(A) In order to protect and improve water quality, a riparian buffer easement shall be created and
recorded as part of any subdivision or land development that encompasses a riparian buffer.
(B) Except as required by of the 25 Pa. Code, Chapter 102, the riparian buffer easement shall be measured to be the greater of the limit of the 100-year floodplain or, as required by the township zoning ordinance, a minimum of 37 and one-half feet from the center of the bed of a perennial or intermittent stream or watercourse (on each side).
(C) Minimum management requirements for riparian buffers include:
(1) Existing native vegetation shall be protected and maintained within the riparian buffer easement; and
(2) Whenever practicable, invasive vegetation shall be actively removed, and the riparian buffer easement shall be planted with native trees, native shrubs and other native vegetation to create a diverse native plant community appropriate to the intended ecological context of the site.
(D) The riparian buffer easement shall be granted to and enforceable by the township and shall be recorded in the Bucks County Recorder of Deed’s office, so that it shall run with the land and shall limit the use of the property located therein. The easement shall allow for the continued private ownership.
(E) Any permitted use within the riparian buffer easement shall be conducted in a manner that will maintain the extent of the existing 100-year floodplain, improve or maintain the stream stability, and preserve and protect the ecological function of the floodplain.
(F) The following conditions shall apply when public and/or private recreation trails are permitted within riparian buffers:
(1) Trails shall be for non-motorized use only; and
(2) Trails shall be designed to have the least impact on native plant species and other sensitive environmental features.
(G) Septic drain fields and sewage disposal systems shall not be permitted within the riparian buffer easement and shall comply with setback requirements established under 25 Pa. Code, Chapter 73, to the riparian buffer easement boundary line.
(Ord. 239, passed 10-14-2020)