Olympia Planning Commission backs critical areas ordinance updates 

The Olympia Planning Commission backed updates to the Critical Area Ordinance (CAO), which covers wetlands, streams, fish and wildlife habitat, aquifer-recharge areas, frequently flooded areas, and geologically hazardous areas in the city.

Olympia Planning Manager Kernen Lien presented the updates as part of the city’s comprehensive plan work. He said the review draws on updated scientific guidance.  

The commission’s backing was a recommendation made at a meeting on Monday, Oct. 5. The ordinance still needs further review and action by Olympia City Council.  

The proposed changes include updated definitions and application requirements, revised wetland buffer provisions and a new provision for buffers that are functionally disconnected from a critical area.  

For example, a road could separate a property from a wetland. If it is unclear whether the areas remain connected — for instance, because a culvert may provide a hydrological connection — the city could require a report from a qualified professional.  

The draft also clarifies how streams are evaluated. Lien said city maps are reference tools, not definitive, and qualified professionals may be required to assess whether streams are present and determine site conditions.  

Staff is not proposing broad changes to stream buffer widths, which align with potential tree heights. The draft would remove a slope-based buffer reduction and clarify other possible reductions.  

For wetlands, the proposal reorganizes buffer provisions using state guidance. Requirements vary depending on factors, including habitat corridors and whether specified measures to minimize impacts are used. Buffer averaging would remain in place.  

During discussion, commissioners also questioned the draft’s allowance for some trails in wetlands and buffers.

Commissioner Raphael Garcia cited the Washington State Department of Ecology’s recommendation that trails should generally avoid wetlands and, where possible, be located within the outer 25 percent of the buffer.  

Lien said the city proposed retaining some flexibility for trails, with limits intended to reduce disturbance. He cited park access and potential effects of the restriction on planned projects, adding the draft limits trail width and impervious surfaces.  

The update would consolidate reviews of geologically hazardous areas into an administrative process. Lien said the review criteria would not change, and assessments would continue to rely on geotechnical reports.  

The draft would also revise rules for nonconforming development. The section would move into the chapter containing the rest of the critical area rules, and the proposal would clarify what counts as an existing structure and a development footprint. The footprint would include paved or gravel areas and structures, but not lawns.  

The draft uses June 20, 2005, the date Lien identified as the first critical areas ordinance based on best available science, as the cutoff for determining nonconforming status.  

Mitigation would need to be completed before a certificate of occupancy, rather than within a year afterward.  

The proposal allows a one-time delay of up to 120 days in certain circumstances, such as unsuitable planting conditions, with financial security required.  

Other revisions include removing “with attendant” from the restriction on gas stations in wellhead protection areas and removing maintenance from the trail provision, since maintenance is already covered by a separate code exemption.  

Lien said state agency comments, such as Department of Ecology, Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife and Washington State Department of Natural Resources were generally supportive of the draft.  

The proposal is scheduled for review by Olympia Land Use & Environment Committee on Oct. 22, followed by consideration from city council with Dec. 8 as a target for adoption.