[Added 8-6-2014 by Ord.
No. 2014-10]
In response to the diminishing supply and increasing cost of
conventional energy resources, the Township of Quinton has enacted
an ordinance to protect the potential for the use of solar energy.
It is the purpose of this regulation to promote the safe, effective,
and efficient use of solar energy systems installed to reduce carbon
emissions and decrease demand on conventional energy resources to
protect the health, safety, and welfare of adjacent residential homeowners
and agricultural businesses from nuisances and inappropriate land
uses through proper zoning and land use controls.
A. Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
ARRAY
An electrical device consisting of a large array of connected
solar cells.
PRINCIPAL SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM
A solar array on land as the primary use of that land which
consists of one or more cells, panels, or arrays designed to collect
and convert solar power into another form of energy such as electricity
or heat that will be connected to the utility grid, used for the generation
of power for the sale of energy to other users not on site, or provided
under a power purchase agreement (PPA) on a parcel adjacent to the
principal/primary end user.
SOLAR PANEL
A panel or group of panels known as an "array" that captures
and converts solar radiation to produce electric power.
B. General requirements for a principal solar energy system.
(1)
A solar energy system shall be permitted in the P-BR District,
HC District, LIO District or M District subject to specific criteria
as set forth below:
(a)
The applicant shall obtain site plan approval from the Quinton Township Planning Board in accordance Part
3 of Chapter
170 of the Township Code.
[1] Site plans and zoning permit applications for solar
energy systems shall be accompanied by standard drawings of the solar
panels, inverters, substations and any other required structures.
The design shall be signed and sealed by a professional engineer,
registered in the State of New Jersey, certifying that the design
complies with all of the standards set forth in all applicable codes
then in effect in the State of New Jersey and all of this section.
(b)
The applicant shall submit a stormwater management plan that
demonstrates that stormwater will infiltrate into the ground beneath
the solar energy system at a rate equal to that of the infiltration
rate prior to placement of the system.
(c)
All on-site utility and transmission lines shall, to the extent
feasible, be placed underground.
(d)
A clearly visible warning sign concerning voltage shall be placed
at the base of all pad-mounted transformers and substations or fence.
(e)
A minimum of one sign shall be posted near ground level on the
interconnection cabinet warning of high voltage. In addition, the
following information shall be posted on a label or labels on the
interconnection cabinet of the solar energy system:
[1] The maximum power output of the system.
[2] Nominal voltage and maximum current.
[3] Manufacturer's name, address and telephone number,
serial number and model number.
[4] Emergency and normal shutdown procedures.
(f)
Should the solar energy system interconnection cabinet be located
on the inside of a structure, a sign notifying of the existence of
a solar energy system shall be placed on the outside of the building,
near the electrical and/or gas meter, in order to notify emergency
personnel of the solar energy system. When a building or cabinet is
necessary for storage cells or related mechanical equipment, it must
be documented as to the necessity. The building may not exceed 120
square feet in area nor eight feet in height and must be located at
least the number of feet equal to the accessory building setback requirements
of the zoning district from any property line. Any mechanical equipment
associated with and necessary for operation, including any building
or cabinet for batteries and storage cells, shall be equipped with
a lock, and a small sign shall be posted on the outside of the building
or cabinet notifying of the existence of solar energy system batteries
and storage cells in order to notify emergency personnel.
(g)
Any approval of a solar energy system does not create any actual
or inferred solar energy system easement against adjacent property
and/or structures. The owner and/or property owner of a solar energy
system shall not infer or claim any rights to protective writs to
any caused shadows or operating ineffectiveness against future development
adjacent to or higher than the property location of the solar energy
system. The approval of any solar energy system granted by the Township
of Quinton under this article shall not create any future liability
or infer any vested rights to the owner and/or property owner of the
solar energy system on the part of the Township of Quinton, or by
any other officer or employee thereof, for any future claims against
said issuance of approval of the solar energy system that result from
reliance on this article or any administrative decision lawfully made
thereunder.
