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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAPPENDIX A APPENDIX A GLOSSARY POLICY TERMS The following terms are used deliberat ely in the text with an intended difference in policy implications: Shall, Should, and May: Shall: Expresses a policy mandate to be followed. The policy should be followed unless the most compelling of circumstances warrant other wise. Should: Expresses a desired direction to be followed. Can be over- ridden but the burden of proof is on the factors indicating against the stated policy. May: Expresses an option. The desi red course of action would depend on the circumstances with no particular burden of proof. Goals, Objectives, and Policies: Goals: Goals are general statements of the desired long term future state towards which the Plan aims. Objectives: Objectives are statements of the desired short-term and more measurable aims of the Plan; the objectives should show how a goal shall be pursued. Policies: Policies are a definite course or method of action to guide and determine present and future decisions, both legislative and administrative. Page A-1 Appendix A Area Terms: Community-Serving: Refers to the area of the City reserved for purposes that are distinctly local in character or which provides services to just the Auburn community (including residential areas). Region-Serving: Refers to that area of the City reserved for providing services to areas beyond the Auburn community. GENERAL TERMS Activity Area: Defined in the King County Countywide Planning Policies as areas containing moderate concentrations of commercial development and housing that functi on as a focal point for the local community. Activity Areas contain a mix of land uses such as retail, recreation areas, public facilities, parks and open space. Although smaller in scale than Urban and Manufacturi ng/Industrial Centers, Activity Areas contain a sufficient density and mix of uses to provide similar benefits. Activity Areas are designed to: 1) provide housing and employment opportunities; 2) provide retail, serv ices and business opportunities; 3) reduce automotive use and support efficient transit service; and, 4) consume less land with urban development. Encouraging compact development within Activity Areas is an important part of the Countywide Planning Policy vision promoting in fill development and preventing sprawl. Activity Areas are designated in local comprehensive plans. The size of the Activity Area and the mix a nd density of land uses are locally determined to meet community goals. Agricultural Resource Lands : Agricultural resource lands are those agricultural lands which have been included as part of King County's farm and open space program, or similar pr ogram that purchases development rights or transfers development rights. Properties which are served or are proposed within the City's Capital Im provements Program to be served by water and sewer lines should not be considered to be Agricultural Resource Lands. Properties around whic h urban levels of growth are occurring should not be considered to be Agricultural Resource Lands. Aquifer Recharge Areas : Aquifer recharge areas are those areas that the South King County Groundwater Manageme nt Area Plan determines to be critical recharge areas. Page A-2 Glossary Community: The area in which there is an identity among the residents as being a part of "Auburn". Generally associated geographically with the Auburn School District and the Auburn postal address. Compatibility: Capable of existing together in harmony. Refers to uses or activities which do not conflict when sited next to each other. Conditional Use: Uses which may be permitted in an area if certain conditions are present, or if certain conditions are met. Conditional Use Permit: An administrative process used to determine whether a conditional use should be allowed. Conflicting Uses: Uses or activities which are not in harmony when sited together. Contract Rezone: A rezone with conditions which are agreed to by the property owner. Density: The amount of an activity for a gi ven area. Usually refers to the number of dwelling units per acre. Design Review: This term refers to a pro cess which requires a review of the design or siting of structures prio r to their approval by the City. This process can range from administrative review under prescribed standards to a more formalized hearing pro cess involving approval by an appointed board. Down-Zone: A rezone decreasing the intensity of use (as opposed to a up-zone which increases the intensity). Element: This term technically refers to a part of the Comprehensive Plan which deals with a functional planning concern such as a traffic circulation plan. More commonly it refers to separately published planning documents which are related to the Comprehensive Plan. In this report it refers to parts of the comprehensive planning framework which address functional systems of the city; and is distinguished from the term Comprehensive Plan which herein refers to this document even though both the Comprehensive Plan and the planning elements are part of the same comprehensive planning system. The terms "element" and "plan" will be used interchangeably when