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Accessory building” means a building which is subordinate and incidental to the permitted principal building, located on the same lot with such principal building, and erected or established only after or in conjunction with the establishment of the principal building. An accessory building includes, but is not limited to, garages, carports, storage buildings, and other similar buildings. An accessory building does not include accessory dwelling units.

Accessory use, activity or structure” means a use, activity, structure or part of a structure which is customarily subordinate and incidental to the permitted principal use or building, located on the same lot with such principal use or building, and erected or established only after or in conjunction with the establishment of the principal use or building. A caretaker’s or watchman’s quarters are considered to be an accessory use in industrial zoning districts.

Airport approach area” is the area of land under an imaginary approach surface of an airport as described in 14 CFR Part 77.19(d).

Airport compatibility area” or “ACA” means an area adjacent to a public use airport where land uses that are incompatible with airport operations are discouraged. The airport compatibility area is the area within a specified distance of each runway, to be measured as a distance extending outward from the portion of the runway centerline between runway thresholds.

Airport hazard” means any structure or tree or use of land which obstructs the air space required for the flight of aircraft in landing or taking off at an airport or is otherwise hazardous to such landing or taking off of aircraft.

Airport influence area” or “AIA” means an area within a specified distance of a public use airport that may experience impacts from airport operations. The airport influence area is the area within a specified distance of each runway, to be measured as a distance extending outward from the portion of the runway centerline between runway thresholds.

Airport runway protection zone” means a trapezoidal area at ground level off the end of an airport runway, the dimensions of which are defined by the Federal Aviation Administration to enhance the safety and protection of people and property on the ground.

Airport transitional area” is the area of land under an imaginary transitional surface of an airport as described in 14 CFR Part 77.19(e).

Alley” means a public or private way permanently reserved as a means of access to abutting property.

Antique” means a product that is sold or exchanged because of the value derived by the age of the product being greater than fifty years.

Applicant” means a person who applies for any permit or approval to do anything governed by this chapter and who has legal standing to apply for a permit or approval on the specific property.

Architectural barrier” means a fence, berm, wall or combination of earth, plant and structural materials designed and constructed to reduce visual or noise impacts between properties or uses.

Assurance device” means a financial mechanism by which the city assures compliance with the requirements of this chapter or other development or use entitlement.

Brownfield” is real property, the expansion, redevelopment or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.

Building official” means the building official for the city or his/her designee.

Business license” means a license issued by the city for the purpose of collecting business tax revenues.

Cease(d)” means, for purposes of Chapter 19.38 EMC, to come to an end; to not use; to vacate. For purposes of Chapter 19.38 EMC, no showing of intent to cease is required.

Certificate of occupancy” means a permit to occupy a building.

City attorney” means the city attorney for the city or his/her designee.

City council” means the city council of the city.

City engineer” means the public works director for the city or his/her designee.

Clearing” means the act of removing or destroying vegetation or other organic plant materials by physical, mechanical, or chemical means.

Code compliance officer” means the code compliance officer for the city.

Comprehensive plan” means the city of Everett comprehensive plan, including any subarea plans, adopted pursuant to Chapter 36.70A RCW.

Conditional use” means a use which, because of its unusual size, infrequent occurrence, special requirements, possible safety hazards, or other possible detrimental effects on surrounding properties, may be approved only after a public hearing.

Day, working” means any day on which the city administrative offices are open for normal business.

Development” means all structures, uses or other alterations or modifications of the natural landscape occurring above or below ground or water on a particular lot. Within the riparian habitat zone or the special flood hazard area, the definition of “developmentshall also include removal of substantial native vegetation, or alteration of natural site characteristics.

Development permit” means any permit issued by the city to use or develop property that must be issued before initiating the use or development.

Disabled person” means a person who is defined as handicapped under the provisions of the federal Fair Housing Act Amendments of 1988.

Drainage facility” means the system of collecting, conveying and storing surface and stormwater runoff. Drainage facilities shall include but not be limited to all surface and stormwater runoff conveyance and containment facilities, including streams, pipelines, channels, ditches, wetlands, infiltration facilities, retention/detention facilities, erosion/sedimentation control facilities, and other drainage structures and appurtenances, both natural and manmade.

