“Abandon” means to terminate or remove a structure by an affirmative act, such as changing to a new use; or to cease, terminate, or vacate a use or structure through nonaction.

“Abate” means to take whatever means necessary by the administrative official to return to the condition in which it existed before a violation of this title occurred or to assure that the property complies with applicable code requirements. Abatement may include, but is not limited to, rehabilitation, demolition, removal, replacement or repair.

“Accessory dwelling unit” means a dwelling unit located on the same lot as a single-family housing unit, duplex, triplex, townhome, or other housing unit.

“Accessory dwelling unit, attached” means an accessory dwelling unit located within or attached to a single-family housing unit, duplex, triplex, townhome, or other housing unit.

“Accessory dwelling unit, detached” means an accessory dwelling unit that consists partly or entirely of a building that is separate and detached from a single-family housing unit, duplex, triplex, townhome, or other housing unit.

“Accessory structure” means a detached structure that is clearly incidental and subordinate in use to the principal structure on the same lot. Accessory buildings shall contain no habitable space, unless otherwise specifically provided by other provisions of this title. Examples include storage sheds and garages.

“Accessory use” means a use customarily incidental to and on the same lot as the principal use of a building or operation, and so necessary or commonly to be expected that it cannot be supposed that it was intended to be prohibited.

“Adequate” means acceptable but not excessive.

“Adjacent property” means property which is contiguous or touching at any point. Property which would be contiguous or touching except for the existence of a street, road, or right-of-way will be considered contiguous or touching.

“Administrative official” means the city of Electric City mayor or his/her designee.

“Adult family home” means a residential home of a person or persons who are providing personal care, special care, room and board to more than one but not more than six adults who are not related by blood or marriage to the person or persons providing the services. (RCW 70.128.010)

“Adverse” means contrary to one’s interest or welfare; harmful or unfavorable circumstances.

“Adverse impacts” means a condition that creates, imposes, aggravates, or leads to inadequate, impractical, unsafe, or unhealthy conditions on a site proposed for development or on off-site property or facilities.

“Agency with jurisdiction” means any agency with authority to approve, deny, or condition all or part of any project permit application as defined by this title.

“Agricultural fence” means any of the permitted fences used to contain livestock and protect agricultural or nursery products. Examples of permitted agricultural fences are:

“Agriculture” means the use of land for agricultural purposes including farming, dairying, pasturage, agriculture, horticulture, floriculture, viticulture, aviaries, and animal and poultry husbandry, and the necessary accessory uses for storing produce, provided the operation of such accessory uses shall be incidental to that of normal agricultural activities.

“Aid to navigation” means any visual or electronic device airborne or on the surface which provides point-to-point guidance information or position data to aircraft in flight or boats on the water.

“Air navigation hazard” means an official determination by the FAA that an airspace obstruction constitutes a hazard to air navigation. The FAA determination that an airspace obstruction does not constitute a “hazard to air navigation” under federal regulations does not prevent the administrative official from determining that it is an airspace hazard or potentially incompatible land use under this title.

“Airfield” means a public or privately owned area of land open to general, limited public, or commercial use for aircraft operation. An airfield may include related commercial service, aircraft maintenance, or fueling facilities.

“Airport” means an area of land or facility publicly owned and open to general public use for aircraft operations, except any airfield or airstrip as defined herein. An airport may include related services and facilities.

“Airport elevation” means the highest point of an airport’s usable land area measured in feet from sea level.

“Airport imaginary surfaces” means the imaginary airspace surfaces, including the primary, approach, transitional, horizontal and conical surfaces, of an airport as designated by Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR), Part 77, “Objects Affecting Navigable Airspace,” as shown on the Part 77 Airspace Plan, Approach Zone, and Runway Protection Zone plans for an airport as contained in an airport master plan.

“Airport obstruction” means any structure, growth or other object, including a mobile object, which exceeds a limiting height set forth in Grant County Code 23.08.030 (as it exists and hereinafter amended).

“Airport safety overlay district” means an overlay district adopted by Grant County and by reference the city of Electric City, that governs use of land adjoining an airport and protects public safety in the area.

“Airport safety zone” means as defined by the most recent FAA definition.

“Airspace hazard” means any structure, tree, or use of land which compromises public safety or obstructs the airspace required for the safe operation of aircraft in or around an airport, as determined by the administrative official under this title.

“Airspace obstruction” means any structure, tree, land mass, smoke or steam or use of land which penetrates any airport imaginary surface, as defined by Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR), Part 77.

“Alley” means a public way between property lines, which affords a secondary means of access to abutting property.

“Animal hospital” means a facility, including exterior fenced cages or yards, for veterinary care of sick or injured animals. The boarding of animals is limited to short-term care, and is accessory to the principal use. This definition does not include kennels.

“Animal shelter” means a commercial or nonprofit establishment in which animals other than livestock are temporarily housed or boarded, groomed, bred, trained, treated, or sold.

“Applicant” means any person, entity, or agency that applies for a development proposal, permit or approval (subject to review under this title) and who is either the owner, beneficial owner, contract purchaser, or authorized agent of such owner of the land on which the proposed activity would be located.

“Application” means a written request in a form deemed appropriate by the administrative official or a form provided by the city for a construction or land use action or permit for any activity that would alter or modify the legal description, use, and/or development of any parcel of land.

“Approach, transitional, horizontal and conical surfaces” means the imaginary surfaces relating to an airport as defined by Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR), Part 77, “Objects Affecting Navigable Airspace,” as shown on the Part 77 Airspace Plan, Approach Zone, and Runway Protection Zone plans for the Grand Coulee Airport as contained in the approved airport master plan.

“Approach, transitional, horizontal and conical zones” means the zones which apply to the ground areas immediately under a runway approach, transitional, horizontal and conical surfaces, as projected along a vertical axis.

“Archaeological” means having to do with the scientific study of material remains of past human life and activities.

“Archaeological site” means an area of ancestral human use such as middens, burial grounds, and earthworks.

“Assembly, heavy” means the assembly of large prefabricated materials or components into a finished product, generally with the use of machinery or equipment.

“Assembly, light” means the assembly of small prefabricated materials or components into a finished product. Light assembly processes may not employ heavy equipment. Both materials and end products can generally be lifted by hand, without the use of forklifts or other equipment. Examples include rototillers, snowmobiles, small engines, and furniture.

“Assisted living facility” means a type of licensed boarding home operating in accordance with an assisted living services contract with the Department of Social and Health Services offering a package of services, including personal care and limited nursing. Such facilities may include housing for the resident in a private apartment-like unit.

“Attached structure” means any structure that is attached by a common wall to a dwelling unit. The common wall must be shared for at least 50 percent of the length of the side of the principal dwelling. A breezeway is not considered a common wall. Structures including garages, carports, and house additions attached to the principal dwelling unit with a breezeway are still detached structures for purposes of this chapter and its administration.

“Auto wrecking yard” means any lot or area used for the dismantling or disassembling of motor vehicles or trailers, or the storage, sale or dumping of four or more dismantled, partially dismantled, obsolete or wrecked vehicles, or their parts.

“Basement” means that portion of a building, between a floor and a ceiling, which is partly below the finished grade. A basement shall be considered a story unless it is used exclusively for parking, storage and/or the housing of heating equipment.

“Bed and breakfast inn” means a hospitality commercial use containing four to six guest rooms or lodging units without cooking facilities, which provides overnight accommodation and breakfast meals in an owner- or proprietor-occupied existing single-family residence, including additional legal structures that may include facilities for banquets, weddings and similar small parties.

“Bed and breakfast residence” means a hospitality commercial use containing one to three guest rooms without cooking facilities, which provides overnight accommodation and breakfast meals in an owner- or proprietor-occupied existing single-family residence.

“Boarding house” or “lodging house” means a dwelling or part thereof, other than a hotel, motel, or multifamily dwelling where lodging, with or without meals, is provided, for compensation, for three or more persons.

“Boat launch, public” means a boat launch which serves more than a single residence.

“Boathouse” means an enclosed structure designed and used for the storage of boats and boat equipment.

“Boathouse, commercial” means any walled or covered structure built onshore or offshore for the wet or dry commercial storage, repair, or building of watercraft or float planes.

“Boating facilities” means marinas, covered moorages, boathouses, boat launches, marine railways, mooring buoys, docks, and floats.

“Buffer, generally” means an area designed to separate incompatible uses or activities.

“Buildable lot” means a legal lot of record meeting land use lot certification tests and determined to be in compliance with this title for which a development permit is approved.

“Building” means any structure used or intended for supporting or sheltering any use or occupancy.

“Building envelope” means a three-dimensional space in which a building or structure may be built under the provisions of all applicable chapters of this title.

“Building footprint” means the surface space occupied by a building.

“Building height” means the vertical distance measured from the grade to the highest point of the building.

“Building permit” means an official document or certification which is issued by the building official and which authorizes the construction, alteration, enlargement, conversion, reconstruction, remodeling, rehabilitation, erection, demolition, moving or repair of a building or structure. “Building permit” also includes a mobile home permit.

“Bulk fuel storage facility” means an area where flammable or combustible liquids are received by tank vessel, pipeline, tank car, or tank vehicle and are stored or blended in bulk for the purpose of distributing such liquids by tank vessel, pipeline, tank car, tank vehicle, portable tank, or container.

“Bulk fuel storage (retail)” means the storage of fuel in structures or tanks for subsequent retail sale.

“Bulk fuel storage (wholesale)” means the storage of fuel in structures or tanks for subsequent wholesale distribution.

“Business” or “commerce” means the purchase, sale, offering for sale, or other transaction involving the handling or disposition of any article, service, substance, or commodity for livelihood or profit.

“Cabin” means a recreational dwelling unit used for short-term, temporary occupancy (in month-to-month or shorter increments) which may be fully plumbed, served with electrical power, and/or contain a kitchen and bathroom.

“Campground and camping facilities” means an area of land developed for recreational use as temporary living quarters for persons using tents or other personal, portable overnight shelters such as travel trailers or recreational vehicles.

