“Alteration” means any activity which materially affects the existing condition of land or improvements.

“Applicant” means the person, party, firm, corporation, or other legal entity that proposes any activity. The applicant is either the owner of the land on which the proposed activity would be located, a contract vendee, a lessee of the land, the person who would actually control and direct the proposed activity, or the authorized agent of such a person.

“Aquifer” means a subsurface, saturated geologic formation which produces, or is capable of producing, a sufficient quantity of water to serve as a private or public water supply.

“Aquifer recharge areas” means those areas which serve as critical ground water recharge areas and which are highly vulnerable to contamination from intensive land uses within these areas.

“Best management plan” means a plan or program developed by the local Soil Conservation District (USDA) which specifies best management practices for the control of animal wastes, stormwater runoff and erosion.

“Bluff” means a steeply rising, near vertical slope which abuts and rises from the Puget Sound shoreline. Bluffs occur in the east area of the city, fronting the Tacoma Narrows, and are further identified in the Coastal Zone Atlas, Volume 7, for Pierce County. The toe of the bluff is the beach and the top is typically a distinct line where the slope abruptly levels out. Where there is no distinct break in a slope, the top is the line of vegetation separating the unvegetated slope from the vegetated uplands, or, if the bluff is vegetated, that point where the bluff slope diminishes to 15 percent or less.

“Buffer” means a natural area adjacent to hillsides or ravines which provides a margin of safety through protection of slope stability, attenuation of surface water flows and landslide, seismic and erosion hazards reasonably necessary to minimize risk to the public from loss of life, well-being or property damage from natural disaster.

“Building setback line” means a distance, in feet, beyond which the footprint or foundation of a building or structure shall not extend.

“City” means the city of Gig Harbor.

“Clearing” means the removal of timber, brush, grass, ground cover or other vegetative matter from a site which exposes the earth’s surface of the site.

“Compensatory mitigation” means mitigation for wetland losses or impacts resulting from alteration of wetlands and/or their buffers. It includes, but is not limited to, creation, enhancement and restoration.

“Contaminant” means any chemical, physical, biological or radiological material that is not naturally occurring and is introduced into the environment by human action, accident or negligence.

“Creation” means the producing or forming of a wetland through artificial means from an upland (nonwetland) site.

“Critical areas” consist of those lands which are subject to natural hazards, contain important or significant natural resources or which have a high capability of supporting important natural resources.

“Department” means the city planning department.

“Designated wetland” means those lands identified through the classification process established by this chapter.

“Development” means alteration (see definition for alteration).

“Director” means the planning director or his/her designee.

“DRASTIC” means a model developed by the National Water Well Association and Environmental Protection Agency and which is used to measure aquifer susceptibility to contamination.

“Earth/earth material” means naturally occurring rock, soil, stone, sediment, organic material, or combination thereof.

“Enhancement” means actions performed to improve the conditions of existing degraded wetlands and/or buffers so that the functions they provide are of a higher quality (e.g., increasing plant diversity, increasing wildlife habitat, installing environmentally compatible erosion controls, removing nonindigenous plant or animal species, removing fill material or garbage).

“Erosion” means the wearing away of the earth’s surface as a result of the movement of wind, water, or ice.

“Erosion hazard areas” means those areas which are vulnerable to erosion due to natural characteristics including vegetative cover, soil texture, slope, gradient or which have been induced by human activity. Those areas which are rated severe or very severe for building site development on slopes or cut banks, in accordance with the United States Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service Soil Survey for Pierce County Area (February 1979), are included within this definition.

“Excavation” means the mechanical removal of earth material or fill.

“Existing and ongoing agricultural activities” means those activities conducted on lands defined in RCW 84.34.020(2), and those activities involved in the production of crops and livestock, including but not limited to operation and maintenance of farm and stock ponds or drainage ditches, irrigation systems, changes between agricultural activities, and normal operation, maintenance or repair of existing serviceable structures, facilities or improved areas. Activities which bring an area into agricultural use are not part of an ongoing activity. An operation ceases to be ongoing when the area on which it was conducted has been converted to a nonagricultural use or has lain idle both more than five years and so long that modifications to the hydrological regime are necessary to resume operations, unless the idle land is registered in a federal or state soils conservation program.

“Fill/fill material” means a deposit of earth material, placed by human or mechanical (machine) means, and which is not defined by solid waste according to Chapter 70.95 RCW.

“Filling” means the act of placing fill material on any surface.

“Fish and wildlife habitat areas” means those areas identified as being of critical importance in the maintenance and preservation of fish, wildlife and natural vegetation including waters of the state, and as further identified in GHMC 18.08.186.

“Flood hazard areas” means those areas within the city of Gig Harbor which are determined to be at risk of having a one percent or greater chance of experiencing a flood in any one year, with those areas defined and identified on the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) flood insurance rate maps for the city of Gig Harbor.

“Floodplain development permit” means the permit required by the city flood hazard construction ordinance.

“Geologically hazardous areas” means those areas as designated in the city of Gig Harbor comprehensive plan as “landslide hazards,” in the Washington Department of Ecology Coastal Zone Atlas, Volume 7, and “areas that because of their susceptibility to erosion, sliding, earthquake, or other geological events, are not suited to siting commercial, residential, or industrial development consistent with public health or safety concerns” (WAC 365-190-030(9)).

“Grading” means any excavating, filling, clearing, leveling, or contouring of the ground surface by human or mechanical means.

“Grading permit” means the permit required by the city grading and clearing ordinance.

“Habitat management plan” means a report prepared by a qualified wildlife biologist.

