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Lake Stevens planners propose larger stream buffers; council to consider minimum 100‑ft standard
Summary
City planners told the council April 21 that updates to the critical areas ordinance would raise minimum stream buffers (100 ft for non‑fishbearing, 150 ft for fishbearing) and introduce a 'site potential tree height' option for larger riparian management zones; a hybrid approach and public hearings are planned.
Principal Planner David Levitan briefed the Lake Stevens City Council on proposed updates to the city’s Critical Areas Ordinance (Chapter 1488) at the April 21 special meeting, focusing on stream buffers and riparian protections.
Levitan said the update responds to state guidance and best available science. Staff proposed raising minimum buffers for perennial and seasonal streams to 100 feet, and fish‑bearing streams to 150 feet. He outlined an alternative technical approach — the site potential tree height method — that establishes a riparian management zone (RMZ) tied to the expected mature height of native riparian trees; adopting that approach universally can produce much larger buffers (he described examples exceeding 200 feet in some watersheds).
Levitan said jurisdictions across the region have taken different approaches: some (Everett, Mountlake Terrace) set higher minimum buffers and limited increases for degraded sites, while others (Edmonds, Anacortes) have adopted site potential tree height more broadly. He described a hybrid approach under consideration for Lake Stevens: set a 100‑foot floor for all streams and allow site‑specific analysis to expand a buffer toward the site potential tree height where the science supports it.
Planner staff said they will prepare maps and a draft code package, circulate materials to state agencies, tribes and the public, and pursue Planning Commission hearings in early summer with a council decision expected after that outreach.