(h)
The applicant shall submit a plan for the removal of the principal
solar energy system including all solar panels, invertors, transmission
lines, electrical wires, storage houses, utility buildings and other
items related to the collection and generation of solar energy when
it becomes functionally obsolete, abandoned after 12 months, or is
no longer in use. The principal solar energy system owner is required
to notify the Township immediately upon cessation or abandonment of
the operation. The owner shall be responsible for the removal of the
facility within six months from the date the applicant ceases use
of the facility or the facility becomes obsolete. At the time of issuance
of the permit for the construction of the principal solar energy system,
the owner shall provide financial security in form and amount acceptable
to the Township to secure the expense of dismantling and removing
said structures. The applicant shall estimate the cost of removal
of the system, to the satisfaction of the Township Engineer, and create
an escrow account for this removal expenditure. The funds shall be
used by the Township to remove the energy system or return to the
developer upon completion if said developer removes the energy system.
(i)
The owner of the solar energy system shall provide written authorization
from the local utility company to the Township acknowledging and approving
such connection.
(j)
At a minimum, a twenty-five-foot-wide access road must be provided
from a state, county or Township roadway into the site.
(k)
At a minimum, an eighteen-foot-wide cartway shall be provided
between solar panel racking systems to allow for maintenance vehicles
and emergency management vehicles including fire trucks and EMS vehicles.
Cartway width is the distance between the bottom edge of a solar panel
to the top edge of the solar panel directly across from it.
(2)
Fence. All mechanical equipment for the solar energy system
including any solar panels, invertors, buildings, structure for batteries
or storage cells, shall be completely enclosed by a minimum eight-foot-high
fence with a self-locking gate. Fences are not permitted in the front,
side or rear yard setbacks.
(3)
General buffer and screen composition.
(a)
Purpose and applicability.
[1] Buffers and screens shall be included with submitted
site plans and subdivision applications.
[2] The primary purposes of screening buffers is to
preserve the rural viewsheds along county and state roads in accordance
with the Township, county, and state Master Plans and to reduce noise
generated from larger solar energy systems in order to protect the
rural character of Quinton and the adjacent residential homes.
(b)
A fifty-foot screening buffer is required from any state, county,
or Township road, residential use or residential zoning district.
(c)
Screening buffer widths shall be measured parallel from the
property line or right-of-way line, whichever will provide the greatest
distance from the roadway pavement.
(d)
All mechanical equipment shall be screened from any adjacent
residential property line or residential use. The screen shall consist
of shrubbery, trees, or noninvasive plant species which provides an
opaque screen. Plant screens shall be reviewed and approved by the
Township Planner.
(e)
Buffers and screens may be comprised of existing vegetation
and natural features; proposed new or transplanted vegetation; or
existing or proposed fences, walls and/or berms. When berms are included
in a buffer, a curvilinear or naturalistic arrangement is encouraged.
(f)
No structure, activity, storage of materials or parking of vehicles
shall be permitted within a buffer area.
(g)
Buffering screens shall be designed, planted, graded, landscaped
and developed with the general guideline that buffer must obscure
the visual of solar energy system and mitigate noises generated on
the site.
(h)
Screening buffers shall contain the following quantity of plant
material per 50 lineal feet: two shade trees, plus two evergreen trees,
plus 20 shrubs.
(i)
Screening buffer plantings shall achieve an 80% opacity after
five years' growth.
(4)
Vegetation management.
(a)
No more than 21,780 square feet of vegetation may be cleared
for a solar energy system which is used to generate power for a utility
company or as part of a PPA agreement. A vegetation management plan
shall be submitted at the time of site plan application if there is
more than 21,780 square feet of vegetation being cut or removed from
the site. The vegetation management plan shall contain the following
information:
[1] Location of existing natural features, including
wooded areas, watercourses, wetlands, and floodplains.
[2] Location of all existing or proposed buildings,
driveways, grading, septic fields, easements, underground utility
lines, rights-of-way, and other improvements.
[3] Location of all existing live trees, with trunk
diameters of five inches or greater, measured 4 1/2 feet above
ground level. Each tree shall be noted by its species, size and general
health condition. Whenever possible, the actual canopy spread shall
be shown. If it must be estimated, the canopy shall equal 1 1/2
inches of diameter per one inch of trunk diameter. If the trees to
be preserved are part of a wooded area, only the outermost canopy
line need be shown; unless disturbance is proposed, then individual
trees located within 50 feet of the proposed edge of the woodland
shall be shown.