Drive-in window or station” means a window or station used for providing service to customers who remain seated in their vehicles to conduct a business transaction, such as are commonly found at restaurants, financial institutions, or other similar businesses.

Drive-through, drive-up or drive-in service” means a type of service provided by a business that allows customers to purchase products, food, beverages or services without leaving their cars.

Electric vehicle” means any vehicle that operates, either partially or exclusively, on electrical energy from the grid, or an off-board source, that is stored on board for motive purpose. “Electric vehicle” includes: (1) a battery electric vehicle; (2) a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle; (3) a neighborhood electric vehicle; and (4) a medium-speed electric vehicle.

Electric vehicle charging station” means a public or private parking space that is served by battery charging station equipment that has as its primary purpose the transfer of electric energy (by conductive or inductive means) to a battery or other energy storage device in an electric vehicle.

Electric vehicle charging station—restricted” means an electric vehicle charging station that is (1) privately owned and restricted access (e.g., single-family home, executive parking, designated employee parking) or (2) publicly owned and restricted (e.g., fleet parking with no access to the general public).

Erosion” means the process whereby the landform is worn away by the action of water, wind, rain, or ice activity.

Geologist” means a person who is licensed in the state of Washington under the provisions of Chapter 18.220 RCW and Chapter 308-15 WAC, and who has at least one year of practical experience in the Pacific Northwest.

Grading” means any excavating, filling, or clearing of land or any combination thereof.

Hearing examiner” means the land use hearing examiner for the city.

Historical commission” means the historical commission for the city.

Homeless” means a person who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, and who has a primary nighttime residence that is:

1. A supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations; or

2. An institution that provides a temporary residence for mentally ill individuals intended to be institutionalized; or

3. A public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.

Landscaping” means the planting, removal and maintenance of vegetation along with the movement and displacement of earth, topsoil, rock, bark and similar substances done in conjunction with the planting, removal and maintenance of vegetation.

Low impact development (LID)” means a stormwater management strategy that emphasizes conservation and the use of existing natural site features integrated with distributed, small-scale stormwater controls to more closely mimic natural hydrologic patterns in developed settings.

Metro Everett” means the regionally designated growth center for Snohomish County identified in Chapter 19.02 of the Everett comprehensive plan.

Minor exterior alteration” means development that alters the exterior envelope to a building whose value over a three-year period does not exceed fifty percent of the building’s valuation based on the city of Everett’s valuation methods.

Municipal Code” means the various laws of the city contained within the Everett Municipal Code.

Native vegetation” means vegetation on a site or plant species which are indigenous to the area in question; or if the site has been cleared, species of a size and type that were on the site on the effective date of this title or reasonably could have been expected to have been found on the site at the time it was cleared.

Natural topography” means the elevation of a parcel of land prior to any human modification of the topography.

Nonconforming building” means a legally established structure or building, the size, dimensions, or setbacks of which met the applicable Unified Development Code requirements in effect at the time the building was constructed, but which fails by reason of adoption, revision or amendment of the Unified Development Code to conform to the present requirements of the zone in which it is located.

Nonconforming landscaping” means on-site landscaping, the dimensions, area or location of which met the applicable Unified Development Code requirements in effect at the time the use or building was established, but which fails by reason of adoption, revision or amendment of the Unified Development Code to conform to the present requirements of the zone in which it is located.

Nonconforming lot” means a legally established lot, the area, dimensions or location of which met the applicable Unified Development Code requirements in effect at the time the lot was created, but which fails by reason of such adoption, revision or amendment of the Unified Development Code to conform to the present requirements of the zone in which it is located.

Nonconforming parking” means legally established off-street parking for a particular use, the quantity, design, location or construction of which met the applicable Unified Development Code requirements in effect at the time the use was established, but which fails by reason of adoption, revision or amendment of the Unified Development Code to conform to the present requirements of the zone in which it is located.

Nonconforming use” means a legally established use which met the applicable Unified Development Code requirements at the time it was established but which fails by reason of adoption, revision or amendment of the Unified Development Code to conform to the present requirements of the zone in which it is located.

Off-street parking area” means an area designed and/or used for parking vehicles which is not located in a street or alley right-of-way.

