The following standards shall apply for all riparian buffer zones:
A. The vegetated buffer shall begin at the ordinary high water level and break in slope of the water resource.
B. The riparian buffer width shall depend upon the assessment status of the drainage area's receiving waters for the project. Streams and other waters with available parameters for siltation or habitat alteration or unassessed waters will require buffer widths of 30 feet average. Streams or other waters listed as Exceptional Tennessee Waters or water with unavailable parameters for siltation or habitat alteration will require buffer widths of 60 feet average. The required width of the buffer zone may be averaged, as long as the minimum width of the buffer zone is equal to or greater than one half the average width given above. Buffer averaging must be applied to each side of the stream or other waters independently.
C. The vegetative target for the riparian buffer is undisturbed native vegetation with woody vegetation (i.e. trees and shrubs) being the dominant plant form along the banks.
D. There shall be no septic systems, permanent structures or impervious cover within the riparian buffer zone.
E. Stormwater discharges should enter the riparian buffer as sheet flow, not as concentrated flow. Exceptions to this are at the discretion of the Public Works Department where site conditions would not allow sheet flow to be achieved prior to entering the riparian buffer.
(as added by Ord. #08-01-02, Feb. 2008, and amended by Ord. #015-01-01, February 2015, and Ord. #O24-06-18, July 2024)