Property owners are prohibited from increasing or decreasing the existing shoreline of the lake. Owners of property contiguous to the lake may make, at their own cost, shoreline improvements if approved by the Moss Lake Commission. Plans for the improvements must be submitted to the Building Inspector, and shall include the following: existing site plan; new and proposed contours with profile showing existing and proposed improvements; and location and details of rip-rap and seawall. The plans shall be reviewed by the Building Inspector for compliance with the chapter, and forwarded to the Moss Lake Commission. In determining whether the improvements should be allowed, the Moss Lake Commission shall weigh the applicant’s need for shoreline improvement against the aesthetic appeal of an unhardened (natural) shoreline. It is the policy of the city to give preference to maintaining the natural shoreline whenever possible, while preserving the property of the contiguous property owner.
(A) Dredging.
(1) Boating access may be improved by removal of earth from the lake bottom below elevation 736.0 feet MSL. The Moss Lake Commission may require this new slope be rip-rapped from elevation 733.0 to elevation 739.0 to prevent erosion. No excavation is permitted to alter the existing 736.0 contour. The shoreline may be graded back from the 736.0 contour to the 744.0 elevation at a slope not steeper than two to one unless a retaining wall is allowed and constructed.
(2) Earth removed from the lake bottom shall be disposed of in an approved manner. Disposed material shall be stabilized, seeded, fertilized and mulched in a manner which will prevent erosion and silting of the lake or adjacent streams. No dredged material may be disposed of within the city’s control strip.
(3) Before excavating, the property owner must notify the State Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources, Division of Land Resources, Land Quality Section, Post Office Box 950, Mooresville, North Carolina 28115, phone (704) 663-1699 and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Regulatory Field Office, Room 75, Grove Arcade Building, 37 Battery Park Avenue, Asheville, North Carolina 28801, phone (704) 259-0857, in order to determine if any wetlands will be affected or permits required. Correspondence from the state and corps must be submitted to the Moss Lake Commission with the appropriate plans and lake dredging application.
(4) A deposit or performance bond equal to 100% of the contract price to perform the dredging will be required prior to the property owner initiating work. The deposit will be returned upon completion of the excavation, if work is in accordance with the permit and approved plans. If the property owner fails to complete the work proposed to the satisfaction of the Moss Lake Commission or other approving agency, the Moss Lake Commission shall seize the deposit or performance bond, and the City Engineer is authorized to hire a contractor to complete the job according to the approved plans and all applicable permits.
(B) Rip-rap. Stone for rip-rap shall conform to NCDOT Class 1 or Class B for erosion control. The depth of any allowed rip-rap shall not be less than one foot and shall extend from elevation 733.0 to 739.0.
(C) Concrete. Any allowed concrete lining for shoreline protection shall consist of 3,000 psi minimum concrete not less than four inches in thickness, and shall extend from elevation 733.0 to 739.0. The bottom edge shall attach to a toe-footing extending not less than one foot, vertically into the lake bottom and having a thickness of not less than six inches.
(D) Seawall.
(1) A seawall, or retainer wall for erosion control, if permitted, must be constructed on the existing 736.0 contour. Earth fills below the 736.0 contour are prohibited.
(2) A gravity type seawall shall be constructed of stone or mass concrete (3,000 psi minimum). Mortar used in seawall construction shall consist of one part portland cement, one-fourth part hydrated lime, three and three-quarters parts sand (maximum) with no more water than necessary to make a workable mixture. The use of concrete building blocks is not permitted.
(3) Properly designed steel or aluminum sheet piling systems are acceptable alternative construction materials.
(Prior Code, § 14-75) (Ord. passed 3-31-1992; Ord. 14-01, passed 2-25-2014)