“Caretaker residence” means an accessory dwelling unit for residence of an individual and his/her immediate family while in the employ as a caretaker, groundskeeper, or security capacity to the primary operation or use.

“Chain link fence” means a fence, usually made of metal, which consists of wire loops interconnected into a series of joined links.

“Church” means any structure or group of structures primarily used for religious services and/or instruction.

“Clear vision area” means a triangular portion of land established at a street intersection in which nothing is erected, placed, planted, or allowed to grow in such a manner as to limit or obstruct the sight distance of motorists entering or leaving the intersection.

“Clearing” or “land clearing” means the destruction or removal, by hand or with mechanical means, of vegetative ground cover or trees including, but not limited to, root material or topsoil material.

“Clinic” means a place where group medical services are performed not including the overnight housing of patients.

“Club” means an association of persons, religious or otherwise, for a common purpose, but not including groups which are organized primarily to render a service carried on as a business for a profit.

“Cluster” means a grouping of clustered lots.

“Co-housing” means a type of residential community characterized by either attached or detached single-family dwelling units which may or may not be located on separate lots, and includes a common building, which may contain a large dining room, kitchen, lounges, meeting rooms, recreation and laundry facilities, storage, guest rooms, library, workshops, and/or childcare, to serve only the co-housing community.

“Commercial coach” means a structure transportable in one or more sections that is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used for commercial purposes with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. A commercial coach is labeled with a black insignia in compliance with Washington State Department of Labor and Industries regulations.

“Commercial sign” means any object, device, display or structure that is used for attracting attention to any commercial use, product, service, or activity.

“Commercial use” means a land use activity which is associated with the sale and purchase of goods and services. Includes businesses involved in: the sale, lease, or rent of new or used products to the consumer public; the provision of personal services to the consumer public; the provisions of leisure services in the form of food or drink and passive or active entertainment; or the provision of product repair or servicing of consumer goods.

“Committed improvement” means a legally binding commitment that a specific amount of capacity will be added to a concurrency facility or service by a specific date.

“Common area” means any area contained within the boundaries of a proposed land division or within a multifamily residential development and owned by the lot owners as tenants-in-common, joint tenancy, or through an association or nonprofit association, and provided specifically for the common use of the residents.

“Compatible” means capable of existing together without discord or in a state of mutual tolerance.

“Comprehensive drainage plan” means a detailed analysis, adopted by the city council, for a drainage basin which assesses the capabilities and needs for runoff accommodation due to various combinations of development, land use, structural and nonstructural management alternatives. The plan recommends the form, location, and extent of stormwater quantity and quality control measures that would satisfy legal constraints, water quality standards, and community standards, and identifies the institutional and funding requirements for plan implementation.

“Comprehensive plan” means the generalized coordinated land use policy statement of the city of Electric City, adopted pursuant to the Growth Management Act.

“Comprehensive plan amendment” means an amendment or change to the text or maps of the comprehensive plan.

“Concurrency” means a decision that a proposed land development will not cause the level of service on a concurrency facility and service to decline below adopted levels of service standards taking into account the available capacity, the capacity used by the proposed development, the capacity tentatively reserved by other pending development permit applications, the capacity reserved in certificates of capacity issued to projects that are not yet built, the capacity to be used by other growth estimated to occur, the capacity to be added by committed improvements that will be in place at the time the capacity is needed by the proposed development, and, in the case of transportation concurrency, the capacity to be added by funded projects.

“Concurrency determination for nontransportation facilities and services” means a determination made by the nontransportation facility provider which compares an applicant’s impact on that provider’s facilities to the capacity of such facilities, taking into account available facility capacity and any mitigation measures proposed by the applicant.

“Conditional use” means a use allowed in one or more zoning districts as defined in this title but which, because of characteristics peculiar to such use; because of size, hours of operation, technical processes or equipment; or because of the exact location with reference to surroundings and existing improvements or demands upon public facilities, requires a special permit in order to provide a particular degree of control to make such use consistent and compatible with other existing or permissible uses in the same zone or zones.

“Conditional use permit (CUP)” means a permit issued by Electric City stating that the land uses and activities meet all criteria set forth in this title and other local ordinances, and all conditions of approval in accordance with the procedural requirements of this title.

“Condominium” means the division of a building or land pursuant to the Horizontal Property Regimes Act, Chapter 64.23 RCW, or the Condominium Act, Chapter 64.34 RCW.

“Consistency” is a term which means that no feature of a plan or regulation is incompatible with any other feature of a plan or regulation. Consistency is indicative of a capacity for orderly integration or operation with other elements in a system. (WAC 365-195-210)

“Construction yard” means a service establishment primarily engaged in general contracting or subcontracting in the building construction trades. Construction yards include administrative offices, workshops and the indoor or outdoor storage of tools, equipment, materials, and vehicles.

“Contaminant” means any chemical, physical, biological or radiological substance that does not occur naturally in groundwater or that occurs at concentrations greater than those in natural levels.

“Contiguous land” means land adjoining and touching other land regardless of whether or not portions of the parcels have separate assessor’s tax numbers, were purchased at different times, lie in different sections, are in different government lots, or are separated from each other by private road or public rights-of-way.

“Convenience store” means a business primarily engaged in the retail sales of convenience items, including packaged or prepared food, beverages, lottery tickets, tobacco products, and limited stock of groceries, goods, sundries and similar products for the traveling public or neighborhood residents for consumption off premises; may include retail dispensing or sales of vehicular fuels.

“Covenants” means a restriction on the use of land.

“Critical facility” means a facility where safety from disaster is of paramount importance, or where even a slight chance of flooding might be too great. Critical facilities include, but are not limited to, schools, hospitals, police, fire, and emergency response installations, nursing homes, installations which produce, use, or store hazardous materials or hazardous waste.

“Cul-de-sac” means a road closed at one end by an area of sufficient size for turning vehicles around.

“Cultural resource area” means an area that has been identified and designated by the city council as having lands, sites and structures that have historical or archaeological significance.

“Current use” means the use of land or improvements at the time of permit application.

“Dangerous waste” means those solid wastes designated in WAC 173-303-070 through 173-303-103 as dangerous or extremely hazardous waste. (WAC 173-303-040)

“Data mining, Bitcoin operation” means a facility or operation that may house electronic equipment, computers, and servers for use in processing or extracting data. A facility or operation that uses electronic equipment to “mine” for Bitcoins and data, or process Bitcoin transactions. Such facility or operation may or may not have on-site employees to monitor the facility or equipment.

“Date of decision” means the date on which a final decision or determination occurs and is transmitted to parties of record and from which the appeal period is calculated.

Day Care – Type 1. The following definitions apply to day care facilities for six or fewer children:

Day Care – Type 2. The following definitions apply to day care facilities for seven or more children:

“Dedicate” means to set aside a piece of real property, a structure, or a facility for public or private use or ownership.

“Defendant” means a person named in a notice of infraction.

“Degrade” means to scale down in desirability or salability, to impair in respect to some physical property or to reduce in structure or function, in terms of Electric City standards and environment.

“Density” means the average number of dwelling units per acre.

“Developable area” means the area of land that is not constrained from development by land use restrictions.

“Developed site” means the condition of the development site following completion of construction of the development including all approved phases of construction.

“Developer” means the individual(s) or corporation(s) applying for the permits or approvals listed in this title.

“Development” means any change of use of land including, but not limited to, the division of a parcel into two or more parcels; the construction, reconstruction, conversion, structural alteration, relocation, or enlargement of any structure; any land clearing or grading, excavation, mining, landfill; creation of impervious surfaces, septic installations or well installations; storage of equipment or materials; or any extension of the use of land.

“Development approval” means approval by Electric City of a development permit.

“Development permit” or “development permit application” means any land use or environmental permit or license required from a local government for a project action, including but not limited to construction or exterior alteration of structures, dredging, drilling, dumping, filling, earth movement, clearing or removal of vegetation, or other site disturbance which either requires a permit, approval or authorization from the county or is proposed by a public agency, but excluding the adoption of amendment of a comprehensive plan, subarea plan, community plan, functional plan, development regulation or any amendments thereto.

“Development proposal” means a proposal for development requiring a permit from Electric City.

“Development right” means the right to develop property subject to federal, state, and local restriction and regulations.

“Development standards” means those standards defining the parameters to be followed in site design and development, including bulk, density, dimensional and other criteria, as set forth in Chapter 18.45 ECMC.

“Distance” means the length in feet between two or more points as measured on a horizontal plane.

“District” means a part, zone, or geographic area within Electric City in which certain development regulations apply. As it applies to special purpose districts, any area located within Electric City that has special purpose and defined service area boundaries in the incorporated area, and whose capital facilities plan has been or will be adopted by the city council as a part of the city’s comprehensive plan.

“Dock” means a structure that abuts the shoreline and is used as a landing or moorage place for commercial and pleasure craft, typically consisting of a pier, ramp, and float.

“Drainage” means surface water runoff; the removal of surface water or groundwater from land by drains, grading, or other means, which include runoff controls to minimize erosion and sedimentation during and after construction or development.

“Drinking establishment” means a business primarily engaged in the retail sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises. A lounge operated as part of a restaurant is considered to be accessory to the restaurant.

“Drive-in” means a business designed to permit customers to remain in their automobiles while being directly served through a window for services or products. Examples are a restaurant or bank.

“Driveway” means a strip of land, which provides vehicular access to one or two lots.

Duplex. See “Dwelling unit, two-family.”

“Dwelling unit” means one or more rooms designed for occupancy by a person or family for living and sleeping purposes, containing kitchen facilities and rooms with internal accessibility, for use solely by the dwelling’s occupants. Dwelling units include factory-built housing and mobile homes.

“Dwelling unit, attached” means a dwelling unit separated by less than six feet from another dwelling unit.

“Dwelling unit, detached” means a dwelling unit separated by a minimum of six feet from another dwelling unit.

“Dwelling unit, multiple-family” means one or more structures containing three or more dwelling units.

“Dwelling unit, single-family” means a structure containing one dwelling unit designed exclusively for occupancy by one family.