referring to functional plans. Erosion Hazard Areas : Erosion hazard areas have those soil series identified by the Soil Conservation Service as having a severe potential for erosion. Page A-3 Appendix A Facilities: Structural improvements which support the physical development of the City; as used here, it generally refers to municipal facilities which provides City services and/or supports the development of the City. Floodway: The area that must be reserved in order to safely discharge the "one hundred year" flood. This area is specifically set forth by maps prepared under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Focal Point: As used here, this refers to the center of community attention; the area which establishes the identity of the community. Forest Resource Lands : Forest resource lands are those forest lands which are actively managed to ensure sustainable commercial timber production operations. Forest resource lands will have land grades equal to or higher than those listed below and will be of significant size to ensure commercial viability. Species Land Grade * Douglas Fir 2 Western Hemlock 2 Red Alder 7 * Land grades are defined by WAC 458-40-530 Before any forest resource lands ar e designated, the City or King County must have a program to transfer or purchase development rights of forest resource lands. Properties around whic h urban levels of growth are occurring should not be considered to be Forest Resource Lands. Framework: As used here the term identifies the type of plan which this is intended to be. A framework plan is a plan which provides a framework of policy to which additions and deletions can be made to adjust to changing circumstances or additional information and policy development. The term connotes flexibility and is used to distinguish from an older style of planning whic h sought to establish a more rigid policy system directed at achieving a prescribed end state of development. Frequently Flooded Areas : Frequently flooded areas are those lands which have a one percent or greater chance of flooding (being covered by water) in any given year. These ar eas include all areas designated as regulatory floodway and one hundr ed year floodplain by Federal Emergency Management Agency. In addition, those areas determined by Public Works to experience flooding, and areas classified as wetlands should be considered to be frequently flooded areas. Page A-4 Glossary Intensity of Use: Refers to the manner in which land is used, zoned or planned. The more a site or area is developed and the more busy are activities associated with that devel opment, the more intense the use is considered to be. The most intensiv e use of land is heavy industrial uses, with the least intensive use being open space. Generally refers to a hypothetical scale which places rural us es as least intense, proceeding through residential densities, commercial uses to industrial uses. Known Fish and Wildlife Habitat Conservation Areas : Known fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas are areas which have been identified or mapped by the Department of Wildlife as being priority habitat. In addition, Waters of the State (Stuck/White, Green Rivers, Mill Creek, and White Lake) and habitat for threatened and endangered, and sensitive species that have not been mapped by Department of Wildlife will also be included. Landslide Hazard Areas : Landslide hazard areas are those areas which meet the following Class I or Class III definitions for landslide hazard areas. Class I (Known Landslide Hazard) would include areas with any of the following criteria: 1) a combin ation of slopes greater than 15% underlain by silt or clay; 2) eviden ce of movement during the Holocene Epoch (from 10,000 years ago to pres ent), or the occurrence of mass wastage debris; 3) areas designated by USGS and/or DNR as quarternary slumps, earthflows, or landslides; 4) canyons potentially subject to inundation by debris flows or catastr ophic flooding; 5) slopes which could potentially become oversteepened and unstable as a result of stream erosion; and 6) slopes greater than 40% with a vertical relief of 10 or more feet. Class II (No Known Landslide H azard) would be areas with slopes less than 15%. Class III (Landslid e Hazard Unknown) would be those slopes between 15% and 40% which are not underlain by clay. Local: Generally the same as "community". Page A-5 Appendix A Mineral Resource Lands : Mineral resource lands are those lands which have high quality resources that can be commercially mined for a minimum of twenty years. Prope rties around which urban levels of growth are occurring should not be c onsidered to be Mineral Resource Lands. Open Space: Areas which are either not developed, or developed to an intensity of use which appears gene rally not developed. Would include very low density residential uses. Performance Standards: A regulatory approach which accents the manner in which a proposed use affects adjacent uses and property, and the manner in which a use is conducted. It is usually distinguished from more traditional zoning which separate s use by type, rather than how a particular use is carried out. Potential Annexation Areas: Those currently unincorporated areas surrounding the City of