[4] Each tree, or mass of trees, to be removed or transplanted
shall be clearly marked as such.
[5] A chart tabulating the diameter inches being removed,
the required diameter inches to be replaced, and the equivalent number
of compensatory trees.
(b)
Specifications for the removal of existing trees and for the
protection of existing trees to be preserved, including detail(s)
of tree protection fencing.
(c)
Compensatory planting.
[1] In the event that preservation of existing vegetation
on the site is impossible, relocation of improvements impractical,
and more than 21,780 square feet of vegetation is being removed then
compensatory planting shall be required for each live tree on the
site, and each specimen tree anywhere on the site.
[2] Trunk diameters shall be measured according to
the following guidelines:
[a] For single-trunked shade trees, at a point 4 1/2
feet above ground level.
[b] For single-trunked ornamental trees, at a point
12 inches above ground level.
[c] For evergreen trees, at a point 12 inches above
ground level.
[d] For multi-trunked trees that branch between one
and 4 1/2 feet above ground level, at a point just below the
split.
[e] For multi-trunked trees that branch below one foot
above grade, the diameter shall be 60% of the sum total of all trunks
measured at a point 4 1/2 feet above ground level.
(d)
Compensatory trees shall be provided in the following ratios,
based on the sum total of the diameter inches of trees being removed.
These standards are applicable to both deciduous and evergreen trees.
Compensation is not required for shrubs, unless otherwise required
by the Planning Board.
[1] For trees five to 24 inches in diameter, one inch
of new tree caliper shall be provided for every one inch of existing
tree diameter cut or removed.
[2] For trees 24 inches in diameter or greater (specimen
trees), two inches of new tree caliper shall be provided for every
one inch of existing tree diameter cut or removed.
[3] For existing street trees within the right-of-way,
one tree, with a caliper of three to 3 1/2 inches, shall be replanted
in the street tree planting strip.
[4] For other significant areas of woods containing
deciduous trees smaller than five inches in diameter, or evergreens
less than six feet in height, replanting shall be with seedling material,
of comparable native species, placed on a ten-foot-by-ten-foot grid.
Compensation shall be at a rate of one square foot of new planting
area for one square foot area of disturbance. This material may be
bare root or container grown stock.
[5] The number of compensatory trees should be calculated
from the total diameter inches to be replaced, divided by three, rounded
up to the next whole number.
(e)
Compensatory trees shall be three to 3 1/2 inches in caliper,
and planted in accordance with the above standards. Evergreen and
ornamental trees may be substituted at a ratio of two to one shade
tree, for up to 50% of the requirement. Alternative types of compensatory
planting may be permitted, when approved by the Planning Board.
(f)
Locations of compensatory trees must be clearly labeled on the
landscape plan. They may be placed anywhere on the site, but are in
addition to other required trees.
(g)
In the event that the applicant establishes to the satisfaction
of the Planning Board that constraints incident to the land itself
(including, without limitation, extreme topography, unsuitable soils,
rock outcrops and existing uninterrupted dense canopy) render it impractical
to locate on the lot the required number of compensatory trees, then,
at the election of the Planning Board, the applicant shall:
[1] Install a portion of the required compensatory
trees on other public lands within the Township; and/or
[2] Contribute to the Township the cost of those trees
which cannot practically be installed on the property for later installation
of trees on public lands. The fee shall be $35 per tree removed, up
to a maximum of $700 per acre; and/or
[3] Install fewer, larger or more valuable compensatory
trees on the lot with an aggregate cost as installed and guaranteed
not less than the estimated aggregate cost of the required number
of compensatory trees.
[4] Whichever alternative is elected by the Board shall
serve as the basis for calculating the required financial security
in conformance with § 190-75A(6) above.
C. Development standards for all principal solar energy systems and
accessory structures.
(1)
Solar panels shall be placed such that concentrated solar radiation
or glare shall not be directed onto nearby properties, businesses,
residential homes, or roadways. The applicant shall submit certifications
from an engineer or manufacturer that the design will not cause a
reflection or noise nuisance to adjacent property owners or flow of
traffic on nearby roadways.