“Dwelling unit, two-family (duplex)” means a single structure containing two dwelling units and occupied exclusively by one family per dwelling unit living independently of each other, and with separate entrances.

“Eating establishment” means a use providing preparation and retail sale of food and beverages.

“Ecology” means the Washington State Department of Ecology.

“Effective date” means the date of final decision.

“Electric City Municipal Code (ECMC)” means the various titles, chapters and sections adopted by the city council, including this title.

“Encroachment” means, as it relates to flood control, any fill, structure, building, use, accessory use, or development in the floodplain or water course where, combined with all other existing development, it increases the base flood elevation more than one foot at any point.

“Enforcement officer” means a person authorized to enforce the provisions of this title, including the prosecuting authority.

“Enhancement” means an action, which improves the functions and values of a stream or wetland.

“Environmental checklist” means a form prescribed by the Electric City SEPA official and the state of Washington to identify the potential environmental impacts of a given proposal.

“Environmental impact statement (EIS)” means a draft, final, or supplemental written document that reviews the likely significant and nonsignificant adverse and positive impacts of a proposal, ways to avoid, minimize or lessen the adverse impacts, and alternatives to the proposal.

“Erosion” means the detachment and movement of soil or rock by water, wind, ice, or gravity.

“Essential public facilities” means those facilities that are typically difficult to site, such as airports, state education facilities and state or regional transportation facilities as defined in RCW 47.06.140, state and local correctional facilities, solid waste handling facilities, and in-patient facilities including substance abuse facilities, mental health facilities, and group homes. (RCW 36.70A.200)

“Excavation” means the mechanical removal of earth.

“Existing use” means the use of a lot or structure or improvements at the time of the enactment of this title.

“Extended family living” means the use of an accessory dwelling unit by an extended family member(s) upon a single lot where the following apply:

“Extraction” means the commercial removal of naturally occurring materials from the earth, excluding water.

“Facilities” means the physical structure or structures in which a service is provided.

“Family” means individuals related by genetics, adoption, marriage, or court-approved process or a group of not more than five unrelated individuals who share a single dwelling unit.

“Family member, extended” means individual(s) who is related by kinship of no less than the second degree as computed according to the rules of the civil law, or is determined by the Electric City hearing examiner to be of a long-standing close relationship, which can be attested to by a disinterested person.

“Family member, immediate” means individual(s) who is related by blood, genetics, marriage, or court-approved process.

“Farm” means land, buildings and machinery used in the commercial production of land-based farm products and meeting the definition of a farm in RCW 84.34.020.

“Farm-based business” means an on-farm commercial enterprise devoted to the direct marketing of unprocessed and/or value-added and soil-dependent agricultural products that are produced or processed on site and which may be sold on site. Farm-based businesses are intended to supplement farm income, improve the efficiency of farming, and provide employment to farm family members. Farm-based businesses are separate and distinct from agricultural support services, as defined herein.

“Farm operation” means conditions or activities which occur on a farm in connection with the commercial production of land-based farm products, and includes but is not limited to market produce at roadside stands or farm markets; preparation for market, delivery to storage or to market, or to carriers for transportation to market; transportation of equipment; noise, dust, fumes, operation of machinery and irrigation pumps; ground and aerial seeding or spraying; application of chemical and organic fertilizers, conditioners, insecticides, pesticides and herbicides and associated drift of such materials; and the employment and use of labor.

“Feasible alternative” means:

“Fence” means that which is constructed or composed of materials joined together in some definite manner in which the prime purpose is to separate, partition, enclose or screen.

“Fence owner” means the person or entity who owns the property upon which a fence is erected.

“Festival site” means an indoor and/or outdoor site used for musical, cultural, or social events. Site and/or festival may be permanent or temporary.

Filing. See “Recording.”

“Filling” means deposition of earth materials by any purposive means.

“Final decision” means the final decision by the administrative official, hearing examiner, or city council.

“Fire flow” means the amount of water volume needed to provide fire suppression. Adequate fire flows are based on industry standards, typically measured in gallons per minute (gpm). Continuous fire flow volumes and pressures are necessary to ensure public safety. The fire flow volume shall be in addition to the requirements of the water system for domestic demand.

“Floor area” means the area included within the surrounding exterior walls of a building or portion thereof, exclusive of vent shafts and courts. The floor area of a building or portion thereof not provided with surrounding exterior walls shall be the usable area under the horizontal projection of the roof or floor above.

“Functional classification (FC)” is the grouping of highways, roads, and streets that serve similar functions into distinct systems or classes. Functional classification defines the primary role a road or street serves within the total existing or future highway network.

“Functionally classified system” means all city streets classified as a rural minor collector, urban collector, or higher. (Local access roads are the only roads that are not functionally classified.)

“Generator” means any person, by site, whose act or process produces dangerous waste or whose act first causes a dangerous waste to become subject to regulation under the dangerous waste regulations, Chapter 173-303 WAC (WAC 173-303-040).

“Grade” means existing or natural ground elevation prior to development or final ground elevation after completion of approved filling or grading activity.

“Grade, adjacent” means the average height of existing grade adjacent to a building.

“Grade, existing” means the elevation of the ground or site prior to any work being done or any changes being made to the ground or site. With respect to a building or structure, grade is the lowest point of elevation of the finished surface of the ground, paving, or sidewalk, within the area between the building and the property line or, when the property line is more than five feet from the building, between the building and a line five feet from the building.

“Grade, finished” means the final elevation of the ground level after development.

“Grading” means stripping, cutting, filling, or stockpiling land including the land in its cut or filled condition to create new grade.

“Greenhouse” means a building whose roof and sides are made largely of glass or other transparent or translucent material and in which the temperature and humidity can be regulated for the cultivation of delicate or out-of-season plants.

“Gross area” means the total area included within the boundaries of any parcel including land area up to the centerline of any abutting public road right-of-way.

“Gross building area” means the total amount of enclosed space, whether inhabited or uninhabited, on a lot.

“Gross density” means the total number of dwelling units divided by the gross area of the parcel.

“Gross floor area” means and includes all floor area within the exterior walls of a building, including areas in halls, storage, and partitions.

“Groundwater” means all waters that exist beneath the land surface or beneath the bed of any body of surface water, whatever may be the geological formation or structure in which such water stands or flows, percolates or otherwise moves.

“Group home” means a residential occupancy that exceeds the definition of a “family” in a single-family residence/dwelling.

“Growth Management Act (GMA)” (Chapter 36.70A RCW) means the state of Washington Growth Management Act as now enacted or hereafter amended.

“Grubbing” means the removal of vegetative matter from underground such as sod, stumps, roots, buried logs, or other debris, and shall include the incidental removal of topsoil to a depth not exceeding 12 inches.

“Guest house (accessory dwelling unit)” means a detached or attached accessory structure secondary to the principal single-family residential unit designed and most commonly used for irregular residential occupancy by family members, guests, and persons providing health care or property maintenance for the owner.

“Habitat” means the place or type of site where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives and grows.

“Halfway house” means a residence for juvenile delinquents or adult offenders leaving correctional and/or mental institutions, or leaving rehabilitation centers for alcohol and/or drug users, that provides residentially oriented facilities for the rehabilitation or social adjustment of persons who need supervision or assistance in becoming socially reoriented but who do not need institutional care.

“Hangars” means covered areas and enclosed structures for housing and repairing aircraft.

“Hazardous substance” means any liquid, solid, gas, sludge, including any material, substance, product, commodity, or waste, regardless of quantity, that exhibits any of the characteristics or criteria of hazardous waste. (RCW 70.105.010)

“Hazardous waste” means dangerous waste and extremely hazardous waste, but not moderate risk waste, all as defined in RCW 70.105.010.

“Hazardous waste storage” means the holding of dangerous waste for a temporary period as regulated by the state of Washington dangerous waste regulations, Chapter 173-303 WAC.

“Hazardous waste treatment” means the physical, chemical or biological processing of dangerous waste to make wastes nondangerous or less dangerous, safer for transport, amenable for energy or material resource recovery, amenable for storage or reduced in volume.

“Hazardous waste treatment and storage facility, off-site” means treatment and storage facilities that treat and store waste from generators on properties other than those on which the treatment and storage facilities are located.

“Hazardous waste treatment and storage facility, on-site” means treatment and storage facilities that treat and store wastes generated on the same geographically contiguous or bordering property.

“Health care facility” includes alcoholism/substance abuse treatment facilities, hospices, hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, convalescent or nursing homes, ambulatory surgical facilities, and sanitariums.

“Health officer” means the health officer of Grant County or his authorized representative.

“Hearing examiner” means the city of Electric City hearing examiner, an appointed officer of the City who shall interpret, review and implement the city’s land use regulations as provided in this title.

“Heavy industrial use” means a use engaged in the basic processing and manufacturing of materials or products predominantly from extracted or raw materials; a use engaged in storage of or manufacturing processes using flammable, hazardous or explosive materials.

“Hedge” means any bush, shrub or any living green fence of any nature encircling, either wholly or any portion of, any given area.

“Height, airport safety overlay zone” means, for the purpose of determining the height limits in all zones set forth in these zones, and shown on the official map, the datum shall be mean sea level elevation, unless otherwise specified.

“Helipads” means areas for landing and take-off of rotary-wing aircraft, but not adequate for fixed-wing aircraft.

“Highway Capacity Manual (HCM)” means a document which presents a collection of techniques for determining lane capacity and the best methodologies available at the time of publication for determining congestion based on quality of service or level of service for streets, roads, and highways.

“Historic site” includes both archaeological and historic sites, structures, or development which contributes to Electric City’s cultural and historic heritage, including but not limited to Indian and pioneer settlements, old buildings, forts, trails, landings, bridges, or the sites thereof together with interpretive facilities.

“Home occupation” means a lawful occupation carried on entirely within a residence and/or permitted accessory structures as a clearly secondary use involving the occupant(s) and conducted in such a manner as to not manifest any outward appearance or characteristic of a business in the ordinary meaning of the term. See the performance and use-specific standards set forth in Chapters 18.40 and 18.45 ECMC.

