20.740.060 Approval Criteria.
Click here to view prior versions of this section.
Any activity or development subject to this chapter, unless otherwise provided for in this chapter, shall be reviewed and approved, approved with conditions, or denied based on the proposal’s ability to comply with all of the following criteria. The city may condition the proposed activity as necessary to mitigate impacts to critical areas and their buffers and to conform to the standards required by this chapter. Activities shall protect the functions of the critical areas and buffers on the site.
A. Avoid Impacts. The Applicant shall first seek to avoid all impacts that degrade the functions and values of (a) critical area(s). This may necessitate a redesign of the proposal.
B. Minimize Impacts. Where avoidance is not feasible, the applicant shall minimize the impact of the activity and mitigate to the extent necessary to achieve the activity’s purpose and the purpose of this ordinance. The applicant shall seek to minimize the fragmentation of the resource to the greatest extent possible.
C. Compensatory Mitigation. The applicant shall compensate for the unavoidable impacts by replacing each of the affected functions to the extent feasible. The compensatory mitigation shall be designed to achieve the functions as soon as practicable. Compensatory mitigation shall be in-kind and on-site, when feasible, and sufficient to maintain the functions of the critical area, and to prevent risk from a hazard posed by a critical area to a development or by a development to a critical area.
D. No Net Loss. The proposal protects the critical area functions and values and results in no net loss of critical area functions and values.
E. Consistency with General Purposes. The proposal is consistent with the general purposes of this chapter and does not pose a significant threat to the public health, safety, or welfare on or off the development proposal site;
F. Performance Standards. The proposal meets the specific performance standards of Fish and Wildlife Habitat Conservation Areas VMC 20.740.110, Frequently Flooded Areas VMC 20.740.120, Geologic Hazard Areas VMC 20.740.130, and Wetlands VMC 20.740.140, as applicable. (Ord. M-4017 § 7, 07/16/2012; Ord. M-3692, Added, 02/28/2005, Sec 2)