(2)
The design of the solar energy system shall conform to all applicable
industry standards including New Jersey Uniform Construction Code,
New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, National Electric Code,
and Quinton Township Building Codes and Zoning Regulations. The applicant
shall submit certificates of design compliance obtained by the equipment
manufacturer from a certified organization and any such design shall
be certified by an engineer registered in the State of New Jersey.
The manufacturer specifications shall be submitted as part of the
application.
(3)
If the ground-mounted solar energy system is removed, any earth
disturbance as a result of the removal of the ground-mounted solar
energy system shall be graded and reseeded.
(4)
Ground-mounted panels shall not be placed in any road easements,
deed-restricted areas, wetlands, wetland buffers, landscape buffers,
property buffers, floodplains, floodplain buffers or any other buffer
zones without written approval from the governing agency.
(5)
All electrical and power lines from a ground-mounted solar energy
system to any building or other structure shall be located underground.
(6)
Mechanical equipment shall not be located in the front yard,
side yard, or rear yard setbacks.
(7)
Solar panels shall not be placed in any air hazard zone, airport
buffer zone, or in the vicinity of any airport in a manner that would
interfere with airport flight patterns. Acknowledgement and approval
must be received from air agency.
(8)
No portion of the solar panel, including the racking system,
poles, or ballast, shall contain or be used to display advertising.
The manufacturer and equipment information, warning, or indication
of ownership shall be allowed on any equipment of the solar energy
system, provided that they comply with the prevailing sign regulations.
(9)
A solar energy system shall not be constructed until a building
and/or construction permit has been approved and issued.
(10)
Before any construction can commence on any solar energy system,
the property owner must acknowledge that he/she is the responsible
party for owning and maintaining the solar energy system.
(11)
The solar energy system shall comply with all other Township
ordinances and codes, as heretofore enacted and amended, shall remain
in force and effect.
(12)
Solar panels shall not be included in any calculation of impervious
surface or impervious cover pursuant to the New Jersey Municipal Land
Use Law (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-38.1).
(13)
No solar-energy collection panels, supporting structures, fixtures
and piping shall be located in any public rights-of-way, conservation
or other easements.
(14)
Solar panels shall not be mounted on trees.
(15)
Ground arrays shall be located so that any glare is directed
away from an adjoining property.
(16)
Solar panels shall not be included in any calculation of impervious
surface or impervious cover pursuant to the New Jersey Municipal Land
Use Law (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-38.1).
D. Solar energy systems on preserved or commercial farms.
(1)
Solar energy systems installed on preserved farms shall be regulated
pursuant to the New Jersey Agricultural Retention and Development
Act (N.J.S.A. 4:1C-11 et seq.). Developers of solar energy systems
on preserved farms shall comply with P.L. 2009, c. 213 (N.J.S.A. 4:1C-32.4
et seq.).
(2)
Ground-mounted solar energy generation facilities shall be constructed
in compliance with the following system height, setback and screening
standards:
Mounting
|
System Height
|
Size of Occupied Area
|
Minimum Setback to an Adjacent Residence Existing
at the Time of System Installation and Not Located on the Commercial
Farm
|
Minimum Setback to Property Line or Public Roadway
Right-of-Way
|
Required Screening
|
---|
Ground
|
Up to 2 feet
|
Up to 1 acre
|
200 feet
|
100 feet
|
Not required
|
Ground
|
Greater than 2 feet
|
Up to 1 acre
|
300 feet
|
150 feet
|
Not required
|
|
Up to 10 feet
|
|
|
|
|
Ground
|
Up to 10 feet
|
Greater than 1 acre
|
300 feet
|
150 feet
|
Required
|
|
|
Up to 10 acres
|
400 feet
|
300 feet
|
Not required
|
Ground
|
Greater than 10 feet
|
Up to 10 acres
|
300 feet
|
300 feet
|
Required
|
|
Up to 20 feet
|
|
500 feet
|
400 feet
|
Not required
|
(3)
Solar energy generation facilities shall not exceed a maximum
system height of 20 feet.
(4)
Solar energy generation facilities shall be located in a manner
that minimizes views of the facilities from public roadways and existing
residences not located on the commercial farm, by utilizing existing
visual barriers, including, but not limited to, buildings, trees,
hedgerows and preexisting natural topography to the maximum extent
possible.