“Homeowners’ association” means an incorporated, nonprofit organization operating under recorded land agreements through which (1) each lot owner is automatically a member; (2) each lot is automatically subject to a charge for a proportionate share of the expenses for the organization’s activities, such as maintaining common property; and (3) a charge, if unpaid, becomes a lien against the property.

“Hospice care facility” means an establishment that provides palliative care provided to terminally ill persons in a place of temporary or permanent residence that alleviates physical symptoms, including pain, as well as alleviates the emotional and spiritual discomfort associated with dying.

“Hospital” means a building designed and used for medical and surgical diagnosis, treatment, and housing of persons, which may include overnight stay. Rest homes, nursing homes, convalescent homes and clinics are not included.

“Hotel” means an establishment primarily engaged in providing short-term lodging, typically housed in a single structure, and which may offer food and beverage services, recreational services, conference rooms and convention services, laundry services, parking, and other services.

“Illegal use” means any use of land or a structure which is inconsistent with current codes or was inconsistent with previous codes in effect when the use or structure was established. An illegal use is different than a “nonconforming use.”

“Illicit discharge” means all nonstormwater discharges to stormwater drainage systems that cause or contribute to a violation of state water quality, sediment quality, or groundwater quality standards including, but not limited to, sanitary sewer connections, industrial process water, interior floor drains, and gray water systems.

“Impervious surface” means a hard surface area which either prevents or retards the entry of water into the soil mantle as under natural conditions prior to development. Impervious surface shall also include a hard surface area which causes water to run off the surface in greater quantities or at an increased rate of flow from the flow present under natural conditions prior to development. Common impervious surfaces include but are not limited to roof tops, walkways, patios, driveways, parking lots or storage areas, concrete or asphalt paving, gravel roads with compacted subgrade, packed earthen materials, and oiled, macadam or other surfaces which similarly impede the natural infiltration of stormwater. Open, uncovered retention/detention facilities shall not be considered as impervious surfaces.

“Incidental” means subordinate to, minor in significance, and bearing a reasonable relationship with the primary use.

“Individual road concurrency” means concurrency based on traditional A through F LOS rankings related to specific city street segments and to city/county/state road intersections using the Highway Capacity Manual.

“Indoor recreation and entertainment facilities” means structures and places designed and equipped for indoor leisure-time activities, including, but not limited to, physical fitness clubs, skating rinks, bowling alleys, sports courts, theaters, and dramatic, operatic, musical or other performance, for which admission is charged.

“Industrial development” means facilities for the processing, manufacture, or storage of finished or partially finished goods.

“Industrial use” means activities predominantly associated with manufacturing, assembly, processing, or storage of products.

“Infrastructure” means existing installed facilities and services including capital facilities such as water supply, sewage disposal, and storm drainage systems, and transportation facilities such as public roads.

“Innocent purchaser for value” means a purchaser, not a donee, heir or devisee, that acts in good faith to purchase property for valuable consideration without actual or constructive notice that the land was illegally subdivided.

“Institutional facilities or development” means structures and related activity areas used by organizations providing educational, social, or noncommercial recreational services to the community, including performance halls, government service offices, fairgrounds, facilities for assembly, colleges, primary and secondary schools, museum, and libraries.

“Intensity” means a measure of land use activity based on density, use, mass, size and impact.

“Intensive” means highly concentrated, very large, or considerable, in terms of Electric City standards and development.

“Interlocal agreement” means any agreement between the city and a district, county or city which sets forth certain terms relating to the planning, zoning, and regulation of development and other issues within an urban growth area.

“Interpretive center” means building(s) or site dedicated to public education about local or area ecology, natural history, human history, or other similar subjects. An interpretive center may include a small store, cafeteria, and auditorium, but does not include overnight stays.

“Judgment” means any final decision in an infraction case, including, but not limited to, a finding entered after a hearing governed by these rules or after payment of a monetary penalty in lieu of a hearing.

“Junk yard” means a primary or accessory use of structures or land for storage, recycling, dismantling or selling of cast-off, unused, scrap, or salvage material of any sort.

“Kennel” means any lot or premises on which four or more dogs over four months of age are kept.

“Kitchen” means a room used for cooking or preparing food.

“Lake” means a naturally or artificially created body of deep (generally greater than 6.6 feet) open water, 20 acres or greater, that persists throughout the year and meets the definitional criteria for a deepwater habitat. For the purposes of this title, those portions of a lake that meet the definitional criteria for “wetland” shall be regulated under the wetland section of this title.

“Land disturbing activity” means any activity that results in a change in the existing soil cover (both vegetative and nonvegetative) and/or the existing soil topography. Land disturbing activities include but are not limited to demolition, construction, paving, clearing, grading, and grubbing.

“Land owner” means the legal or beneficial owner or owners of land, a contract purchaser, or any other person having an enforceable proprietary interest in the land.

“Landfill” means the placement of soil, rock, gravel, existing sediment, or other material (excluding solid waste) to create new land, or bottom land, along the shoreline below the ordinary high water mark or on upland areas or wetlands, in order to raise the elevation.

“Landscaped” means an area in lawn, shrubbery, wood chips, rock, or other material that is maintained and kept free of debris and other nuisances.

“Landslide” means downslope movement of a mass of soil, rock, snow or ice including, but not limited to rock falls, slumps, mud flows, debris flows, torrents, earth flows and snow avalanches.

“Landslide hazard areas” means those areas potentially subject to landslides based upon a combination of geologic, topographic and hydrologic factors specified in Grant County Code Section 24.08.500.

“Lease” means a contract between the owner and lessee giving the right to use the land.

“Legal ownership” means the proprietary interest of a land owner.

“Legislative authority” means the governing authority of the city of Electric City, namely the city council.

“Level of service (LOS) standard” means an established minimum capacity of public facilities or services that must be provided per unit of demand or other appropriate measure of need. For transportation, an A through F scale is frequently used to reflect level of service and to designate an LOS standard.

“Light industrial” means a use involving basic processing and manufacturing of materials or products predominantly from previously prepared materials or finished products or parts, including processing, fabrication, assembly, treatment, packaging, incidental storage, sales, and distribution of such products, but excluding basic processing of raw materials except food products.

“Livestock” means cattle, bison, sheep, goats, swine, horses, mules, llamas, ostriches and other poultry, and other like animals.

“Livestock maintenance” means the management of livestock, including feeding, herding, sheltering and similar activities, in numbers greater than those defined as domestic animal maintenance.

“Lodge” means a fraternal organization or club; a group of people formally organized for a common interest, usually cultural, religious, or entertainment, with regular meetings, rituals, and formal or informal written membership requirements. May include eating and/or drinking facilities for members or meeting or reception halls.

“Long-term commercial significance” includes the growing capacity, productivity, and soil composition of the land for long-term commercial production, in consideration with the land’s proximity to population areas, and the possibility of more intense uses of the land.

“Lot area” means the total horizontal area (in square footage) within the boundary lines of the lot.

“Lot coverage” means the portion of the lot covered by structures and impervious surfaces expressed as a percentage of the total lot area.

“Lot line, front” means, in the case of an interior lot, the lot line separating the lot from the street other than an alley, and in the case of a corner lot or through lot, the line separating the lot from that street which is designated as the front street providing primary access to the lot or as the street address of the property in question.

“Lot line, rear” means the line which is opposite and most distant from the front line. In the case of trapezoidal or nonrectangular lots, the rear lot line is that line with the greatest portion furthest from the front lot line. Should this line be less than 10 linear feet or should the lot be triangular or pentagonal, then the new rear lot line measuring exactly 10 linear feet between adjacent lot lines shall be located perpendicular to an imaginary line drawn from the midpoint of the front lot line to a point on the lot lines furthest from the point of beginning of the imaginary line.

“Lot of record” means any lot recorded with the Grant County auditor that may or may not have been legally divided in compliance with ECMC Title 17.

“Lot of record, legal” means any separately described parcel or lot that:

“Lot, panhandled” means a lot which sits behind another lot and obtains access to the main access road via a narrow driveway strip.

“Lot size” means the total horizontal square footage area within property lines; provided, that area may include the portion of the property that was dedicated to the public or private street right-of-way.

“Lot, substandard” means a lot which does not meet the minimum size, width or density requirements or is unable to meet the minimum setback requirements of the zone.

“Lot, through” means a lot having two opposite lot lines abutting public streets which are usually more or less parallel to each other; not a corner lot. Both lot lines abutting streets shall be deemed front lot lines.

“Lot width” means the length of the front lot line, or the distance between two side lot lines measured at the front setback line, whichever is greater.

“Main building” means a building used for the primary or predominant use to which the property is or may be devoted, and to which all other uses on the premises are accessory.

“Maintain” means to preserve and care for a structure, improvement, or area to such an extent that it remains attractive, safe, and presentable and carries out the purpose for which it was installed or constructed.

“Maintenance agreement” means a written agreement between parties to physically maintain a facility for common use in a manner which conforms to standards of adequacy specified in such an agreement.

Maintenance and Repair, Normal. “Normal maintenance” includes those acts to prevent a decline, lapse, or cessation from a lawfully established condition. “Normal repair” means to restore a development to a state comparable to its original condition within a reasonable period after decay or partial destruction. Normal maintenance and repair do not include maintenance and repair that causes substantial adverse effects to shoreline resources or environment. (WAC 173-27-040)

“Maintenance covenant, drainage” means a binding agreement between Electric City and the person or persons holding title to a property served by a stormwater and drainage facility whereby the property owner promises to maintain certain stormwater and drainage facilities. The property owner shall also grant the city the right to enter the subject property to inspect and to make certain repairs, or perform certain maintenance procedures on the stormwater control facilities when the property owner has not performed repairs or maintenance. The property owner will be required to reimburse the city for the cost should the city perform such repairs or maintenance.