Outdoor storage of bulk materials” means the holding or stockpiling on land of material and/or products in a bulk form or in bulk containers, including but not limited to aggregate, topsoil, powder, grain, stone, bricks, wood chips, metal, building materials, parts, pallets, utility piping, used materials, and metal. Bulk materials may include products for sale, materials used in manufacturing activities, inoperable equipment or vehicles, and recycled materials.

Owner” means the holder of fee title, a mortgagee, or contract purchaser.

Park” means any property designated, dedicated, or developed by or on behalf of a government entity for park or open space use, including passive and active forms of recreation.

Parking space” means a portion of an off-street parking area, meeting the city’s design and construction standards, having access to a public street or alley.

Planning commission” means the planning commission for the city.

Planning department” means the planning department for the city.

Planning director” means the planning director for the city or his/her authorized representative.

Practicable” means possible or capable of being done.

Principal building” means the primary or predominant building on a lot.

Principal use” means the primary or predominant use of any lot or building.

Public agency” means any agency, political subdivision, or unit of local government of this state including but not limited to municipal corporations, special purpose districts, and local service districts; any agency of the state, the United States, or any Indian tribe recognized as such by the federal government.

Public works director” means the public works department director for the city or his/her authorized representative.

Reasonable alternative” means an alternative that is available and capable of being carried out after taking into consideration cost, existing technology, and logistics in light of overall project purposes, and having less impacts to regulated critical areas. It may include an area not owned by the applicant which could reasonably have been or be obtained, utilized, expanded, or managed in order to fulfill the basic purpose of the proposed activity.

Recreational vehicle” means a vehicle which is (1) built on a single chassis; (2) four hundred square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection; (3) designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light duty truck; and (4) designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.

Redevelopment” means the process to rebuild, restore or develop an area or property that has previously been developed for a specific use or purpose.

Repair or maintenance” means an activity that restores the character, scope, size, and design of a serviceable area, structure, or land use to its previously authorized undamaged condition. Activities that change the character, size, or scope of a project beyond the original design and alter a regulated critical area are not included in this definition.

Retention/detention facility” means a type of drainage facility designed either to hold water for a considerable length of time and then release it by evaporation, plant transpiration, and/or infiltration into the ground; or to hold runoff for a short period of time and then release it to the surface and stormwater management system.

Review authority” means the individual or the board, council or commission with authority to review, make recommendations concerning, or approve development permits.

Review process” means the procedure listed in EMC Title 15, Local Project Review Procedures, by which a specific use shall be evaluated before a determination is made concerning the issuance of an approval, a license or permit.

Right-of-way” means the actual property which is publicly dedicated or reserved for street and alley access and for other public purposes such as public utilities, bicycle paths, and pedestrian walkways.

Sensitive land uses” means those land uses which are particularly sensitive to the secondary effects of adult use businesses. Sensitive land uses include the following:

1. Single-family and multiple-family residential zones;

2. Churches, or other religious facilities or institutions;

3. Public and private schools, training facilities and technical schools which have twenty-five percent or more of their students under the age of eighteen;

4. Public parks and playgrounds;

5. Community development block grant designated neighborhoods.

SEPA” means the current edition of the State Environmental Policy Act and the city ordinance implementing the state Act.

Street” means a public or private thoroughfare which provides the principal means of access to abutting properties.

Traffic engineer” means the traffic engineer for the city.

Transfer of development rights” means, in general, the process for transferring development rights from a sending site to a receiving site.

Use” means the activity or function carried out on an area of land, or in a building located thereon.

Vacate” means to move out; to make vacant or empty; to leave.

Water-dependent” has the same meaning as set forth in Chapter 19.08 of the Everett shoreline master program.

Water-dependent use” has the same meaning as set forth in Chapter 19.08 of the Everett shoreline master program.

Water-related uses” has the same meaning as set forth in Chapter 19.08 of the Everett shoreline master program.

Zone” means a specifically delineated area within the city, which is indicated on the zoning map, within which regulations and requirements uniformly govern the use, location and size of buildings and land.

Zoning map” means the map adopted by the city showing the geographic location of zones within the municipal boundaries. (Ord. 3963-23 § 1, 2023; Ord. 3896-22 § 1, 2022; Ord. 3774-20 § 5(D) (Exh. 3), 2020.)