17.150.047 Boating facilities – Piers, docks, floats and buoys.
(1) Because of the dynamic nature of the Stillaguamish River, variable seasonal flows and the extensive floodplain, boating facilities, including docks and other moorage and boat ramps or other launching facilities, are limited to water-dependent commercial and industrial uses and public access and recreation only.
(2) All boating facilities shall be located and designed to:
(a) Avoid areas of the river that are subject to deposition such that maintenance dredging of the facility is required;
(b) Avoid critical saltwater, estuarine and freshwater habitat, including wetlands as well as important spawning, feeding, or rearing areas for aquatic species;
(c) Avoid obstructing navigation or recreational boating;
(d) Limit width and the extension of facilities beyond OHWM to the minimum needed to serve a water-dependent or recreational use;
(e) Provide parking and other support facilities, excepting direct access to the facility, located outside critical area buffers;
(f) Employ permanent facilities that will not obstruct high flows or catch debris and form impediments to flow during high flow events. The preferred design is to limit permanent features to the shore with all facilities in and over the water limited to floats and access ramps. Floats and related facilities shall be removed during potential high flow periods, generally September through May.
(3) Size.
(a) Length. Maximum length of a pier or dock shall be the minimum necessary to accomplish moorage for the intended boating use and shall be only so long as to obtain a depth of four feet of water as measured at mean low water in marine waters or as measured at ordinary low water in freshwater shorelines at the landward limit of the moorage slip or as demonstrated as needed to provide the depth to serve a specific vessel or class of vessels essential to a specific water-dependent use.
(b) Width. Maximum width of the walkway shall meet ADA requirements or as demonstrated as essential to serve a specific water-dependent use.
(c) For community piers and docks, maximum width and length will be as determined by the city on a case-by-case basis.
(d) Docks shall not exceed three feet in height above OHWM on the landward side and shall extend above the water surface a maximum of one foot at all other locations or as demonstrated as essential to serve a specific water-dependent use.
(4) Side Yard Setbacks. Docks shall be set back a minimum of 10 feet from side property lines, except when mutually agreed to by contract/covenant with the owners of the adjacent property, a copy of which must be recorded with the county auditor and filed with the application for permit.
(5) Development of public boat launching ramps is encouraged in the Stanwood vicinity, and shall be located and designed to:
(a) Avoid areas of the river that are subject to erosion or deposition such that shoreline stabilization of maintenance dredging of the facility is required;
(b) Avoid critical saltwater and freshwater habitat, including wetlands as well as important spawning, feeding, or rearing areas for aquatic species;
(c) Avoid obstructing navigation or recreational boating;
(d) Provide parking and other support facilities, excepting driveways and ramps providing direct access to the water, located outside critical area buffers;
(e) Provide adequate parking supply to prevent parking spillover to public streets in residential areas;
(f) Provide a design that is aesthetically compatible with, or enhances, existing shoreline features and uses, and meets all applicable landscape buffer and parking lot landscaping requirements; and
(g) Provide adequate facilities for the efficient handling of sewage and litter. (Ord. 1475 § 4 (Att. D), 2019; Ord. 1373 § 46, 2014).