[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township
of Hellam 4-18-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-02.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This chapter was originally adopted as Ch.
420, but was renumbered by the codifier for organizational purposes.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Hellam
Township Riparian Buffer Ordinance."
A.
To protect watercourses, streambanks, attenuate flooding and reduce
soil loss, protect water quality, sensitive soils, natural habitat
and scenic vistas through the provision and protection of a vegetated
strip of land surrounding the resource. Improve and maintain the safety,
reliability and adequacy of water supply.
B.
Regulating development, uses and structures, and providing transitional
provisions, at or near watercourses, floodplains, wetlands and other
bodies of water.
C.
Establishing continuous vegetated strips along water bodies that
serve to filter and remove pollution-laden runoff and pesticides from
entering water bodies and protecting against streambank erosion and
tree loss.
D.
Promoting and protecting stabilized streambanks, which will reduce
downstream transport of eroded sediment and pollutants.
E.
Preserving species-rich vegetative communities, associated wildlife
habitat and native species along and adjacent to water bodies.
F.
Providing shade for streams and other water bodies to reduce direct
sunlight and lower water temperatures.
G.
Further the Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy goals and objectives
by implementing best management practices (BMPs) to address point
and nonpoint pollution sources. Hellam Township suggests applicants
obtain guidance from PA DEP'S Bureau of Watershed Management
document Number 394-5600-001 entitled "Riparian Forest Buffer Guidance,"
November 27, 2010 (as may be revised or amended from time to time).
A.
The provisions of this chapter shall apply to any watercourse as defined herein. The provisions of this chapter shall apply in accordance with § 360-1 above where there is an application for subdivision of land resulting in three or more lots, in whole or in part, land development, special exception, variance, conditional use or any land disturbance over 5,000 square feet.
B.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to the footprints
of existing primary and accessory uses, including but not limited
to all agricultural uses and research related thereto, buildings,
transportation facilities, fences, lawns, gardens, utility sewage
supply facilities and their related appurtenances (wells, houses,
utility pump, and lift stations, manholes, etc.).
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
following meanings:
A landowner or developer, as hereinafter defined, who has
filed an application for development, including his heirs, successors
and assigns.
The discharge that just fills the water channel to the top
of its banks and at a point where the water begins to overflow onto
a floodplain.
A structural or nonstructural device or procedure designed
to temporarily store or treat stormwater runoff in order to mitigate
flooding and pollution, and reduce soil loss and water quality degradation
caused by runoff containing nutrients, animal waste, toxins, and sediments.
An artificially constructed barrier made of any material
or combination of materials erected either for the purpose of screening
one property from another to assure privacy, protection or confinement
of the property or to permanently or temporarily prohibit or inhibit
unrestricted travel between properties or portions of properties or
between a street or public right-of-way and a property. A freestanding
masonry wall, when located for one of the preceding purposes, is considered
to be a fence. Hedges or other similar types of vegetative cover shall
not be deemed to be a fence. The height of all fences and walls or
portions thereof shall be measured from grade level.
A riparian buffer that consists predominantly of native trees,
shrubs and/or herbaceous plants that provide minimum of 60% uniform
canopy coverage.
A riparian buffer that, as a result of land use or land development
activity, contains impervious cover or landscape use such that no
longer meets the definition of "forested riparian buffer."
Those surfaces that do not readily absorb precipitation and
surface water. The term includes but is not limited to buildings,
parking areas, driveways, roads, sidewalks, swimming pools, and any
areas in concrete, asphalt, packed stone or equivalent surfaces, including
those with a coefficient of runoff of 0.7 or higher. Impervious surfaces
also include disturbed surfaces with a bulk density of 95% of the
value at which plant growth limitation is expected for average plant
material.
Any activity that exposes soils, alters topography, and/or
detrimentally alters vegetation.
Belonging or related to the bank of a river, stream or wetland.
A vegetated area, including trees, shrubs, and herbaceous
vegetation, adjacent to a stream, river or wetland.
Any water body within an exceptional value (EV) or high quality
(HQ) watershed.
