Uses and activities allowed within designated wetlands or associated wetland buffers are those uses permitted by the zoning district, subject to the provisions of this chapter.
(Ord. 562 § 1 (part), 2006; Ord. 675 § 1 (Exh. A) (part), 2017)
A. 
Wetlands in Bridgeport and its urban growth area shall be classified in accordance with the provisions of the comprehensive plan using the Washington State Wetlands Rating System for Eastern Washington.
B. 
Designation. Wetlands in Bridgeport and its UGA are designated using the provisions of the comprehensive plan. To date, there has been no wetlands mapping done specifically for the Bridgeport area. To remedy this, the city should pursue an accurate accounting of all wetlands in its planning area based on the Washington State Wetlands Rating System for Eastern Washington and the definition in Section 4.10A.180(B)(4)(g).
However, until funding is obtained to conduct a comprehensive inventory of wetlands, the National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) maps are used as a basis for designation. The NWI maps, along with other supportive documentation, shall be used to review development proposals, but because the National Wetlands Inventory was done at such a broad scale, local verification according to the classification criteria shall be part of the standard process for identifying and designating wetlands. Map Bridgeport NWI in the Map Appendix to the comprehensive plan designates wetlands based on data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wetlands inventory data.
(Ord. 562 § 1 (part), 2006; Ord. 675 § 1 (Exh. A) (part), 2017)
A. 
Standards. In addition to the general provisions of this chapter and the requirements of the underlying zoning district, the following minimum requirements shall apply to development activities within and adjacent to wetland areas:
1. 
Activities and uses shall be prohibited from wetlands or wetland buffers unless the applicant can show that the proposed activity will not degrade the functions and values of the wetland or other critical areas, or as otherwise provided in this chapter. The following table describes the level of impact expected from different land uses:
Types of Proposed Land Use that Can Result in High, Moderate, and Low Levels of Impacts to Adjacent Wetlands; Level of Impact from Proposed Change in Land Use
Types of Land Use Based on Common Zoning Designations
High
• Commercial
• Urban
• Industrial
• Institutional
• Retail sales
• Residential (more than 1/du/acre)
• Conversion to high-intensity agriculture (dairies, nurseries, greenhouses, growing and harvesting crops requiring annual tillage and raising and maintaining animals
• High-intensity recreation (golf courses, ball fields, etc.)
• Hobby farms
Moderate
• Residential (1 du/acre or less)
• Moderate-intensity open space (parks with biking, jogging, etc.)
• Conversion to moderate-intensity agriculture (orchards, hay fields, etc.)
• Paved trails
• Building of logging roads
• Utility corridor or right-of-way shared by several utilities and including access/maintenance road
Low
• Forestry (cutting of trees only)
• Low-intensity open space (hiking, birdwatching, preservation of natural resources, etc.)
• Unpaved trails
• Utility corridor without a maintenance road and little or no vegetation management
B. 
Proposals for restoration, creation or enhancement of wetlands will be coordinated with appropriate resource agencies providing recommendations to promote adequate design.
C. 
Activities or uses that would strip the shoreline of vegetative cover, cause substantial erosion or sedimentation, or significantly, adversely affect aquatic life will be prohibited.
D. 
On-site replacement of wetlands will be provided whenever practical. Where on-site replacement is not feasible or practical due to characteristics of the existing location, replacement will occur within the same watershed and proximity. If necessary, wetlands artificially created voluntarily may be used.
E. 
A wetland buffer area of adequate width will be maintained between wetlands and adjacent new development to protect the functions and integrity of the wetland. The ultimate width of the established buffer will be based on the function and sensitivity of the wetland, the characteristics of the existing buffer, the potential impacts associated with the adjacent and proposed land use, as well as other existing regulations which may control the proposed activity.
F. 
Wetland buffers will be retained in their natural conditions unless a portion of a wetland buffer is proposed to be utilized in a way that will not have an adverse impact on the wetland, or adequate mitigation cannot or will not be provided. The integrity of the wetland will be maintained as a function of the buffer.
G. 
Construction of structural shoreline stabilization and flood control works will be minimized.
H. 
Wetland alteration will not cause significant adverse impacts to wetland ecosystems or surrounding areas, unless the impacts are unavoidable and necessary to the feasibility of the project. In such cases the resultant impacts will be offset through the deliberate restoration, creation, or enhancement of wetlands or other mitigation acceptable to the city.
I. 
Appropriate buffer areas shall be maintained between all permitted uses and activities and the designated wetland.
1. 
All buffers shall be measured on a horizontal plane from the wetland edge, as established by the approved wetland boundary survey.
2. 
All buffer areas shall be temporarily fenced between the construction activity and the buffer with a highly visible and durable protective barrier during construction to prevent access and protect the designated wetland and associated buffer. This requirement may be waived by the city if an alternative to fencing which achieves the same objective is proposed and approved.
3. 
The following activities shall be allowed within wetland buffers:
a. 