“Maintenance, drainage” means any activity that is necessary to keep a stormwater and drainage facility in good working order so as to function as designed. Maintenance shall include complete reconstruction of a stormwater and drainage facility if reconstruction is needed in order to return the facility to good working order. Maintenance shall also include the correction of any problem on the site property that may directly impair the functions of the stormwater and drainage facilities.

“Manufactured home” means a single-family dwelling built according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards Act, which is a national preemptive building code. A manufactured home also:

A manufactured home bears an insignia issued by a state or federal regulatory agency indicating that the structure complies with all applicable construction standards of the definition of a manufactured home.

“Manufactured home park” means any individual parcel of ground upon which two or more manufactured homes are lawfully occupied as dwellings, regardless of whether a charge is made for such accommodation.

“Manufacturing” means the mechanical or chemical transformation of materials or substances into new products, including the assembling of component parts, the creation of products, and the blending of materials, such as lubricating oils, plastics, resins, or liquors.

“Marina” means a facility that provides wet moorage or dry storage, supplies, and services for pleasure craft and some types of commercial craft. Boat-launching facilities may also be provided at a marina; a marina may be either open to the public or for private use.

“Master planned resort” means a self-contained and fully integrated planned unit development in a setting of significant natural amenities, with primary focus on destination resort facilities consisting of short-term visitor accommodations associated with a range of on-site indoor or outdoor recreational facilities.

“Mini-storage facility” means a single-story structure or structures containing separate, individual, and private storage spaces of varying sizes leased or rented individually for varying periods of time for the storage of customers’ goods or wares.

“Minor revision” means a minor adjustment to a preliminary plat based upon the comments received from agencies with jurisdiction or corrections to the engineering of the layout of the plat. The decision as to whether any modification to a complete application is a “minor revision” shall be determined by the administrative official.

“Mixed use” means a parcel or structure with a mixture of land uses, e.g., residential units above or beside commercial spaces, or commercial and light industrial uses.

“Mobile home” means a factory-built dwelling built prior to June 15, 1976, which does not meet applicable requirements of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards Act; designed to be transportable in one or more sections; and built on a permanent chassis. Mobile homes do not include modular homes, manufactured homes, factory-built housing, commercial coach, recreational vehicle or motor homes.

“Modular (factory-built) home” means a residential dwelling unit composed of components assembled in a manufacturing plant and transported to the building site for final assembly on a permanent foundation, which meets the requirements of the building code adopted by the city. May consist of two or more sections transported to the site in a manner similar to a manufactured home, or a series of panels or room sections transported on a truck and erected or joined together on the site. Modular homes do not include mobile or manufactured homes.

“Motel” means an establishment primarily engaged in providing short-term lodging, and which may offer food and beverage services, recreational services, laundry services, and other services, but which does not offer conference rooms, convention services, or parking services.

“Motor home” means a motor vehicle originally designed, reconstructed, or permanently altered to provide facilities for human habitation, which include lodging, cooking, and sewage disposal, and enclosed with a solid body shell with the vehicle, but excluding a camper or similar unit constructed separately and affixed to a motor vehicle. (RCW 46.04.305)

“Multifamily residential use” means a multifamily dwelling, residential condominium, assisted living facility, retirement home, or other structure or development intended for long-term (monthly or longer) residential occupancy by more than two families. Compare “Dwelling, multifamily.”

“Neighborhood” means an area which is recognized as a distinct entity by virtue of certain factors, such as: definite boundaries, natural or manmade; history; architecture; facilities which attract people within a certain radius; or a shared sense of identity or social cohesion.

“New construction” means structures for which the start of construction commenced on or after the effective date of this title.

“Noise” means any sound not occurring in the natural environment which causes or tends to cause an adverse psychological or physiological effect on humans.

“Nonconformance” or “nonconforming” means any use, improvement, site, lot, parcel, or structure established in conformance with Electric City rules and regulations in effect at the time of establishment that no longer conforms to the range of uses permitted in the site’s current zoning or to the current development standards of this title due to changes in this title or its application to the subject property. Nonconformity is different than and not to be confused with illegality (see “illegal use”).

“Nonconforming structure or building” means a structure or building that was lawfully established and maintained at the effective date of this title, but which because of the application of this title to it, does not conform to the size, dimensions, location, or development standards, or other regulations prescribed for the zoning district in which it is located.

“Nuisance” means all violations of land use ordinances, statutes and regulations contained in this title are hereby declared to be detrimental to the public health, safety and welfare and as such shall constitute public nuisances.

“Nursery” means land used for the storage, cultivation, or transplanting of live trees, shrubs, or plants offered for sale on or off the premises including products used for gardening or landscaping. Wholesale nurseries do not have associated sales buildings, while retail nurseries may have associated sales buildings.

“Nursing home” means a facility or residence that provides health or long-term care services to residents, including nursing or other supportive or restorative health services on a 24-hour basis (RCW 43.190.020), duly licensed by the state of Washington as a “nursing home” in accordance with current state statutes.

“Occupancy” pertains to and is the purpose for which a building is used or intended to be used. A change of occupancy is not intended to include a change of tenants or proprietors.

“Occupancy, permanent” means habitation of a residence year round, or connected to permanent services or utilities for three consecutive months or longer.

“Occupancy, temporary” means habitation of a residence for less than 12 months, or connected to permanent services or utilities for less than three consecutive months.

“Office” means a commercial use which provides government, business, professional, medical, financial or personal services for the nondaily needs of individuals, groups or organizations.

“Official zoning maps controls” means legislatively defined maps delineating the various zoning districts of Electric City. The official zoning maps show the zoning of specific parcels of land.

“Official signs” are directional and other signs or notices erected and maintained by public offices or agencies pursuant to and in accordance with city, county, state or federal law for the purpose of carrying out an official duty or responsibility.

“Off-premises sign” means a sign advertising a business or product not located on the premises where it is produced or sold.

“Off-road vehicle park” means designated parks/trails for off-road vehicles to serve more than immediate family living on the site.

“Off-site hazardous waste treatment and storage” means facilities that treat and store waste from generators on properties other than those on which the off-site facilities are located.

“Off-street parking” means parking space(s) provided beyond the right-of-way of a highway, street or alley.

“Ongoing agriculture” means the continuation of any existing agricultural activity on land designated as “Agricultural Resource Land of Long-Term Commercial Significance” including crop rotations. Activities undertaken for the first time after September 30, 1999, do not constitute “ongoing agriculture.”

“On-site hazardous waste treatment and storage” means facilities that treat and store wastes generated on the same, geographically contiguous, or bordering property.

“Open space” means any land area the preservation of which in its present use would conserve and enhance natural or scenic resources; or protect streams or water supplies; or promote conservation of soils, wetlands, beaches or tidal marshes; or enhance the value to the public of abutting or neighboring parks, forests, wildlife preserves, nature reservations; or sanctuaries or other open space; or enhance recreation opportunities; or preserve historic sites.

“Operator” means any person who is in actual physical or electronic control of a powered watercraft, motor vehicle, aircraft, off-highway vehicle, or any other engine-driven vehicle.

“Ordinary high water mark (OHWM)” means the mark on the shores of all water which will be found by examining the bed and banks and ascertaining where the presence and action of waters are so common and usual, and so long continued in all ordinary years, as to mark upon the soil a character distinct from that of the abutting upland, in respect to vegetation; provided, that in any area where the ordinary high water mark cannot be found, the ordinary high water mark adjoining saltwater shall be the line of mean highest high tide and the ordinary high water mark adjoining freshwater shall be the line of mean high water. (WAC 173-22-030)

“Outdoor advertising” means all publicly displayed messages such as signs, billboards, placards, pennants or posters, whose purpose is to provide official and commercial information, direction and advertising.

“Outdoor commercial amusement facilities” means those facilities of a permanent nature involving assembly of people, such as drive-in theaters, race tracks, rodeos, waterparks and swimming pools, miniature golf courses, zoos, and other similar uses.

“Outdoor recreation development” means a publicly used outdoor facility for recreation, including community parks; facilities for outdoor sports, including golf courses, outdoor shooting and archery ranges, recreational racetracks, water ski lakes, and ORV/ATV parks; major campgrounds; and similar developments.

“Outdoor storage” means the storage of goods and materials out-of-doors for periods exceeding 48 hours.

“Overlay zoning district” means a zoning district that is applied to a specified area warranting specific recognition and management in addition to an underlying or base zone. Properties within an overlay zone are subject to the requirements of both the underlying zone and the overlay zone.

“Overnight lodging facility” means an individual building or group of attached or detached buildings containing guest rooms, together with conveniently located parking space on the same lot, which is designed, used or intended to be used for overnight accommodation of transients, such as a hotel or motel, but does not include hospitality commercial establishments such as bed and breakfast inns, bed and breakfast residences, guest ranches and transient residence or transient guest house.

“Owner” means any person, agent, firm or corporation having a legal or equitable interest in the property.

“Owner occupancy” means a property owner as reflected in title records who makes his or her legal residence at the site and who resides at the site more than six months out of any given year.

Parcel. See “Lot.”

“Park” means a public or privately owned area with day-use facilities or areas for outdoor passive recreational use by the public.

“Park and ride” means a designated parking facility specifically intended for use by public transportation and ridesharing patrons.

“Park model recreational vehicle” means a recreational vehicle.

“Parking facility” means a land area or structure that is devoted exclusively to the temporary parking or storage of motor vehicles for which a fee may or may not be charged, and where no service or repairs of any kind are furnished.

“Parking space, off-street” means an off-street space with a minimum of nine feet in width and 20 feet in length used for or designated for the parking of motor vehicles, together with the area required to provide reasonable access to and from each space.

“Peak discharge” the maximum surface water runoff rate determined for the design storm.

“Performance and use-specific standards” provide criteria for testing the degree of hazard, environmental damage, or nuisance from land use activities creating smoke, dust, noise, glare, odor, erosion and sediment, runoff, liquid, solid, or airborne wastes, fumes or traffic.

“Performance standards, general” means a set of criteria or limits relating to certain characteristics that a particular use or process may not exceed.

“Permit exemption statement” means a written statement of the administrative official, based on administrative findings and conclusions, that a land use or development activity is consistent with this title and the comprehensive plan, and is not subject to permit requirements of this title.

