15.02.020 Definitions.
A. “Access panhandle” means a strip of land having a width narrower than that of the lot, tract or parcel to be served thereby and designed for the purpose of providing access to lot, tract or parcel being less in width than the minimum lot width allowed under the applicable zoning.
B. “Alley” means a passage or way, meeting specifications of the Development Guidelines and Public Works Standards as shown in figure 4-5.1 of that document.
C. “Auditor” means the auditor of Thurston County, Washington.
D. “Bioretention” means engineered facilities that store and treat stormwater by passing it through a specified soil profile, and either retain or detain the treated stormwater for flow attenuation. Refer to the current city of Lacey Stormwater Design Manual for bioretention design standards.
E. “Block” means a group of lots, tracts or parcels within well defined and fixed boundaries.
F. “Buildable lot” means a lot meeting all of the requirements of size, shape, frontage, sanitation, etc., contained in this title and other ordinances of the city, for any specific type of development.
G. “Building line” means a line on a plat indicating the limit beyond which any portion of a building, structure, septic tank, etc., may not be placed. This may be applied by the subdivider or required by the city when certain conditions exist which make special setbacks necessary.
H. “Building review professional” means a licensed professional with academic training and field experience that makes him or her a recognized expert in review of buildings for compliance with building codes. The building review professional shall have specific experience with review of buildings for code compliance within the state of Washington.
I. “Building site” means a parcel of land occupied or intended to be occupied by one main building and its accessory buildings, together with all of the required yards and open space and setbacks.
J. “City” means the city of Lacey, Washington.
K. City Officials. The word “council” means the Lacey city council. The word “planner” or “director” means the Lacey community and economic development department. The word “city engineer” means the engineer or director of public works of the city. “Health officer” means health officer of the Thurston County health department.
L. “Comprehensive Plan” means a plan with a number of elements adopted by the city council under the state Growth Management Act (GMA) as a guide to the growth and improvement of the city, including modifications or refinements that may be made from time to time.
M. “Concurrency” shall mean concurrent with development as defined in RCW 36.70A.070(6).
N. “Condominium conversion” is a proposed conversion of an existing development or project with land use approvals but not yet constructed to a condominium form of ownership.
O. “Condominium development” is a new development project proposing or declaring a condominium form of ownership with its initial land use permit(s) or land-use application(s).
P. “County” means the county of Thurston, state of Washington.
Q. “Cul-de-sac” means a local street open at one end only which should have a special turning area at the closed end. This turning area should be circular and have a radius appropriate to the types of vehicles expected.
R. “Declaration of short subdivision” is a statement on the face of the short plat signed by all persons having any real interest in the land being subdivided and acknowledged before a notary that they signed the same as their free act and deed. The declaration shall as a minimum contain the elements of:
1. A legal description of the tract being divided;
2. A survey map;
3. Any restrictive covenants;
4. A statement by the signatory that they are in fact the owner of the property being subdivided;
5. An agreement by the signatory to indemnify the city for all costs or damages including attorney’s fees incurred by or charged against the city as a result of the signatory not being the owner of the property being subdivided; and
6. A statement by the owner that the short subdivision is made with their free consent.
S. “Dedication” means the deliberate appropriation of land by an owner for any general and public uses, reserving to the owner no other rights than such as are compatible with the full exercise and enjoyment of the public uses to which the property has been devoted. The intention to dedicate shall be evidenced by the owner by the presentment for filing of a final plat or short plat showing the dedication thereon; and, the acceptance by the public shall be evidenced by the approval of such plat for filing by the appropriate governmental unit.
T. “Director” means the director of the Lacey community and economic development department or designee.
U. “Easement” means a right granted by a property owner to specifically named parties or to the general public for the use of certain areas or strips of land for particular purposes. Where appropriate to the context, “easement” may also refer to the land covered by the grant. This may include pedestrian paths, bicycle paths, utility easements, drainage, open space, etc.
V. “Final approval” means the final official action taken by the city on the proposed division of land or dedication or portion thereof as previously received preliminary approval.
W. “Flooding” means the inundation of an area of land that is not usually under water.
X. “Lacey coordinate system” means the ground scale coordinate system derived from the Washington Coordinate System NAD 83/91 south zone. Coordinate values for control points of the Lacey coordinate system are available from the city of Lacey public works department engineering division.
Y. “Land division” is a general term that refers to the division of land by means described in this chapter, including land divided through a plat, short plat or binding site plan.
Z. “Lot” means a fractional part of divided land having fixed boundaries, being of sufficient area and dimensions to meet minimum zoning requirements for width and area. The term shall include tracts or parcels. The term shall not include land divided for purposes of financing or taxation.
