A.
Some types of development are exempted from regulation under Sections
22a-36 through 22a-45 of the Connecticut General Statutes. Although
these statutes prohibit regulation of the land use itself, they do
not prevent this Commission from establishing reasonable procedures
to determine whether a claimed exemption actually applies in a specific
case.
B.
Any person proposing to carry out a permitted or nonregulated operation
or use of a wetland or watercourse that may disturb the natural and
indigenous character of the wetland or watercourse shall, prior to
commencement of such operations or use, notify the Commission on a
form provided by it and provide the Commission with sufficient information
to enable it to properly determine that the proposed operation and
use is a permitted or nonregulated use of the wetland or watercourse.
The Commission or its designated agent shall rule that the proposed
operation or use is a permitted or a nonregulated use or operation
or that a permit is required. Such ruling shall be in writing and
shall be made no later that the next regularly scheduled meeting at
which the request was received. The designated agent for the Commission
may make such ruling on behalf of the Commission at any time.
The following operations are permitted as of right:
A.
Grazing, farming, nurseries, gardening and harvesting of crops, and
farm ponds of three acres or less essential to the farming operation.
This exemption shall not be construed to include:
(1)
Road construction or the erection of buildings not directly related
to the farming operation;
(2)
Relocation of watercourses with continual flow;
(3)
Filling or reclamation of wetlands or watercourses with continual
flow;
(4)
Clear-cutting of timber except for the expansion of agricultural
crop land; and
(5)
Mining of topsoil, peat, gravel, or similar material from wetlands
or watercourses for the purpose of sale.
B.
A residential home (i) for which a building permit has been issued or (ii) on a subdivision lot, provided the permit has been issued or the subdivision has been approved by a municipal planning, zoning or planning and zoning commission as of the effective date of promulgation of the municipal regulations pursuant to Subsection (b) of Section 22a-42a of the Connecticut General Statutes or as of July 1, 1974, whichever is earlier, and further provided no residential home shall be permitted as of right pursuant to this subsection unless the permit was obtained on or before July 1, 1987.
[Amended 11-21-1996]
C.
Boat anchorage or mooring, not including dock construction.
D.
Uses incidental to the enjoyment and maintenance of residential property,
including maintenance of existing structures and landscaping, but
not including removal or deposition of five or more cubic yards of
material from or onto a wetland or watercourse or the diversion or
alteration of a watercourse. For the purpose of this exemption, the
term "residential property" does not include a parcel of land that
is larger in area than the largest minimum residential lot size required
anywhere in the municipality. For example, if the largest lot size
in Griswold is two acres, a homeowner having a twenty-acre lot may
not claim the "residential property" exemption for activities occurring
throughout the parcel, but is limited to a two-acre portion, which
should be shown on a site plan.
E.
The construction and operation by water companies as defined in Section
16-1 of the Connecticut General Statutes or by municipal water supply
systems as provided for in Chapter 102 of the Connecticut General
Statutes of dams, reservoirs, and other facilities necessary to the
impounding, storage, and withdrawal of water in connection with public
water supplies except as provided in Sections 22a-401 and 22a-403
of the Connecticut General Statutes.
F.
The maintenance relating to any drainage pipe which existed before
the effective date of any municipal regulations adopted pursuant to
Section 22a-42a of the Connecticut General Statutes or July 1, 1974,
whichever is earlier, provided such pipe is on property which is zoned
as residential but which does not contain hydrophytic vegetation.
For purposes of this chapter, "maintenance" means the accumulated
leaves, soil and other debris whether by hand or machine, while the
pipe remains in place.
The following operations and uses are not subject to municipal
regulation, provided they do not disturb the natural and indigenous
character of the wetland or watercourse by removal or deposition of
material, alteration or obstruction of water flow, or pollution of
the wetland or watercourse:
A.
Conservation of soil, vegetation, water, fish, shellfish and wildlife.
B.
Outdoor recreation, including play and sporting areas, golf courses,
field trials, nature study, hiking, horseback riding, swimming, skin-diving,
camping, boating, water-skiing, trapping, hunting, fishing and shellfishing
where otherwise legally permitted and regulated.
C.
Any dredging or any erection, placement, retention or maintenance
of any structure, fill, obstruction or encroachment, or any work incidental
to such activities, conducted by a state agency, which activity is
regulated under Sections 22a-28 to 22a-35 of the Connecticut General
Statutes, inclusive, or Sections 22a-359b to 22a-363f of the Connecticut
General Statutes, inclusive, shall not require any permit or approval
under this chapter.