The elevation at which rising waters begin to inundate the
floodplain. In case of ambiguous, indefinite, or nonexistent floodplain
or question regarding the location, the top of bank shall be the bankfull
water elevation as delineated by a person trained in fluvial geomorphology
and utilizing the most recent edition of "Applied River Morphology"
by Dave Rosgen or comparable reference book. "Top of bank" shall be
synonymous with "edge of water."
Any natural or manmade pond, lake, wetland, impoundment,
or watercourse. This shall not include an active quarry or any facility
designed and constructed solely to contain storm water, or a swimming
pool.
Any channel or conveyance of surface water having a defined
bed and banks, such as a stream, river, brook, or creek, whether natural
or artificial, with perennial, intermittent, or seasonal flow. This
shall not include any channel or ditch designed and constructed solely
to carry stormwater.
Those areas inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater
at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under
normal circumstances, do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically
adapted for life in a saturated soil conditions, including swamps,
marshes, bogs, ponds, lakes, and similar areas. Wetlands shall include
any area so delineated by the National Wetlands Inventory of the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service and all lands regulated as wetlands by the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) or the
United States Army Corps of Engineers (ACE). In the event there is
a conflict between the definitions of these agencies, the more restrictive
definition that defines the wetlands most expansively shall apply.
The riparian buffer area shall extend a minimum width of 75
feet from the edge of a water body.
A.
The riparian buffer area will consist of two distinct zones designated
as:
(1)
Zone One: Zone One begins at each edge of a watercourse and shall
extend landward a minimum width of 37.5 feet, measured horizontally
on a line perpendicular to the nearest edge of the watercourse, as
reviewed and approved by the municipal engineer.
(a)
Where steep slopes (15% to 25% or greater) are located within
37.5 feet of the edge of a water body, Zone One shall extend the entire
distance of this steep sloped area, including any steep sloped area
that begins within 37.5 feet and extends beyond 75 feet. If the sloped
distance extends beyond 75 feet, there will be no requirement for
the establishment of Zone Two to a distance of 37.5 feet. If the distance
is less than 75 feet, but greater than 37.5 feet, the width of Zone
Two will be adjusted so that the total riparian buffer width (Zone
One and Zone Two) is 75 feet.
(2)
Zone Two: Zone Two begins at the outer edge and on each side of any
area delineated within Zone One and extends further landward to a
minimum total width of 75 feet including Zone One.
(a)
Where a watercourse that has been listed by PADEP as impaired
(see PADEP's "Integrated Water Quality Report, 2012," as may
be revised or amended from time to time, for a listing of impaired
watercourses), Zone Two shall begin at the outer edge of any area
delineated within Zone One and extends further landward to a minimum
total width of 150 feet including Zone One.
(b)
Where a watercourse has been designated as special protection
waters by PADEP, Zone Two shall begin at the outer edge of any area
delineated within Zone One and extend further landward to a minimum
total width of 150 feet including Zone One.
B.
Isolated wetlands not located along a watercourse, where the wetland
is greater than 5,000 square feet in area, shall have a minimum buffer
width consistent with Zone One, as defined above, from the edge of
the wetland around the entire perimeter of the wetland.
A.
The following uses or activities are permitted by right in Zone One
for all watercourses:
(1)
Wildlife sanctuaries, nature preserves, forest preserves, fishing
areas, passive areas of public and private parklands.
(2)
Temporary stream restoration projects, stream bank restoration projects,
and vegetative restoration projects to restore the stream or riparian
zone to an ecologically healthy stage utilizing natural channel design
practices to greatest degree possible. The project duration and timing
shall be subject to Zoning Officer approval.
(3)
Reconstruction of historic buildings as designated under § 490-20, Historic Overlay District, in this Code.
(4)
Stream crossings for farm vehicles and/or livestock if part of a
federal, state, and/or county conservation district and/or local nonprofit
riparian buffer improvement project.
(5)
Provisions for stone-dust or natural trail and related trail access
when determined by the Zoning Officer to result in minimum disturbance
to existing trees and shrubs.
