery, amenable for storage, or reduced in volume.
“Height” (of a structure) means the vertical distance between the average elevation of the finished ground surface along the entire perimeter of a structure and the average height of the highest roof structure.
“Home occupation” means a gainful occupation carried on in a residence in which:
1. No outside help is employed on the premises;
2. The business utilizes no more than twenty-five percent of the gross floor area of the structure in which it is located;
3. There are no more than two additional vehicles parked on or in the vicinity of the property due to the business at any one time;
4. There are no more than twelve clients or customers visiting per week and there are not more than two clients on the premises at any one time;
5. No work areas or storage of materials are visible from off the premises, nor other exterior indication given of anything other than a residence;
6. No nuisance is created beyond what would normally be expected in a residential area.
“Hospital” means a medical care facility whose patients are partly or entirely nonresidents thereof, and institutions of involuntary detention (not including prisons).
“Hotel” means a commercial building (or buildings) providing lodging for ten or more persons on a transient basis.
“Industry” means any and all steps in the gainful making of goods where substantial retail contact is unnecessary (excluding low-intensity agriculture) and the gainful provision of services which create nuisances beyond the customary traffic, runoff, signs, and other such impacts normally associated with commercial uses. This definition includes, among other things, factories, mills, nonretail bakeries, high-intensity agriculture, wrecking yards, fuel distributors, cement processing, storage yards for heavy equipment and massive construction materials, and heavy equipment repair. This definition may or may not include, depending on individual characteristics, automotive repair, warehousing, transportation facilities, lumberyards, public utilities, feed/seed/grain stores and research facilities.
“In-home rental” means a one-bedroom rental unit contained within a single-family residential structure, which shares an entrance to the residence in common with the primary portion of the residence, does not occupy more than twenty-five percent of the residential space of the residence, and which shares a kitchen or bathroom in common with the primary portion of the residence.
“Kennel” is defined in Section 6.04.030.
“Light manufacturing” means any manufacturing activity that does not create noise, smoke, odors or any other nuisance that can be detected from outside the building.
“Lot” means a contiguous quantity of land under one ownership, with fixed boundaries, which can legally be bought and sold separately from other lands.
“Lot width at building line” means the distance between side lot lines, defined as the two lot lines most nearly perpendicular to the street on which the lot fronts; provided, that:
1. On corner lots measurement shall be along the shorter of the two front setback lines;
2. Where the front setback line is not straight, measurement shall be in a straight line connecting the ends of the line;
3. Easements for ingress and/or egress shall not count towards lot width at building line; and
4. Easements for gas or power transmission lines shall not count towards lot width at building line.
“Low-intensity agriculture” means the production, raising or keeping of any form of crops, ornamental plants or animals; provided, that any animal, excluding household pets such as dogs and cats, such as horses, cattle, hogs, pigs, goats, sheep, bovine animals, chickens, fowl or any other animals, poultry or fowl, shall not be raised, kept or maintained on a lot or ownership of less than forty thousand square feet, except as permitted under Chapter 6.20.
“Mobile home” means a prefabricated dwelling unit transportable in one or more sections, which in the traveling mode is eight feet or more in width and forty body feet or more in length, and which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with a permanent foundation, when connected to the required utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating, air-conditioning and electrical systems contained therein. Mobile homes must meet the requirements of HUD or the State Department of Labor and Industries.
“Mobile home park” means an ownership on which more than one mobile home is located and intended for occupancy.
“Multifamily residence” means a building containing more than one dwelling unit, also including apartments in the sense of dwelling units contained within a building primarily used for nonresidential purposes, though there may only be one dwelling unit in such building.
“Multiuse stormwater facility” means a facility that incorporates underground infiltration or otherwise contains no standing water for a period of at least nine months per year, has side slopes of no steeper than 4:1, and is used as common open space or as play areas defined in Chapter 17.38, as approved by the city engineer.
“Net density” means the number of dwelling units located on buildable land; which excludes public rights-of-way, private access easements, driveways, or tracts, utility corridors, stormwater facilities, critical areas and their buffers, and other areas which are unbuildable. Seventy-five percent of multiuse stormwater facilities may be counted towards total buildable area.
“Nuisance” means any use or neglect in maintenance of land or structures which has unreasonably annoying, unpleasant, unsafe or unsanitary effects on neighbors or the public in general, including noise, air pollution, water pollution, runoff, odors, glare, unsightliness, vibration, electrical disturbance, vermin infestation, attractive nuisances, fire or explosion hazard, and obstruction or endangering of public ways as defined in Chapter 8.16.
“Office” means a building where work of a professional, consulting, clerical, administrative or information-processing nature is the primary use, excluding banking and lending institutions, including among other things:
1. Doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc.;
2. Advertising consultants, counselors, designers, secretarial services, etc.;
3. Brokerages where the brokered good is not tangibly present, such as real estate, insurance, travel, etc.; and
4. The administrative branch of a larger organization.
“Off-site treatment and storage facilities”* means off-site facilities which treat and store hazardous wastes from generators on properties other than those on which the off-site facilities are located.
