9.2 Sensitive Lands Regulations

The following provisions shall apply to all areas contained in the Sensitive Lands Overlay Zone, or as delineated elsewhere as provided in section 9.1. Areas delineated as hazardous (geologic or natural hazards and high flooding potential) to development, where adequate measures can not be taken to remedy the problem, will be deemed as undevelopable. Areas where proper wildlife mitigation measures cannot be implemented to the satisfaction of the Town in the studies and analysis requirements of this chapter, will also be deemed as undevelopable. This section regulates development in the sensitive land areas. 9.2.1 Soil, Hydrologic and Fire Protection 9.2.1.1 Intent It is the intent of these regulations to permit the widest possible latitude in the use of property, while at the same time requiring design solutions which will avoid detrimental impacts on sensitive natural areas, as well as provide protection from adverse natural forces and hazards. Of concern are use applications which might affect the structure or the land; the management of surface or subsurface water; safety of future land occupants due to increased fire, earthquake, or storm hazards from the proposed development; or, the uneconomic extension of public facilities and services. Of specific concern is development in flood-prone areas, earthquake zones, landslide areas, areas of steep slope or unstable soils, wetlands, and other sensitive areas requiring careful assessment prior to alteration. 9.2.1.2 Prohibitions No development shall be allowed without the evaluation of the sensitive area analysis of 9.1.1 and 9.1.2 by the Town Engineer. The Town Engineer must determine the adequacy of the proposed use and construction to withstand hazards including the following: (a) Flood plain (b) Geological hazards including earthquakes, unstable soil conditions, slopes in excess of 15% and areas subject to flooding (c) High water table and ground water Also no development shall be allowed without adequate fire protection being verified by the Box Elder County Fire District, and any proposed septic systems being approved by the Box Elder County Health Department. 9.2.1.3 Remedying Unsuitable Land Conditions The development and land use may be made suitable if adequate methods are formulated by the developer and approved by the Town to solve or remedy the problems created by the unsuitable land conditions. The methods must be based upon the recommendation of a qualified planner or engineer hired by the developer and approval of the Town Engineer. The burden of the proof shall lie with the developer to establish the viability of development in these sensitive or Page 9-6 unsuitable areas. 9.2.2 Slope Protection Regulations 9.2.2.1 Intent It is the intent of these regulations to protect Bear River City visual character and environmentally sensitive areas on hillsides and slopes. This shall be accomplished by minimizing the environmental impacts of development through careful site planning that maintains the maximum amount of open space, protects existing vegetation, avoids sensitive natural areas, minimizes erosion, and recognizes the need for water conservation. These regulations shall apply to all slopes in excess of fifteen (15) percent. 9.2.2.2 Prohibitions No development shall be allowed on or within fifty (50) feet of slopes in excess of thirty (30) percent, lands subject to landsliding, regular flooding, soils deemed unsuitable as to safety, and other high-hazard geological areas, as determined by a geotechnical or soils report produced pursuant to Section 9.1 herein. 9.2.2.3 Graded or filled slopes Cutting and filling to create additional or larger building sites shall be kept to a minimum and avoided to the maximum extent feasible. All proposed grading and filling shall be subject to review by the Town Engineer and Town Staff to ensure minimum visual impact and geotechnical safety. Graded or filled slopes shall be limited to a 3 to 1 slope or less. All graded slopes shall be recontoured and revegitated to the natural, varied contour of surrounding terrain. 9.2.2.4 Benching or Terracing Benching or terracing to provide additional or larger building sites is prohibited. 9.2.2.5 Streets and roads Development in some areas may not be appropriate if roads cannot be constructed to access it with out causing significant impacts. The following applies where streets and roads, public and private, are proposed to be constructed on steep slopes: (a) Streets and roads that cross slopes of thirty (30) percent or greater shall not be allowed, except that a short run of not more than one hundred (100) feet across slopes greater than thirty (30) percent may be allowed by the Town Planning Commission or Staff upon a favorable recommendation by the Town Engineer that such streets or roads will not have significant adverse visual, environmental, or safety impacts. (b) Where streets and roads, public and private, are proposed to cross slopes greater than fifteen (15) percent, the following standards shall apply: (1) Evidence must be presented that such streets and roads will be built with minimum environmental damage and within acceptable public safety parameters. (2) Such streets and roads shall, to the maximum extent feasible, Bear River City Land Management and Development Code Revised 2012 follow land, and be screened Page 9-7 contour lines, preserve the natural character of the with trees or vegetation. (3) revegetation. during Cutting and filling shall be held to a minimum and retaining walls employed to help provide planting areas conducive to Revegetation plans will be required for all areas disturbed by and road construction. 9.2.2.6 Retaining walls Use of retaining walls is encouraged to reduce the steepness of man-made slopes and provide planting pockets conducive to revegetation. The use, design, and construction of all retaining walls shall be subject to the approval of the Zoning Administrator based upon assessment of visual impact, compatibility with surrounding terrain and vegetation, and safety considerations. 9.2.2.7 Landscaping and Revegetation In order to mitigate adverse environmental and visual effects, slopes exposed in new development shall be landscaped or revegetated in accordance with a revegetation/landscaping plan as provided in this Code, Chapter 8D.2.4 (Limits of Disturbance/Vegetation Protection) as amended, and enhanced by the requirements this chapter. Topsoil from any disturbed portion of a steep slope shall be preserved and utilized in revegetation. Fill soil must be of a quality to support native plant growth. 