Environmentally Critical Areas | Environment & Sustainability
M. Avoiding impacts to critical areas
recommendations of a critical areas study. If impacts cannot be avoided through redesign, or because of site conditions or project requirements, the applicant shall then proceed with the sequence of steps in subsections 1.b. through g. of this section. b. Minimizing the impact or hazard by limiting the degree or magnitude of the action or impact with appropriate technology or by changing the timing of the action. c. Restoring the impacted critical areas by repairing, rehabilitating or restoring the affected critical area or its buffer. d. Minimizing or eliminating the hazard by restoring or stabilizing the hazard area through plantings, engineering or other methods. e. Reducing or eliminating the impact or hazard over time by preservation or maintenance operations during the life of the development proposal, activity or alteration. f. Compensating for the adverse impact by enhancing critical areas and their buffers or creating substitute critical areas and their buffers as required in the SMC. g. Monitoring the impact, hazard or success of required mitigation and taking remedial action based upon findings over time. 2. In addition to the above steps, the specific development standards, permitted alteration requirements, and mitigation requirements of this chapter and elsewhere in the SMC apply.
1. Except as otherwise provided in SDC 21.03.020G., an applicant for a development proposal, activity, or alteration shall document the consideration of and subsequently shall implement the following sequential measures, which appear in order of preference, to avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts to environmentally critical areas and associated buffers: a. Avoiding the impact or hazard by not taking a certain action, or redesigning the proposal to eliminate the impact. The applicant shall consider reasonable, affirmative steps and make best efforts to avoid critical area impacts. However, avoidance shall not be construed to mean mandatory withdrawal or denial of the development proposal or activity if the proposal or activity is an allowed, permitted, conditional, or special use in the SMC. In determining the extent to which the proposal should be redesigned to avoid the impact, the department may consider the purpose, effectiveness, engineering feasibility, commercial availability of technology, best management practices, safety and cost of the proposal and identified modifications to the proposal. The department may also consider the extent to which the avoidance of one type or location of an environmentally critical area could require or lead to impacts to other types or locations of nearby or adjacent environmentally critical areas. The department should seek to avoid, minimize and mitigate overall impacts based on the functions and values of all of the relevant environmentally critical areas and based on the
Effective | January 1, 2022
Title 21: Sammamish Development Code | 73
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