HomeMy WebLinkAboutportions of Ch. 18.15 JCCJefferson County Code
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The Jefferson County Code is current through Ordinance 6-18, passed July 2, 2018.
18.15.005 Classes established.
(1) The Jefferson County Comprehensive Plan establishes five principal land use classes for the county. Each class
permits a different level of activity. The general classes are urban growth areas, rural lands, resource lands, master
planned resorts and public lands.
(2) The individual land use categories within the classes are referred to as “districts.” This section of the Unified
Development Code provides development regulations by identifying uses and activities which may or may not be
established in these classes. These classes have been developed based on:
(a) Requirements of the Washington State Growth Management Act (Chapter 36.70A RCW);
(b) Natural systems and land capability;
(c) Existing land use patterns. [Ord. 8-06 § 1]
18.15.010 Urban growth areas (UGA).
There is currently one unincorporated UGA in Jefferson County: the Irondale and Port Hadlock urban growth area.
The Irondale and Port Hadlock UGA comprises three broad categories of urban land uses: urban residential; urban
commercial; and urban industrial. These Comprehensive Plan land use categories are further defined into “zoning
districts” that identify specific land use activities, densities and intensities of use allowed in the Irondale and Port
Hadlock UGA. The specific land use and zoning provisions of the Irondale and Port Hadlock UGA are contained in
Chapter 18.18 JCC. The urban provisions of Chapter 18.18 JCC shall be applied when urban services are available,
namely sewer facilities. [Ord. 9-09 § 2 (Exh. B); Ord. 8-06 § 1]
18.15.011 Transitional rural zoning for the Irondale and Port Hadlock urban growth area.
If sewer facilities are not yet available, transitional rural zoning provisions shall apply. The specific land use and
zoning provisions of the Irondale and Port Hadlock UGA that apply before sewer is available are contained in
Chapter 18.19 JCC. [Ord. 9-09 § 2 (Exh. B)]
18.15.015 Rural lands.
This land use class includes three categories: rural residential; rural commercial; and rural industrial. These
categories are further defined into specific “districts”:
(1) Rural Residential.
(a) Rural Residential 1 Unit/5 Acres (RR 1:5). The purpose of this district is to allow for continued residential
development in areas of Jefferson County consisting of relatively high density pre-existing patterns of
development, along the county’s coastal areas, and within areas within or adjacent to rural centers and rural
crossroads. In addition, this district seeks to support and foster Jefferson County’s existing rural residential
landscape and character by restricting new land divisions to a base density of one unit per five acres.
(b) Rural Residential 1 Unit/10 Acres (RR 1:10). This district provides a transitional area between the rural
residential one per five-acre district and the rural residential one unit per 20-acre district. Its intent is to
preserve open space, protect critical areas, provide for the continuation of small-scale agricultural and forestry,
and preserve and retain the rural landscape and character indigenous to Jefferson County.
(c) Rural Residential 1 Unit/20 Acres (RR 1:20). The purpose of this district is to provide a buffer in areas
adjacent to UGAs and designated forest and agricultural lands of long-term commercial significance, as well as
protecting areas identified as possessing area-wide environmental features which constrain development such
as shoreline areas or areas of steep and unstable slopes. The district also protects land from premature
conversion to higher residential densities prior to an established need.
(2) Rural Commercial.
(a) Rural Centers (Rural Village Center) (RVC). Rural village centers provide for most of the essential needs of
the surrounding rural population and the traveling public. These areas supply a variety of basic goods and
day-to-day services, while also providing a limited range of professional, public and social services. They are
typically small, unincorporated commercial and residential community centers that provide rural levels of
Jefferson County Code
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The Jefferson County Code is current through Ordinance 6-18, passed July 2, 2018.
service and serve as a focal point for the local population. The boundaries of the rural village centers are
predominantly defined by the contained, built environment as it existed in 1990 or before, as required by RCW
36.70A.070(5)(d). Designated rural village centers include: Quilcene and Brinnon.
(b) General Crossroads (GC). General crossroads are existing historic commercial areas that provide a broad
range of commercial goods and services for a larger population base in the northeastern part of Jefferson
County. There is one general crossroads designation identified in Jefferson County: SR 19/20 Intersection.
(c) Neighborhood/Visitor Crossroads (NC). Neighborhood/visitor crossroad districts serve the nearby rural
neighborhood and the commuting or traveling public. These historic areas typically provide an extended range
of goods and services by establishment of restaurants, taverns/bars, auto part stores, hotel/motels and a limited
range of specialty and professional services. There are five neighborhood crossroads identified in Jefferson
County: Mats Mats, Discovery Bay, Four Corners, Chimacum and Gardiner.
(d) Convenience Crossroads (CC). Convenience crossroads consist of a single commercial property at a
historical crossroads. Typically, the existing commercial use is a convenience or general store with associated
uses that provide a limited selection of basic retail goods and services for the local population and the
commuting or traveling public. Land uses are not oriented to markets beyond the local rural population. There
are three convenience crossroad designations in Jefferson County: Nordland, Beaver Valley and Wawa Point.
(3) Rural Industrial.
(a) Light Industrial/Manufacturing (LI/M). The purpose of this district is to provide for rural economic
development by regulating light industrial and manufacturing uses in the Quilcene area. The light industrial
uses and activities associated with this district are intended to be compatible with the rural character. There are
two light industrial/manufacturing districts in Jefferson County: Quilcene and Eastview.
(b) Glen Cove Light Industrial/Commercial (LI/C). The intent of this district is to facilitate economic
development and provide for a broader range of light industrial and associated commercial activities in the
Glen Cove area. Associated commercial activities are intended to directly serve the needs of the land use
activities existing within this district.
(c) Glen Cove Light Industrial (LI). The purpose of this district is to facilitate economic development and
provide for a broad range of light industrial uses. The light industrial uses and activities associated with this
district are intended to be compatible with the Glen Cove area.
(d) Heavy Industrial (HI). The intent of this district is to facilitate economic development and regulate
development of more intensive heavy industrial and manufacturing activities, including and associated with the
Port Townsend Paper Mill.
(e) Resource Based Industrial (RBI). This district recognizes existing forest resource-based industries in
Jefferson County, in particular active sawmills and related activities. The district is intended to facilitate the
continued operation of existing functional sawmills and related resource-based industrial activities in the
county. There are three resource-based industrial site designations in Jefferson County: Gardiner, Center
Valley, and the West End.
(4) Forest Transition Overlay 1 Unit/5 Acres (FTO 1:5). This category provides a transitional area between forest
resource lands and abutting rural residential lands characterized by pre-platted lots of density greater or equal to one
acre in size. The FTO category does not automatically attach to any lands, but parcel(s) may be approved for such
designation in accordance with the provisions of JCC 18.15.571. Its intent is to promote the continued viability of
resource-based activities in rural areas by minimizing the potential for conflict and incompatibility between these
uses and surrounding residential uses. [Ord. 8-06 § 1]