WAC 365-190-020
Purpose. The intent of this chapter is to
establish minimum guidelines to assist all counties and cities
statewide in classifying agricultural lands, forest lands,
mineral resource lands, and critical areas. These guidelines
shall be considered by counties and cities in designating these
lands.
Growth management, natural resource land conservation, and
critical areas protection share problems related to governmental
costs and efficiency. Sprawl and the unwise development of
natural resource lands or areas susceptible to natural hazards
may lead to inefficient use of limited public resources,
jeopardize environmental resource functions and values, subject
persons and property to unsafe conditions, and affect the
perceived quality of life. It is more costly to remedy the loss
of natural resource lands or critical areas than to conserve and
protect them from loss or degradation. The inherent economic,
social, and cultural values of natural resource lands and
critical areas should be considered in the development of
strategies designed to conserve and protect lands.
In recognition of these common concerns, classification and
designation of natural resource lands and critical areas is
intended to assure the long-term conservation of natural resource
lands and to preclude land uses and developments which are
incompatible with critical areas. There are qualitative
differences between and among natural resource lands and critical
areas. Not all areas and ecosystems are critical for the same
reasons. Some are critical because of the hazard they present to
public health and safety, some because of the values they
represent to the public welfare. In some cases, the risk posed
to the public by use or development of a critical area can be
mitigated or reduced by engineering or design; in other cases
that risk cannot be effectively reduced except by avoidance of
the critical area. Hence, classification and designation of
critical areas is intended to lead counties and cities to
recognize the differences among these areas, and to develop
appropriate regulatory and nonregulatory actions in response.
Counties and cities required or opting to plan under the
Growth Management Act of 1990 should consider the definitions and
guidelines in this chapter when preparing development regulations
which preclude uses and development incompatible with critical
areas (see RCW 36.70A.060). Precluding incompatible uses and
development does not mean a prohibition of all uses or
development. Rather, it means governing changes in land uses,
new activities, or development that could adversely affect
critical areas. Thus for each critical area, counties and cities
planning under the act should define classification schemes and
prepare development regulations that govern changes in land uses
and new activities by prohibiting clearly inappropriate actions
and restricting, allowing, or conditioning other activities as
appropriate.
It is the intent of these guidelines that critical areas
designations overlay other land uses including designated natural
resource lands. That is, if two or more land use designations
apply to a given parcel or a portion of a parcel, both or all
designations shall be made. Regarding natural resource lands,
counties and cities should allow existing and ongoing resource
management operations, that have long-term commercial
significance, to continue. Counties and cities should encourage
utilization of best management practices where existing and
ongoing resource management operations that have long-term
commercial significance include designated critical areas. Future operations or expansion of existing operations should be
done in consideration of protecting critical areas.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 36.70A.050. 91-07-041, § 365-190-020,
filed 3/15/91, effective 4/15/91.]