Table of Contents

Climate Change

The county’s code establishes programs to address the impacts of climate change. It outlines the standards for the climate action plan, including the main strategies and updates and reporting requirements (§18-25). The code also establishes a Carbon Offset program to mitigate climate change in several sectors, including the wastewater treatment division, the solid waste division, and the transit sector (§28-30).

Environmentally Sensitive Areas

The county’s zoning code includes critical area development standards and special district overlays to protect environmentally sensitive features. Critical area development standards limit activities that could negatively impact the critical area, including removal of existing vegetation, land alterations, and activities based on time of year (§21A.24). Overlays include wetland management, ground water protection, urban aquifers, and heron habitat protection area (§21A.38). Examples of protection by special district overlay include:

• Wetland management areas special district overlay, which protect wetland function and value by limiting impervious surface area (§21A.38.120). 
• A ground water protection special district overlay which limits land uses that can impact water quality and maintains permeable surface area to allow for groundwater recharge (§21A.38.150).
• Urban aquifer protection areas limit land uses in areas susceptible to ground water contamination (§21A.38.170).
• Heron habitat protection areas protect great blue heron rookeries typically found near wetlands and stream riparian zones (§21A.38.210).

Transfer of Development Rights

The county’s zoning code authorizes transfer of development rights (TDR) for the preservation of rural, resource, and urban separator lands with a public benefit (§21A.37 et seq). TDR standards address sending and receiving sites, calculation of rights, the transfer process, TDR bank administration, the duties of the TDR executive board, development limitations, and transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions for urban receiving sites.