“Permit review” means the process of reviewing applications for project permits for consistency with the requirements of this title.

“Permitted use” means any use authorized or permitted alone or in conjunction with another use in a specified zone and subject to the limitations of the regulations of such zone.

“Permittee” means the entity to whom a permit is granted.

“Person” means any individual, owner, contractor, tenant, partnership, corporation, association, organization, cooperative, public or municipal corporation agency of a state or local governmental unit however designated, public or private institution, or an employee or agent of any of the foregoing entities; or an applicant, a reapplicant, a permit holder, an authorized agent of any entity, or any third party acting on behalf of any entity.

“Personal and professional services” means, for the purposes of this title, establishments primarily engaged in providing assistance, as opposed to products, to individuals, business, industry, government, and other enterprises, not listed specifically in this title as a distinct use for regulatory purpose, such as laundry and dry cleaning services; barber shops and beauty salons; legal, engineering, architectural, design and accounting services, and the like.

“Planning agency” means the duly constituted and appointed city of Electric City planning agency.

“Planning commission” means the duly constituted and appointed city of Electric City planning commission.

“Playing field” means a land area designed and used for outdoor games, such as baseball, football, soccer, track events and tennis. It includes public outdoor swimming pools.

“Pollution” means contamination or other alteration of the physical, chemical, or biological properties of waters of the state. Pollution includes but is not limited to change in temperature, taste, color, turbidity, or odor of the waters, or such discharge of any liquid, gaseous, solid, radioactive, or other substance into any water body.

“Potable water” means water which meets the quality standards for human drinking purposes.

“Potentially incompatible land use” means a land use or uses deemed potentially incompatible within an airport safety overlay zone, including those land uses:

“Predevelopment conditions” means site conditions as they existed prior to manmade alterations other than those alterations that have been made with a prior Electric City approved stormwater drainage plan, or alterations that existed prior to the effective date of this title.

“Premises” means a house or building with the grounds, etc., belonging to it.

“Preschool” means a school for children which is attended prior to kindergarten or elementary school.

“Primary or principal building or use” means that structure or use for which a property is primarily used, that may be either permitted outright or through a special use process.

“Primary surface” means a surface longitudinally centered on an aircraft runway. The primary surface extends 200 feet beyond each end of the runway. The width of the primary surface is 250 feet. The elevation of any point on the primary surface is the same as the elevation of the nearest point on the runway centerline along its length.

“Principal dwelling” means the residential structure that contains the principal use on a lot.

“Privacy fence” means a fence of opaque material having such qualities as to constitute a visual barrier. A visual barrier is provided if the distance or open space between boards, slats, rails, stanchions, or balusters is less than or equal to three inches when viewed and measured at 90 degrees to the fence line. A building or fence permit is required for a privacy fence.

“Privacy screen structure” means a sight obscuring structure whether connected or not, erected adjacent to or around, but not limited to, a patio, deck, courtyard area, swimming pool or outdoor hot tub, designed to screen but not enclose the area behind it or within its confines. A building or fence permit is required for a privacy screen structure.

“Private street” means a way that is privately built and maintained which affords the primary means of access to a planned development district, manufactured or mobile home park, or recreational vehicle park.

“Processing” or “handling” means the use, storage, manufacture, production, or other land use activity involving hazardous substances. Hazardous substances processing and handling activities are normally found in commercial, manufacturing, and industrial zones. It does not include individually packaged household consumer products or quantities of hazardous substances of less than five gallons in volume per container.

“Professional engineer” means a person who is qualified to practice civil engineering as attested by the engineer’s legal registration as a professional engineer in the state of Washington.

“Project” means a proposal for development.

“Project area” means that portion of contiguous ownership, included in a site plan, that is the subject of a development proposal.

“Project concurrency review” means a system of reviewing specific development projects to ensure that development permits are issued only after it is demonstrated that the levels of service on concurrency facilities and services will not be degraded below the adopted level of service standards for these facilities and services. This system involves an application filed by the permit applicant, a concurrency determination for facilities and services made by the concurrency facility and services provider and a final concurrency decision made by the project permit decision maker.

“Project occupancy” means the time when a development project is ready to be occupied and will use concurrency facilities and services. It shall be assumed that the entire proposed development will be occupied upon issuance of the initial occupancy permit for the project.

“Project permit” or “project permit application” means any land use or environmental permit or license required from a local government for a project action, including but not limited to building permits, subdivisions, binding site plans, planned unit developments, conditional uses, shoreline substantial development permits, site plan review, permits or approvals required by critical areas ordinances, site-specific rezones authorized by a comprehensive plan or subarea plan, but excluding the adoption or amendment of a comprehensive plan, subarea plan, or development regulation except as otherwise specifically included in this section.

“Provision” means any written language contained in this title, including without limitation, any definition, policy, goal, regulation, requirement, standard, authorization, or prohibition.

“Public facilities” means government or quasi-government owned and operated facilities, including but not limited to, streets, roads, highways, sidewalks, street and road lighting systems, traffic signals, domestic water systems, storm and sanitary sewer systems, parks and recreational facilities, government buildings, court systems, law enforcement and corrections systems, hospitals, and schools.

“Public hearing” means a hearing at which evidence is presented and testimony is taken.

“Public schools” means a building (and grounds) or part thereof designed, constructed, or used for publicly operated education and or instruction.

“Public services” means services available to and used by the general public. They may be, but are not necessarily, provided by a public agency for fire protection and suppression, law enforcement, public health, education, recreation, environmental protection, and other governmental services. (RCW 36.70A.030(13))

“Public transportation” means a variety of passenger transportation services available to the public including buses, ferries, rideshare, or rail transit.

“Public utilities” include systems for the delivery of water, sewer, natural gas, electricity, and telecommunications services.

“Qualified archaeologist” means a person having relevant expertise in archaeology and who has a degree in a related field from an accredited college or university or who has equivalent training and substantial demonstrated experience as a practicing specialist, such qualifications having been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the administrative official.

“Race track, recreational” means a designated course designed to provide competitive racing for motor vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles, or animals which serves the local area only, includes facilities for less than 250 spectators.

“RCW” means the Revised Code of Washington State.

“Recording” means the filing of a document(s) for recordation with the county auditor.

“Recreation” means activities associated with any form of play, amusement, or relaxation, such as games, sports, or hobbies.

“Recreational vehicle (RV)” means a vehicular-type unit primarily designed for recreational camping, travel, or seasonal use which has its own motor power or is mounted on or towed by another vehicle; includes travel trailers, fifth wheel trailers, folding camping trailers, park model trailers, truck campers, motor homes and multi-use vehicles (RCW 43.22.335); or, any structure inspected, approved and designated a recreational vehicle by and bearing the insignia of the state of Washington or any other state or federal agency having the authority to approve recreational vehicles.

“Recycling” means the process of segregating solid waste for sale, processing, and beneficial use. Recyclable materials which can be removed through recycling include but are not limited to newsprint, cardboard, aluminum, glass, plastics, and ferrous metal. Recycling does not include combustion of solid waste or preparation of a fuel from solid waste.

“Recycling center” means a area, with or without buildings, upon which the recyclable materials are separated and processed for shipment.

“Recycling collection point” means a neighborhood drop-off point for temporary storage of recyclable materials but without waste processing.

“Redevelopment” means any land disturbing activity occurring on existing developed property.

“Regulation” means a statute, an administrative rule, or an adjudicatory decision.

“Religious assembly facility” means a facility designed and used primarily for ceremonies, rituals, and education pertaining to a particular system of spiritual beliefs.

“Residential care facility” means a facility that provides care for at least five, but not more than 15, functionally disabled persons that is not licensed pursuant to Chapter 70.128 RCW. May include adult care facilities, group care facilities, licensed boarding homes, or safe/shelter homes.

“Residential development” means development of land with dwelling units for nontransient occupancy. For the purposes of this title, guest houses, garages, and other similar structures accessory to a dwelling unit shall also be considered residential development unless regulated otherwise by this title. (See also “Dwelling unit” and “Guest house (accessory dwelling unit).”)

“Residential lot” means a designated parcel, tract, or area of land established by plat, subdivision, or as otherwise permitted by law, to be separately owned, used, developed, or built upon for residential use.

“Residential structure” means all structures serving or designed as a dwelling unit, residence or for occupation by residents.

“Residential use” is used for all types of dwelling units such as single-, two- and multifamily housing including mobile/modular homes.

“Resort” means a land area devoted to providing commercial recreational facilities and related lodgings, sales, and personal services primarily serving vacationers, which may or may not include residential uses. (See “Master planned resort.”)

“Restriction” means a limitation placed upon the use of parcel(s) of land.

“Retail” means establishments engaged in selling merchandise for personal or household consumption and rendering services incidental to the sale of the goods. Retail establishments generally buy goods for resale and are engaged in activities to attract the general public to buy. The establishment may process or manufacture some of its products (such as a jeweler or bakery), but such processing or manufacturing is incidental or subordinate to the selling activities.

“Retirement home” means an establishment providing domestic care for elderly persons who are not in need of medical or nursing treatment except in the case of temporary illness, developed and operated in compliance with all federal, state, and local regulations. This definition does not include nursing, convalescent, or rest homes, hospitals, or sanitariums.

“Rezone” means a change in zone classification from one zoning district to another.

“Rezone, major” means an amendment to the official zoning map that is contingent upon legislative approval of a comprehensive plan amendment.

“Rezone, minor” means an amendment to the official zoning map that is not contingent upon legislative approval of a comprehensive plan amendment and is consistent with the goals and policies of the comprehensive plan. Such minor zoning amendments are limited to a discrete piece of property in single ownership.

“Right-to-farm provisions” means provisions intended to enhance and encourage agricultural operations by recognizing agricultural activities as essential rural activities that do not constitute a nuisance.

“Road” means an improved and maintained public or private right-of-way which provides vehicular access to abutting properties, and which may also include provision for public utilities, pedestrian access, cut-and-fill slopes, and drainageways.

