30.29.100 New structures and land divisions within UGA - public sewer connection required - exceptions.
(1) Inside a UGA, connection to a public sewer is required as a condition of building permit issuance for any new structure or the substantial modification of an existing structure, or as a condition of approval of any new land division, including but not limited to subdivision, short subdivision, binding site plan, boundary line adjustment, and record of survey, unless one of the following exceptions applies:
(a) The new structure is an alteration, expansion, or replacement of an existing structure already utilizing an on-site sewage disposal system that has been tested and is certified to be functioning properly and the proposal does not require installation of a larger capacity on-site sewage disposal system;
(b) The new structure, consistent with the requirements of subtitle 30.5 SCC, construction codes, lawfully incorporates no sewerage effluent facility;
(c) The new structure is within an unsewered urban enclave;
(d) The new structure is a public facility and the sewer purveyor with jurisdiction, or that purveyor most likely to serve the area, certifies that the proposed facility is located in an area in which public sewer connection will not be available according to the requirements established in subsection (1)(g)(iii) of this section;
(e) The new structure is for single family residential use on a lot lawfully existing as of July 10, 1995;
(f) The land division application proposes creation of new lots from a lot lawfully existing as of July 10, 1995, where:
(i) the land division is within an unsewered urban enclave; and
(ii) the proposed new lots are no larger than the minimum lot size necessary, as determined by the director of the department, to accommodate an on-site sewage treatment system with the reserve area required by the county health department; or
(g) The land division application proposes creation of no more than two lots from a lot lawfully existing as of July 10, 1995, and in addition meets each of the following conditions:
(i) the land division is planned and designed to be provided with a full range of urban level services consistent with the development regulations adopted by the adjacent jurisdiction likely to be the purveyor of future urban services;
(ii) the design for the land division includes specific provisions for future accommodation of public sewers in a manner which will allow for future development at appropriate urban densities. The sewer purveyor with jurisdiction, or that purveyor most likely to serve the area, at its discretion, may require dry sewers and side sewer stub outs;
(iii) the sewer purveyor with jurisdiction, or that purveyor most likely to serve the area, certifies that either: the proposed land division is located in an area in which public sewer connection will not be available within the next six years, according to the purveyor’s capital facilities plan; or that extension of public sewers to the proposed land division is not technically feasible within the next six years, as documented through standard civil engineering methods consistent with Criteria for Sewage Works Design, published by the Washington State Department of Ecology;
(iv) the land division is configured in a manner which, in the judgment of the director of the department, provides reasonable assurance that subsequent redevelopment will be at minimum or greater than minimum urban densities as defined in SCC 30.23.020(2) when public sewer becomes available. A site plan for subsequent redevelopment is not required, and application under this section shall not vest or bind the property owner to a specific redevelopment plan. Future redevelopment shall be consistent with the plans and ordinances in effect at the time of application;
(v) one of the proposed new lots is no larger than the minimum lot size necessary to accommodate an on-site sewage treatment system with the reserve area required by the county health department; and
(vi) the director includes as a condition of subdivision or short subdivision approval a prohibition of further subdivision or short subdivision of the property until public sewer becomes available.
(2) Approval of any building permit or land division application utilizing one of the exceptions in subsection (1) of this section is contingent upon submittal of a legally binding agreement with the sewer purveyor with jurisdiction, or that purveyor most likely to serve the area, which must be recorded with the property records of the county and in a form acceptable to the director, in which the property owner and successors in interest agree to: annexation of the property by the future sewer purveyor, prompt connection with sanitary sewers when they become available, and participation without protest in any sewer Local Improvement District (LID) or Utility Local Improvement District (ULID), including agreement to pay any connection fees and monthly charges assessed by the sewer purveyor, LID, or ULID. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the ability of the applicant or any successor in interest to challenge the amount of any assessment.
(3) Approval of any building permit or land division approval utilizing the exceptions in subsection (1)(f) or (g) of this section is contingent upon submittal of a legally binding agreement with the city most likely to annex the property which must be recorded with the property records of the county and in a form acceptable to the director, in which the property owner and all successors in interest agree to annexation of the property to the city when proposed.
(4) This section shall not apply if the county health department or a state agency requires public sewer connection. (Added by Amended Ord. 02-064, Dec. 9, 2002, Eff date Feb. 1, 2003; Amended by Amended Ord. 22-062, Oct. 26, 2022, Eff date Jan. 1, 2023).