“On-site treatment and storage facilities”* means on-site facilities which treat and store hazardous wastes generated on the same parcel of property where the on-site facility or facilities are located.
* Hazardous waste treatment and storage facilities are facilities that require an interim or final status permit from the Department of Ecology under dangerous waste regulations, Chapter 173-303 WAC.
“Open-air vending” means any commercial activity in which goods or services are advertised and which is conducted without the complete or partial shelter of a building on the same ownership, including such activities which, though conducted on the same ownership as an indoor commercial activity, are dissimilar to said indoor commercial activity.
“Ownership” means a lot or group of contiguous lots under the ownership.
“Permitted use” means a use permitted within a zone, including uses accessory to the permitted use.
“Personal services” means a business providing services to clients such as beauty salons, which generally have not more than two clients on the premises at any given time.
“Planned action” is defined in WAC 197-11-164 as one or more types of project action that has had significant environmental impacts adequately addressed in an environmental impact statement (EIS) prepared in conjunction with the comprehensive plan, subarea plan, fully contained community, a master planned resort, a master planned development or a phased project.
1. A project action addressed in a planned action does not require an environmental checklist or threshold determination, but may require the checklist for review to mitigate environmental impacts through the site plan review process.
2. To qualify, a project action shall:
a. Be subsequent to or implementing projects in a comprehensive plan, subarea plan, fully contained community, a master planned resort, a master planned development or a phased project;
b. Be located within the city’s adopted urban growth areas;
c. Be consistent with the comprehensive plan;
d. Not be an essential public facility, as defined in RCW 36.70A.200.
3. The city council shall designate and approve by ordinance a planned action. The ordinance:
a. Shall describe the type(s) of project action being designated as a planned action;
b. Shall describe how the planned action meets the criteria in subsection (2) of this definition, including specific references to the EIS;
c. Shall include findings that the environmental impacts have been identified and adequately addressed in the EIS, subject to project review under WAC 197-11-172;
d. Should identify any specific mitigation measures other than applicable development regulations that must be applied to a project for it to qualify as a planned action.
4. The planned action may be limited to certain types of development, to specific geographical areas of the city, and/or a time period identified in the EIS, plan, ordinance or resolution.
5. Review of a project proposed as a planned action is intended to be simpler and more focused than for other projects. Review of the project shall include:
a. Verification that it meets the description and implements any applicable conditions or mitigation measures identified in the designating ordinance or resolution;
b. Verification that the proposed significant adverse environmental impacts of the project have been adequately addressed in the EIS.
“Processing” means the operations of making or treating a product. Processing of hazardous materials or processing activities that result in the production of hazardous materials are not included under this definition.
“Professional office” means an office primarily offering services or licensed business guaranteed by a licensing agency or board.
“Public use” means a use carried on by a government agency or its authorized representative.
“Quasi-public use” means a use which serves nonprofit, social or religious ends, such as churches, clubhouses, private schools and nonpublic social service organizations.
“Recreational vehicle” means a motor vehicle designed to also serve as a temporary living quarter.
“Secure community transition facility (SCTF)” means, under RCW 71.09.020, a residential facility for persons civilly committed and conditionally released to a less restrictive alternative under Chapter 71.09 RCW. A secure community transition facility has supervision and security, and either provides or ensures the provision of sex offender treatment services. Secure community transition facilities include but are not limited to the facility established pursuant to RCW 71.09.250 and any community-based facilities established under this chapter and operated by the Washington State Secretary of Social and Health Services or under contract with the Secretary. For the purposes of Chapter 17.88, SCTFs also include supervised or unsupervised, private or publicly owned re-entry housing, work-release housing, half-way housing or any such housing with the primary purpose or use being the lodging of occupants who have been convicted of a felony.
“Setback” means the shortest horizontal distance between a lot line and the exterior surface of any building, fence or other significant sight-obscuring structure located on such lot; provided, that:
1. If the lot line lies within a proposed public right-of-way or proposed widening thereof as designated in the comprehensive plan, as determined by reference to the functional categorization of streets and right-of-way width standards for each, then the setback shall be measured from the revised lot line that would result from such new right-of way or widening thereof.
2. The following protrusions shall be considered exempt from setback requirements to a maximum of three feet:
a. Eaves;
b. Bay windows;
c. Chimneys and fireplaces;
d. Unenclosed, uncovered porches, terraces, landings or steps;
e. Other incidental components in conformance with the intent of this definition.
“Setback, front” means the setback from any lot line adjoining a public street right-of-way. Corner lots have two front lot lines.
“Setback, side” means the setback from the two lot lines most nearly perpendicular to the streets on which the lot fronts. Corner lots have two side lot lines. In the case of irregularly shaped lots with more than four sides, all lot lines other than the front and rear shall be considered side lot lines.
