17.150.051 Aquaculture.
(1) Locate aquaculture enterprises in areas where the navigational access of upland owners and commercial waterborne traffic is not significantly restricted. The location of floating and submerged aquaculture structures shall not unduly restrict navigation to or along the shoreline or interfere with general navigation lanes and traffic or “usual and accustomed fishing locations.” Floating structures shall remain shoreward of principal navigation channels. Other restrictions on the scale of aquaculture activities in order to protect navigational access may be necessary based on the size and shape of the affected water body.
(2) Consider the possible detrimental impact aquacultural development might have on view from upland property and on the general aesthetic quality of the shoreline area.
(3) Encourage development of underwater aquaculture structures which do not interfere with navigation or seriously degrade the aesthetic quality of city shorelines.
(4) Minimize the detrimental impact aquacultural projects might have on agricultural practices, recreation, and other economic activities located along city shorelines.
(5) Aquaculture facilities should be designed and located so as not to spread disease to native aquatic life, or establish new nonnative species which cause significant ecological impacts.
(6) Aquaculture structures and activities that are not water-dependent (e.g., warehouses for storage of products, parking lots) shall be located inland of critical area buffers, upland of water-dependent portions of the project, and shall minimize detrimental impacts to the shoreline.
(7) Aquaculture structures and equipment shall be of sound construction and shall be so maintained. Abandoned or unsafe structures and equipment shall be removed or repaired promptly by the owner. Where any structure might constitute a potential hazard to the public in the future, the city shall require the posting of a bond commensurate with the cost of removal or repair. The city may abate an abandoned or unsafe structure, following notice to the owner, if the owner fails to respond in 30 days and may impose a lien on the related shoreline property or other assets in an amount equal to the cost of the abatement. Bonding requirements shall not duplicate requirements of other agencies.
(8) Legally established aquacultural enterprises, including authorized experimental projects, shall be protected from incompatible uses that may seek to locate nearby. Demonstration of a high probability that such an adjacent use would result in damage to, or destruction of, such an aquacultural enterprise shall be grounds for the denial of that use.
(9) No processing of aquacultural product, except for the sorting or culling of the cultured organisms and the washing or removal of surface materials or organisms, shall occur in or over the water after harvest, unless specifically approved by permit. All other processing and processing facilities shall be located on land and, in addition to these provisions, shall be governed by the policies and regulations of other applicable sections of this Master Program, in particular provisions addressing commercial and industrial uses.
(10) Applicants shall include in their applications all information needed to conduct thorough evaluations of their aquaculture proposals, including but not limited to the following:
(a) Species to be reared;
(b) Aquaculture method(s);
(c) Anticipated use of any feed, pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics or other substances and their predicted impacts;
(d) Manpower/employment necessary for the project;
(e) Harvest and processing location, method and timing;
(f) Location and plans for any shoreside activities, including loading and unloading of the product and processing;
(g) Method of waste management and disposal;
(h) Existing environmental conditions, including best available background information on water quality, tidal variations, prevailing storm wind conditions, current flows, flushing rates, aquatic and benthic organisms and probable impacts on water quality, biota, currents, littoral drift and any existing shoreline or water uses. Further baseline studies may be required depending upon the adequacy of available information, existing conditions, the nature of the proposal and probable adverse environmental impacts. Baseline monitoring shall be at the applicant’s expense unless otherwise provided for;
(i) Method(s) of predator control;
(j) Use of lights and noise generating equipment over water that minimizes interference with surrounding uses; and
(k) Other pertinent information deemed necessary by the city.
(11) Potential locations for aquaculture are relatively restricted within Stanwood due to specific requirements for water quality, temperature, flows, oxygen content, adjacent land uses, wind protection, and commercial navigation. The technology associated with some forms of present-day aquaculture is still in its formative stages and experimental. Therefore, some latitude will be provided in development of this use as well as its potential impact on existing uses and natural systems.
(12) Aquaculture should not be permitted in areas where it would result in a net loss of ecological functions. Impacts to ecological functions shall be mitigated according to the mitigation sequence described in WAC 173-26-020.
(13) A conditional use permit is required for new or expanded aquaculture in the shoreline high intensity, urban conservancy, and essential public utility shoreline environmental designation, and within the area defined as aquatic overlay in SMC 17.150.018. (Ord. 1373 § 46, 2014).