(5)
The land used for the renewable energy system may be eligible
for farmland assessment if:
(a)
The property is part of an operating farm.
(b)
In the prior tax year the land used for the renewable energy
system was valued, assessed and taxed as agricultural or horticultural
land.
(c)
The power or heat generated is used to provide power or heat
to the farm or agricultural or horticultural operation supporting
the viability of the farm, though not necessarily exclusively.
(d)
The property owner has filed a conservation plan with the soil
conservation district to account for the aesthetic, impervious coverage
and environmental impacts of the renewable energy facilities and the
conservation plan has been approved by the district.
(e)
Where ground-mounted solar panels are installed, the property
under the solar panels is used to the greatest extent practicable
for the farming of shade crops or for pasture grazing.
(f)
The amount of acreage devoted to the structures needed for the
renewable energy facility does not exceed a ratio of one to five for
land devoted to renewable energy facilities and land devoted to agricultural
operations.
(g)
The renewable energy facilities are constructed or installed
on no more than 10 acres of the farmland for which the owner is applying
for valuation, assessment and taxation and no more than two megawatts
are generated on the 10 acres or less.
(h)
Income received for energy generated may not be considered income
for farmland assessment eligibility.
Off-street parking and loading for uses allowed in this Part
2 shall be subject to the requirements stipulated in Part
3, Site Plans. No parking or loading spaces shall be permitted in the front yard area in any business district.
Permanent signs shall be subject to the requirements stipulated in Part
3, Site Plans. Temporary signs shall be governed by the regulations contained in Article
III herein, with design standards not stipulated in Article
III conforming to Part
3, Site Plans.
For purposes of this Part
2, calculation of common open space shall not include:
A. Parking areas or accessways thereto;
B. Lands privately owned or in fee simple; or
C. Open space lands that are part of a residential condominium or rental
project and used for the calculation of net density requirements.
Electric and telephone lines shall be underground to the structures
from existing utility poles.
Flag lots are permitted, subject to the provisions of Part
4, Subdivision, §
170-127G. Only one flag lot shall be approved by the Planning Board from the same original parcel, provided that none have been granted since December 6, 1978.
For developments located in nonresidential zoning districts,
the total square footage of a building to be permitted shall be computed
on the basis of the permitted floor area ratio (FAR) of the nonresidential
zone, multiplied by the net acreage of a tract remaining after exclusion
of environmentally constrained areas located on the lot. Environmentally
constrained areas shall include areas designated as national wetlands,
water bodies and flood hazard areas. Detailed soil engineering and
geotechnical test data undertaken in accordance with acceptable engineering
standards and practices, or permits received from governmental agencies
having jurisdiction over such wetlands or floodplains indicating a
different geographic area, may be submitted by an applicant if he
seeks amendment of the boundary limits which define such environmentally
constrained areas.
[Added 3-5-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-3]
A. Purposes. The purposes of this section are to: (1) Maintain the quality
streams and improve the currently impaired streams of the watershed.
(2) Protect significant ecological components of stream corridors
such as wetlands, floodplains, woodlands, steep slopes and wildlife
and plant habitats within the stream corridors of the watershed. (3)
Prevent flood-related damage to the communities of the watershed.
(4) Complement the existing state, regional, county and municipal
stream corridor protection and management regulations and initiatives.
B. Definitions. As used in this section, the following words and terms
shall have the following meanings:
ACTIVITY
Any land disturbance, including any development for which
an application for development is necessary.
ONE-HUNDRED-YEAR FLOODLINE
The line which is formed by following the outside boundaries
of the area inundated by a one-hundred-year flood. A one-hundred-year
flood is estimated to have one-percent chance of one chance in 100
of being equaled or exceeded in any one year. The one-hundred-year
floodline shall be determined by reference to the FEMA FIRM Maps,
delineations made by NJDEP or other state agency as well as delineations
made in accordance with flood hazard area control rules (N.J.A.C.
7:13).
STREAM
A waterway depicted on the USGS Quad Maps or Hydrologic Survey.
