[Added 11-19-2012 by Ord. No. 204]
A. 
Short title. This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Paradise Township Riparian Buffer Rule" which shall govern land use and earth disturbance in all riparian areas unless otherwise exempted herein. This article shall provide adequate water quality protection and optimal use of private property. This article does not address water quality protection for projects that require a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System Permit or a Floodplain Management Permit in compliance with Chapter 65 of this Code of Ordinances.
B. 
Findings. Paradise Township finds that:
(1) 
Certain land uses and/or earth disturbance in close proximity to creeks, streams, rivers, intermittent and/or perennial streams, natural drainage swales, ponds and lakes have the potential to accelerate stormwater runoff, increase flood flows and velocities, accelerate erosion and sedimentation, overtax the carrying capacity of streams, undermine floodplain management and flood control efforts in downstream communities, reduce groundwater recharge, impact surface and groundwater quality and threaten public health and safety.
(2) 
The potential for certain land uses and/or earth disturbance in close proximity to creeks, streams, rivers ponds and lakes to create these impacts depends on site-specific conditions.
(3) 
These potentially harmful impacts can be mitigated by limiting the extent of any earth disturbance and regulating land uses in a buffer area in close proximity to creeks, streams, rivers, ponds and lakes.
(4) 
The extent of buffer protection necessary to protect creeks, streams, rivers, ponds and lakes depends on stream order, topography, soil types, existing localized vegetation, and the potential for pollution from surrounding land uses.
Paradise Township hereby establishes a Riparian Buffer Overlay District as set forth on the "Paradise Township Variable Width Riparian Buffer" map prepared by Borton Lawson Engineering dated August 4, 2010. The location and boundaries of the Riparian Buffer Overlay District are shown on the revised Official Zoning Map of Paradise Township. The methodology used to develop the "Paradise Township Variable Width Riparian Buffer" map, used as the basis for the Riparian Buffer Overlay District is found in "Paradise Variable Width Riparian Buffer" report prepared for the Paradise Township Board of Supervisors by Borton Lawson Engineering dated August 30, 2010 (the "Buffer Report") and incorporated herein as Schedule VI. The Riparian Buffer Overlay District shall also include intermittent or perennial watercourses or natural drainage swales regulated in § 160-21C(2) and wetlands and vernal pools regulated in § 160-21C(5). The Riparian Buffer Overlay District is established as an overlay district. The overlay zoning district is a special district with a set of additional regulations that are applied to this geographic area based on specific attributes of the area and the types of uses proposed. A property owner is at liberty to proceed under the basic district requirements only in compliance with these additional regulations.
A. 
Purpose. The Riparian Buffer Overlay District is established for the following purposes:
(1) 
To protect and preserve the aquatic health of creeks, streams, rivers, ponds and lakes in the Paradise Creek Watershed.
(2) 
To filter and thereby reduce the concentration of nonpoint source pollutants reaching surface water resources such as suspended solids, nitrogen, and phosphorous.
(3) 
To protect from disturbance a variable width buffer based on existing, quantifiable data regarding site-specific soils, slopes, vegetative cover, stream order and existing land uses.
B. 
Scope. The Riparian Buffer Overlay District explicitly includes the creeks, streams, rivers, intermittent and/or perennial streams, natural drainage swales, ponds and lakes contained within the buffer area, thereby including floodways in their entirety.
A. 
Construction, earth disturbance, filling, or removal of natural vegetation in the Riparian Buffer Overlay District is limited to horticultural practices used to maintain the health of native vegetation, passive recreation, stormwater conveyances in compliance with Chapter 123, removal of invasive species, and the exempt/permitted activities listed in sub-paragraphs B, C and D below.
B. 
Logging exempt from the requirements of § 160-12A(27) is prohibited in the Riparian Buffer Overlay District. Logging in compliance with § 160-12A(27) is permitted.
C. 
Stream or wetland crossings permitted by the Department of Environmental Protection and/or the US Army Corps of Engineers, stream bank restoration projects permitted by the Department of Environmental Protection and construction permitted in compliance with Chapter 65 (Floodplain Management) are exempt from these provisions.
D. 
Any development which requires review and approval of a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit is exempt from the requirements of this section, but shall not be exempt from the requirements of Chapter 65 (Floodplain Management).
A. 
An applicant for any land use or earth disturbance within the Riparian Buffer Overlay District shall comply with the requirements of the Paradise Township Riparian Buffer Rule. If an applicant contends that more accurate data is available on which to base a protective buffer, the data shall be submitted to the Township. If no new data is provided, or if the data is not accepted by the Township as being more accurate, the buffer will remain as established herein. If the new data is accepted by the Township as being more accurate, the Zoning Officer will use the new data to establish a new buffer area for the project site by applying the formula set forth in the Buffer Report. Nothing shall preclude the Zoning Officer from requesting review and concurrence from the Township Engineer. Data that may be used to establish that a new buffer area is shown to be protective includes the following:
(1) 
Pollution potential. Pollution potential is derived from parcel data obtained from the Monroe County Planning Commission and/or the Monroe County Tax Assessors Office. Any asserted change in the land use information from those sources shall include a written affidavit from the current owner of record and authorization for the Zoning Officer to verify the assertion. This affidavit will be sent to the Tax Assessors Office.
(2) 
Buffer slope. Buffer slope is derived from the United States Geologic Survey (USGS) 10 m DEM. The Township will accept new data from a design professional based on a field survey of the project site.
(3) 
Buffer soil type(s). Soil types are derived from the United States Department of Agriculture Soils mapping. The Township will accept new data from a Qualified Wetland Professional.
(4) 
Stream order. Stream order data is from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. This data cannot be challenged at the Township level.
(5) 
Buffer vegetative condition. Vegetative cover data is derived from the National Land Cover Dataset (USGS 2005). The Township will accept new data from a design professional accompanied by photographic evidence.
B. 
Data sets used as the basis for the Paradise Township Riparian Buffer Overlay District, and the methodology used for computation of the riparian buffer width are from the Buffer Report. Different, more accurate, site-specific data from categories described in Section A, above, may be used to establish a new buffer width. Any modification to the methodology employed with such data to establish a new buffer is prohibited.
C. 
Any application for a new buffer area as described above shall be accompanied by an affidavit from a design professional stating that the buffer resulting from use of the new data is at least as protective of water quality and any nearby water resource as the protection afforded by the original data.