1271.01 Purpose and scope.
1271.02 Applicability, compliance and violations.
1271.03 Conflicts with other regulations and severability.
1271.04 Definitions.
1271.05 Establishment of designated watercourses and riparian setbacks.
1271.06 Applications and site plans.
1271.07 Uses permitted in riparian setbacks.
1271.08 Uses prohibited in riparian setbacks.
1271.09 Non-conforming structures or uses in riparian setbacks.
1271.10 Variances and the procedures for variances and appeals.
1271.11 Inspection of riparian setbacks.
1271.12 Fees.
1271.99 Penalty.
(a) The specific purpose and intent of this regulation is to regulate uses and developments of land within designated riparian setbacks that are expected to:
(1) Reduce flood impacts on adjacent properties and structures thereon.
(2) Assist in stabilizing the banks of watercourses within the Village of Bentleyville to reduce woody debris from fallen or damaged trees, streambank erosion, and the downstream transport of sediments eroded from watercourse banks.
(3) Reduce pollutants in watercourses during periods of high flows by filtering, settling, and transforming pollutants in runoff before they enter watercourses.
(4) Benefit the Village of Bentleyville by minimizing encroachment on watercourse channels and the need for engineering solutions such as gabion baskets and rip rap to protect structures, reduce property damage and threats to the safety of Bentleyville residents.
(b) The following regulation has been enacted to provide reasonable controls governing structures and uses within a riparian setback along designated watercourses in the Village of Bentleyville .
(Ord. 2007-12. Passed 8-15-07.)
(a) This regulation shall not limit or restrict the application of other provisions of law, regulation, contract, or deed, or the legal remedies available thereunder.
(b) If any clause, section, or provision of this regulation is declared invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, validity of the remainder shall not be affected thereby.
(Ord. 2007-12. Passed 8-15-07.)
For the purpose of this regulation, the following terms shall have the meaning herein indicated:
(a) “Community.” Throughout this regulation, this shall refer to the Village of Bentleyville or its designated representatives, boards, or commissions.
(b) “Damaged or diseased trees.” Trees that have split trunks; broken tops; heart rot; insect or fungus problems that will lead to imminent death; undercut root systems that put the tree in imminent danger of falling; lean as a result of root failure that puts the tree in imminent danger of falling; or any other condition that puts the tree in imminent danger of being uprooted or falling into or along a watercourse or onto a structure.
(c) “Designated watercourse.” A watercourse within the Village of Bentleyville that is in conformity with the criteria set forth in this regulation.
(d) “Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).” The agency with overall responsibility for administering the National Flood Insurance Program.
(e) “Impervious cover.” Any paved, hardened, or structural surface regardless of its composition including, but not limited to, buildings, roads, driveways, parking lots, loading/unloading areas, patios, and swimming pools.
(f) “Noxious weed.” Any plant species defined by the Ohio Department of Agriculture as a “noxious weed” and listed as such by the Department. For the purposes of this regulation, the most recent version of this list at the time of application of this regulation shall prevail.
(g) “100-year floodplain.” Any land susceptible to being inundated by water from a base flood. The base flood is the flood that has a one percent or greater chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
(h) “Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.” Referred throughout this regulation as the “Ohio EPA.”
(i) “Ordinary high water mark.” The point of the bank or shore to which the presence and action of surface water is so continuous as to leave a district marked by erosion, destruction or prevention of woody terrestrial vegetation, predominance of aquatic vegetation, or other easily recognized characteristic. The ordinary high water mark defines the bed of a watercourse.
(j) “Recreational motorized vehicle.” Any motorized vehicle such as four wheel ATV's, motocross or dirtbikes, go carts or any other motorized vehicles that does not have a utility purpose or is not used for maintenance of lawns, landscaping, trees or other maintenance purposes.
(k) “Riparian area.” Land adjacent to watercourses that, if appropriately sized, helps to stabilize streambanks, limit erosion, reduce flood size flows, and/or filter and settle out runoff pollutants, or performs other functions consistent with the purposes of this regulation.
(l) “Riparian setback.” The real property adjacent to a designated watercourse located in the area defined by the criteria set forth in this regulation.
(m) “Soil disturbing activity.” Clearing, grading, excavating, filling, or other alteration of the earth's surface where natural or human made ground cover is destroyed and which may result in, or contribute to, erosion and sediment pollution.
(n) “Substantial damage.” Damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before damaged condition would be equal to, or would exceed, 50% of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
(o) “Watercourse.” Any brook, channel, creek, river, or stream having banks, a defined bed, and a definite direction of flow, either continuously or intermittently flowing. This does not include man-made drainage swales, ditches or channels.
(p) “Wetland.” Those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions, including swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas. (40 CFR 232, as amended).
(Ord. 2007-12. Passed 8-15-07.)
(a) Designated watercourses shall include those watercourses meeting any one of the following criteria:
(1) All watercourses draining an area greater than one-half square mile, or
(2) All watercourses draining an area less than one-half square mile and having a defined bed and bank. In determining if watercourses have a defined bed and bank, the Village of Bentleyville may consult with the Chagrin River Watershed Partners or other comparable technical experts as deemed necessary. Any costs associated with such consultations may be assessed to the applicant.
(b) Riparian setbacks on designated watercourses are established as follows:
(1) A minimum of one hundred twenty feet on either side of all watercourses draining an area greater than twenty square miles and up to three hundred square miles.
(2) A minimum of seventy-five feet on either side of all watercourses draining an area greater than one-half square mile and up to twenty square miles.
(3) A minimum of twenty-five feet on either side of all watercourses draining an area less than one-half square mile and having a defined bed and bank as determined by the Village of Bentleyville in Section 1271.05 of this regulation.
(c) Riparian Setback Map. The Village of Bentleyville shall create a map identifying designated watercourses and their riparian setbacks. Said map is attached to Ordinance 2007-12 as Exhibit A, and made part of this regulation. It shall be used as a reference guide with determination as to its accuracy made at the time of application.
(d) The following conditions shall apply in riparian setbacks:
(1) Riparian setbacks shall be measured in a horizontal direction outward from the ordinary high water mark of each designated watercourse.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in this regulation, riparian setbacks shall be preserved in their natural state.
(Ord. 2007-12. Passed 8-15-07; Ord. 2009-23. Passed 11-23-09.)
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