STREAM CORRIDOR
The stream channel (the bed and banks of a stream which confine
and conduct continuously or intermittently flowing water), the area
within the one-hundred-year floodline or 75 feet from the top of bank
or mean high-water line if no bank is defined, whichever is greater.
If the stream is designated a C1 waterbody, the default width is 150
feet from the top of bank/mean high-water line. If slopes greater
than 15% abut the stream corridor, the area of such slopes shall be
also included as the stream corridor.
C. Applicability. All tracts falling in whole or in part within a stream corridor shall be subject to the standards set forth in Subsection
D.
D. Standards.
(1)
Activities permitted in stream corridors. Stream corridors shall
remain in their natural state, with no clearing or cutting of trees
and brush (except for removal of dead vegetation and pruning for reasons
of public safety), altering of watercourses, regrading or construction
except for the following activities:
(a)
Wildlife sanctuaries, woodland preserves and arboretums, but
excluding enclosed structures.
(b)
Game farms, fish hatcheries and fishing reserves, operated for
the protection and propagation of wildlife, but excluding enclosed
structures.
(c)
Unpaved hiking, bicycle and bridle trails.
(e)
Reconstruction of a structure which predates the adoption of
this section in the event of damage or destruction by fire, storms,
natural hazards, or other acts of God, provided that the reconstruction
does not have a greater footprint or total area than that of the damaged
structure and that no change of land use occurs.
(2)
Location of activities on tracts partially within stream corridors.
(a)
All new lots in major and minor subdivisions shall be designed
to provide sufficient areas outside of stream corridors to accommodate
primary structures as well as any normal accessory uses appurtenant
thereto.
(b)
The board of jurisdiction may allow an average stream corridor
width of 75 feet thus allowing reasonable flexibility to accommodate
site planning when necessitated by the size and shape of the tract
and physical conditions thereon. The stream corridor width may be
reduced to a minimum of 50 feet provided there is an equivalent increase
in the width elsewhere on site, unless it is a C1 water, in which
case the default width is 100 feet and all relevant permits (e.g.,
stream encroachment, freshwater wetlands, Soil Conservation District)
are obtained.
(3)
Activities permitted in stream corridors when there is no reasonable
or prudent alternative. The following are permitted in a stream corridor
when subdivision or site plans cannot be designed in the manner set
forth in this section or, in the case of a preexisting lot for a one-family
or two-family dwelling, when there is insufficient room outside the
stream corridor for permitted accessory uses. In either case, there
must be no other reasonable or prudent alternative to placement in
the stream corridor.
(a)
Yard improvements, such as lawns, and accessory structures,
such as swimming pools, and bulkheads or retaining walls where required
to prevent erosion.
(b)
Recreational use, whether open to the public or restricted to
private membership, such as parks, camps, picnic areas, golf courses,
sports or boating clubs, not to include enclosed structures, but permitting
piers, docks, floats or shelters usually found in developed outdoor
recreation areas.
(c)
Outfall installation for sewage treatment plants, sewage pumping
stations and the expansion of existing sewage treatment facilities.
(d)
Private or public water supply wells that have a sanitary seal,
floodproofed water treatment facilities or pumping facilities.
(e)
Dredging or grading when incidental to permitted structures
or uses, including stream cleaning and stream rehabilitation work
undertaken to improve hydraulics or to protect public health.
(f)
Dams, culverts, bridges and roads provided that they cross the
corridor directly as practical.
(g)
Sanitary or storm sewers.
(h)
Utility transmission lines installed during periods of stream
flow in accordance with soil erosion and sediment control practices
and approved by the Soil Conservation District in a manner which will
not impede flows or cause ponding of water.
(i)
Structures comprising part of a regional flood-detention project.
(j)
Detention or retention basins and related outfall facilities.
(k)
Irrigation ponds and agricultural activities as defined in the
New Jersey Right-to-Farm Act N.J.S.A. 4:1C-1 et seq.
(4)
Activities permitted in stream corridors when prohibiting such
activities would cause economic hardship.
(a)
New structures [other than those permitted as exceptions to Subsection
D(1) and
(3)], and including retaining walls, parking facilities and roads (but not those which are parallel to the stream) are permitted in a stream corridor only upon a clear and convincing demonstration by the applicant that prohibiting such activity would result in economic hardship or would conflict with a compelling public need.
