Welcome! to the Planning Division of Community Development.  The Planning Division administers a variety of County land use and environmental regulations including zoning and land use, SEPA, critical areas, i.e., wetlands, floodplains, riparian areas, wildlife habitat areas, shellfish habitat areas, etc., shorelines, subdivisions, i.e., short plats and boundary lot adjustments, grading, clearing, filling, forestry conversions, driveway approaches and drainage issues on the Long Beach Peninsula.  The Planning Division reviews development proposals, conducts on-site inspections and prepares land use applications for public hearings before the County Hearing Examiner(s), Planning Commission and Board of Adjustment.

Critical Areas and Resources Lands Ordinance No. 147 (CARL)

1. Emergency action.  Emergency actions include those types of activities necessary to address an unanticipated and imminent threat to the public health, safety, or the environment, which requires immediate action within a time period too short to allow full compliance with this ordinance.  Activity within this category must still use reasonable methods and practices to minimize any impact to the critical area of resources land.
2. Agricultural operations.  Existing and ongoing agricultural operations including related development and activities, which do no result in expansion into a critical area of its buffers or do not result in an increase in impact to a critical area are exempt.  This includes such activities as mowing hay, repairing fencing, repairing barns, spreading sand on existing cranberry bogs, etc.  New development and/or expansion of existing operations shall comply with the provision of Ordinance No. 147.
3. Maintenance, repair, and operation of existing structures, utilities, sewage disposal systems, water systems, drainage facilities, ponds, flood controls activities, electric and communications facilities, public and private roads and driveways.
4. Maintenance Activities accessory to a single-family residential use.  This includes such activities as landscaping a yard, installing raised garden beds, dredging an existing pond, re-rocking and existing road or driveway.  Repairing an existing septic system, etc.  New development and/or expansion of existing structures shall comply with the provisions of Ordinance No. 147.
5. Minor Modification of buildings.  Modifications of an existing building that does not expand the building food print area by more than 15 percent or increase the septic effluent in considered exempt.  Replacement of mobile or manufactured homes that does not increase the number of bedrooms or exacerbate nonconformity with critical area setbacks or buffer standards with Ordinance No. 147 is also considered exempt.
6. Forest practices.  Forest practices covered under Chapter 76.09 RCW and Title 222 WAC is exempt.  Ordinance No. 147 also exempts other types of activities including the placement of navigational aids, site investigation work work such as surveys and percolation tests, passive recreational use and noxious weed (i.e. Spartina control.)

Why Do I Need a Survey?

A survey, or proof thereof, prior to the issuance of any development permit is required in the following subdivisions, neighborhoods or areas:

• Avalon Addition
• Bay Center
• Blocks A, B, & C of Ocean Park Beach
• Bungalow Addition
• Chinook
• Clinton Addition
• Dietrich Addition
• Harbor View Tracts
• Leonards Block
• Mar Vista

• Nahcotta
• North Beach Addition to Ilwaco
• Ocean Ridge Tracts
• Oceanview Home Site
• Riggs Addition
• Rushlight Plats
• Sealand
• South Addition to Ocean Park
• South Half of Section 12-11-33

Metal pipes or rods located on a parcel do not qualify as a survey without some type of documentation that they were set by a licensed surveyor.

Demonstrate that a survey by a licensed surveyor has been completed for a parcel would include one of the following:  locating marked corners with at least one corner having a pipe or rod bearing the surveyor's identification tag, or presenting a map prepared and stamped by a licensed surveyor identifying the established property corners.

If there is any uncertainty or question about your property boundaries, Pacific County recommends that a survey by a licensed surveyor be completed.  A survey will help property owners avoid costly mistakes such as building structures, driveways, fences and landscaping within property line setbacks or on adjoining properties.

Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance No. 116A

1. New construction and substantial improvement of any residential structure shall have the lowest floor, including basement, elevated one foot or more above the base flood elevation.
2. Fully enclosed areas below the lowest floor subject to flooding are prohibited, unless the structure is designed to automatically equalized hydrostatic flood forces on exterior walls by allowing for the entry and exit of floodwaters.  Designs for meeting this requirement shall be certified by either a registered professional engineer or architect, or must meet or exceed the following minimum criteria:

• A minimum of two openings having a total net area of not less than one square inch for every square foot of enclosed area subject to flooding shall be provided.
• The bottom of all openings shall be no higher than one foot above grade.
• Openings may be equipped with screens, louvres, or other coverings or devices provided that they permit the automatic entry and exit of floodwaters.

1. New construction and substantial improvement of any commercial, industrial or other nonresidential structure shall either have the lowest floor, including basement, elevated one foot or more above the level of the base flood elevation.
2. Where elevating a structure is rendered impractical due to site constraints, new construction and/or substantial improvement of any commercial, industrial or other nonresidential structure below the base flood elevation may be considered provided the following criteria are met:

• The structure is floodproofed so that the area below one foot above the base flood level is watertight with walls substantially impermeable to the passage of water
• The structure or its improvements have structural components capable of resisting hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads and effects of buoyancy;
• The design and construction are certified by a registered professional engineer or architect, certifying that the proposed design and methods of construction are in accordance with accepted standards of practice for meeting provisions of this subsection based on their development and/or review of the structural design, specifications and plans.
• All utility and sanitary facilities shall be floodproofed and adequately designed to resist hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads and effects of buoyancy.

3. Nonresidential structures that are elevated and not floodproofed must meet the same standards for space below the lowest floor as described in the Residential Construction  section.
4. Applicant's floodproofing nonresidential buildings should contact their insurance agent or FEMA to determine how their property will be assessed for flood insurance premiums.

All manufactured homes to be placed, or substantially improved, within Flood Zone A or Flood Zone V shall be elevated on a permanent foundation such that the lowest floor of the manufacture home is one foot or more above the base flood elevation and shall be securely anchored to a foundation system in accordance with the provisions of Section 5.1-1(2) of Ordinance No. 116A.

The base flood elevation is established for individual properties by either a certified land surveyor or a professional engineer.  A Flood Elevation Certificate detailing the base flood elevation and the minimum construction elevation is then submitted with any development proposal within flood areas regulated under Pacific County Ordinance No. 116A, Flood Damage and Prevention.

This information is provided to inform you of Pacific County's requirements for residential and nonresidential construction within areas of special flood hazards as determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

These include areas within Flood Zone A, the 100-Year Flood Zone, and Flood Zone V, the Velocity Zone.  The Flood Zone A is a flood hazard designation reflecting the susceptibility of an area to experience a severe flooding event, typically seen once every 100 years.  The Flood Zone V is a flood hazard designation applied to coastal areas where a flooding event would be associated with wave action or extreme high tides and requires additional structural engineering consistent with Ordinance No. 116A.