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Milton updates critical areas code after Ecology, Fish & Wildlife requests; council adopts ordinance
Summary
Council adopted Ordinance 2125-25 updating Milton’s critical areas code to align with state guidance; changes are primarily technical but Ecology requested tightened wetland performance standards and Fish & Wildlife sought larger riparian buffers for certain water types.
The Milton City Council voted unanimously on Nov. 3 to adopt Ordinance 2125‑25, updating the city’s critical areas regulations to reflect the 2024 comprehensive-plan amendments and recent state agency guidance.
Planning Manager Stalnecker told the council the edits are mostly technical—revising definitions, WAC/RCW references and clarifying performance standards—but highlighted two agency-driven changes: the Department of Ecology asked that only Category 4 wetlands remain eligible for an exemption option and proposed changes to how wetland performance standards and scoring are calculated; the Department of Fish and Wildlife recommended increasing riparian buffers for certain water types (proposed increase to 100 feet for Type NS water categories in the hearing draft).
Stalnecker said staff incorporated agency comments and emphasized that the update is intended to better protect wetlands and ensure city code aligns with state rules. Council members asked how monitoring and enforcement would work, whether buffers would apply retroactively to existing sites, and how projects like Sound Transit or local developments would be reviewed. Stalnecker responded that most requirements apply at the time of new development, that buffers and delineations are determined by biologists and that the city contracts a biologist to review critical‑areas reports.
Council Member Hall moved to adopt the ordinance; Mayor Pro Tem Whitaker seconded. The motion carried, 6‑0.
