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Mill Creek planning commission recommends Critical Areas Ordinance update, adopts WDFW-based riparian management approach
Summary
Commissioners recommended approval of comprehensive critical-area code amendments that replace stream buffers with WDFW-informed Riparian Management Zones sized by site-potential tree height, clarify nonconforming-use rules and add mitigation for new trails; planning commission approved the recommendation as amended to clarify subdivision of nonconforming uses.
The Mill Creek Planning Commission voted to recommend to city council a set of amendments to the city's Critical Areas Ordinance that staff said modernize protections for wetlands, streams, habitat and other critical areas and align the code with best-available science and recent state agency guidance.
Staff context and timeline: Speaker 4, the staff presenter, said the city hired a consultant to prepare a best-available-science review and gap analysis and that staff had notified state agencies in October and received comments from the Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and Department of Natural Resources. Staff noted the state compliance deadline is Dec. 31, 2025, and said final adoption is most likely at the first council meeting in January.
Major changes: The package includes several substantive updates:
- Riparian Management Zones (RMZs): Instead of fixed stream-buffer widths, the amendments adopt RMZs sized by site-potential tree height (a long-term dominant-tree-height metric). Staff…
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