If an activity that will result in the degradation of a wetland is deemed necessary to protect the public welfare, social and economic well-being or is otherwise unavoidable, a permit granting an exception to Section 1508.01 may be granted according to the following procedure:
(a) The party proposing degradation to a wetland shall submit an application to the City Wetland Review Board. The application shall include all necessary information as deemed appropriate by the City Wetland Review Board. The parties submitting the application shall also provide notification to all owners of property within 500 feet of the property that contains the wetlands;
(b) The party proposing degradation shall also submit a mitigation plan for unavoidable degradation which will include a provision to create or restore an equal or greater quantity and quality of wetlands within the City. The City Wetland Review Board may request financial assurances that the mitigation plan can be completed successfully if the permit is approved;
(c) The City Wetland Review Board shall hold a public hearing to solicit public input;
(d) The City Wetland Review Board may then make a recommendation for or against approval of the permit. In making its recommendation, the Wetland Review Board shall consider the following criteria:
(1) The extent of the impact on water quality and aquatic resources.
(2) The extent to which the applicant demonstrated that all adverse impacts on a wetland, either directly or through its associated buffer area, have been avoided or minimized through a reduction in size, scope or density or a change in design of the project, or the extent to which the applicant has proven that it is not feasible to do so.
(3) Whether the proposed activity will impact any rare, threatened, or endangered species, or supporting habitat of such species.
(4) A permit shall not be granted unless the proposed activity is in the public interest, t hat the permit is necessary to realize the benefits derived from that activity, and that the activity is otherwise lawful.
(5) In determining whether an activity is in the public interest, the expected benefit must be balanced the foreseeable detriments of the activity, both in the short and the long term. The decision shall reflect local, state and national concern for the protection of natural resources from pollution, impairment and destruction. The following general criteria shall be considered:
A. The relative extent of the public and private need for the proposed activity.
B. The availability of feasible and prudent methods to accomplish the benefits from the proposed activity.
C. The extent and performance of the beneficial or detrimental effects which the proposed activity may have on the public and private uses to which the area is suited, including the benefits that protected wetland provides.
D. The probable impact of each proposal in relation to the cumulative effect created by other existing and anticipated activities in the watershed.
E. The probable effect on recognized historic, cultural, scenic, ecological, or recreational values and on the public health or fish or wildlife.
F. The size of the wetland being considered.
G. The uniqueness or scarcity of the wetland in the general area.
H. Proximity to any waterway.
I. Economic value, both public and private, of the proposed land change to the general area.
(Ord. 120-01. Passed 4-16-01.)