[Ord. 559, 9/4/2012]
The developer shall determine what environmental or natural
features are present on the lot and shall meet the following standards
of environmental protection. For any lot proposed for development
to which the provisions of this chapter do not apply, the environmental
standards of this section shall apply. Site alterations, including
regrading the existing topography, filling lakes, ponds, marshes or
floodplains, clearing vegetation or altering watercourses, prior to
the submission of plans for development shall be a violation of this
chapter. Where alterations occur, restoration of the lot to its original
condition shall be required. The provisions of this section shall
apply to all zoning districts including nonresidential districts.
1. Floodplains. Areas identified as within the floodplain of the one-hundred-year recurrence interval flood shall not be altered, graded, filled or built upon except in conformance with Part
15, Floodplain Conservation District, of Chapter
27, Zoning. The floodplain area shall be those areas that are subject to the one-hundred-year flood and the five-hundred-year flood as identified in the Flood Insurance Study dated May 18, 1999, and the accompanying maps prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or the most recent revisions thereof. For areas along streams and watercourses where the one-hundred-year floodplain and five-hundred-year floodplain have not been delineated, the requirements of floodplain soils shall be met.
2. Steep slopes. In areas of steep slopes, i.e., those above 8%, the
following standards shall apply:
A. Eight to 15%. No more than 40% of such areas shall be developed and/or
regraded or stripped of vegetation.
B. Fifteen to 25%. No more than 30% of such areas shall be developed
and/or regraded or stripped of vegetation.
C. Twenty-five percent or more. No more than 15% of such areas shall
be developed and/or regraded or stripped of vegetation.
3. Forest. No more than 30% of such forests may be cleared or developed.
The remaining 70% shall be maintained as permanent open space.
A. Lakes, ponds, wetlands or watercourses. These areas shall be left
as permanent open space. No development, filling, piping or diverting
shall be permitted except for required roads.
B. Riparian buffer. No land disturbance shall be permitted within any
riparian buffer except as permitted below. The measurement of the
riparian buffer shall extend a minimum of 100 feet from each defined
edge of an identified watercourse or surface water body at bankfull
flow or level or shall equal the extent of the one-hundred-year floodplain,
whichever is greater. The buffer area will consist of two distinct
protection zones.
(1)
Zone 1. This buffer area will begin at the edge of the identified
waterway (which includes wetlands and intermittent watercourses) and
occupy a margin of land with a minimum width of 50 feet measured horizontally
on a line perpendicular to the edge of water at bankfull flow.
(a)
Open space uses that are primarily passive in nature may be
permitted in Zone 1, including:
(b)
Open space uses such as wildlife sanctuaries, nature preserves,
forest preserves, fishing areas, passive areas for public or private
parklands, and reforestation.
(c)
Customary agricultural practices in accordance with a soil conservation
plan approved by the Bucks County Conservation District and a nutrient
management plan in accordance with state requirements, if applicable.
(d)
Regulated activities permitted by the Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection and the Township for stream or wetland
crossing or other encroachment (i.e., farm vehicle and livestock,
recreational trails, roads, sewer or water lines, and utility transmission
lines), provided that any disturbance is offset by riparian corridor
improvements as approved by the Township.
(e)
Vegetation management in accordance with stream-bank stabilization
plan, an approved landscape or open space management plan.
(f)
Runoff or wastewater to be buffered or filtered by Zone 1 will
be limited to sheet flow or subsurface flow only. Concentrated flows
must be converted to sheet flow or subsurface flows prior to entering
Zone 1.
(2)
Zone 2. This buffer zone will begin at the outer edge of Zone
1 and occupy a minimum width of 50 feet in addition to Zone 1. However,
where the width of the one-hundred-year floodplain extends greater
than 100 feet from the waterway, Zone 1 shall remain a minimum of
50 feet and Zone 2 shall extend from the outer edge of Zone 1 to the
outer edge of the one-hundred-year floodplain.
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Uses permitted in this buffer area include open space uses that
are primarily passive in nature, including:
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(a)
Open space uses such as wildlife sanctuaries, nature preserves,
forest preserves, passive areas for public or private parklands, recreational
trails and reforestation.
(b)
Customary agricultural practices in accordance with a soil conservation
plan approved by the Bucks County Conservation District.
(c)
Regulated activities permitted by the Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection and the Township for stream or wetland
crossing or other encroachment (i.e., farm vehicle and livestock,
recreational trails, roads, sewer or water lines, and utility transmission
lines), provided that any disturbance is offset by riparian corridor
improvements as approved by the Township.
(d)
Recreational activities or uses not involving impervious surfaces
such as ball fields or golf courses.
(e)
Naturalized stormwater management facilities, provided the entire
facility is located a minimum of 50 feet from the defined edge of
the identified watercourse and situated outside the one-hundred-year
floodplain.
(3)
Prohibited uses. Any use or activity not authorized within Subsection
3A or B above shall be prohibited within the riparian buffer. The
following activities and facilities are specifically prohibited:
(a)
Clear-cutting of trees and other vegetation.
(b)
Selective cutting of trees and/or the clearing of other vegetation,
except where such clearing is necessary to prepare land for a use
permitted under Subsection 3A or B above or where removal is necessary
as a means to eliminate dead, diseased or hazardous trees. Removal
is subject to revegetation by native plants that are most suited to
the riparian corridor.
(c)
Storage of any hazardous or noxious materials.
(d)
Roads or driveways, except as permitted as corridor crossings
by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the
Township.
(f)
Subsurface sewage disposal areas.
C. Revegetation of riparian area. In cases where a major subdivision
or land development is proposed, replanting of the riparian corridor
shall be required where there is little or no existing stream-side
vegetation. Native vegetation approved by the Township must be used
in replanting efforts. Three layers of vegetation are required when
replanting the riparian corridor. These layers include herbaceous
plants that serve as ground cover, understory shrubs, and trees that
form an overhead canopy. The revegetation plan shall be prepared by
a qualified professional such as a landscape architect or engineer
and shall comply with the following minimum requirements, unless modified
by the Board of Supervisors upon recommendation of the Planning Commission:
(1)
Ground cover. Ground cover consisting of a native seed mix extending
a minimum of 25 feet in width from the edge of the stream bank must
be provided along the portion(s) of the stream corridor where little
or no riparian vegetation exists. Appropriate ground cover includes
native herbs and forbs, exclusive of noxious weeds as defined by the
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. This twenty-five-foot-wide
planted area shall be designated on the plan as a "no-mow zone" and
shall be left as natural cover except in accordance with the maintenance
instructions stated on the plan.
(2)
Trees and shrubs. These planting layers include trees that form
an overhead canopy and understory shrubs. Overstory trees are deciduous
or evergreen trees that include oak, hickory, maple gum, beech, sycamore,
hemlock, pine and fir. Evergreen and deciduous shrubs should consist
of elderberry, viburnum, azalea, rhododendron, holly, laurel and alders.
These plants shall be planted in an informal manner clustered within
Zone 1 of the riparian buffer as indicated in Subsection 3A above.
These plants shall be provided at a rate of at least one overstory
tree and three shrubs for every 20 linear feet of waterway.
(3)
Exceptions. These planting requirements shall not apply to existing
farm fields located within the riparian buffer if farming operations
are to be continued and the required nutrient management plan is met.