BOCC Ordinance - Amend and Adopt CAO

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39 protecting the FWHCA. Tree removal is prohibited in RMZs and FWHCA buffers other than in accordance with 17A.01.050.3.j. 4. Standard Riparian Management Zones for Waters of the State. Table 17A.04.030-4 Standard RMZ Widths Kittitas County Nonshoreline Rivers, Streams, Lakes and Ponds (does not include building setback [KCC 17A.01.090.5]) Stream Type Riparian Management Zone Widths1,2 Cascade Ecoregion (feet) Columbia Plateau Ecoregion (feet) Type S (Shoreline) See the SMP See the SMP Type F 150 100 Type Np 100 65 Type Ns 50 40 1 Interrupted RMZs: When a fish and wildlife habitat conservation area RMZ contains an existing legally established public or private road, the Director may allow an alteration or development on the landward side of the road provided that the alteration or development will not have a detrimental impact to the habitat area. The Director may require a habitat management plan if – after considering the hydrologic, geologic, and/or biological habitat connection potential and the extent and permanence of the buffer interruption – such a plan is deemed necessary to confirm the lack of detrimental impact on the habitat area. 2 Multiple RMZs: In the event that RMZs for any fish and wildlife habitat conservation area are contiguous or overlapping, the most protective of the collective RMZs shall apply. 3 The Cascade and Columbia Plateau Ecoregions are derived from the Water Resource Inventory Areas (WRIA) 38, 39, and 40 ecoregion boundaries. The Cascade Ecoregion includes North Cascades, Cascades, and Eastern Cascade Slopes and Foothills ecoregions. The Columbia Plateau Ecoregion includes the shrub-steppe ecoregion known as the Columbia Plateau. 5. Increased RMZs. The Director shall increase the fish and wildlife habitat conservation area RMZ width where the standard RMZ is inadequate to prevent significant adverse environmental impacts or to address hazards associated with the site or the proposed alteration or development. The Director may increase the buffer up to a maximum of two times the standard width. The Director shall consider increasing the RMZ when any of the following conditions are present: a. The composition, quality and density of the buffer vegetation is insufficient to protect the habitat area; b. There is evidence of historical or current susceptibility to severe erosion, channel instability, or aggrading; c. There are multiple channels or islands present; or d. The land adjacent to the ordinary high water mark and extending throughout the standard habitat buffer is steeply sloped (greater than forty percent (40%) slope) and there are no designated landslide hazards such that an increased buffer may be required to protect ecological functions.