CITY OF DES MOINES SHORELINE MASTER PROGRAM

Des Moines Shoreline Master Program
Dwelling 3 . A building designed exclusively for residential purposes, including one-family,
duplex, townhouse, and multiple dwellings, which is constructed in accordance with the city
buildings and construction code of Des Moines Municipal Code, but not including hotels or
motel units having no kitchens.
Ecological functions 1 . Also referred to as “shoreline functions,” meaning the work performed
or role played by the physical, chemical, and biological processes that contribute to the
maintenance of the aquatic and terrestrial environments that constitute the shoreline's natural
ecosystem.
Ecosystem-wide processes 1 . The suite of naturally occurring physical and geologic processes of
erosion, transport, and deposition; and specific chemical processes that shape landforms within a
specific shoreline ecosystem and determine both the types of habitat and the associated
ecological functions.
Enhancement, wetlands 3 . The manipulation of the physical, chemical, or biological characteristics
of a wetland site to heighten, intensify, or improve specific function(s) or to change the growth stage
or composition of the vegetation present. Enhancement is undertaken for specified purposes such as
water quality improvement, floodwater retention, or wildlife habitat. Enhancement results in a
change in some wetland functions and can lead to a decline in other wetland functions, but does not
result in a gain in wetland acres. Activities typically consist of planting vegetation, controlling
nonnative or invasive species, modifying site elevations or the proportion of open water to influence
hydroperiods, or some combination of these activities.
Environmentally sensitive areas 3 . Any of those areas of the city which are subject to natural
hazards or those landform features which in their natural state carry, hold, or purify water; support
unique, fragile, or valuable natural resources including fish, wildlife, and other organisms and their
habitat; provide flood protection; provide shoreline stabilization; provide ground water recharge;
maintain stream flow; stabilize slope and shoreline bluffs; stabilize soil; and control erosion.
Environmentally sensitive areas include the following landform features: hillsides, wetlands,
streams, areas of special flood hazard, critical aquifer recharge areas, fish and wildlife habitat
conservation areas, and the protective buffers necessary to protect the public health, safety, and
welfare, each as defined in this chapter.
Erosion hazard areas 3 . Areas designated by the “King County Sensitive Areas Map Folio” which,
according to the United States Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service Soil Survey,
King County Area Washington issued November 1973, have severe to very severe erosion hazard
potential. These soil map units include Alderwood gravely sandy loam (AgD), Alderwood-Kitsap
soil (AkF), Kitsap silt loam (KpD), and Coastal beaches (Cb).
Essential public facilities 3 . Public facilities that are typically difficult to site, such as airports, state
education facilities, and state or regional transportation facilities as defined in RCW 47.06.140, state
and local correctional facilities, solid waste handling facilities, and in-patient facilities including
substance abuse facilities, mental health facilities, group homes, and secure community transition
facilities as defined in RCW 71.09.020.
KEY: 1. RCW or WAC 2. 1988 SMP Glossary 3. City Zoning Code 4. New Definition
Department of Ecology approval effective November 1, 2010
118 Adopted by City of Des Moines Ordinance No. 1502