Conservation or restoration activities aimed at protecting soil, water, vegetation or wildlife;
b. 
Passive recreation, including walkways or trails located in the outer twenty-five percent of the buffer area, wildlife viewing structures, and fishing access areas, provided these are designed and approved as part of an overall site development plan;
c. 
Educational and scientific research activities; and
d. 
Normal and routine maintenance and repair of any existing public or private facilities provided appropriate measures are undertaken to minimize impacts to the wetland and its buffer and that disturbed areas are restored to a natural condition.
4. 
Except as otherwise allowed, buffers shall be retained in their natural condition. If degradation has previously occurred within the designated buffer area, the degraded areas shall be restored to a natural condition, as approved by the city. Any habitat created, restored or enhanced as compensation for approved wetland alterations shall have the standard buffer required for the category of the created, restored or enhanced wetland. Where buffer disturbance has occurred during construction, re-vegetation with native vegetation shall be required.
5. 
The width of the buffer may be increased by the city for a development project on a case-by-case basis when a larger buffer is necessary to protect the designated wetland function and value. The determination shall be based on site-specific and project-related conditions which include, without limitation:
a. 
The designated wetland is used for feeding, nesting and resting by species proposed or listed by the federal or state government as endangered, threatened, sensitive, candidate, monitor or critical; or if it is outstanding potential habitat for those species or has unusual nesting or resting sites such as heron rookeries or raptor nesting trees;
b. 
The adjacent land is susceptible to severe erosion and erosion control measures will not effectively prevent adverse wetland impacts;
c. 
The proposed development adjacent to the designated wetland would be a high intensity land use.
6. 
Standard buffer widths may be modified by the city for a particular development proposal by averaging the required standard buffer widths for that development based on a report submitted by the applicant and prepared by a qualified professional approved by the city (e.g., wetland biologist), and shall only be allowed where the applicant demonstrates all of the following:
a. 
Averaging is necessary to avoid an extraordinary hardship to the applicant caused by circumstances peculiar to the property;
b. 
The designated wetland contains variations in sensitivity due to existing physical characteristics;
c. 
The width averaging will not adversely impact the designated wetland's functional value;
d. 
The total area contained within the buffer after averaging is no less than that contained within the standard buffer prior to averaging; and
e. 
The buffer width shall not be reduced, at any location, by more than twenty-five percent of the required buffer described below, and in no case may the buffer be less than twenty-five feet in width.
7. 
Buffer Widths. The following standard buffer widths have been established in accord with best available science to provide predictability in the regulation of wetlands:
(A) Category I
High intensity
300 feet
Low intensity
200 feet
(B) Category II
High intensity
200 feet
Low intensity
100 feet
(C) Category III
High intensity
100 feet
Low intensity
50 feet
(D) Category IV
High intensity
50 feet
Low intensity
25 feet
8. 
Mitigation shall achieve equivalent or greater biological functions as existed in the wetland prior to mitigation.
9. 
When possible, mitigation shall be on-site and sufficient to maintain the functions and values of the wetland and buffer areas. If on-site mitigation is not feasible, then the applicant shall demonstrate that the site is the nearest that can reasonably achieve the goals of mitigation with high likelihood of success.
10. 
Mitigation actions that require compensation by replacing, enhancing or substitution shall occur in the following order of preference:
a. 
Restoring, replacing or enhancing the wetland on the site of the project;
b. 
Restoring, replacing or enhancing degraded wetlands in the same sub-basin;
c. 
Creating wetlands on upland sites that were former wetlands or that are disturbed upland sites;
d. 
Preserving high quality wetlands that are under imminent threat.
11. 
The following ratios apply to the creation, restoration or preservation of wetlands that is in-kind, on-site, the same category, timed prior to or concurrent with alteration, and has a high probability of success:
Category and Type of Wetland
Creation or Reestablishment
Rehabilitation
Enhancement
(A) Category I
6:1
12:1
24:1
(B) Category II
3:1
6:1
12:1
(C) Category III
2:1
4:1
8:1
(D) Category IV
1.5:1
3:1
6:1
These ratios do not apply to remedial actions resulting from unauthorized alterations.
12. 
The mitigation ratio may be increased if the administrator identifies that:
a. 
Uncertainty exists as to the probable success of the proposed restoration or creation;
b. 
A significant time period will elapse between impact and replication of wetland functions;
c. 
Proposed mitigation will result in a lower category of wetland or reduced functions relative to the wetland being impacted; or
d. 
The impact was due to an unauthorized action.
13. 
The administrator may decrease the mitigation ratio where:
a. 
Documentation by a qualified wetlands specialist demonstrates that the proposed mitigation actions have a very high likelihood of success;
b. 
Documentation by a qualified wetlands specialist demonstrates that the proposed mitigation actions will provide functions and values greater than the wetland being impacted; or
c. 
The proposed mitigation actions are conducted in advance of the impact and have been shown to be successful.
(Ord. 562 § 1 (part), 2006; Ord. 675 § 1 (Exh. A) (part), 2017)