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Home My WebLink AboutORD 3849 CITY OF RENTON, WASHINGTON ORDINANCE NO. 3849 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF RENTON, WASHINGTON, AMENDING PORTIONS OF CHAPTER 7 OF TITLE IV (BUILDING REGULATIONS) OF ORDINANCE NO. 1628 ENTITLED "CODE OF GENERAL ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF RENTON" RELATING TO GREENBELT REGULATIONS THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RENTON, WASHINGTON, DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION I: Existing Section 4-702 of Title IV (Building Regulations) of Ordinance No. 1628 entitled "Code of General Ordinances of the City of Renton" is hereby amended by adding the following subsection (G) . Section 4-702 (G) 1. GREENBELT: An area designated on the Land Use Element of the Comprehensive Plan intended for open space, recreation, very low density residential uses, agriculture, geographic relief between uses, or other compatible low intensity use. SECTION II: Existing Section 4-702 (L) of Title IV (Building Regulations) of Ordinance No . 1628 entitled "Code of General Ordinances of the City of Renton" is hereby amended by adding the following subsection: Section 4-702 (L) 11 . LANDSCAPING: The addition, modification and/or retention of trees, shrubs, ground cover, rockeries, land-forms, and similar items designed to achieve desired effects, which shall include, but is not limited to, enhancing aesthetics or amenities, screening, providing wildlife habitat, and controlling surface water. -1- SECTION III: Chapter 7 of Title IV (Business Regulations) of Ordinance No. 1628 entitled "Code of General Ordinances of the City of Renton" is amended by adding the following new section: Section 4-745 . GREENBELT REGULATIONS (A) Purpose and Intent: Greenbelt areas are characterized by severe topographic, ground water, slope instability, soil or other physical limitations that make the areas unsuitable for intensive development. Provisions for public enjoyment of greenbelt areas are encouraged; however, greenbelt designations do not imply public ownership or the right of public access. The purpose of these regulations is to supplement the policies contained in the Comprehensive Plan regarding Greenbelts by the control of development, by minimizing damage due to landslide, subsidence or erosion, by protecting wetlands and fish-bearing waters, and providing physical relief between expanses of similar land uses. In-plementation of these regulations will protect the public against avoidable losses due to maintenance and replacement of public facilities, property damage, subsidy cost of public mitigation of avoidable impacts, and costs for public emergency rescue and relief operations . These regulations supplement but do not replace the underlying zoning regulations for specific properties . These regulations will provide responsible city officials with information to condition or deny public or private projects to protect potentially hazardous areas and to avoid the necessity- of preparing environmental impact statements in cases where there will not be significant adverse environmental effects, thus expediting governmental approval processes . -2- (B) General Provisions: Greenbelt regulations apply to areas that are first designated as Greenbelt on the City' s Comprehensive Land Use Map and also identified as containing one or more of the following physical criteria: 1. Steep Slope Areas: Areas with slopes that exceed 25% . 2 . Physical Hazards: Areas identifiable as a severe landslide hazard or areas where other severe hazards are anticipated including erosion, seismic, flood, and coal mine subsidence . 3 . Utility Easements and Rights-of-Way: Major electricity, water and gas transmission line easements and rights-of-way. 4 . Other Criteria: Wetlands, stream corridors, . and flood control works . The actual presence or absence of the criteria illustrated above in Greenbelt areas, as determined by qualified professional and technical persons, shall govern the treatment of an individual building site or parcel of land requiring compliance with these regulations. (C) Vegetation Removal: There shall be no removal of vegetatio within a Greenbelt until a permit is issued pursuant to Section 4-745 (D) below except for normal maintenance with written approval by the Building and Zoning Department for such activities as trimming of vegetation or removal of dangerous or diseased plant materials . (D) Development Standards: Whenever a proposed development requires a building permit, grading permit, shoreline substantial development permit, conditional use permit, variance, rezone, planned unit development, subdivision or short subdivision, and one or more of the greenbelt criteria as defined in Section 4-745 (B) above is present on the site of the proposed development, studies by qualified -3- professionals may be required. The City shall send written notification to the applicant whenever such studies are required. The City may approve, approve with conditions, or deny any such proposal to carry out the purposes of this section. Whenever a proposed development involves only one (1) single family dwelling, which is not part of a larger development proposal, the City shall not require special studies or reports by the applicant. 