[1] The board of jurisdiction shall use the following
standards in determining whether economic hardship exists:
[a] Prohibiting the activity would result in an economic
hardship, as distinguished from a mere inconvenience, because of the
particular physical surroundings, shape or topographical conditions
of the property involved. The necessity of acquiring additional land
to locate development outside the stream corridor shall not be considered
an economic hardship unless the applicant can demonstrate that there
is no adjacent land which is reasonably available; and
[b] An applicant shall be deemed to have established
the existence of an economic hardship only if the applicant demonstrates,
based on the specific facts, that the subject property is not capable
of yielding a reasonable economic return if its present use is continued
or if it is developed as unauthorized by provisions of this section
and that this inability to yield a reasonable economic return results
from unique circumstances peculiar to the subject property which:
[i] Do not apply to or affect other property in the
immediate vicinity;
[ii] Related to or arise out of the characteristics
of the subject property rather than the personal situations of the
applicant; and
[iii] Are not the result of any action or inaction
by the applicant or the owner or his predecessors in title.
[2] An applicant shall be deemed to have established
compelling public need if the applicant demonstrates, based on specific
facts that:
[a] The proposed project will serve an essential public
health or safety need;
[b] The public health and safety require the proposed
activity;
[c] The proposed use is required to serve an existing
public health or safety need;
[d] There is no alternative available to meet the established
public health or safety need;
[e] The activity will not be materially detrimental
or injurious to other property or improvements in the area in which
the subject property is located and will not endanger public safety;
and
[f] The exception granted is the minimum relief necessary
to relieve the compelling public need.
[3] The stream corridor includes more than 75% of the
tract.
(b)
If an exception is granted pursuant to Subsection
D(4)(a)[1] through
[3], the board of jurisdiction or zoning officer, as the case may be, may reduce the width of of the stream corridor to no less than 50 feet unless it is a C1 water in which case the default width is too feet.
(c)
If such an exception is granted, the applicant shall rehabilitate
an environmentally degraded stream corridor within the same tract
at least equivalent in size to the stream corridor reduction, if possible.
Rehabilitation shall include reforestation, stream bank stabilization
and removal of debris. The area to be rehabilitated and the rehabilitation
plan shall be acceptable to the board of jurisdiction or the zoning
officer as the case may be.
(5)
Prohibited activities. All activities not permitted pursuant
to Subsection D(1)(3) and (4) shall be prohibited. In no circumstances
shall the following be permitted as exceptions to such subsections:
(a)
Any solid waste or hazardous waste facilities, including but
not limited to sanitary landfills, transfer stations and wastewater
lagoons.
(b)
Junkyards, commercial and industrial storage facilities and
open storage of vehicles and materials.
(6)
Provisions governing activities in stream corridors.
(a)
The applicant for any activity permitted in a stream corridor
shall rehabilitate any degraded areas within the stream corridor,
in a manner acceptable to the board of jurisdiction or the zoning
officer, as the case may be, unless the applicant demonstrates that
it is economically infeasible to do so.
(b)
The applicant shall also:
[1] Rehabilitate or cure the affects of the disturbance
caused during construction;
[2] Maintain the integrity of the surrounding habitat;
and
[3] Maintain the existing ability of the stream corridor
to buffer the stream.
(c)
The applicant shall provide whatever additional measures are
necessary to assure that areas designated as stream corridors will
be preserved and to prevent additional encroachments in the stream
corridor likely to occur as a result of the approval granted.
(d)
The board of jurisdiction, in the case for an application for
development, may require conservation easements or deed restrictions
assuring that there will be no further intrusion on the stream corridor
than that permitted by the activity approved.
E. Submission requirements. An applicant for an activity in a stream
corridor shall submit to the municipality a map of the project site
delineating the following (at a scale of one inch equals 50 feet or
larger), using the best available information:
(1)
The stream corridor boundary, being the one-hundred-year floodline,
or seventy-five-foot line whichever is larger;
(2)
State wetland boundary lines;
(3)
Any slopes greater than 15% within the site;
(4)
The location of all improvements and land disturbance proposed
to be located within any of the above boundaries;
(5)
A listing of all other federal, state, county and local permits
and approvals required.