A person making application after the effective date of this
chapter for subdivision or project plan approval, a grading permit,
or a sediment control permit for an area of land of 40,000 square
feet or greater, shall:
A. Conduct afforestation on the lot or parcel in accordance with the
following:
(1) A tract having less than 20% of the net tract area in forest cover
shall be afforested up to at least 20% of the net tract area for the
following land use categories:
(a)
Agriculture and resource areas; and
(b)
Medium-density residential areas;
(2) A tract with less than 15% of its net tract area in forest cover
shall be afforested up to at least 15% of the net tract area for the
following land use categories:
(a)
Institutional development areas;
(b)
High-density residential areas;
(c)
Mixed-use and planned unit development areas; and
(d)
Commercial and industrial use areas.
B. Comply with the following when cutting into forest cover that is currently below the afforestation percentages described in §
280-13A (1) and (2) of this article:
(1) The required afforestation level shall be determined by the amount
of forest existing before cutting or clearing begins; and
(2) Forest cut or cleared below the required afforestation level shall
be reforested or afforested at a 2 to 1 ratio and added to the amount
of afforestation necessary to reach the minimum required afforestation
level, as determined by the amount of forest existing before cutting
or clearing began.
C. The use of street trees in the City with a tree management plan,
in an existing population center designated in the adopted Aberdeen
Comprehensive Plan that conforms with the Economic Growth, Resource
Protection, and Planning Act of 1992, or in any other designated area approved by the Department
as part of a local program, under criteria established by the local
program, subject to the approval of the Department, using:
(1) Street trees as a permissible step in the priority sequence for afforestation
or reforestation and, based on a mature canopy coverage, may grant
full credit as a mitigation technique; and
(2) Acquisition as a mitigation technique of an off-site protective easement
for existing forested areas not currently protected in perpetuity,
in which case the afforestation or reforestation credit granted may
not exceed 50% of the area of forest cover protected.
D. When all other options, both on site and off site, have been exhausted,
landscaping as a mitigation technique, conducted under an approved
landscaping plan that establishes a forest at least 35 feet wide and
covering at least 2,500 square feet of area.