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ORDINANCE Page 6 of 19 <br />“Critical aquifer recharge areas” means those areas with a critical recharging effect on aquifers <br />used for potable water, including areas where an aquifer that is a source of drinking water is <br />vulnerable to contamination that would affect the potability of the water, or is susceptible to <br />reduced recharge. <br />“Critical habitat” means the term defined and used in the Endangered Species Act. It is specific <br />geographic areas that contain features essential to the conservation of an endangered or <br />threatened species and may require special management and protection. Critical habitat may <br />also include areas that are not currently occupied by the species but are needed for its recovery. <br />“Culvert” means a short section of pipe placed in a stream and filled over in order to provide a <br />stream crossing water crossing structure that spans through a water course. <br />“Cumulative impacts” means the combined, incremental effects of human activity on critical <br />area functions and values. Cumulative impacts result when the effects of an action are added to <br />or interact with the effects of other actions in a particular place and within a particular time. It is <br />the combination of these effects, and any resulting environmental degradation that should be <br />the focus of cumulative impact analysis and changes to policies and permitting decisions. <br />“Development” means all structures, uses or other alterations or modifications of the natural <br />landscape occurring above or below ground or water on a particular lot. Within the riparian <br />habitat zone or the special flood hazard area, the definition of “development” shall also include <br />removal of substantial native vegetation, or alteration of natural site characteristics a land use <br />consisting of the construction or exterior alteration of structures; grading, dredging, drilling, or <br />dumping; filling; removal of sand, gravel, or minerals; bulkheading; driving of pilings; or any <br />project of a temporary or permanent nature that modifies structures, land, wetlands, buffers, or <br />shorelines and that does not fall within the allowable exemptions or exceptions contained in the <br />City of Everett Municipal Code.. <br />"Ecosystem functions" are the products, physical and biological conditions, and environmental <br />qualities of an ecosystem that result from interactions among ecosystem processes and <br />ecosystem structures. Ecosystem functions include, but are not limited to, sequestered carbon, <br />attenuated peak streamflows, aquifer water level, reduced pollutant concentrations in surface <br />and ground waters, cool summer in-stream water temperatures, and fish and wildlife habitats. <br />"Ecosystem values" are the cultural, social, economic, and ecological benefits attributed to <br />ecosystem functions. <br />“Emergencies” mean those activities necessary to prevent an immediate threat to public health, <br />safety, or welfare, or that pose an immediate risk of damage to private property and that <br />require remedial or preventive action in a timeframe too short to allow for compliance with the <br />requirements of the critical areas regulations. <br />“Enhancement” means an action which increases the functions and values of a stream or <br />wetland or terrestrial ecosystem the manipulation of the physical, chemical, or biological <br />characteristics of a wetland, stream, or buffer to heighten, intensify, or improve specific <br />functions. Enhancement results in the gain of selected functions but may also lead to a decline <br />in other functions. Enhancement does not result in a gain in wetland or buffer..