“Road approach” means a private roadway or driveway built or constructed to allow access from private property to a city street.

“Road frontage” means the length along a road which a structure, business, or lot abuts or fronts.

“Roadside retail sales stand” means a roadside area and/or structure, with limited space for customers within the structure itself, dedicated exclusively to the display and sale of agricultural products produced in Grant County, at least a portion of which must be grown on site.

“Roadside retail sales stand, permanent” means a roadside retail sales stand operating for more than six months per year.

“Roadside retail sales stand, seasonal” means a roadside retail sales stand operating only during the harvest season, and for less than six months per year.

“Roadway width” means the portion of a roadway between curbs or including shoulders intended for vehicular use.

“Runoff” means water from rain, snowmelt, or irrigation that is not absorbed into the soil, but flows over the ground surface following the topography and returns to streams.

“Runway” means the defined area at an airport, airfield, or airstrip indicated for landing and takeoff of aircraft along its length.

“Runway protection zone” means a trapezoidal area representing the ground level at the innermost portion of the runway approach as defined in the respective airport master plan.

“Sale” means the transfer for consideration of legal or beneficial ownership.

“Sanitarium” means a health station or retreat or other place where resident patients are kept, and which specializes in giving clinical, temporary and emergency services of a medical or surgical nature to patients and injured persons and is licensed by the state under provision of law to provide facilities and services in surgery, obstetrics, and general medical practice as distinguished from treatment of mental and nervous disorders.

“Sanitary sewer systems” means all facilities, including approved on-site disposal facilities, used in the collection, transmission, storage, treatment of discharge of any waterborne waste, whether domestic in origin or a combination of domestic, commercial, or industrial waste.

“School, elementary and secondary” means public or private institutions of learning having a curriculum below the college level as required by the common school provisions of the state of Washington.

“Screening” means fencing, earth berming, trees and other vegetation to provide visual separation of adjacent parcels or uses.

“Senior citizen dwelling” shall be defined as private or subsidized apartment housing for individuals 62 years of age or older.

“SEPA” means the Washington State Environmental Policy Act. SEPA requires state agencies, local governments and other lead agencies to consider environmental factors when making most types of permit decisions, especially for development proposals of a significant scale. As part of the SEPA process, EISs may be required to be prepared and public comments solicited. (Chapter 43.21C RCW)

“Septage” means the mixture of solid, semi-solid, and liquid wastes, scum, and sludge that is pumped from within the septic tanks, pump chambers, holding tanks, and other septic system components.

“Service area” means an area identified by a public water or sewer system that includes existing and future service.

“Service station” means a retail business establishment supplying gasoline, oil, accessories and minor service for automobiles.

“Setback, front” is the minimum horizontal distance measured perpendicularly from the property line to the nearest protrusion (including roof line) of a structure.

“Setback, side and rear” is the minimum horizontal distance measured perpendicularly from the nearest property line to the nearest protrusion (including roof line) of a structure, except that a side setback on a corner lot, along the adjacent right-of-way, shall be measured perpendicularly from the centerline of the right-of-way.

“Sewer” means the closed pipe which carries raw sewage from a home or business to a treatment facility.

“Sewers, public” means a sewage disposal system operated by the city of Electric City.

“Sexually oriented business” means an establishment or premises having a substantial or significant portion of its stock in trade books, magazines, or other printed matter, pictures, graphics, or other materials or paraphernalia, or video movies, films, photographs, live appearances, or performances that are distinguished or characterized by their emphasis on matters depicting, describing, or related to “specified anatomical areas” or “specified sexual activities,” as defined herein.

“Shooting range” means an activity or use of land or a facility for the purposes of discharging firearms, including rifles, pistols and archery, in any organized fashion, such as a club or group, as opposed to an individual periodic discharge of a firearm.

“Short-term or vacation rentals” means the rental of any legally permitted “dwelling unit” as that term is defined in this chapter, or any portion of any legally permitted dwelling unit for the purpose of dwelling, lodging or sleeping for a period of less than 30 consecutive calendar days.

“Side street” means a street, public or private, which abuts a property corner in addition to another street and which intersects the other street at a property corner. In determining the front yard and building line, either street abutting the corner property may be considered the flanking street.

“Sidewalk” means a pedestrian access adjacent to or within the right-of-way of an adjoining public or private road.

“Sign” means any display of letters, figures, designs, devices, pictures, logos, emblems, insignia, numbers, lines or colors or any combination thereof, visible to the public for the purpose of making anything known or attracting attention. The flag, emblem, insignia, poster or other display of a nation, political unit, educational, charitable, religious or similar group, campaign, nonprofit drive or event or the architectural features or characteristics of a building which do not have an advertising message on, or as an integral part thereof, shall not be included within the meaning of this definition. Signs only visible within the structure shall not be included within this definition.

“Sign, commercial” means a sign that directs attention to a business or profession, to a commodity or service sold, offered, or manufactured, or to an entertainment offered on the premises where the sign is located.

“Sign, roof” means a sign erected upon, against, or directly above a roof or on top of or above the parapet of a building; signs on mansard roofs shall be considered wall signs.

“Single-family residence or dwelling” means a dwelling unit designed for and occupied by no more than one family.

“Site assessment” means a site-specific analysis which identifies the presence of critical areas, classifies and designates the critical area, documents site conditions, analyzes impacts (including long-term impacts) due to short-term or ongoing disturbances, and identifies appropriate mitigative measures. Site assessments include wetland reports, hydrogeologic reports, geotechnical reports and habitat management plans.

“Site development activity” means the alteration of topography, clearing, paving, grading, construction, alteration of stormwater and drainage systems, site preparation, or other activity commonly associated with site development.

“Site plan” means a scale drawing which shows the areas and locations of all buildings, streets, roads, improvements, easements, utilities, open spaces and other principal development features for a specific parcel of property.

“Site visit” means a preliminary on-site inspection of an area where an activity having the potential to adversely impact critical areas has been proposed in order to determine the likelihood that critical area indicators are present. (See “Site assessment.”)

“Slaughter, packing and rendering facility” means an establishment used for the killing, processing, packing and/or rendering of livestock and uses incidental thereto.

“Small scale” means of a size or intensity which has minimal impacts on the surrounding area and which makes minimal demands on the existing infrastructure.

“Small scale recreation and tourism” means a land use that relies on a rural location and setting to provide recreational or tourist use, including commercial facilities to serve those uses, but that does not include new residential development.

“Solid waste” means all putrescible and non-putrescible solid and semi-solid waste, except wastes identified in WAC 173-304-015, including garbage, ashes and sludge, industrial wastes, swill, demolition and construction wastes, and any other discarded commodities, but excluding agricultural wastes and crop residues returned to the soil at agronomic rates. This includes all liquid, solid and semi-solid materials that are not the primary products of public, private, industrial, commercial, mining and agricultural operations. Solid waste includes sludge from wastewater treatment plants and septage from septic tanks, woodwaste, dangerous waste, and problem wastes. Unrecovered residues from recycling operations shall be considered solid waste.

“Solid waste disposal” means the act or process of disposing of rubbish and garbage.

“Solid waste handling and disposal facility” means a transfer station or landfill designed to handle and/or dispose of solid waste.

“Solid waste landfill” means a facility designed to properly accept and dispose of solid waste, and holding a valid solid waste permit issued by the Grant County health department.

“Solid waste transfer station” means a fixed, supplemental collection and transportation facility, used by persons and route collection vehicles to deposit collected solid waste from off-site into a larger transfer vehicle for transport to a solid waste disposal site.

“Sound” means an oscillation in pressure, particle displacement, particle velocity, or other physical parameter in a medium with internal forces that causes compression and rarefaction of that medium, including any characteristics of sound, such as duration, intensity, and frequency.

“State” means the state of Washington.

“Statute” means any state law or regulation, or any city ordinance or resolution.

“Storage” means the keeping of a quantity of goods, merchandise, or other materials in a manner or location which will require them to be rearranged or relocated before use or retail sales of the goods, merchandise, or other materials.

“Storage container” means a unit originally or specifically used or designed to store goods or merchandise during shipping or hauling by a vehicle, including but not limited to rail cars of any kind, truck trailers or multi-modal shipping containers.

“Storage – dangerous waste” means the holding of dangerous waste for a temporary period. Accumulation of dangerous waste by the generator on the site of generation is not storage as long as the generator complies with the applicable requirements of WAC 173-303-200 and 173-303-201.

“Storage yard” means an outdoor area used for the storage of equipment, vehicles and materials.

“Stormwater” means the surface water runoff that results from all natural forms of precipitation.

“Story” means that portion of a building included between the surface of any floor and the surface of the floor next above it, or if there is no floor above it, then the space between such floor and the ceiling next above it. Any portion of a building exceeding 14 feet in height shall be considered as an additional story for each 14 feet or major fraction thereof. If the finished floor level directly above the basement or cellar is more than six feet above grade, such basement or cellar shall be considered a story.

“Street” means any public or private road, public right-of-way for roadway, sidewalk or utility installation.

“Street, side” means a street, public or private, which abuts a property corner in addition to another street and which intersects the other street at a property corner. In determining the front yard and building line, either street abutting the corner property may be considered the flanking street.

“Structure” means a permanent or temporary edifice or building or any piece of work artificially built up or composed of parts joined together in some definite manner, whether installed on, above, or below the surface of the ground or water, except for vessels. (WAC 173-27-030)

“Subject property” means the tract of land which is the subject of the permit and/or approval action, as defined by the full legal description of all parcels involved in the proposed development.

“Substantial damage” means damage of any origin, including intentional and unintentional demolition, sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure exceeds 50 percent of its value before damage as determined by using the most recent ICBO construction tables.

“Substantial improvement” means any rehabilitation, repair, reconstruction, addition, or other improvement of a building when the cost of the improvement equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the building before start of construction of the improvement. The term includes buildings which have incurred substantial damage or damage of any origin sustained by a building when the cost of restoring the building to its pre-damaged condition would equal or exceed 50 percent of the market value before the damage occurred. Substantial improvement does not include any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing violations of state or local health, sanitary or safety code specifications which have been identified by the local code enforcement official and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions.

