Zoning Map & Zoning Districts

Below is the Zoning Map for the City of Warrenton. Another way to check zoning is by using Clatsop County's Webmaps.

The City of Warrenton adopted Chapter 16 of the Municipal Code that manages land and water development within the community. The Code establishes zoning districts that regulate uses and development standards for all areas of the community.  There are also overlay districts that provide additional restrictions on the types and intensity of development that can occur.

Residential Zoning Districts

R-40 Low Density Residential

The Low Density Residential Zone is intended for areas which are physically isolated from the developed portions of the City, and for which extension of sewer and water services would be prohibitively expensive.

R-10 Intermediate Density Residential

The purpose of the Intermediate Density Residential Zone is to provide areas within the City which have the capacity to accommodate single-family dwellings in conventional subdivisions or planned unit developments. These areas are intended for service by municipal utilities and urban type street systems.

R-M Medium Density Residential

The Medium Density Residential Zone is intended to accommodate a variety of housing types including single-family dwellings, duplexes and, where appropriate, manufactured dwelling subdivisions and manufactured dwelling parks. This intensity of residential use is envisioned for locations in the City where community services and adequate access are available.

R-H High Density Residential

The High Density Residential Zone is intended to encourage the development of duplexes and other multifamily dwellings. It provides for high density uses in locations close to the downtown area or other locations which have suitable streets, utilities and other characteristics. 

Commercial Zoning Districts

C-1 General Commercial

The purpose of the General Commercial Zone is to allow a broad range of commercial uses providing products and services in the Warrenton downtown area, the Hammond business district and marina, and along the Highway 101 corridor.

C-2 Marine Commercial

The Marine Commercial Shorelands Zone is reserved for water-dependent developments and associated uses on shorelands adjoining certain portions of the Skipanon waterway. A mixture of water-dependent uses are allowed, including commercial service and storage, and recreation-oriented uses. Marine Commercial Shoreland areas have unique characteristics that make them especially suited for water-dependent development.

C-MU Commercial Mixed Use

A City goal is to strengthen certain established residential areas having frontage on state highways as transition areas between commercial centers and outlying residential areas. The district is intended to support this goal through elements of design and appropriate mixed-use development. Mixed-use development features design standards that allow residential and commercial uses to occur simultaneously on the same lot. This chapter provides standards for the orderly improvement of mixed-use commercial areas based on the following policies:

  1. Use land and urban services efficiently;
  2. Support a mixture of land uses to encourage walking as an alternative to driving, and provide more employment and housing options; and
  3. Allow certain commercial uses amongst existing residential uses that are compatible with, and add interest to, the established residential character of the area.

Industrial Districts 

I-1 General Industrial

The purpose of the General Industrial Zone is to provide sites for light, heavy, and airport-related industrial activities in the City of Warrenton. These areas are suitable for uses involving manufacturing, fabrication, processing, transshipment and bulk storage. General Industrial areas are near or adjacent to arterial transportation corridors.

I-2 Water Dependent Industrial Shorelands

Water-dependent industrial shorelands areas have unique characteristics that make them especially suited for water-dependent development. Characteristics that contribute to suitability for water-dependent development include:

A.    Deep water close to shore with supporting land transportation facilities suitable for ship and barge facilities.

B.     Potential for aquaculture.

C.     Protected areas subject to scour which would require little dredging for use as marinas.

D.    Potential for recreational utilization of coastal waters or riparian resources.

Uses of water-dependent industrial shorelands areas shall maintain the integrity of the estuary and coastal waters. Water-dependent uses receive highest priority, followed by water-related uses.

Water Related Zoning Districts

A-1 Aquatic Development

The purpose of the Aquatic Development Zone is to provide for navigation and other identified needs for public, commercial, and industrial water-dependent uses in the Columbia River Estuary. The objective of the Aquatic Development Zone is to ensure optimum utilization of appropriate aquatic areas by providing for intensive development. Such areas include deep water adjacent to or near the shoreline, navigation channels, subtidal areas for in-water disposal of dredged material, areas of minimal biological significance needed for uses requiring alteration of the estuary, areas that are not in Aquatic Conservation or Aquatic Natural Zones, and areas for which an exception to Statewide Planning Goal 16, Estuarine Resources, has been adopted.

A-2  Aquatic Conservation

The purpose of the Aquatic Conservation Zone is to conserve designated areas for long-term uses of renewable resources that do not require major alterations of the estuary, except for the purpose of restoration. They are managed for the protection and conservation of the resources found in these areas. The Aquatic Conservation Zone includes areas needed for the maintenance and enhancement of biological productivity, recreational resources, aesthetic features and aquaculture.

A-3 Aquatic Natural

The purpose of the Aquatic Natural Zone is to assure the protection of significant fish and wildlife habitats; of continued biological productivity within the estuary; and of scientific, research, and educational needs. These areas are managed to preserve natural resources in recognition of dynamic, natural, geological, and evolutionary processes. Natural aquatic areas include all major tidal marshes, tide flats, and seagrass and algae beds. The designation is intended to preserve those natural aquatic resource systems existing relatively free of human influence.

A-5 Coastal lake and Freshwater Wetlands

The purpose of the Coastal Lake and Freshwater Wetland Zone is to assure the conservation of important shoreland and wetland biological habitats and conserve examples of different natural ecosystem types in the Clatsop Plains to assure a diversity of species and ecological relations. Low intensity uses which do not result in major alterations are appropriate in this zone. Low to moderate intensity recreation is appropriate in coastal lakes. This zone includes coastal lakes, significant non-estuarine freshwater marshes and important upland biological habitat

Overlay Zones

These zones provide extra protection for sensitive and unique resources of the community.  The underlying zoning district establishes allowed and conditional uses, along with general development standards.  The overlay districts provide additional restrictions on development in order to protect the natural and man-made resources of the Community. The overlay zones include: