"Preserving The Equestrian Way Of Life"  

 
KING COUNTY LEGAL CODES

links and references

King County Codes: Rural equestrian community trails
(KCC 21A.14.350-410)


21A.14.350 Rural equestrian community trail preservation – purpose. The purposes of the rural equestrian community trail protection and improvement requirements set forth in this chapter are to promote the preservation of equestrian communities in King County as a valuable element of rural character and lifestyle. King County intends to accomplish these purposes in a flexible manner that provides incentives to and minimizes costs to private property owners, provides protection from liability for property owners with trails on their property, and does not reduce permitted residential densities in subdivisions and short subdivisions. (Ord. 14045 § 36, 2001).

 

21A.14.360 Rural equestrian community trails – general applicability.

A. The county may accept the voluntary grant of an easement for a rural equestrian community trails [trail] consistent with K.C.C. 21A.14.350 through 21A.14.390 from any development when such development contains any existing historically established rural equestrian community trail, and when located in the RA, A or F zones. The residents or tenants of the development shall be provided access to any such trail provided hereunder for use consistent with the function of the trail. The area of any such trail provided hereunder shall be counted as part of the site for purposes of density and floor area calculations. The application of this section shall not reduce the allowed density within a residential subdivision or short subdivision. The county may also accept the voluntary grant of an easement for a rural equestrian community trail consistent with K.C.C. 21A.14.350 through 21A.14.390 when there is no development proposed for the property.

B The rural equestrian community trails provisions apply to any property located in the RA, A or F zones.

4. Development proposals for government/business service uses denoted in the permitted use table in K.C.C. 21A.08.060. (Ord. 16267 §75, 2008: Ord. 14259 § 9, 2001: Ord. 14045 § 37, 2001).

 

21A.14.365 Rural equestrian community trails - notification.

A. The department shall notify every applicant for a plat, short plat, boundary line adjustment, clearing and grading permit, conditional use permit, building permit for new construction or additions to existing structures, or zone reclassification in the RA, A or F zones on the opportunity to voluntarily grant an easement for a rural equestrian community trail in accordance with Ordinance 14259.

B. The department shall notify the department of natural resources and parks of every application for a plat, short plat, boundary line adjustment, clearing and grading permit, conditional use permit, building permit for new construction or additions to existing structures, or zone reclassification in the RA, A or F zones. (Ord. 16267 §76, 2008: Ord. 14259 § 10, 2001).

 

21A.14.370 Rural equestrian community trails – authority.  The county shall accept a voluntary grant of easement for the preservation or relocation of a rural equestrian community trail in the RA, A or F zone whenever:

A. The department makes a determination in writing that:

  1. The equestrian community trail is listed or mapped on an inventory of equestrian community trails maintained by the King County parks and recreation department*. The department shall field verify the presence of a trail where an inventory indicates the general location of a trail that has not yet been field verified:

2. The equestrian community trail connects to a state, county or other trail open to the public;

3. The equestrian community trail, following a site inspection by the department of natural resources and parks, is reasonably fit for use as a rural equestrian community trail;

4. If the equestrian community trail traverses or impacts an environmentally sensitive area, it can be modified to meet code requirements for trails in sensitive areas; and 5. Permanent protection or relocation of an equestrian community trail can be accomplished without interference with allowed uses and development of the subject property, and the site can be developed without interference with the trail and allows for future owners of the property to access historically existing or public trails in the vicinity of the site.

B. If the trail is proposed to be granted as part of a mitigation package for a development proposal, the department of permitting and environmental review determines and reports to the department of natural resources that permanent protection or relocation of an equestrian community trail can be accomplished without interference with the proposed use and development of the subject property, and the site can be developed without interference with the trail and in a manner that allows future owners of the property to access historically existing or public trails in the vicinity that are linked to the subject site. The department of permitting and environmental review shall report its findings in writing. (Ord. 17420 § 101, 2012: Ord. 16267 §77, 2008: Ord. 14259 § 11, 2001: Ord. 14045 § 38, 2001).

*Reviser’s note: The King County department of natural resources and parks is apparently intended.

 

21A.14.380 Rural equestrian community trails – location and design standards. The following design standards apply to rural equestrian community trails provided pursuant to this chapter located within the RA, A or F zones.

A. An on-site rural equestrian community trail should be retained at its existing location unless that location impairs the use of the property as intended by the applicant. A rural equestrian trail retained in the existing location shall not require any upgrades or improvements, except for maintenance required by this section. The trail may be relocated to a location within the street right-of-way or to another corridor separate from a street right-of-way, provided that whatever alternative is used preserves the same connections as the original trail to an existing public park or trail in the vicinity of the subject property. The preferred place for a relocated trail is out of the right-of-way or separated from the paved surface and road shoulder by a berm, ditch or other separation. Trails may only be relocated to a street right-of-way when meeting the standards in subsection E of this section. A tax credit pursuant to the Public Benefit Rating System may only be given for trails relocated off the road right-of-way. The trail location shall be preserved by appropriate easements or dedications.