“Support structure” means a structure designed and constructed specifically to support an antenna array, and may include a monopole, self-supporting (lattice) tower, guy-wire support tower and other similar structures. Any device (attachment device) which is used to attach an attached WCF to an existing building or structure (attachment structure) shall be excluded from the definition of and regulations applicable to support structures.

“Surface water” means waters that flow over the land surface and frequently interact with groundwater.

“Swale” means a depressed, vegetated, often wet area of land, or an open drainageway.

“Take-out food service” means counter-only sales of prepared food or beverages for consumption off the premises.

“Tank farm” means an area used for the commercial bulk storage of fuel in tanks.

“Temporary” means existing or continuing for a limited time, not to exceed one year.

“Temporary festival” means any musical, cultural, or social event conducted at an indoor or outdoor site or facility that is seasonal in nature or of a duration of more than four weeks cumulatively out of any 12-month period, and attracts 250 or more people in any one day. For the purposes of this section, each week during which the temporary festival operates for two or more days shall be considered a full week.

“Temporary outdoor event” means any musical, cultural, or social outdoors event which occurs less than four weeks, cumulatively, out of any 12-month period and which attracts 250 or more people in any one day. For the purposes of this section, each week during which the temporary festival operates for two or more days shall be considered a full week.

“Tourist accommodation” means a facility for the lodging of transients/tourists, including bed and breakfast inns, hotels, motels, overnight rentals, resorts, and time-share condominiums.

“Townhouse” means an attached dwelling unit in a row of at least two and not more than six such units, separated by property lines and by vertical common fire-resistant walls from other dwelling units in the row and having individual outside access and legal frontage on a public street. Each dwelling unit shall be designed for and occupied exclusively by one family and the household employees of that family. A townhouse shall extend from foundation to roof, and no townhouse shall be located over another unit. Common walls between townhouses shall have no doors, windows or other provisions for human passage or visibility. Each townhouse shall be attached to other units in the row by not more than two common walls. The principal access shall be at or near grade. Townhouses shall be considered multifamily dwellings and regulated as such.

“Tract” means the same as “lot.”

“Trail” means an improved but natural path or way set aside for public and private use providing an access route to, from, or between points of interest and intended for use by pedestrians, equestrians, bicycles, and/or other nonmotorized vehicular users.

“Transfer of development rights (TDR)” means the transfer of the right to develop or build, expressed in dwelling units per acre, either on land within one zoning district under contiguous ownership, or from land in one zoning district to land in another district where such density/development is permitted.

“Transfer station” means a facility for the collection of solid waste from off-site into a larger transfer container or vehicle for transfer to a permanent disposal site. (See “solid waste transfer station.”)

“Transient residence” or “transient guest house” means a single-family residential unit or guest house used for short-term transient occupancy for periods less than 30 days.

“Transit station” means a dedicated transit facility located outside of the public right-of-way where several transit routes converge. A transit station is designed to accommodate several buses at once, and may include passenger shelters and waiting areas.

“Transitional surface” means the surface that extends outward and upward at 90-degree angles to a runway centerline and the runway centerline extended, at a slope of seven feet horizontally for each foot vertically, beginning from the sides of the primary surface and approach zones to where they intersect the horizontal surface.

“Transportation facilities” means roads, railroads, trails, airports, airfields, public docks, ferries and related terminals, and parking areas.

“Travel trailer” means a vehicular portable structure standing on wheels, towed or hauled by another vehicle, and used for short-term human occupancy, as a temporary dwelling for travel, recreational or vacation uses, carrying of materials, goods, or objects, or as a temporary office, and which is 35 feet or less in length and eight feet or less in width.

“Treated” means water quality treatment in accordance with current adopted Grant County standards.

“Treatment” means the physical, chemical, or biological processing of dangerous waste to make such wastes nondangerous or less dangerous, safer for transport, amenable for energy or material resource recovery, amenable for storage, or reduced in volume.

“Unplatted” means land which has not been involved in the formal platting process whereby a final drawing of a subdivision and dedication has been prepared and filed with the Grant County auditor showing the general layout of streets, lots, blocks, and other elements of a subdivision consistent with ECMC Titles 17 and 18 and Chapter 58.17 RCW.

“Urban growth” refers to growth (commercial, industrial, and residential) that makes intensive use of land for the location of buildings, structures, and impermeable surfaces to such a degree as to be incompatible with the primary use of such land for the production of food, other agricultural products, or fiber, or the extraction of mineral resources. When allowed to spread over wide areas, urban growth typically requires urban governmental services. “Characterized by urban growth” refers to land having urban growth located on it, or to land located in relationship to an area with urban growth on it as to be appropriate for urban growth. A pattern of more intensive rural development, as provided in RCW 36.70A.070(5)(d), is not urban growth.

“Urban growth area” means an area within which urban growth shall be encouraged and outside of which growth can occur only if it is not urban in nature. Regulatory control of land within the urban growth areas remains with the county until annexed into a city. The land and development controls within urban growth areas, however, may be subject to joint county/city interlocal planning agreements and concurrency.

“Urban growth boundary” means a boundary designating areas of existing and future urban growth, which is growth that makes intensive use of land for residential, commercial, and industrial development.

“Urban services” means those governmental services historically and typically delivered by cities, and include storm and sanitary sewer systems, domestic water systems, street cleaning services, fire and police protection services, public transit services, and other public utilities associated with urban areas and normally not associated with non-urban areas.

“Usable area” means that portion of any parcel or lot which is capable of supporting a “dwelling unit,” a properly installed “on-site waste disposal system,” and a safe “individual water system,” as defined in this title.

“Use” means the specific purpose for which land or a building is designated, arranged, intended, or for which it is or may be occupied or maintained.

“Use, allowed outright” means a use that is allowed outright under Chapter 18.40 ECMC, and which does not require a project permit. Identified in Table 1, ECMC 18.40.070 by the symbol “A.” Subject to the development standards set forth in Chapter 18.45 ECMC.

“Use, conditional” means a permitted use, but which use, because of characteristics of the exact location with reference to surroundings, streets, and existing improvements or demands upon public facilities, requires a special degree of control to make such use consistent and compatible with other existing or permitted uses in the same zone or zones, and to assure that such use shall not be harmful to the public interest. Subject to the performance and use-specific standards and development standards set forth in Chapters 18.40 and 18.45 ECMC, respectively. Identified in Table 1, ECMC 18.40.070 by the symbol “CU” and which requires a conditional use permit.

“Use, prohibited” means those uses specifically specified as prohibited uses in Chapter 18.40 ECMC.

“Utilities” includes, but is not necessarily limited to, facilities and services that generate, transport, process, or store water, sewage, solid waste, electrical energy, communications and pipelines for fuel, oil, natural gas, and petroleum products.

“Utilities, local” means facilities and infrastructure provided by a public agency, utility district, or franchise which convey essential services throughout a neighborhood area or within the community. These facilities include but are not limited to local water and waste water lines and pump stations, electrical distribution lines and substations, natural gas distribution pipelines, local telecommunication facilities, and stormwater retention and conveyance systems.

“Utility easement” means a nonrestrictive easement granted to the city for the express use of locating public utilities.

“Utility, major” means transmission, collection, production, or treatment facilities that are generally regional or area wide in scope and provide the primary service to a large area and may or may not be connected directly to the uses along the shoreline. Utilities include primary transmission facilities related to a hydropower and communications, and distribution or collection systems for water, sewer mains, gas and oil pipelines, and wastewater and water treatment plants.

“Utility, minor” means local transmission and collection lines, pipes, and conductors associated with water, sewer, gas, telephone, cable TV, or similar utilities, or with irrigation systems, and other similar facilities intended to serve a development or an individual use, including access roads and appurtenant structures necessary to facilitate the utility use.

“Variance” means a modification of the terms of this title that may be granted because of the unusual shape, exceptional topographic conditions, or other extraordinary situation or condition in connection with a specific piece of property when the literal enforcement of this title would involve practical difficulties and cause undue hardship unnecessary to carry out the spirit and intent of this title.

“Vehicle” means motor-driven equipment used for human operation and transportation, but excluding equipment used primarily for agriculturally related uses, such as farm equipment.

“Veterinary hospital” means a building for medical or surgical treatment of animals, which may include overnight stays.

“Vicinity” means the area within one-half mile of the exterior boundary of a given parcel.

“Voluntary agreement” means an agreement between a developer and the city, county or district as authorized by RCW 82.02.020.

“WAC” means the Washington Administrative Code.

“Walkway” means a continuous way designated for pedestrians and separated from the through lanes for motor vehicles by a curb, space, pavement marking or barrier.

“Warehouse” means a building used primarily for the storage of goods and materials for commercial purposes.

“Water storage tanks” means tanks or reservoirs used for the storage of water.

“Way” means something other than a road, street, or alley that provides vehicular or pedestrian circulation or principal means of access to abutting properties.

“Wholesale” means establishments primarily engaged in selling merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional, farm, construction contractors, or professional business users; or to other wholesalers; or acting as agents or brokers in buying merchandise for or selling merchandise to such persons or companies.

“Wrecking and salvage yards” means an outdoor area used for the storage and/or sale of used automobile parts, or for the storage, dismantling, or abandonment of junk, automobiles, trailers, machinery or parts thereof.

“Yard” means an open space, other than a court, on the same lot with a structure.

“Zoning district” means a portion of the city of Electric City within which certain uses of land and structures are permitted and certain other uses of land and structures are prohibited, certain yards and other open space may be required, and specific lot areas are established, all as set forth and specified in this title.

“Zoning map” means the map delineating the boundaries of districts which, along with the zoning text of this title, comprise the zoning ordinance of the city. (Ord. 592 § 1, 2022; Ord. 560 § 1, 2019; Ord. 507 §§ 1, 2, 3, 2016; Ord. 493 §§ 1, 2, 3, 2015; Ord. 416 § 1, 2009)