(6)
Research and monitoring devices, such as staff gages, water recording,
water quality testing, cross vanes, weirs, and related demonstration
facilities.
B.
The following uses or activities are permitted by right in Zone Two
for all watercourses:
(1)
Uses or activities permitted in Zone One.
(2)
Timber harvesting operations, when conducted with a timber harvesting plan prepared, submitted, and approved in accordance with Chapter 444 of this Code of Ordinances also known as the Timber Harvesting Ordinance. Clear-cutting of timber, as defined therein, shall not be permitted within the regulated riparian buffer.
C.
The following additional uses or activities are permitted by right
in Zone Two for all watercourses except special protection waters:
D.
The following uses and activities are permitted by conditional use
approval in Zone One for all watercourses:
(1)
Structures that by their nature cannot be located anywhere except
within the riparian buffer. These structures shall include permanent
docks, boat launches, public water supply intake structures, facilities
for domestic water quality treatment and purification and public wastewater
treatment plant sewer lines and outfalls. The structures shall provide
for the minimum practicable disturbance of the riparian buffer by
minimizing size and location and by taking advantage of collocation,
if possible.
(2)
Road crossings (when perpendicular to the stream or buffer), bridges,
culverts, utilities, and impoundments.
E.
The following uses and activities are permitted by conditional use
approval in Zone One for all watercourses except special protection
waters:
(1)
Provision for paved trail and related trail access when determined
by the Board of Supervisors to result in minimum disturbance to existing
trees and shrubs.
(3)
The following additional uses or activities are permitted by conditional
use approval in Zone Two for all watercourses except special protection
waters:
(a)
Any other use or activity permitted in the underlying (base)
district, provided that no more than 20% of Zone Two shall be regraded,
filled, altered, subject to land disturbance, or covered with impervious
surfaces.
The following activities or practices are expressly prohibited
in Zone One and Zone Two for all watercourses:
A.
Removal or disturbance of vegetation in a manner that is inconsistent
with erosion and sediment control and riparian buffer protection.
B.
Storage or discharge of any hazardous or noxious materials, except
those used during emergencies for the treatment and/or maintenance
of any public sewer and public water treatment facilities (i.e., generator
sets or alternative drive units)
C.
D.
Motor or wheeled vehicle traffic in any area not designed to accommodate
adequately the type and volume of vehicular traffic.
A.
All riparian buffer areas shall be continually maintained with a
dominant mix of native trees, shrubs, and or herbaceous plants so
as to constitute a riparian buffer where not otherwise occupied by
any existing use excepted in accordance with Section C.3, or any authorized
use permitted in Section D.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: So in original.
B.
In Zone One, impacted riparian buffer areas shall be restored by
an applicant to a forested riparian buffer as a condition of approval
of any final subdivision plan, final land development plan, or building
or zoning permit approval, except as provided in subsection 7,[2] through invasive removal and planting of a diverse mix
of native tree and shrub species.
[2]
Editor's Note: So in original.
C.
Planting guidance may be obtained from the PADEP Bureau of Watershed
Management Document Number 394-5600-001, entitled "Riparian Forest
Buffer Guidance, November 27, 2010" (as may be revised or amended
from time to time). Hellam Township suggests applicants obtain guidance
from Figure 7, "Sample Planting Recommendations according to Moisture
Conditions," Figure 8, "Sample Planting Plan," Figure 9, "Sample Conceptual
Planting Plan," and Figure 10, "Sample Riparian Forest Buffer Plan."
D.
Applicants shall submit, and as a condition of approval of any final
subdivision plan, final land development plan, or permit, a planting
design, planting schedule and maintenance plan for the impacted riparian
buffer. The plan shall be prepared by a registered landscape architect,
architect, or professional ecologist. The plan shall identify the
number, density, and species of native trees and shrubs appropriate
to the geographic location that will achieve a minimum of 60% uniform
canopy coverage and describe the maintenance program to be conducted
by the buffer owner for a minimum of five years, include measures
to initially remove, and thereafter control, invasive species, control
deer and rodent damage and require replacement of deceased trees for
a minimum of the first three years.
