(A) A buffer shall be established along each side of all blue line streams in new developments. Consistent with Greenville County Code § 18-24, a 15-foot drainage easement is required on normally dry waterways. A 15-foot drainage easement is required from the top of the stream bank on each side of live streams draining less than 50 acres. A 35-foot wide stream buffer is required on each side of all stream banks for live streams draining 50 acres or more. The stream buffer may be wooded or non-wooded. New and replacement trees required to be planted under this article may be planted in the stream buffers. The management requirements for stream buffers are:
(1) The existing vegetation within the stream buffer shall not be disturbed except as provided in (B) below. This prohibition includes, but is not limited to, disturbance by tree removal, shrub removal, clearing, mowing, burning, spraying, and grazing.
(2) Soil disturbance shall not take place within the stream buffer by grading, stripping of topsoil, plowing, cultivating, or other practices, except as provided in (D) below.
(3) Filling or dumping shall not occur within the stream buffer.
(4) Except as permitted by the County and/or State, the stream buffer shall not be drained by
ditching, under drains, or other drainage systems unless an existing drainage system is in place that adequately services the new uses.
(5) Motorized vehicles shall not be stored or operated within the stream buffer, except for maintenance and emergency use approved by the Building Official and Zoning Administrator.
(B) The following structures, practices, and activities are permitted in the stream buffer:
(1) Roads, bridges, trails, storm drainage, stormwater management facilities, and utilities approved by Greenville County and/or the State of South Carolina are permitted within the buffer provided that no other practical alternative exists and that minimal disturbance will take place. Simple road crossings, close to perpendicular to the buffer, are permitted. All structures shall be located, designed, constructed, and maintained to provide optimum erosion protection, to have the least adverse effects on wildlife, aquatic life, and their habitats, and to maintain hydrologic processes and water quality.
(2) Stream restoration projects, facilities and activities approved by Greenville County or the State of South Carolina are permitted within the stream buffer.
(3) Scientific studies approved by the department, including water quality monitoring and stream gauging, are permitted within the stream buffer.
(4) Horticulture practices, including thinning and planting, may be used to maintain the health of individual trees in the stream buffer.
(5) Hazard trees and invasive species in the buffer may be removed. Removal of trees in the buffer must be accomplished using equipment with which a minimal disturbance will take place.
(6) Other forest management and timber cutting techniques approved by Greenville County and/or the State of South Carolina may be undertaken within the buffer if necessary to preserve the buffer from extensive pest infestation, disease infestation, or threat from fire.
(C) Minimum 25-foot undisturbed buffer on all sides of jurisdictional wetlands is required. Buffers shall not apply to the specific wetlands, other than blue line streams, for which an impact permit has been issued by SCDHEC and/or the USACE. If a jurisdictional wetland falls below the minimum size required for a permit by SCDHEC and/or USACE, no buffer is required.
(D) The acreage contained within the stream buffer(s) shall count toward the allowable density when developing under provisions of either option in an Open Space Residential Development.
(E) The buffer requirements of this article shall be in addition to the landscaping and screening requirements in Ordinance No. 4048 of the Greenville County Zoning Ordinance. In the event of conflicts between the two ordinances, the most restrictive shall apply.
(Ord. 4173, passed 1-22-2008)