“Camera store” means an establishment that sells camera and photographic equipment and accessories. Although primarily offering retail services, camera stores may include classes and accessory printing and processing functions.

“Canopy” means a roof-like structure made of any material that projects from the wall of a building and overhangs a sidewalk.

“Capital improvement” means any substantial physical facility built by expending public monies. The construction of schools, highways, public sewer and water systems, landscaping a park, or the purchase of and for a public building or use are all examples of capital improvements.

“Capital improvement program” means a government schedule of permanent improvements budgeting to match the government’s financial resources. The capital improvement program is usually projected six years in advance and updated annually.

“Car wash” means a building, or portion thereof, containing facilities for washing automobiles utilizing mechanical devices.

“Caretaker’s house” means an accessory building for the sole use of a person or persons employed on the premises.

“Carnival” means a temporary commercial entertainment with rides, games, etc., for the general public.

“Carport” means a structure to house or protect motor vehicles owned or operated by the occupants of the main building which is open to the weather for at least 40 percent of the total area of its sides.

“Carrying capacity” means the maximum number of units that can be accommodated by a facility without reducing the efficiency of that facility. Carrying capacity is used to measure the ability of a facility to accommodate more units. For example, the carrying capacity of a roadway is the maximum number of vehicles that can pass over a given section of a lane in one direction during a given time period. For recreation areas, the carrying capacity is the number of persons that can utilize the elements (play equipment, basketball courts, benches, etc.) at any given point in time.

“Catering” business means an establishment that prepares food on site and delivers it to another location for consumption. Caterers may also provide party planning and occasional hourly labor for special events.

“Cemetery” means a place for the burial or interment of dead persons or household pets.

“Census” means the official count of the population, and its age, gender, and social and economic characteristics, conducted on a decennial basis by the Bureau of the Census of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

“Certificate of occupancy (occupancy permit)” means the official certification that a premises conforms to the provisions of this code (and the building code) and may be used or occupied. Such a certificate is granted for new construction or for alteration or additions to existing structures. Unless such a certificate is issued for new construction, a structure cannot be occupied.

Channel, Drainage. See “Drainage channel.”

“Channel migration zone” (SMP) means the area along a river within which the channel(s) can be reasonably predicted to migrate over time as a result of natural and normally occurring hydrological and related processes when considered with the characteristics of the river and its surroundings. For the purpose of this code the CMZ excludes areas separated from the active river channel by legally existing artificial structures that are likely to restrain channel migration, including but not limited to flood control facilities, transportation facilities, and structures built above or constructed to remain intact through the 100-year flood.

“Chattels” means moveable articles of personal property, such as household goods or removable fixtures.

“City” means the city of Stanwood.

“City Hall” means the chief administrative building of a city or municipal government.

“City standards” means the street and utility standards and specifications as provided in SMC Title 14.

“Civic uses” means public-oriented uses, such as but not limited to schools, police stations, houses of worship, libraries, fire stations, museums, community centers, or community government offices.

“Clearing” means the destruction and removal of vegetation by manual, mechanical, or chemical methods.

“Clinic” means a building designed and used for medical, dental, psychiatric, or chiropractic services for the treatment of outpatients only.

“Closed record appeal” means an appeal of a decision or action that is based solely on the existing record, and for which no public hearing is held and no new public testimony is accepted.

“Club” means buildings or facilities owned or operated by a corporation, association, person or persons for a social, educational, fraternal, civic, religious, or recreational purpose, but not primarily for profit or to render a service that is customarily carried on as a business.

“Clubhouse” means a building used to house a social organization or club, including those associated with golf courses.

“Cluster development” means a division of land into lots for use as single-family detached building sites, where said lots are arranged into groups having area and yard measurements less than that required as stated in the tables of dimensional and density requirements for various zoning districts.

“Collector road” means a road that provides for traffic movement between arterial roads and local (residential) streets, and direct access to abutting properties.

“Commercial use” means the use of any structure or property for a purpose directly related to the sale of goods or the furnishing of services of any kind.

