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The City of Walla Walla is updating its Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO), found in Chapter 21.04 of the City’s municipal code. The CAO is a set of rules that are designed to protect environmentally sensitive ecosystems, public health, safety and natural resources in compliance with the state's Growth Management Act (GMA).
A draft of the 2026 Critical Areas Code Amendments table is available on the City website.
Key features of the update include creation of a minimum 100-foot buffer; stronger disconnected buffer provisions; removal of shoreline master program regulations; and improved definitions.
The updated ordinance will have a public hearing before the Planning Commission on Sept. 14, 2026, and will be presented during the Walla Walla City Council work session on Sept 21. It will then have a public hearing at the City Council regular meeting on Oct. 14, and go before the Council for adoption on Oct. 28.
This update is required under the GMA, which says cities must regularly review and improve their rules for protecting critical environmental areas and public safety. The CAO update is happening alongside the update to the City’s Comprehensive Plan 2046, which guides growth and environmental policies for the next 20 years.
The City must update how streams and riparian (riverbank) habitats are classified, and new standards are required for buffer areas that protect waterways. The GMA requires cities to use the best available science (BAS) when writing rules that protect these critical environmental areas.
Walla Walla is in a dryland ecosystem. Within dryland ecosystems, Washington Department of Fish And Wildlife’s science calls for cities to set a site‑specific Riparian Management Zone (RMZ) area with a 100-foot minimum width of existing riparian vegetation, whichever is greater. This distance is generally needed to remove most pollutants and protect water quality. This will significantly increase buffer width requirements for both fish‑bearing and non‑fish‑bearing streams in Walla Walla.
The waterways within Walla Walla that are covered by the updated CAO are:
- Bryant Creek
- Caldwell Creek
- Garrison Creek
- Reser Creek
- Russell Creek
- Stone Creek
- Titus Creek
- Yellowhawk Creek
- All other creeks within city limits (intermittent channels)
 Map showing the streams and piped streams; the current buffer zones; and the locations where the 100-foot Riparian Management Zone should be applied within Walla Walla city limits
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