(A) Every person owning, leasing property or otherwise controlling property (“owner”) through which a watercourse or publicly owned irrigation and/or stormwater canal or channel (“watercourse”) originates or passes shall keep and maintain that part of the watercourse within the property free of trash, debris and other obstacles that would pollute, contaminate or significantly retard the flow of water through the watercourse. The owner shall not remove healthy bank vegetation beyond that actually necessary for maintenance, nor perform vegetation management in such a manner as to increase the vulnerability of the watercourse to erosion. The owner shall be responsible for maintaining and stabilizing that portion of the watercourse that is within that owner’s property, within regulatory frameworks, to a reasonable standard as determined by the Director, in order to protect against erosion and degradation of the watercourse originating or passing through the property.
(B) Every owner of property through which a watercourse originates or passes shall maintain existing privately owned structures within or adjacent to a watercourse, so that such structures will not become a hazard to the use, function or physical integrity of the watercourse.
(C) Every owner is responsible to comply with all laws, rules and regulations of state or federal agencies that may have jurisdiction over wetlands and waterways. Maintenance must be done in a manner that does not adversely impact waterway species.
(Ord. 625, passed 12-1-2015)