1. Steep Slope Areas: These regulations apply to land form features of a site between significant and identifiable changes in slope . a. Definitions (see Exhibit "A" for an illustration of these definitions) : (1) Slope shall be defined as the average ge slope of the lot or portion thereof in percent between significant changes in slope, determined by observation on simple slopes, or more precisely by the formula: S - 100 I L A (2) Where "I" is the contour interval in feet but not greater than ten (10) feet; "L" is the combined length of the contour lines in scale feet; and "A" is the net area between significant changes in slope of the lot in square feet. (3) A significant change in slope shall be defined as a bench or plateau at least fifteen (15) feet in width. b. Development is prohibited on slopes greater than forty (40) percent. C. In greenbelt areas with between 25% and 40% slope the maximum residential density shall be: (1) One unit per acre, and for each one (1) percent of slope in excess of twenty P P Y five (25) percent, an additional 900 square feet in lot area per dwelling unit shall be required. -4- (2) When the current zoning designation exceeds one dwelling unit per acre the allowable development density in the steep slope area shall be reduced to one-fourth, and for each one (1) percent of slope in excess of twenty five (25) percent, the remaining allowable dwelling unit density shall be reduced by an additional five (5) percent. d. The maximum non-residential buildable area shall be reduced to one-fourth, and for each one (1) percent of slope in excess of twenty-five (25) percent, the remaining buildable area shall be reduced by an additional five (5) percent. e . Greenbelt areas between twenty five (25) percent and forty (40) percent slope shall be subject to special review to assure stable building conditions, safe and convenient access and minimum disruption of the natural physical features of the land. The City may require the applicant to furnish a report by a licensed engineer to evaluate the site . However, the City may waive the requirement for special studies where sufficient information is otherwise available to approve, approve with conditions, or deny the development permit. 2 . Physical Hazards: Greenbelts established upon these criteria should be developed only with great caution and development should be based on sound engineering and technical knowledge. The King County Sensitive Areas Map Folio dated March, 1980 , is hereby adopted by reference to assist in the determination of and evaluation of physical hazard areas as prescribed by this section. a. As a general rule, development should not increase the risk of hazard either on or off site. Where detailed technical information is provided illustrating that development can be safely accommodated, development that is compatible with the degree of hazard and with surrounding uses may be allowed. Provided, Y vided, any such development retains at least 75% of the site in open space or is landscaped compatibly with the physical hazards. b. The City may require site specific studies, completed by a qualified soils engineer or engineering geologist or other qualified professionals, which shall include specific recommendations for mitigating measures which -5- should be required as a condition of any approval for such development. The recommenda- tions may include, but are not limited to, construction techniques, design, drainage, or density specifications, or seasonal constraints on development. Upon review of these studies, the development permit shall be conditioned to mitigate adverse environmental impacts and to assure that the development can be safely accommodated on the site and is consistent with the purposes of this section. The City may waive the requirement for special studies where sufficient information is otherwise . available to approve, approve with conditions, or deny the development permit. 3 . Utility Easements and Rights-of-way: A limited number of low intensity usesonsister ith he W t 'ng zoning and utilityA e&YePf-s pset�rt�r�tw �.c#ldevelopment meets the intent of providing a definitive geographic relief between adjoining existing or anticipated land use. Allowable uses include: a. Any structures or activity directly associated with the supply or service of utilities; b. agriculture; C. residential open spaces; d. recreational activities and facilities; e. parking associated with adjoining land uses -- provided that no more than the following percentage of the greenbelt area is covered with impervious surfaces and the remainder is compatibly landscaped or retained in a natural state: -- 25% , if the most restrictive adjacent zoning is R-1 or G-1; -- 500, if the most restrictive adjacent zoning is R-2 , R-3 , R-4 , T, or P-1; -- 65% , if the most restrictive adjacent. zoning is .B-1, O-P, L-1, H-1, or M-P; f. production of resources -- provided that the area is rehabilitated consistent with the greenbelt definition; -6- i a g. roadways and streets -- provided that any street aligned parallel with the greenbelt should involve the minimum intrusion upon the greenbelt while providing for enhancement through compatible landscaping. 4 . Other Greenbelts: Wetlands, stream corridors and flood control facilities designated greenbelt shall be subject to the development standards of the City' s Shoreline Master Program Urban Environment where those shoreline regulations would not otherwise apply. (F) . Other Allowable Uses: 1. Nothing in these regulations shall limit the construction of one (1) single family home on a pre-existing platted lot, subject to meeting any engineering requirements necessary to safely construct such a residence . 2 . Where the provisions of these regulations limit construction of public or private utilities or appurtenant structures, approval for such construction may be granted by approval of a conditional use permit subject to a showing of necessity and compatibility of the use with these regulations. SECTION IV: This Ordinance shall be effective upon its passage and approval and thirty days after publication. PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL this 8th day of October, 1984 . Maxine E. Motor, City Clerk APPROVED BY THE MAYOR this 8th day of October, 1984 . '�QA&w 4&AlvxpoG� Barbara Y. Shinpoch, Mayor Approved as to form: Lawrence J.Warkbn, City Attorney Date of Publication: October 12 , 1984 -7- C W O f0 • L zz � a W " U Za _o HH X Q W 0 w W) r • s r M IL0 m � M a m � 2 p41 a J ti V � 4 - v .: i N : 1 illi N h y - -- -- -" s Q M y a W N b•--- ------------ W W O V 2 2p : V2 V 21 ♦ O O a a W z s t W l O t ♦ Q • N011YA373 7Y011Y3A