(1) Emergency construction or repair necessary to protect life or property from immediate damage by the elements. An emergency is an unanticipated event or occurrence which possess an imminent threat to public health and safety, to private or public property, or to the environment, and which requires immediate action within a time too short to allow full compliance. Once the threat to the public health, safety, or the environment has dissipated, the construction undertaken as a result of the previous emergency shall then be evaluated and brought into reasonable compliance with this chapter with due consideration given to the nature, type and extent of emergency responses and actions and after-the-fact permits may be required and other actions required to mitigate impacts;

(2) Normal maintenance or repair of existing buildings, structures, roads, utilities, levees, or drainage systems that do not require construction permits, provided the activity does not materially alter, encroach upon, or increase impacts to critical areas or associated buffers;

(3) Existing and ongoing agricultural activities normal or necessary to conduct general farming;

(4) Site investigative work necessary for land use application submittals such as surveys, soil logs, percolation tests and other related activities. In every case, critical area impacts should be minimized and disturbed areas shall be immediately restored;

(5) Passive recreational, scientific or educational activities, including, but not limited to: bicycling, bird watching, boating, canoeing, hiking, hunting, and fishing provided the activity does not alter the critical area or its buffer by changing existing topography, water conditions or water sources;

(6) The operation and maintenance of canals, waterways, drains, reservoirs, or other manmade facilities that now exist or are hereafter created or developed as a part of an irrigation system. Portions of historic waterways that were altered in order to facilitate irrigation delivery are subject to the mitigation requirements of this chapter if they are filled or if new irrigation lines or ditches are placed within wetlands or their required buffers;

(7) Maintenance of aboveground utility transmission lines and poles;

(8) Any streamside management project associated with a single-family residence or agricultural activity designed to achieve, through the use of native or natural vegetation and/or bioengineering alternatives, the functional properties of the critical area and carried out in conformance with a conservation plan or design developed through North Yakima County Conservation District, or by a qualified professional certified to develop such plans or designs according to best management practices. (Ord. 2124, § 2 (Att.), 2021.)