04-16-2013 - Request for council action

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may exist, and may be identified by wetland delineations under WCA rules. If a specific wetland delineation has been done under WCA rules, then the boundaries of the wetland overlay district for that location will be as shown in the delineation. The city may require wetland delineations to determine compliance with WCA rules and to determine administrative wetland boundaries; however, property owners may have wetland delineations done for their properties on their own initiative. The delineation must be done by a qualified professional according to WCA rules and be acceptable to the planning director, who may require review by city consultants or a technical evaluation panel if necessary. Approved WCA wetland delineations must be provided to the city in a hard copy format and a CAD or GIS format in Hennepin County coordinates. The planning director will have the approved WCA wetland delineations shown on the official city wetland map. Public waters are not included in the overlay district, unless a wetland is part of a public water. (Ord. No. 28 3rd series, § 1, 8-22-2005) Sec. 78-1604. -Interpretation of wetlands boundaries. Whenever a wetland boundary is disputed or uncertain, the planning director may require the submission of a registered survey of the property and field staking showing the city-designated wetland contour or a delineation of the wetland, and such other information as the director may require in order to resolve the dispute or uncertainty. The planning director may require review by city consultants or a technical evaluation panel if necessary. No boundary change may be authorized on the basis of fill that was placed on the site after the city designated the area as part of the wetland overlay district. Persons aggrieved by a decision of the planning director may appeal such decision in accordance with the provisions of section 78-99 of this chapter and the WCA rules. (Ord. No. 28 3rd series, § 1, 8-22-2005) DIVISION 3. -BUFFER AREAS Sec. 78-1605. -Wetland buffer areas. Sec. 78-1605. -Wetland buffer areas. (a) This subsection establishes requirements for wetland buffer areas around protected wetlands. Buffer areas are necessary and beneficial to maintain the health of wetlands. Buffer areas protect the edge of wetlands from erosion while filtering sediment, chemicals and other nutrients from runoff that drains into wetlands. Buffer areas can improve the biological diversity and health of a wetland environment while reducing the adverse impacts of human activities. (b) Buffer areas regulated by this section are areas of vegetative cover that are upland of the wetland edge, and that occur in a natural condition or through restoration. Buffer areas consist of shrubbery and trees, native grasses and/or forbs that are not mowed, fertilized or manicured in any manner. Mowing, fertilizing, manicuring, or vegetation removal within a buffer area is not allowed unless the city has issued a permit for such activity in conjunction with an approved buffer management plan. (1) Acceptable buffer areas shall have the following qualities: a. A continuous dense layer of perennial grasses that have been uncultivated or unbroken for at least ten consecutive years, or b. An over story of trees and/or shrubs with at least 80 percent canopy closure that have been uncultivated or unbroken for at least ten consecutive years, or c. A mixture of the plant communities described in a. and b. above, which have been uncultivated or unbroken for at least ten consecutive years. (2) Unacceptable buffer areas have the following qualities, including but not limited to: a. Undesirable plant species (including but not limited to reed canary grass, common buckthorn, purple loosestrife, leafy spurge and noxious weeds), or b. Lacking a layer of organic thatch or duff, or c. Topography which tends to channelize the flow of surface runoff, or d. Is characteristically unlikely to retain nutrients and sediment.