When and Why Do I need a Critical Areas Designation?
If your property is in unincorporated King County, in certain instances, a Critical Areas Designation (CAD) is mandatory. This post explains what a CAD is and whether you need one.
What is a CAD?
The Critical Areas Designation process is used to determine what critical areas are present on a parcel, and the regulatory implications of those critical areas. The process is mandatory on all sites that will need a new on-site septic system or well. It’s optional in other cases.
One of the benefits of the CAD is that the decisions made during that process are vested for five years. This protects you from changes to code (and buffer widths), and potential staff errors. You can proceed in designing your site with certainty about constraints.
Why would I get a CAD if I don’t have to?
Situations when you might opt to do a CAD, although it’s not mandatory:
- You’re purchasing property, and want to understand potential limitations for future development before you commit;
- You’re selling property, and want to be sure that the buyer has all the relevant information;
- You’re planning a major addition or accessory building, and want to understand the limitations before you spend money and time on site design;
- You’re thinking about doing something on the property in the next five years, and want to understand whether it would be allowed.
King County has a handout about the Critical Areas Designation process that can be found here.