The Bothell City Council on Dec. 2 adopted updates to the city's Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) and related State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) thresholds following staff presentations, public testimony and council questions about buffers and development flexibility.

Community development staff told the council the updates respond to Growth Management Act timing and incorporate technical feedback from state agencies. Community development planner Jacqueline Sampson clarified a numbering error in the packet and stated the standard riparian management zone width for Type F (fish-bearing) streams is 175 feet with an option to reduce to 150 feet if vegetative buffer standards are met; Type N streams have a standard 115-foot width with a potential reduction to 100 feet if vegetation standards are satisfied. "Staff will fix this error for the proposed code," Sampson said when noting discrepancies in the packet table.

The packet also reflects WDFW and Ecology recommendations, adds vegetative buffer standards, and removes a separate variance mechanism; property owners will rely on reasonable-use exceptions, buffer averaging and other code flexibilities for site‑specific relief. Deputy Director Christian Getz said reasonable‑use petitions are reviewed with a science-based assessment and peer review by a city‑hired biologist.

Several speakers urged changes or a delay. Roger Ricks, who identified himself as involved in a constrained development in Canyon Park, said eliminating variances and imposing new vegetative standards could "severely impact this project and probably derail it," and said staff had previously indicated support for a variance on his site. Anne Agard raised what she described as inconsistencies in the packet regarding stream buffer figures and asked council to correct the ordinance before adoption. Nick Holland (Adamant Homes) asked for a short delay so a pending project could secure entitlements under the existing rules.

Council members pressed staff on the difference between variances and reasonable-use exceptions and on timing. Council member Kurt summarized the trade-off: the CAO expands protections for small streams and will improve water quality but can reduce buildable area on encumbered lots. Staff responded that reasonable-use exceptions, buffer averaging and mitigation are intended to allow development of encumbered lots with peer-reviewed biological assessments.

Procedural votes: council first adopted the SEPA threshold ordinance (motion by Deputy Mayor O'Connor) on a 5-0 roll call. Deputy Mayor O'Connor then moved to amend the CAO's effective date to Dec. 31, 2025 to give applicants more time; that amendment was seconded but failed on a roll call vote. Council then voted to adopt the ordinance amending BMC Chapter 14.04 (Critical Areas Regulations) on a 5-0 roll call, finalizing the CAO update. The packet and staff remarks note the revision work began months earlier and included Planning Commission review, study sessions and a public hearing in October.

The CAO update will take effect under the adopted timeline; staff said they would correct the packet text and proceed with implementation steps, including continued staff review of reasonable-use and mitigation requests and coordination with applicants.