Planning Commission backs update to Olympia's rules for wetlands, streams and steep slopes

If you own property near a wetland, stream or slope in Olympia, the rules are changing.

The Olympia Planning Commission on Oct. 5 recommended updates to the city's Critical Areas Ordinance, which covers wetlands, streams, fish and wildlife habitat, aquifer-recharge areas, frequently flooded areas and geologically hazardous areas, The JOLT News reported. Planning Manager Kernen Lien said the review draws on updated scientific guidance.

Key changes:

• Disconnected buffers. A new provision addresses buffers separated from a critical area — for example, by a road. Where it's unclear whether they're still connected (say, through a culvert), the city could require a report from a qualified professional.
• Streams. City maps are reference tools, not definitive; professionals may be required to check whether a stream is present. Stream buffer widths stay broadly the same, but a slope-based buffer reduction would be removed.
• Wetlands. Buffer rules are reorganized along state guidance; buffer averaging stays.
• Trails. Some trails would still be allowed in wetlands and buffers, with width and pavement limits. Commissioner Raphael Garcia cited Ecology's recommendation that trails generally avoid wetlands.
• Slopes. Geologic hazard reviews would become an administrative process, with the same criteria and geotechnical reports.
• Older homes. June 20, 2005 becomes the cutoff for nonconforming status. A development footprint would include paved or gravel areas and structures, but not lawns.
• Mitigation timing. Mitigation must be finished before a certificate of occupancy, not within a year after, with a one-time delay of up to 120 days allowed in some cases, backed by financial security.

Lien said state agencies were generally supportive. The Land Use & Environment Committee reviews the proposal Oct. 22, and the City Council is targeting adoption Dec. 8.