Riparian buffer zones serve as natural boundaries between local waterways and development and help to protect water resources by filtering pollutants, providing infiltration of stormwater runoff, providing wildlife habitat, stabilizing the banks and restoring and maintaining the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the water resources.
It is the desire of the City of Cookeville to protect and maintain the native vegetation in riparian areas by the implementation of specifications for the establishment, protection and maintenance of vegetated buffers along all water resources within the city. These provisions apply to all lots which are contiguous with or directly adjoin water bodies determined to meet the definition of streams, ponds, wetlands, springs, reservoirs or lakes. These provisions are applicable to permanent riparian buffer zones and are not referring to temporary construction buffer zones as required by the Tennessee Construction General Permit, those buffer zones are required by state law and are separate and covered by separate ordinances.
(as added by Ord. #08-01-02, Feb. 2008, and amended by Ord. #015-01-01, February 2015)