“Commercial vehicle home basing” means the parking and maintenance of two or more vehicles in operable condition on property wherein resides a person who uses them in his or her business.

“Commercial zone” means a land use zone which allows commercial or mercantile activities as defined in this code.

“Commission” means the planning commission of the city of Stanwood.

“Common area” means the total area not designed for rental or sale to tenants and that is available for common use by all tenants or groups of tenants and their guests, including such areas as parking lots and their appurtenances, lobbies, malls, sidewalks, landscaped areas, public rest rooms, truck and service facilities, etc.

“Community center” means a building or buildings and related grounds used for social, civic, or recreational purposes and owned and operated by a nonprofit institution or organization and open to the general public on an equal basis and providing activities such as classes, meetings, meals, counseling, daycare/senior care or similar functions. A community center may also include activities such as outdoor or indoor recreation and community gardens.

“Community garden” means land set aside for collective use for an organization or for the general public to grow produce and/or flowers. No marijuana shall be grown in such gardens.

“Compatible use” means a use that is capable of existing in harmony with other uses situated in its immediate vicinity.

“Completely enclosed building” means a building designed and constructed with all exterior walls of the structure solid from the ground to the roof line, and containing no openings except for windows and doors that are designed to be closed.

“Completeness (of a permit application)” means the information, reports, and documents submitted by the applicant that address or discuss each of the areas required by the applicant form and/or as a result of the pre-application meeting. Completeness does not mean that the information, reports, and documents submitted are sufficient or adequate to assess the impact of the proposed development on the environment, but simply that the requested information, reports, and documents have been submitted.

“Comprehensive Plan” means the goals, objectives and policies, documents and maps adopted by motion by the council to guide the physical development of the city to coordinate city programs, services and controls, and to promote the general welfare.

“Computer equipment sales” means an establishment selling computer hardware software and providing related repair services.

“Concept plan” means a preliminary plan for the development of property indicating: contour lines; any significant existing natural features, such as rock outcroppings and stands of trees; proposed building layouts with approximate square footage of floor area; proposed off-street parking areas and, if required, off-street loading areas; and the proposed internal (within the lot) circulation system.

Concession Stand, Agricultural or Produce. See “Agricultural or produce concession stand.”

Concession Stand, Event. See “Event concession stand.”

“Conditional use” means a use listed among those classified in a given zone, but permitted only after a public hearing by the hearing examiner and granting of a conditional use permit imposing such conditions as will make the use compatible with other permitted uses in the same district.

“Condominium” means a form of ownership of property where the purchaser normally acquires title to a part of a building and/or a portion of land, and an undivided interest in the common areas and facilities, as distinguished from a cooperative, where the purchaser usually acquires stock that represents his interest in the property. Where the building so acquired consists of bedrooms with individual baths or combined bedrooms and living rooms with individual baths and/or has separate entrances for each unit, each unit shall be considered a separate dwelling unit or a separate hotel room for the purposes of this code.

“Confectionery” means an establishment engaged solely in the preparation and production of candy products for direct retail sale to the consumer on the premises.

“Conflict of interest” means any conflict between an individual’s private interests and his or her actions as a government employee or appointed or elected government official.

“Congregate care facility” means a residential facility for the elderly and/or handicapped persons. The facility must have a central lobby, common dining area, hobby and/or recreational rooms. The fee structure shall include at least one meal per day in the common dining area. Accessory support uses for the tenants, such as pharmacies, banking and other internal services, may be included. Congregate care facilities may include the definition for skilled nursing facility and/or short term rehab facility.

“Conservation area” means a tract of land that has protected status in order to ensure that natural features, cultural heritage or biota are safeguarded. A conservation area may be a nature reserve, a park, a land reclamation project or other area.

“Construct” means to build, erect, attach, hang, place, suspend, or affix, and shall also include the painting of signs.

“Construction” means the building of, or substantial improvement to, any structure or the clearing, filling, or excavation of any land. It shall also mean any alterations in the size or use of any existing structure or the appearance of any land. When appropriate to the context, “construction” refers to the act of construction or the result of construction.