“Setback, rear” means the setback from the lot line most distant from and parallel to the street on which the lot fronts. Corner lots have no rear lot line. In the case of irregularly shaped lots with more than four sides, the zoning administrator shall designate a rear lot line which conforms to the intent of these definitions.
“Shipping container” means any and all land/sea shipping containers or similar structures.
“Short-term rental” means a lodging use, other than a hotel or motel, in which a dwelling unit or portion thereof is provided to guests by a short-term rental operator for a fee for fewer than thirty consecutive nights. A dwelling unit or portion thereof that is used by the same individual or individuals for thirty or more consecutive nights is not a short-term rental.
“Sidewalk cafe” means a private dining area or gathering space that is located on the sidewalk in front of a business. A sidewalk cafe serves as an outdoor extension of the business into the public right-of-way and may include fencing no more than four feet in height to delineate the dining area and meet Liquor Control Board regulations.
“Sign” means a publicly displayed advertising, directional, or information device excluding:
1. Flags and similar primarily nonverbal symbols of governmental, religious or civic organizations;
2. Traffic-control devices, verbal or nonverbal, maintained by the public agency with jurisdiction over the thoroughfare;
3. Minor notices such as conventional no soliciting, open, closed, for rent and for sale signs; and
4. Signs located so as to be viewed only from the ownership on which they are located.
“Single-family residence” means a dwelling unit which is unattached to any other dwelling unit.
“Structure” means a stationary manmade object or part thereof erected on the ground with an intention of some permanence, excluding objects less than three feet in height.
“Trailer” means a device designed to be drawn by a motor vehicle and provide temporary living quarters.
“Transmission lines” as related to gas or power lines means an interconnected group of lines and associated equipment for the movement or transfer of electric energy or gas between points of supply and points at which it is transformed for delivery to customers or is delivered to other systems. Transmission lines do not include distribution lines from which services to individual properties are provided. There are two gas transmission lines and several electric transmission lines in Sedro-Woolley.
“Vision clearance triangle” means the area that provides the visibility required for safe access to streets from cross streets, driveways and alleys.
“Wholesaling” means the warehousing of materials or goods for sale abroad and generally is related to shipping of materials and goods and not retail sales. (Ord. 2044-23 § 1, 2023; Ord. 1954-20 § 1 (Exh. A)(part), 2020; Ord. 1936-19 § 1, 2019; Ord. 1881-17 § 1, 2017; Ord. 1873-17 § 2, 2017; Ord. 1817-15 § 3, 2015; Ord. 1795-14 § 2, 2014; Ord. 1760-12 § 1, 2012; Ord. 1697-11 § 1, 2011; Ord. 1696-11 § 1, 2011; Ord. 1694-10 § 1, 2010; Ord. 1664-10 § 2 (Exh. C), 2010: Ord. 1641-09 § 3, 2009; Ord. 1612-08 § 3, 2008; Ord. 1484-04 § 3, 2004: Ord. 1451-03 § 2, 2003; Ord. 1312-98 § 1 (part), 1998; Ord. 1222-95 § 1, 1995; Ord. 1063 § 2 (Exh. A § 1.03), 1988; Ord. 1028 § 2, 1986; Ord. 1013 § 1.03, 1985)
17.04.040 Administration and interpretation.
Responsibility for administration and interpretation of this title shall rest with the planning director or designee. Any interpretation or action of the planning director may be appealed to the hearing examiner by submittal in writing to the planning director. Also, the planning director may at any time defer to the hearing examiner or the city council where uncertainty exists as to interpretations. (Ord. 2032-22 § 11, 2023; Ord. 1607-08 § 7(A), 2008: Ord. 1013 § 1.04, 1985)
17.04.050 Nonconforming uses, structures, and lots.
Uses, structures and lots not conforming to the provisions of this title may continue if legally existing at time of adoption of the ordinance codified in this title or at time of annexation to the city if annexed subsequent to adoption, provided that:
A. Legal nonconforming uses and structures shall not be enlarged, altered or expanded unless such modification is approved through the conditional use permit process;
B. Legal nonconforming uses shall lose such status if abandoned for a period of six months or more;
C. Legal nonconforming structures may be maintained and repaired unless destroyed or damaged so as to have their fair market value reduced by seventy-five percent or more, in which case they shall lose legal nonconforming status;
D. Use and development of legal nonconforming lots shall be in accordance with all current regulations, including setback requirements; and
E. If question arises as to whether a use, structure or lot enjoys legal nonconforming status, the burden of proof shall be on the property owner to provide the necessary documentation. (Ord. 1013 § 1.05, 1985)
17.04.060 Fees.
The fees for projects regulated by this chapter shall be assessed as designated in the current city of Sedro-Woolley building, planning and engineering fee schedule, as adopted by resolution of the city council and on file with the city clerk. (Ord. 1651-09 § 17, 2009)