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 284 of 339 16. When required for public land, commercial, port or industrial use or development, public access sites shall be fully developed and available for public use prior to final occupancy of such use or development. 17. Public access easements, dedications, and permit conditions shall be recorded on the deed of title and/or the face of a short or long plat as a condition running, at a minimum, for a period contemporaneous with the duration of the authorized land use. Recording of such easements, dedications, and conditions shall occur at the time of final approval for all subdivisions and binding site plans or prior to final occupancy for other permits. 18. Where there is an irreconcilable conflict between water-dependent shoreline uses or physical public access and maintenance of views from adjacent properties, the water- dependent uses and physical public access shall have priority, unless there is a compelling reason to the contrary. 19. Public access facilities shall be maintained over the life of the use or development. Future actions by successors-in-interest or other parties shall not diminish the usefulness or value of required public access areas and associated improvements. 20. Maintenance of the public access facility shall be the responsibility of the owner or home owner’s association, unless otherwise accepted by a public or non-profit agency through a formal agreement recorded with the County Auditor's Office. Applicants shall make provisions to assure permanence and maintenance of public access facilities. 21. Access improvements shall not result in a net loss of shoreline ecological functions and values. 22. Rights of navigation shall be protected in conformance with the provisions of this Program. 17B.05.050 Shoreline buffers and vegetation conservation. Shoreline buffers protect shorelines from the adverse effects of adjacent land use and development. Buffers also help protect people and property from natural hazards that are present on some shorelines. Vegetated buffers provide habitat, maintain water quality, stabilize slopes and streambanks, and help achieve no net loss of shoreline ecological functions; to function effectively, buffers must be well-vegetated. As a result, the Program promotes vegetation conservation including restrictions on clearing and grading, vegetation restoration and enhancement, and the control of invasive weeds and non-native species. Unless otherwise stated, buffer and vegetation conservation regulations of this Program do not apply to those activities covered under the Washington State Forest Practices Act, except for conversion of forest uses to other uses and those other forest practice activities over which local governments have authority. As with all master program provisions, buffer and vegetation conservation provisions apply even to those shoreline uses and developments that are exempt from the requirement to obtain a shoreline permit. Like other master program provisions, buffer and vegetation conservation standards do not apply retroactively to legally established existing uses and structures, such as existing agricultural activities. A. Policies. Pursuant to RCW 36.70A.480, the shoreline buffers and vegetation conservation policies of the 2016 Kittitas County Shoreline Master Program shall be considered as policies of the Kittitas County Comprehensive Plan. B. Regulations-shoreline buffers. 1. New uses and developments shall be located landward of the shoreline buffers shown in the Table at KCC 17B.05.050-1 in accordance with the shoreline environment designation, unless this Program specifically allows the use/development within the shoreline buffer. Shoreline buffers shall be measured in all directions from the OHWM. Uses/development may also be subject to additional buffers prescribed in KCC 17B.05.020K of this Program due to presence of critical areas. In such cases, the landward-most buffer shall apply.