This chapter shall hereafter be known as the "Freshwater Wetlands Protection
Ordinance of the Town of Sweden (Local Law No. 1-1976)."
The following terms, phrases, words and their derivatives shall have
the meanings given herein:
ADJACENT AREA
Any land in the Town of Sweden immediately adjacent to a freshwater
wetland and lying within 100 feet, measured horizontally, of the boundary
of a freshwater wetland.
AGENCY
The Town Board of the Town of Sweden.
APPLICANT
Any person who files an application for any permit issued by the
agency pursuant to this chapter, and includes the agent of the owner or a
contract vendee.
BOARD
The Freshwater Wetland Appeals Board established by Article 24 of
the State Environmental Conservation Law.
BOUNDARIES OF A FRESHWATER WETLAND
The outer limit of the vegetation specified in Subsections A and
B of the definition of "freshwater wetlands" in this section and of the waters
specified in Subsection C of such definition.
FRESHWATER WETLANDS
Lands and waters lying within the boundaries of the Town of Sweden,
as shown on a freshwater wetlands map, which contain any or all of the following:
A.
Lands and submerged lands commonly called "marshes," "swamps," "sloughs,"
"bogs" and "flats" supporting aquatic or semiaquatic vegetation of the following
vegetative types:
[Amended 10-24-1990 by L.L. No. 2-1990]
(1)
Wetland trees, which depend upon seasonal or permanent flooding or sufficiently
waterlogged soils to give them a competitive advantage over other trees, including,
among others, red maple, willows, black spruce, swamp white oak, red ash,
black ash, silver maple, American elm and larch.
(2)
Wetland shrubs, which depend upon seasonal or permanent flooding or
sufficiently water-logged soils to give them a competitive advantage over
other shrubs, including, among others, alder, buttonbush, bog rosemary, dogwoods
and leatherleaf.
(3)
Emergent vegetation, including, among others, cattails, pickerelweed,
bulrushes, arrow arum, arrowheads, reed, wildrice, bur-reeds, purple loosestrife,
swamp loosestrife and water plantain.
(4)
Rooted, floating-leaved vegetation, including, among others, waterlily,
water shield and spatterdock.
(5)
Free-floating vegetation, including, among others, duckweed, big duckweed
and watermeal.
(6)
Wet meadow vegetation, which depends upon seasonal or permanent flooding
or sufficiently waterlogged soils to give it a competitive advantage over
other open land vegetation, including, among others, sedges, rushes, cattails,
rice cut-grass, reed canary grass, swamp loosestrife and spikerush.
(7)
Bog mat vegetation, including, among others, sphagnum mosses, bog rosemary,
leatherleaf, pitcher plant and cranberries.
(8)
Submergent vegetation, including, among others, pondweeds, naiads, bladderworts,
wild celery, coontail, watermilfoils, muskgrass, stonewort, water weeds and
water smartweed.
B.
Lands and submerged lands containing remnants of any vegetation that
is not aquatic or semiaquatic that has died because of wet conditions over
a sufficiently long period, provided that such wet conditions do not exceed
a maximum seasonal water depth of six feet and provided, further, that such
conditions can be expected to persist indefinitely, barring human intervention.
C.
Lands and waters enclosed by aquatic or semiaquatic vegetation as set forth herein in Subsection
A and dead vegetation as set forth in Subsection
B, the regulation of which is necessary to protect and preserve the aquatic and semiaquatic vegetation.
D.
The waters overlying the areas as set forth in Subsections
A and
B and the lands underlying the areas set forth in Subsection
C.
FRESHWATER WETLANDS MAP
A map on which are indicated the boundaries of any freshwater wetland
and which has been filed with the Clerk of the Town of Sweden by the State
Department of Environmental Conservation pursuant to § 24-0301 of
the State Environmental Conservation Law.
PARTY IN INTEREST
The applicant, the agency, the State Department of Environmental Conservation, each local government in which the regulated activity or any part thereof is located and any person who appears and wishes to be a "party in interest" at the public hearing held pursuant to §
117-6.
PERSON
Any corporation, firm, partnership, association, trust, estate, one
or more individuals and any unit of government or agency or subdivision thereof.
POLLUTION
The presence in the environment of human-induced conditions or contaminants
in quantities or characteristics which are or may be injurious to humans,
plants, animals or property.
PROJECT
Any action which may result in direct or indirect physical impact
on a freshwater wetland, including but not limited to any regulated activity.
REGULATED ACTIVITY
Any form of draining, dredging, excavating or removing of soil, mud, sand, shells, gravel or other aggregate from any freshwater wetland, either directly or indirectly; any form of dumping, filling or depositing of any soil, stones, sand, gravel, mud, rubbish or fill of any kind, either directly or indirectly; erecting any structures or roads, the driving of pilings or placing of any other obstructions, whether or not changing the ebb and flow of the water; any form of pollution, including but not limited to installing a septic tank, running a sewer outfall or discharging sewage treatment effluent or other liquid wastes directly into or so as to drain into a freshwater wetland; that portion of any subdivision of land that involves any land in any freshwater wetland or adjacent area; and any other activity which substantially impairs any of the several functions served by freshwater wetlands or the benefits derived therefrom which are set forth in §
117-2.
SELECTIVE CUTTING
The annual or periodic removal of trees, individually or in small
groups, in order to realize the yield and establish a new crop and to improve
the forest, which removal does not involve the total elimination of one or
more particular species of trees.
STATE AGENCY
Any state department, bureau, commission, board or other agency,
public authority or public benefit corporation.
SUBDIVISION OF LAND
Any division of land into two or more lots, parcels or sites, whether
adjoining or not, for the purpose of sale, lease, license or any form of separate
ownership or occupancy, including any grading, road construction, installation
of utilities or other improvements or any other land use and development preparatory
or incidental to any such division, by any person or by any other person controlled
by, under common control with or controlling such person or by any group of
persons acting in concert as part of a common scheme or plan. "Subdivision
of land" shall include any map, plat or other plan of division of land, whether
or not previously filed. "Subdivision of land" shall not include the lease
of land for hunting and fishing and other open space recreation uses and shall
not include the division of land by bona fide gift, devise or inheritance.