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INFORMATION
SHEETS - Index |
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Critical Areas Ordinance 19.15 and Floodplain Management Ordinance
16.25
Adopted 4/7/09 - Effective 5/1/09
Critical Areas Update
Mandate.
Cowlitz County is updating its Critical Areas
Ordinance and development regulations per the Growth Management Act (GMA),
Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 36.70A.
Under the GMA, all counties are required to consider best
available scientific (BAS) information for adopting new development
regulations that designate and protect critical areas functions and
values. In 2002, the Washington State Legislature amended the GMA to
require counties and cities to review, and update, their development
regulations every seven years to ensure regulations comply with the
requirements of the act. The
County’s mandated deadline to revise the Critical Areas Ordinance was
December 1, 2005.
The Board will review the final drafts on April 7, 2009 at 9:45am in
the BOCC hearing room located at 207 4th Ave. N, Kelso, WA. The hearing
is an open-record, Legislative hearing.
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Critical Areas |
Cowlitz County has adopted and administers through
its Department of Building and Planning a Critical Areas Ordinance, set
forth as Chapter 19.15 of the
 Cowlitz
County Code. This Ordinance was mandated by the Washington State
Growth Management Act
(RCW 36.70A.060), and covers all
unincorporated areas of the County. This Act
requires counties to designate critical areas and adopt development
regulations to assure the conservation of such areas. Critical areas may
contain valuable natural resources, may perform important ecological
functions and processes, or, if developed, present potential hazards to
life and property. In conjunction with other applications, critical
areas reviews cover the following:
- Wetlands:
Provide numerous valuable functions, including but not limited to
providing wildlife and fish habitat, water quality enhancement, flood
and erosion control, and aquifer recharge and discharge.
- Geologic hazards:
Pose a risk to public and private property and to the natural systems
that make up the County's environment. Such areas are susceptible to
landslides, erosion, seismic activity, volcanic activity, or mining
hazards. Future developments should be directed to more geologically
stable areas and away from unsuitable ground.
The County has recently adopted a revised landslide hazard map for the
central core of the County. That map may be viewed
here.
Aquifer recharge
areas: Perform many important biological and physical
functions that benefit the County and its residents, including storing
and conveying ground water. Protection of aquifer recharge areas is
necessary to protect valuable groundwater resources.
Fish and wildlife
habitat conservation areas: Perform many physical and
biological functions that include but are not limited to providing
opportunities for food, cover, nesting, breeding, and movements for
fish and wildlife, maintaining and promoting diversity of species and
habitat, and helping to maintain air and water quality.
Frequently
flooded areas: Pose a risk to public and private
property and public health. Regulation of these lands promote
efficient use of the land and water resources by allocating frequently
flooded areas to the uses for which they are best suited and to
discourage obstructions to flood flows.
 
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