“Construction and home building supplies” include lumber, hardware, plumbing fixtures, electrical goods, landscaping, and similar products used to build and maintain structures and property. The use may include outdoor storage or sales areas.

“Contaminant” means a substance which, when distributed in the soil, air, or water, renders the resource impure.

Contiguous. Lands are “contiguous” if they actually adjoin each other and share a common boundary.

“Contract zoning or rezoning” means an agreement between the property owner and the city that said property owner, as a condition for rezoning, will record certain deed restrictions on the property in question. These restrictions are in addition to those imposed by the requirements for the zoning district in which the property is located. They may involve further restrictions on use, height, bulk, years, signs, or any other aspect of land development.

“Conversion” means a change of use or purpose to which a structure, building, or land is put.

“Corner lot” means a lot with two or more front lot lines located at the intersection of two streets or a lot bounded on two sides by a curving street and any two chords of which form an angle of 120 degrees or less. The point of intersection of the street lot lines is the “corner.” In the case of a corner lot with curved street lines, the corner is that point on the street lot line nearest to the point of intersection of the tangents described above. The remaining lot lines shall be considered side lot lines.

“Corner lot frontage” means all the property between two intersecting streets, measured along the line of the street, or if the street is dead-ended, then all of the property abutting on two sides between an intersecting street and the dead-end of the street. This definition also includes ingress-egress easements when used as the only means of access.

“Cottage housing” means a minimum of four small detached single-family homes located together in a neighborhood format around common open space and intended to provide higher density alternative housing choices for retirees, singles, or smaller families.

“Council” means the city council of the city of Stanwood.

“County” means the county of Snohomish, state of Washington.

“Court” means an open unoccupied space other than a yard on the same lot with a building and which is bounded on two or more sides by such building.

“Courthouse” means a building in which courts of law are regularly held.

“Critical areas,” at a minimum, means areas which include wetlands, streams, and rivers; areas with a critical recharging effect on aquifers used for potable water; fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas; frequently flooded areas; geologically hazardous areas, including unstable slopes; and associated areas and ecosystems.

“Critical facility” means a facility for which even a slight chance of flooding, inundation, or impact from a hazard event might be too great. Critical facilities include, but are not limited to, essential public facilities, schools, nursing homes, hospitals, fire and emergency response installations, and installations that produce, use or store hazardous materials or hazardous waste.

“Crops” means cultivated plants or agricultural produce, such as grain, vegetables, or fruit. Marijuana plants and marijuana products shall not be included within this definition.

“Cul-de-sac” means a local street having only one means of vehicular access to another street and terminating at its other in a circular-shaped turn around. This definition of cul-de-sac shall in no way be interpreted to include a dead-end street.

“Cultural/entertainment” means land use activities which offer passive entertainment to the general public. This definition includes, but is not limited to, museums, art galleries and entertainment venues.

“Cumulative impacts” (SMP) are the results of incremental actions when added to past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions. Cumulative impacts can be deemed substantial and subject to mitigation conditions even though they may be comprised of individual actions having relatively minor impacts.

“Curb cut” means an indentation or depression through or into a raised curb forming a driveway or walkway.

“Curb level” means the level of the established curb in front of a building measured at the center of such front. Where no curb elevation has been established, the mean elevation of the finished lot grade immediately adjacent to a building shall be considered the “curb level.” (Ord. 1444 § 2, 2017; Ord. 1398 § 11, 2015; Ord. 1376 § 2, 2014; Ord. 1373 § 5, 2014; Ord. 1356 § 17, 2013; Ord. 1344 § 2, 2013; Ord. 1308 § 2, 2012; Ord. 1294 § 5, 2011; Ord. 1268 § 1, 2010; Ord. 1251 § 2, 2009; Ord. 1164 § 4, 2004; Ord. 1110 § 3, 2002; Ord. 1084 § 3, 2000; Ord. 984, 1997; Ord. 929 Ch. 5, 1995).