Town of Ocean View, DE Article II Wetlands

§ 116-9 Definition.

"Wetlands" are those areas defined as jurisdictional wetlands, waters of the United States, and/or subaqueous lands by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and/or the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC).

§ 116-10 Purposes.

The purpose of this article is to:

A. Facilitate protection of wetlands and habitat benefits that they provide.

B. Provide standards for protecting wetlands in development projects.

§ 116-11 Wetland boundaries.

A. Wetland boundaries shall be delineated in the field in accordance with methods approved by the USACE and/or DNREC by a regulatory agency representative or qualified professional.

B. Wetland boundaries must be surveyed to USACE accuracy specifications by a Delaware-licensed surveyor and depicted on site development plans.

§ 116-12 Responsibilities for compliance.

A. Applicant responsibility. The applicant shall be responsible for ensuring that development activities within the Town of Ocean View are in compliance with all current federal and/or state wetland regulations.

B. Town responsibility.

(1) The Town shall not approve any development plan unless it complies with all current federal and state wetland regulations.

(2) Town approval shall be withdrawn from projects not in compliance with all current federal and/or state wetland regulations.

§ 116-13 Wetland delineation report and certification statement.

A. Report. All development plan applications shall include a wetland report prepared by a qualified professional in accordance with USACE and/or DNREC documentation standards. The Administrative Official reserves the right to request copies of USACE, DNREC, and/or qualified professional correspondence that verify project compliance with regulatory terms and conditions.

B. Certification statement. All development plans shall include a certification statement signed by a qualified professional confirming project compliance with all current federal and state wetland regulations. The Town may provide a certification statement template.

§ 116-14 Buffer boundaries and zones established.

A. A twenty-five-foot buffer shall be established landward from the boundaries of all wetlands and waters. This buffer shall consist of two zones as defined in Subsection B of this section.

B. Buffer zones.

(1) Zone A: 10 feet wide on the resource side of the buffer.

(2) Zone B: 15 feet wide on the development side of the buffer.

C. Permitted activities.

	Activity	Zone A	Zone B Without Offset
	State and federal permitted disturbances, such as road crossings and fills	Permitted	Permitted
	Other road crossings, such as bridges	Permitted	Permitted
	Stormwater management outfalls	Permitted	Permitted
	Invasive species control	Permitted	Permitted
	Planting of native vegetation	Permitted	Permitted
	Floodplain creation	Permitted	Permitted
	Wetland creation/enhancement	Permitted	Permitted
	Tax ditch maintenance	Permitted	Permitted
	Stormwater management BMPs	Not permitted	Permitted
	Walking trails	Not permitted	Permitted
	Selective clearing for maintenance	Not permitted	Permitted
	Erosion or stabilization measures	Not permitted	Permitted

D. Additional regulations.

(1) Buffers are included in open space as part of site development area calculations unless otherwise excluded.

(2) No mitigation shall be required for wetland buffer impacts.

(3) No buffers are required for wetlands to be filled with a valid USACE and/or DNREC permit.

§ 116-15 Buffer width averaging.

A. Purpose: allow flexibility in site design and layout.

B. When allowed. Buffer-width averaging may be utilized to adjust the required Zone B buffer width, for uses not listed as a permitted use in § 116-14C, allowing some flexibility for site development, so long as a minimum average width of 15 feet is maintained in Zone B of the buffer.

C. Criteria for utilizing buffer width averaging.

(1) Buffer width averaging may be used on all Zone B buffers unless the use is prohibited in § 116-14C.

(2) An overall average Zone B buffer width of at least 15 feet must be achieved within the boundaries of the property to be developed.

(3) The average width must be calculated based upon the entire length of water or wetland boundary that is located within the boundaries of the property to be developed.

(4) The total width of the entire buffer shall not be less than 10 feet (Zone A) at any location, unless allowed under permitted uses in § 116-14C.

Sample Calculation: A site has a total buffer length of 500 feet. The area encompassed by the Zone B portion of the buffer is equal to 15 feet by 500 feet = 7,500 square feet of buffer. The Zone A buffer is equal to 10 feet by 500 feet = 5,000 square feet with a total buffer area of 12,500 square feet. As long as the area contained within the newly configured Zone B buffer is equal to or greater than 7,500 square feet, the plan will meet the buffer requirements of this article.

D. Areas where buffer width averaging prohibited. Buffer width averaging is prohibited in developments that have, or will have after development, any of the following land uses.

(1) Developments or facilities that include on-site sewage disposal and treatment systems (i.e., septic systems), raised septic systems, subsurface discharges from a wastewater treatment plant, or land application of bio-solids or animal waste.

(2) Landfills (demolition landfills, permitted landfills, closed-in-place landfills).

(3) Commercial or industrial facilities that store and/or service motor vehicles.

(4) Commercial greenhouses or landscape supply facilities.

(5) Agricultural facilities, farms, feedlots, and confined animal feed operations.

§ 116-16 Buffer maintenance and management.

A. Maintenance standards.

(1) All buffers that are composed of native woody species should be preserved to the maximum extent practicable with no disturbance to native species allowed in Zone A and only selective clearing of native woody species allowed in Zone B.

(2) All buffers that are composed of native herbaceous species shall be maintained with no mowing allowed in Zone A. Planting of native woody species is encouraged in these buffers.

(3) All buffers that are composed of non-native species should be maintained to minimize nonnative species and encourage colonization from native species. Planting of native woody species is encouraged in these buffers.

B. Buffer management plan. All new development and redevelopment sites that contain buffers are required to submit a buffer management plan, prepared by a qualified professional, that describes measures for maintaining or improving buffer(s) on the site.