AA. “Low impact development (LID) facility” means distributed stormwater management practices, integrated into a project design that strives to mimic pre-disturbance hydrologic processes of infiltration, filtration, storage, evaporation, and transpiration. LID facilities include, but are not limited to: bioretention, rain gardens, permeable paving, roof downspout controls, dispersion, soil quality and depth, minimal excavation foundations, vegetated roofs, and water re-use.
BB. “Low impact development (LID) principles” means land use management strategies that emphasize conservation, use of on-site natural features, and site planning to minimize impervious surfaces, native vegetation loss, and stormwater runoff.
CC. “Multiunit structure” means two or more units under the same ownership where the land has not been divided, i.e., duplex, triplex, quadraplex, apartment units, or in the case of commercial or industrial development a building with units designed to be rented or leased to two or more tenants.
DD. “Native vegetation” means vegetation including trees, comprised of plant species that are either indigenous or naturalized to the Puget Sound region. Native vegetation does not include noxious weeds.
EE. “Owner” means the owner of record, as determined by the records of the auditor; provided, that the owner under a real estate contract is the purchaser-vendee and the owner of mortgaged property is the mortgagor.
FF. “Permeable paving” means pervious concrete, porous asphalt, permeable pavers or other forms of pervious or porous paving material intended to allow passage of water through the pavement section. It often includes an aggregate base that provides structural support and acts as a stormwater reservoir. Refer to the current city of Lacey Stormwater Design Manual for permeable paving design standards.
GG. “Person” means every natural person, firm, partnership, association, social or fraternal organization, corporation, estate, trust, receiver, syndicate, branch of government, or any other group or combination acting as a unit.
HH. “Plat” means a map or representation of a subdivision, showing thereon the division of a tract or parcel of land into lots, blocks, streets and alleys or other divisions or dedications.
II. “Plat, final” or “final short plat” means the final drawing of the subdivision or short subdivision and the dedication prepared for filing for record with the auditor and containing all elements and requirements set forth in Chapter 58.17 RCW and in this title adopted pursuant thereto.
JJ. “Plat, preliminary” means a neat and approximate drawing of a proposed subdivision showing the general layout of streets and alleys, lots, blocks and other elements of a subdivision consistent with the requirements of this title.
KK. “Plat, preliminary short” means a neat and approximate drawing of a proposed short subdivision showing the general layout of streets and alleys, lots, blocks and other elements of a short subdivision consistent with the requirements of this title.
LL. “Plat, short” means the map or representation of a short subdivision containing all of the pertinent information as required by this title.
MM. “Preliminary approval” means the official action approving a proposed division of land when provision of improvements or fulfillment of conditions are to occur prior to final approval.
NN. “Rain garden” means a nonengineered shallow, landscaped depression, with compost-amended native soils and adapted plants. The depression is designed to pond and temporarily store stormwater runoff from adjacent areas, and to allow stormwater to pass through the amended soil profile.
OO. “Reserve strip” means a parcel of ground located usually at the edge of a subdivision or short subdivision for the purpose of restricting access from the end or side of a street.
PP. “Right-of-way” means the area between boundary lines of a dedicated street, alley or easement dedicated to or owned by the city for public use.
QQ. “Roadway” means that portion of the street, including shoulders and bike lanes, for vehicular use.
RR. Street. A “street” is a public way for purposes of travel and includes the entire area within the right-of-way. A street serves public transit, vehicular, pedestrian and bicycle traffic plus the accommodation of all utility facilities within the right-of-way.
SS. “Subdivider” means a person who undertakes the subdividing of a parcel of land, also referred to as the applicant.
TT. “Subdivision, short” means every division or resubdivision of contiguous land into nine or less lots, tracts, parcels, sites, or subdivisions for the purpose of transfer of ownership, sale, or lease.
UU. “Subdivision” or “subdivision, long” means the division or resubdivision of land into ten or more lots, tracts, parcels, sites or divisions, whether immediate or future, for the purpose of sale, lease or transfer of ownership.
VV. “Treasurer” means the treasurer of Thurston County, Washington.
WW. “Vacation” means a process pursuant to the requirements of RCW 58.17.212 of voiding a plat, short plat, binding site plan, or portion thereof, or any area designated or dedicated for public use.
XX. “Vegetated LID facility” means bioretention, rain gardens, dispersion, and vegetated roofs.
YY. “Vegetated roofs” (also known as ecoroofs and green roofs) means thin layers of engineered soil and vegetation constructed on top of conventional flat or sloped roofs. Refer to the city of Lacey Stormwater Design Manual for vegetated roof design standards. (Ord. 1520 §19, 2017; Ord. 1496 §28, 2016; Ord. 1369 §5, 2011; Ord. 1235 §1, 3, 2005).