“Hazardous substance” means any material that exhibits any of the characteristics or criteria of hazardous waste, inclusive of waste oil and petroleum products, and which further meets the definitions of “hazardous waste” pursuant to Chapter 173-303 WAC.

“Hillsides” means geologic features with slopes of 15 percent or greater. The ordinance codified in this chapter provides four classes of hillsides in order to differentiate between the levels of protection and the application of development standards.

“In-kind mitigation” means to replace wetlands with substitute wetlands whose characteristics and functions and values are intended to replicate those destroyed or degraded by a regulated activity.

“Landslide” means an abrupt downslope movement of soil, rock or ground surface material.

“Landslide hazard area” means those areas which are susceptible to risk of mass movement due to a combination of geologic, topographic and hydrologic factors.

“Permanent erosion control” means continuous on-site and off-site control measures that are needed to control conveyance or deposition of earth, turbidity or pollutants after development, construction, or restoration.

“Person” means an individual, firm, co-partnership, association or corporation.

“Qualified biologist” means a person with a minimum of a four-year degree in wildlife sciences, biology, environmental sciences, soil science, limnology or an equivalent academic background who also has at least two years of experience in stream restoration.

“Qualified wetland specialist” is a person with a minimum of a four-year degree in wildlife sciences, biology, environmental sciences, soil science, limnology or an equivalent academic background who also has experience in performing wetland delineations, analysis of wetland functions and values and project impacts, and wetland mitigation and restoration techniques. The person must be familiar with the Washington State Department of Ecology Wetland Identification and Delineation Manual (1997), which is consistent with the 1987 Federal Manual used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, city grading and clearing regulations and the requirements of this chapter.

“Qualified wildlife biologist” means a person having, at a minimum, a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology, wildlife science, wildlife ecology, wildlife management or zoology, or a bachelor’s degree in natural resource or environmental science plus 12 semester or 18 quarter hours on wildlife coursework and two years of professional experience.

“Ravine sidewall” means a steep slope which abuts and rises from the valley floor of a stream and which was created by the normal erosive action of the stream. Ravine sidewalls are characterized by slopes predominantly in excess of 25 percent although portions may be less than 25 percent. The base of a ravine sidewall is the stream valley floor. The top of a ravine sidewall is a distinct line where the slope abruptly levels out. Where there is no distinct break in slope, the top shall be that point where the slope diminishes to 15 percent or less.

“Restoration” means the reestablishment of a viable wetland from a previously filled or degraded wetland site.

“Seismic hazard areas” means those areas which are susceptible to severe damage from earthquakes as a result of ground shaking, slope failure, settlement or soil liquefaction.

“Significant impact” means a meaningful change or recognizable effect to the ecological function and value of a critical area, which is noticeable or measurable, resulting in a loss of function and value.

“Single-family dwelling” means a building or structure, or portion thereof, which is designed for and used to provide a place of abode for human beings, including mobile homes, as defined in the city zoning code.

“Site” means any parcel or combination of contiguous parcels, or right-of-way or combination of contiguous rights-of-way under the applicant’s ownership or control where the proposed project impacts a critical area(s).

“Slope” means an inclined earth surface, the inclination of which is expressed as the ratio (percentage) of vertical distance to horizontal distance by the following formula: V (vertical distance)/H (horizontal distance) x 100 = % slope.

“Species of local importance” means a species of animal which is of local concern due to their population status or their sensitivity to habitat manipulation. This term also includes game species.

“Stockpiling” means the placement of material with the intent to remove at a later time.

“Stream buffer zone” means a designated area contiguous or adjacent to a stream that is required for the continued maintenance, function, and structural stability of the stream. Functions of a buffer include shading, input of organic debris and coarse sediments, uptake of nutrients, stabilization of banks, protection from intrusion, or maintenance of wildlife habitat.

“Streams” means those areas where surface waters produce a defined channel or bed, not including irrigation ditches, canals, storm or surface water runoff devices, or other entirely artificial watercourses, unless they are used by salmonids or are used to convey streams naturally occurring prior to construction in such watercourses. For the purpose of this definition, a defined channel or bed is an area which demonstrates clear evidence of the passage of water and includes, but is not limited to, bedrock channels, gravel beds, sand and silt beds, and defined-channel swales. The channel or bed need not contain water year-round.

“Substrate” means the soil, sediment, decomposing organic matter or combination of those located on the bottom surface of the wetland.

“Wetland” or “wetlands” means areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas. Wetlands do not include those artificial wetlands intentionally created from nonwetland sites, including, but not limited to, irrigation and drainage ditches, grass-lined swales, canals, detention facilities, retention facilities, wastewater treatment facilities, farm ponds, and landscape amenities, or those wetlands created after July 1, 1990, that were unintentionally created as a result of the construction of a road, street or highway. Wetlands include those artificial wetlands intentionally created from nonwetland areas created to mitigate conversion of wetlands.

“Wetland buffer zone” means a designated area contiguous or adjacent to a wetland that is required for the continued maintenance, function, and structural stability of the wetland. Functions of a buffer include shading, input of organic debris and coarse sediments, uptake of nutrients, stabilization of banks, protection from intrusion, or maintenance of wildlife habitat. For further information on permitted uses, see GHMC 18.08.020.

“Wetland class” means the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wetland classification scheme using a hierarchy of systems, subsystems, classes and subclasses to describe wetland types (refer to USFWS, December 1979, Classification of Wetlands and Deepwater Habitats of the United States for a complete explanation of the wetland classification scheme). Eleven class names are used to describe wetland and deepwater habitat types. These include: forested wetland, scrub-shrub wetland, emergent wetland, moss-lichen wetland, unconsolidated shore, aquatic bed, unconsolidated bottom, rock bottom, rocky shore, streambed, and reef.