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City planners propose larger stream buffers and new aquifer recharge rules in draft Critical Areas Ordinance
Summary
City planners presented a targeted Critical Areas Ordinance update proposing new critical aquifer recharge protections and increased stream buffers — from 50 to 100 ft for many nonfish streams and 100 to 150 ft for fish‑bearing streams — using a hybrid approach and site‑specific critical area reports when larger buffers are warranted.
Principal Planner David Levitan briefed council on a targeted update to chapter 14.88 of the municipal code that would add regulations for critical aquifer recharge areas and revise stream buffer policy. Levitan said the city is using a hybrid approach informed by best available science and local canopy data: "For perennial and seasonal nonfish bearing streams, we're proposing to increase our buffers across the board from the existing 50 feet to a 100 feet," he said, and for fish‑bearing (Type F) streams the staff proposal is to raise the standard from 100 feet to 150 feet while reserving site‑specific critical areas reports to justify going up to site potential tree height where necessary.
Levitan noted the update is targeted rather than sweeping — wetlands, geologically hazardous areas and frequently flooded areas remain largely unchanged — and that the planning department coordinated analyses with public works basin planning and reviewed other jurisdictions' approaches. The staff presentation emphasized that fully developed or functionally disconnected parcels would be evaluated case‑by‑case and that the proposal seeks a balance between resource protection and development capacity.
Council members questioned impacts on housing capacity and expressed concern about costs to developers and homeowners; Levitan said preliminary, high‑level estimates suggested up to a couple hundred single‑family units could be affected under some buffer scenarios and that more site‑specific analysis will be completed prior to public hearings. Staff said they will issue the required 60‑day notice to the Department of Commerce and anticipate public hearings with the planning commission and council in September.