E.
Any riparian buffer that is included within a lot created after the
effective date of this chapter shall include as a condition of approval
of the subdivision creating the lot, a restrictive covenant approved
by the municipal solicitor, and recorded with the final subdivision
or land development plan and deed for the lot. The restrictive covenant
shall clearly define the riparian buffer area, shall include binding
provisions for the adequate long-term functioning and integrity of
the riparian buffer, and shall include a requirement for notification
of all subsequent lot owners of its restrictive nature.
F.
Restoration to a forested riparian buffer shall not be required for
issuance of a building permit for a single-family residence or addition
thereto.
A.
All riparian buffer restoration plans must be completed by a registered
landscape architect, architect, or professional ecologist. They should
be submitted as a complete package, on an individual lot basis, and
approved by the Township Engineer and Zoning Officer, prior to the
release of any permits and/or land disturbance.
B.
A written plan for the permanent stabilization and restoration of
the riparian buffer area should, at a minimum, include:
Restoration shall be based on the square footage of required
riparian buffer area. Restoration shall occur as follows:
A.
Zone One. Undisturbed native trees and native shrubs must occupy
Zone One in its entirety. Predominant vegetation must be composed
of native tree and shrub species.
B.
Zone Two. Predominant vegetation must be composed of a variety of
appropriate native riparian trees and native shrub/grass species.
C.
Restoration plantings are recommended to be planted using the Hellam
Township Restoration Planting Brochure or other state-published guidelines
to restore impacted buffers.
A.
An applicant may propose alternative methods of ensuring water quality
that are substantially equivalent to a riparian buffer in effectiveness
to ensure compliance with 25 Pa. Code Chapter 93 (relating to water
quality standards).
B.
Alternative methods proposed in a special protection watershed in
a drainage list specified in 25 Pa. Code § 93.9 (relating
to designated water uses and water quality criteria) shall offset
any reduction in the total square footage of the buffer zone with
a replacement buffer elsewhere along special protection waters in
the same drainage list and as close as feasible to the area of disturbance
at a ratio of one to one, in accordance with Act 162 of 2014.
A.
For any use or activity subject to subdivision or land development
review, as part of applicable plan submission, modification(s) may
be requested to the provisions of this chapter. Requested modification(s)
may be granted at the discretion of the Board of Supervisors pursuant
to the provisions of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.
B.
For any use or activity not subject to subdivision and land development
review, but subject to application for approval of a conditional use,
special exception, or zoning variance under the provisions of this
chapter, the applicant may request modification(s) to the provisions
of this chapter.
C.
For any alternative proposed under § 490-11, modification(s) may be requested to the provisions of this chapter. Requested modifications(s) may be granted at the discretion of the Board of Supervisors pursuant to the provisions of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.
D.
For any use or activity not falling within the scope of Subsections A, B or C, the applicant may request modification(s) to the provisions of this chapter in the form of an application grant of a conditional use by the Board of Supervisors. As is the Hellam Township policy, such applications shall be submitted to the Planning Commission for review and comment prior to formal conditional use application to the Board of Supervisors.
E.
Applicants shall provide appropriate documentation in support of
their modification request, and the Board of Supervisors may request
additional documentation of an applicant, or of its municipal consultants,
to help reach its decision.
F.
In consideration of approval of any applicant request for modification(s)
under this chapter, the following standards shall serve as the basis
for a decision:
(1)
That there are unique physical circumstances or conditions, including
but not limited to irregularity, narrowness, or shallowness of lot
size or shape, excessive frontage along a water body, presence of
existing buildings or structures, or exceptional topographical or
other physical conditions peculiar to the particular property. That
because of such physical circumstances or conditions, it is impracticable
for the property to be developed in strict conformity with the buffer
requirements of this chapter and that the approval of modification
is therefore necessary to enable the reasonable use of the property
under base zoning provisions.
