BOCC Exhibits A-E ECY Approved SMP-Code Amendments

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Kittitas County Board of County Commissioners Shoreline Master Program Adopting Ordinance Kittitas County Shoreline Master Program Exhibit D | March 2016 | Page 265 of 339 3. Multiple buffers: In the event that buffers for any shorelines and/or critical areas are contiguous or overlapping, the landward-most edge of all such buffers shall apply. 4. Interrupted buffer: When a wetland buffer contains an existing legally established public or private road, the Administrator may allow development on the landward side of the road provided that the development will not have a detrimental impact to the wetland. The applicant may be required to provide a wetland critical areas report to describe the potential impacts. In determining whether a critical areas report is necessary, the County shall consider the hydrologic, geologic, and/or biological habitat connection potential and the extent and permanence of the buffer interruption. 5. Buffers of restored wetlands: The buffer for a wetland created, restored, or enhanced as compensation for approved wetland alterations shall be the same as the buffer required for the category of the created, restored, or enhanced wetland. 6. Buffer averaging: The Administrator may allow averaging of the standard wetland buffer widths in the Table at KCC 17B.05.020G-1 when necessary to accommodate a single-family residence or residential subdivision of four (4) or fewer lots. With buffer averaging, the buffer width is reduced in one location and increased in another location to maintain the same overall buffer area. Proposals for buffer averaging shall not require a shoreline variance or compensatory mitigation if the following conditions are met: a. The buffer has not been averaged or reduced by any prior actions administered by Kittitas County; b. No feasible site design could be accomplished without buffer averaging; c. The wetland contains variations in sensitivity due to existing physical characteristics or the character of the buffer varies in slope, soils, or vegetation, and that wetland would benefit from a wider buffer in places and would not be adversely impacted by a narrower buffer in other places; d. A critical area report demonstrates that the averaging will not adversely impact wetland function and values; e. The minimum width of the buffer at any given point is at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the standard width per the Table at KCC 17B.05.020G-1, or twenty-five (25) feet, whichever is greater; and f. The area that is added to the buffer to offset the reduction is well-vegetated. The Administrator may require vegetation enhancement and a mitigation plan, if needed, to ensure this criterion is met. 7. Buffer reduction: On sites that lack well-vegetated wetland buffers, the Administrator may allow reduction of the buffer widths in the Table at KCC 17B.05.020G-1 when necessary to accommodate a single-family residence or residential subdivision of four (4) or fewer lots. The buffer reduction shall be allowed only in those limited instances when adherence to the standard buffer is infeasible or presents a substantial hardship because of site conditions, lot configuration or other circumstances. Residential subdivisions of more than four (4) lots and non-water-dependent non-water-related developments shall not be eligible for buffer reduction, except through a shoreline variance. Buffers that have been averaged or reduced by any prior actions administered by Kittitas County shall not be further reduced. Proposals for buffer reduction on such sites shall not require a shoreline variance if the following conditions are met: a. The existing buffer is predominantly un-vegetated, composed of nuisance species or in an otherwise highly disturbed condition; b. The minimum width of the reduced buffer is at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the standard width per the Table at KCC 17B.05.020G-1; c. The reduced portion of the buffer cannot exceed forty percent (40%) of the buffer length on the development property;