Info on P&Z questions - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

, ARTICLE XL WETLANDS PROTECTION Page 9 of 12 e. All structures must have a minimum basement floor elevation not less than one foot above the 100-year flood elevation. f. All hard-surface runoff must be treated in accordance with the requirements of the city and the appropriate watershed district. Treatment may include site retention, skimmers, weirs or sedimentation ponds of appropriate scale. Structures and ponds serving this purpose must be properly maintained and serviced by the property owner. g. Discharge into the wetlands must occur at a rate no greater than allowed by the city engineer in accordance with the city's surface water management plan and the appropriate MCWD requirements. (2) Setbacks. a. All buildings (principal and accessory), must be setback at least 20 feet from the upslope edge of the wetland buffer. Exceptions: Play structures (including sport court type structures), grade-level decks, patio slabs, driveways, sidewalks and parking lots. b. A setback from the buffer area is not required for overhead utility poles and lines that are less than two feet in diameter, underground utility lines and distribution equipment, light poles, traffic signals, traffic regulatory signs, mailboxes, entrance monuments meeting section 78-1405(8) and other equipment that provides an essential public service. c. A setback from the buffer area is not required for fences or retaining walls. (3) Nonconformities. a. Effect of wetland boundary expansion. An existing structure, driveway or parking area meeting the required setback from a city-designated wetland boundary or buffer area is considered a legal nonconforming development if a later wetland delineation or implementation of a wetland buffer shows that the wetland or its buffer is closer than the required setback. b. Existing nonconformities. An existing structure, driveway or parking area that does not meet the required setback from a city-designated wetland boundary or buffer area, is considered a legal nonconforming development. c. Avoiding future nonconformities. In order to avoid the creation of future nonconformities, in situations where development, redevelopment or construction activity does not trigger the establishment of a buffer, the following setbacks shall apply: 1. All new buildings shall maintain a setback from a delineated wetland boundary equivalent to the width of the buffer area per the chart in section 78-1605(c) plus the required 20 foot buffer setback. 2. All new non-structural impervious surfaces and those structures listed as exceptions in section 78-1608(2)(a) above shall maintain a setback from the delineated wetland boundary equivalent to the width of the buffer area per the chart in [section] 78-1605(c). d. Buffer flexibility. Where existing structures or surfaces are located within an area that would be required for establishment of a buffer under this article, alternative methods of wetland protection may be approved by the city council to avoid creating unreasonable impacts on the existing use of a property. Such methods may include but are not limited to buffer width averaging, redirection of drainage to an area where buffer is feasible, use of rain gardens, cisterns or rain http://library3.municode.com/default/DocView/13094/1/109/120?hilite=78 1601; 7/18/2008