9.2.2.8 Private Development Design Standards All development on steep slopes shall comply with any design standards currently adopted by the Town. 9.2.2.9 Open space and density on delineated portions of sites with steep slopes greater than fifteen (15) percent but less than or equal to thirty (30) percent. In addition to the specific development regulations set forth above, the following general open space and limits of disturbance regulations shall apply: (a) Open space. Seventy-five (75) percent of the steep slope areas shall remain in natural and permanent open space as defined in the Land Management Code. Twenty five (25) percent may be developed in accordance with the underlying zoning subject to the following conditions. (1) Maximum development density. The maximum allowable density that may be developed on the portion of the steep slope areas not set aside for open space shall be governed by the underlying zoning. However, the maximum allowable density shall be permitted only by approval of the Town Council pursuant to the visual and environmental analysis provided for in Section 9.1, and a finding that development at that density will not have a significant adverse visual or environmental affect on the community. (2) Location of development within sensitive areas. Any development permitted in steep slope areas pursuant to this section shall be located in such a manner to reduce environmental impacts to the maximum extent feasible. To Page 9-8 determine the most appropriate location for development, the Zoning Administrator shall require that the applicant conduct an environmental analysis considering location of natural drainage channels, erosion potential, vegetation protection, access, and similar site design criteria. Based upon such analysis, the Town may require any one or a combination of the following measures: Clustering of development within the sensitive areas, or Dispersal of development throughout the sensitive areas, or (b) Suitability determination. A suitability determination certifying that a development will have no significant adverse impact on adjacent properties or development shall be granted by the Planning Commission at the time of subdivision review if the following conditions are satisfied: (1) The overall development density of the entire parcel is compatible with that of adjacent properties or developments. The fact that individual lot sizes in the receiving areas may vary from those of adjacent properties or developments shall not solely be determinative of incompatibility. (2) The architecture, height, building materials, and other design features of the development in the receiving areas are compatible with adjacent properties or developments. (3) The applicant has agreed to adopt appropriate mitigation measures such as landscaping, screening, illumination standards, and other design features as recommended by the Town Planning Commission or Staff to buffer the adjacent properties from the receiving areas. (4) There are no adverse or unmitigated impacts on wildlife in the area. 9.2.2.10 Open space on portions of sites with very steep slopes (in excess of 30 percent) One hundred (100) percent of the very steep slope areas shall remain in open space. No vegetation within fifty (50) feet of the very steep slope areas shall be disturbed. 9.2.3 Wetlands and Stream or River Corridors 9.2.3.1 Intent Bear River City finds that the wetlands, stream(s) and Bear River channel corridors provide important hydrologic, biological and ecological, aesthetic, recreational, and educational functions. Important functional values of wetlands and streams can be lost or significantly impaired as a result of various development activities and additional functional values of these important resources may be lost. The following requirements and standards have been developed to promote, preserve and enhance these valuable resources and to protect them from adverse effects and potentially irreversible impacts. Page 9-9 (b) (a) (b) Revised 2012 Code 9.2.3.2 Jurisdiction All significant Wetlands and stream corridors in the Sensitive Lands Overlay Zone and elsewhere in the Town are regulated as provided herein and are subject to the jurisdiction of this ordinance. 9.2.3.3 Prohibited Activities No person shall engage in any activity that will disturb, remove, fill, dredge, clear, destroy or alter any areas, including vegetation, ("surface disturbance") within significant Wetlands and significant stream or river corridors and their respective setbacks, except as may be expressly allowed herein. 9.2.3.4 Boundary Delineation’s Wetland and stream corridor delineation’s shall be performed by a qualified professional that has demonstrated experience necessary to conduct site analysis. The qualified professional shall be approved by the Town Planning Commission or Staff and shall perform the work on behalf of Bear River City through a third-party contract where all fees, costs and expenses are borne by the applicant. Delineation of Wetlands and stream corridors shall be subject to the approval of the Town Planning Commission or Staff. Pursuant to Section 9.1.1.6, boundary delineation of Wetlands shall be establishedusing the Federal Manual For Identifying and Delineating Jurisdictional Wetlands, dated January 10, 1989, and jointly published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Soil conservation Service. Subsequent revisions to the Federal Manual shall not be incorporated as part of the methodology unless the methodology is stricter in application. Although the Federal Manual may change in the future, the Town will use this referenced manual as the main basis for Wetlands determination. Stream corridors shall be delineated at the ordinary high water mark as defined herein. 9.2.3.5 Determination of Significance. A wetland delineated pursuant to the 1989 Federal Manual shall be found significant based upon the following criteria: (1) Size. All Wetlands that occupy a surface area greater than 1/10 acre or are associated with permanent surface water are significant. (2) Location. All Wetlands that are adjacent to or contiguous with a stream corridor are significant. All stream corridors are significant. Stream Corridors shall not include ditches which are commonly known to be irrigation ditches and do not contribute to the preservation or enhancement of fisheries or wildlife. Page 9-10 9.2.3.6 Setbacks The following setbacks are considered minimum distances: (a) Setbacks from Wetlands shall extend a minimum of 100 feet outward from the delineated wetland edge. (b) Setbacks from stream corridors shall extend a minimum of 100 feet outward from the ordinary high water mark. (c) Setbacks from irrigation ditches shall extend a minimum of 50 feet from the ordinary high water mark. 9.2.3.7 Runoff Control All projects adjacent to wetlands will provide appropriate temporary (straw bail berms) and permanent runoff control to minimize sediment and other contaminants to the maximum extent feasible. These control systems must be approved by the Town Engineer. 9.2.3.8 Habitat Restoration Projects The Planning Commission and/or Town Staff may approve wetland and stream restoration and enhancement projects providing that the project plan has been reviewed by a qualified professional and approved by the appropriate State and Federal agencies with jurisdiction. All habitat restoration work shall be performed under the direct supervision of a qualified professional.