Auburn which A uburn intends to annex within the 20 year time frame of this Comprehensive Plan. These areas are designated by Map 3.1. The term potential annexation area is interchangeable with the term Auburn's Urban Growth Area. Predictability: The ability to anticipate futu re events. As used here it refers to being able to anticipate future planning decisions. Public Uses: Generally refers to uses or land owned or operated by governmental agencies. Quasi-Public Uses: Refers to uses that serve public or general community needs of a non-business or non-profit character; but are not conducted by governmental entities. Includes religious uses. Regional: Used here in a variety of contexts to identify an area larger than the Auburn community. Unless the context indicates otherwise, refers to the general South King County and North Pierce County area. Seismic Hazard Areas : Seismic hazard areas are those areas which meet the following Class I or class III defi nitions for Seismic Hazard. Class I (Known Seismic Hazard) to include those areas with the presence of Holocene alluvium; Class II (No Seismic Hazard) to include those areas not Class I or III; and Class III (U nknown Seismic Hazard) to include those areas with recessional deposits not included in Class I areas. SEPA: State Environmental Policy Act (RCW 43.21C). Page A-6 Glossary Solid Waste : Means all putrescible and nonputrescible solid and semisolid wastes including, but not lim ited to, garbage, rubbish, ashes, industrial wastes, swill, demolition and construction wastes, abandoned vehicles or parts thereof, and discarded commodities. Solid Waste Processing Facility : Means the management, collection, transportation, temporary storage, tr eatment, utilization, and processing of solid wastes by means of pyrolysis, refuse-derived fuel, or mass incineration within an enclosed stru cture. These processes may include source separation and recovery of recy clable materials from solid wastes, the recovery of energy resources from such wastes or the conversion of the energy in such wastes to more useful forms or combinations thereof. This definition refers to city-wide or regional scale operations and does not include solid waste handling wh ich is accessory to an individual principal use. Spot Zoning: Technically this term refers to a rezone that is not in accord with the Comprehensive Plan. More common use of the term refers to rezoning property in a manner differently than adjacent sites. In this Plan it refers only to this latter use of the term in order to indicate in what circumstances zoning a property differe ntly than adjacent sites would or would not be appropriate (generally a ppropriate as a transitional device to gradually rezone an area from a old designation to a new designation under this Plan). This use of the te rm in this manner is intended only to communicate such situations and is not intended to alter the legal meaning of the term. Support: To provide assistance or encour age. Support can take the form of staff time or financial contributions. Suspected Fish and Wildlife Habitat Conservation Areas : Suspected fish and wildlife habitat conservation area s are: 1) forested hillsides; 2) wetlands; 3) forested corridors within one mile of the Stuck River. Transition: Refers to a change in use, either over time or through space; or both. Up-Zone: A rezone increasing the intens ity of allowed use (as opposed to a down-zone which reduces the intensity). Page A-7 Appendix A Page A-8 Urban Design: The process of planning the urban form of the City. It refers to the entire range of the C ity's appearance, from overall planning policies which address the entire urban form, to the regulation of how particular sites appear. It also re fers to a sub- discipline of urban planning. Urban Form: The general shape of physical development in the City or the pattern of uses. Also refers to the physical appearance of the City. Volcanic Hazard Areas : Volcanic hazards areas are those areas identified by the United States Geol ogical Survey (USGS) as having potential for floods caused by an eruption of Mt. Rainier. Wetlands : Wetlands are defined as those ar eas of the City of Auburn that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typi cally adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas. (Army Corps of Engineers Regulation 33 CFR.328.3 (b)). Wetland Critical Areas : Those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water or ground water at a fr equency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas. Wetlands do not include those artificial wetlands intentionally created from nonwetland sites, including, but not limited to, irri gation and drainage ditches, grass- lined swales, canals, detention facilitie s, wastewater treatment facilities, farm ponds, and landscape amenities. However, wetlands do include those artificial wetlands intentionally created from nonwetland areas created to mitigate conversion of wetlands, if permitted and required by the county or city. Artificial wetla nds created from nonwetland areas for purposes of wildlife enhancement, education, aesthetic, or similar reasons, when not part of a compensatory (required) mitigation project, are not included within the wetland definition.