B. Corridors for trails located outside a street right-of-way shall be ten feet wide, or six feet wide if the trail will be located along a property line and additional corridor space can reasonably be expected to be preserved on the abutting property and the corridor is not encumbered by any structures adjacent to the corridor.

C. If permitted by K.C.C. chapter 21A.24, an existing or relocated rural equestrian community trail may be located in a designated sensitive area buffer.

D. Rural equestrian community trails that are not located within street rights-of-way, should be natural, visually and functionally unobtrusive, and as low-impact as possible.

E. Relocated or new rural equestrian community trails within public or private road rights-of-way shall be designed consistent with adopted King County Road Standards (KCRS, Section 3.11), as supplemented by the following standards:

  1. The trail shall be located to provide access to a local equestrian travel corridor through the project site and adjacent properties, as determined by the King County department of transportation in cooperation with the local equestrian community.

  2. The preferred design is a trail separated from the paved roadway by a berm, ditch, tree cover or other natural obstacle; the center of the trail tread shall be at least eight feet of horizontal distance from the paved roadway edge.

  3. When a separated trail cannot be provided, a soft-surfaced ninety-six inch-wide roadway shoulder path shall be installed on all roads other than local access streets, where a forty-eight inches shoulder path shall be sufficient.

  4. All trails shall have an all-weather tread of thirty-six to forty-eight inches.

  5. The roadway shall include appropriate surface treatment to reduce slippage at roadway/trail crossings.

  6. Appropriate signs shall be provided to indicate the location of street crossings for trails, with emphasis on arterials and subcollector street.

F. Relocated or new rural equestrian community trails not located in a right-of-way shall be designed to the King County Road Standards, KCRS, Section 3.11.A.2. (Ord. 16267 §78, 2008: Ord. 14259 § 12, 2001 Ord. 14045 § 39, 2001).

 

21A.14.390 Rural equestrian community trails - maintenance and operation.

A. Once a trail easement has been granted to the county as provided by this chapter, it shall remain free from structural obstructions or other permanent or temporary obstacles. A rural equestrian community trails [trail] shall be open to the public for recreational use by equestrians and pedestrians. Equestrian and pedestrian use does not include use by motor vehicles, bicycles, roller skates, skateboards or other mechanized modes of transportation. However, the department of natural resources and parks may authorize use by motor vehicles in limited circumstances, such as for maintenance, emergencies or trail crossings.

B. The trail easement shall set forth the responsibility for trail maintenance. Trails within dedicated street rights-of-way shall be maintained by the department of transportation or its successor agency. Trails within easements granted to King County shall be maintained by the department of natural resources and parks. The county may contract with a local user group or parks district for maintenance of the trail.

C. Trails established under this section are subject to the rules and enforcement measures for use of facilities for King County parks in K.C.C. chapter 7.12.

D. An easement governing the use and operation of a rural equestrian community trail being granted under Ordinance 14259 shall be granted by the property owner to the county. In preparing the easement, the department of natural resources and parks is authorized to negotiate the terms of the easement on matters such as the allowed use of the easement, whether the easement includes indemnification requirements, the maintenance of the easement, the relocation of the easement, and whether the easement is permanent or for a term of years, depending on the value of the property as a rural equestrian community trail. The easement shall be consistent with Ordinance 14259. (Ord. 14259 § 13, 2001: Ord. 14045 § 40, 2001).

 

21A.14.410 Rural equestrian community trails - annual report. The executive shall report to the council annually by July 31, in the form of an electronic and a paper copy filed with the clerk of the council, who shall distribute electronic copies to all councilmembers, on the implementation of the rural equestrian community trail incentives and regulations adopted by Ordinance 14259 and for the implementation of the active trail linkage provisions of K.C.C. 20.36.100.A.5, starting in 2012.

A. For the rural equestrian community trail incentives and regulations, the report shall include the following:

  1. Miles of community trail and acreage accepted in the equestrian-pedestrian-bicycle trail linkage category of the public benefit rating system program;

  2. Status of field verification and mapping of community trails;

  3. Regulatory issues and proposed amendments;

  4. Implementation issues;

  5. Response from equestrian user groups, landowners and citizens;

  6. Status of agreements with other jurisdictions or private individuals or groups concerning operations and maintenance;

  7. A map of verified trails and non-verified trails;

  8. Costs associated with trail maintenance and improvements; and

  9. Other relevant information pertaining to the incentive and regulatory program.

B. For the active trail linkage provisions of K.C.C. 20.36.100.A.5, the report shall include the following:

  1. Numbers of trail linkages accepted into the active trail linkage category of the public benefit rating system program;

  2. Estimates of use volumes for active trail linkages;

  3. Implementation issues;

  4. A description of efforts with a trail advocacy group in identifying potential trail linkages, including numbers of linkages identified;

  5. General description of the extent to which the linkages have impacted the utility of the system for recreation, commuting, transportation and public health; and

  6. Costs associated with trail maintenance and improvements.

(Ord. 16942 § 4, 2010: Ord. 14259§ 14, 2001).

 from KCC website, March 2013