Critical Areas

 What are critical areas?

Critical areas are portions of the landscape afforded special protection because they provide unique environmental functions that are difficult, if not impossible, to replace, and they promote public health, safety, and welfare.

The City of Bellevue regulates six types of critical areas in its Land Use Code (LUC) 20.25H.025.

• Streams and riparian areas
• Wetlands
• Habitats for species of local importance
• Geological hazard areas
• Flood hazard areas
• Shorelines

Buffers and structure setbacks are then applied to the edges of these critical areas to protect their functions and values.

Why protect critical areas?

We all live downstream.
As cities grow and more area is covered by concrete and asphalt, watersheds lose vegetation, and more water and pollutants are washed downstream.Growth strains the ability of critical areas to provide important functions such as maintaining water quality, helping to reduce floods and stabilizing slopes. This strain has a cumulative effect, building up over time and reducing the ability of the remaining critical areas to function..

We all benefit from critical area functions.
Functions are the ecological benefits and services that critical areas and their buffers naturally provide. See development services information handout CA-1: Critical Areas Functions for a description of the functions of each critical area.

How are critical areas protected?

Critical Areas Ordinance
The city protects critical areas through its 2006 Critical Areas Ordinance (see below) -- contained in LUC 20.25H -- by prohibiting disturbance or modifications to critical areas unless specifically allowed in the code and by requiring buffers and building setbacks. 

Critical Areas Land Use Permit
Many activities are allowed within critical areas and their buffers and setbacks with a Critical Areas Land Use Permit from the City of Bellevue. To find out the requirements, contact the Land Use Division at 425-452-4188 or landusereview@bellevuewa.gov.

Shared benefit, shared responsibility
Because we all benefit from the functions provided by critical areas, we all bear a collective responsibility to act in the interest of our community, not just in the interest of our particular project or property.

Information Handouts and Training

Development Services handouts pertaining to critical areas

• CA-1, Critical Area Functions
• CA-2, Identify Existing Conditions Before You Design
• CA-3, Site Planning Resources
• CA-4, Hiring an Environmnetal Professional
• CA-5, Mitigation Plan Essentials
• CA-6, The Critical Areas Report Process
• CA-7, Maximum Residential Development Density on Sites with Critical Areas
• CA-8, Maximum Office Floor Area on Commercial Sites with Critical Areas

The Critical Areas Handbook (large file, 63 MB) is a detailed, step-by-step guide to aid in the development, installation, monitoring, and maintenance of small-scale environmental enhancement and restoration projects.

The city has also developed Tree Pruning Guidelines ( PDF, Flipbook ) to inform property owners about appropriate tree maintenance practices that are allowed in geological hazard critical areas.

Critical Areas Training
To expand knowledge among the professional practitioners and private property owners, the city offers training programs describing the six critical area types and numerous permitting scenarios. The city keeps a list of the professional service providers who have attended the training session. If you are interested in attending a session, contact the Land Use Division at 425-452-4188 or landusereview@bellevuewa.gov.

Critical Areas Ordinance Update

Back in 1987 the city broke new ground by being the first city in the nation to enact a Sensitive Areas Ordinance. Then in late 2001, Bellevue began the critical areas update process by taking a serious look at its policies and regulations to protect streams, wetlands, shorelines, and steep slopes.  The update process was a deliberate one to ensure that the city's response to the state Growth Management Act also fit with long-standing Bellevue principles.  This effort involved many Citizens Advisotry Committee meetings, Planning Commission meetings, open houses, public hearings and many citizens' comments.

In June 2006, the City Council adopted the proposed critical areas ordinances. The Land Use Code amendments were effective August 1, 2006. The adopted ordinances now live in the city's Land Use Code.

Full Text of Adopted Land Use Amendments 

• General Land Use Code (Ordinance 5683) 
• Critical Areas Ordinance (Ordinance 5680) 
• Shorelines Ordinance (Ordinance 5681) 
• Subdivisions and Planned Unit Developments (Ordinance 5682) 

If you have additional questions regarding critical areas, please contact the Land Use Division at 425-452-4188 or landusereview@bellevuewa.gov.