16.55.290 Critical area report – Additional requirements for wetlands and wetland buffers.
A. Wetland Determination and Mapping. Identification of wetlands and delineation of their boundaries pursuant to this chapter shall be done in accordance with the federal wetland delineation manual and applicable regional supplements (as updated), as required by RCW 36.70A.175. All areas meeting the wetland designation criteria in that procedure are hereby designated as wetlands and are subject to provisions of this chapter. The wetland boundary shall be marked in the field and surveyed by a licensed surveyor. The surveyed wetlands shall be sized and mapped on a scaled site plan. The director may require the wetland delineation to be verified in the field by the Army Corps of Engineers or the Washington State Department of Ecology when there is uncertainty in the wetland boundary or there was unauthorized wetland disturbance.
The requirement for a licensed surveyor to survey the wetland boundaries may be waived in limited circumstances, such as when there is no access to the wetland property or there is no proposed impact to the wetland and wetland buffer, with authorization from the director.
B. Wetland Delineation Requirements. The following are required components of a wetland delineation report:
1. Prepared by a Qualified Professional. The report shall be prepared by a qualified professional, in accordance with BMC 16.55.510.
2. Maps. The wetland delineation report shall include the following maps:
a. Vicinity map.
b. Parcel map, with scale, showing all wetlands on the site and within 150 feet of the parcel boundaries unless access is denied by the adjacent property owner. Parcel map shall include all streams and drainages (Type S, F, Np or Ns streams), shorelines, floodplains, flood prone areas and critical habitat for threatened and endangered species on the parcel and within 150 feet of the parcel boundaries.
c. Topographic map based on city or surveyed data.
d. Map of development proposal with scale.
3. Wetland Analysis. A wetland delineation report shall provide an analysis of all wetlands and buffers on site and within 150 feet of the lot or parcel boundaries including, at a minimum, the following information:
a. Wetland delineation.
b. The wetland boundaries shall be flagged using bright-colored flagging tape or pin flags and surveyed by a licensed surveyor using an equivalent method with an accuracy of plus or minus one foot of a survey, unless surveying is specifically waived by the director for a different method of mapping the wetland boundary.
c. Determination of each wetland size.
d. Description of each wetland class and category.
e. Description of overall water sources and drainage patterns on site.
f. Description of vegetation, hydrologic conditions, and soil and substrate conditions.
g. Description of wildlife and habitat.
h. Topographic elevation, at two-foot contours.
i. Functional assessment of the wetland and adjacent buffer using a local or state agency-recognized method and including the reference of the method and all data sheets.
j. Standard buffer requirements for each wetland.
C. Valid for Five Years. Wetland delineation reports conducted by a qualified wetland professional shall be valid for five years from the date of the delineation report if the wetland rating or the boundary has not changed. [Ord. 2016-02-005 § 20; Ord. 2008-04-037; Ord. 2005-11-092].