Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planner presents major updates to Mukilteo's critical‑areas ordinance, including stream buffer methodology
Summary
City planning staff presented a draft critical‑areas ordinance update that codifies reasonable‑use guidance, clarifies geohazard and wetland rules, and proposes using site potential tree height for stream buffers in many cases; planning staff said the draft follows agency guidance and best available science.
Christina Cerise, a Mukilteo planning staffer, presented the city's proposed critical areas ordinance update and walked councilmembers through what is mandatory under the Growth Management Act and where the city has policy choices.
Cerise said mandatory components include ensuring "no net loss of functions and values," applying best available science and following mitigation sequencing. She described the draft's reasonable‑use approach for residential lots, noting an administrative interpretation the city has relied on that assumes a maximum 2,500‑square‑foot single‑story footprint and an 1,800‑square‑foot allowance for multi‑story homes in some cases.
On wetlands and streams, Cerise said the planning commission recommended a middle option for buffer methodology that balances flexibility and administrability: "Option 3 was really simple to administer, but it just said every wetland buffer is gigantic... we're kinda aiming for the Goldilocks option number 2," she said. For streams, staff proposed using site potential tree height (a long‑term tree height metric) for many buffers; staff's GIS analysis found that adopting site potential tree height everywhere would affect about 204 additional parcels.
Cerise also summarized geohazard updates that allow stabilizing measures before a slope becomes an emergency and described flood‑hazard recommendations, including a planning commission recommendation to require two feet above base flood elevation for new structures.
Why it matters: the ordinance update implements state requirements while shaping how development near wetlands, streams and steep slopes will be evaluated in Mukilteo for the next decade. The rules affect property owners, applicants and city permitting procedures.
Next steps: Cerise said the code revisions will be presented in a public hearing version next week; staff requested council feedback on the discretionary choices, including the buffer methodology and reasonable‑use criteria.
