This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Hellam
Township Riparian Buffer Ordinance."
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
following meanings:
APPLICANT
A landowner or developer, as hereinafter defined, who has
filed an application for development, including his heirs, successors
and assigns.
BANKFULL FLOW OR LEVEL
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.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE (BMP)
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.
FENCE/WALL
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.
FORESTED RIPARIAN BUFFER
A riparian buffer that consists predominantly of native trees,
shrubs and/or herbaceous plants that provide minimum of 60% uniform
canopy coverage.
IMPACTED RIPARIAN BUFFER
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."
IMPERVIOUS COVER
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.
LAND DISTURBANCE
Any activity that exposes soils, alters topography, and/or
detrimentally alters vegetation.
RIPARIAN
Belonging or related to the bank of a river, stream or wetland.
RIPARIAN BUFFER
A vegetated area, including trees, shrubs, and herbaceous
vegetation, adjacent to a stream, river or wetland.
TOP OF BANK
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."
WATER BODY
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.
WATERCOURSE
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.
WETLAND or WETLANDS
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.
C. Applicant to initially delineate. The applicant shall delineate, for the property, as a whole, any riparian buffer areas as specified in Subsection
A(1) and
(2) above on any plan that is submitted for the following approvals:
(1) Conditional use, special exception, or variance.
(2) Subdivision or land development.
(3) Any other improvements that require a zoning or building permit for
the activities within the Riparian Buffer Overlay Zoning District.
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. Use of fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and/or other chemicals,
except:
(1) Where permitted by a valid conservation plan, forest management plan,
or approved planting and maintenance plan. (see Section F 5. below):
(2) For selective herbicide application by a qualified professional to
control noxious weeds and invasive species of plants in riparian buffers.
D. Motor or wheeled vehicle traffic in any area not designed to accommodate
adequately the type and volume of vehicular traffic.
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.