Item 2: Ordinance on Water Quality Overlay Zone

Home Browse Search

(1) Vegetation Removal. Vegetation removal in order to accommodate a use listed in EC 9.4780(3) shall comply with the following standards: (a) Vegetation removal in excess of that allowed by EC 9.4780(2)(b) shall be the minimum necessary to accommodate the use; and (b) Any clearing of vegetation that is not within the footprint of uses approved in accordance with EC 9.4780(3), or uses approved through an adjustment approved under EC 9.8030(25), must be followed by replanting in accordance with the requirements of subsection (2) below. (2) Planting and Replanting. Planting or replanting of areas that are cleared or graded in order to accommodate a use listed in EC 9.4780(3) and that are located outside of the use’s footprint shall comply with the following standards: (a) Plantings of plants and vegetation provided they are not Invasive, Non-Native Plant species as defined in EC 9.0500 Definitions, including some tree or large shrub species and planted in sufficient quantity and location to provide bank stability and to create substantial shading of the channel during times of peak solar input; (b) Except as required in (d) below, the plant species and plant spacing to be utilized shall further the objective of increasing, to the greatest extent practicable, the capacity of the /WQ Management Area to filter pollutants from runoff that flows across the /WQ Management Area; (c) Plant species selected for all plantings shall be appropriate to the site given its topography, hydrology, and soil type; (d) Areas of bare soil existing as a result of vegetation removal shall be protected or covered consistent with EC 6.625 through EC 6.645, and replanted or mulched and seeded with straw mulch and native seed within 15 days of disturbance; (e) Disturbed areas shall be re-planted consistent with this section as soon as practicable, but no later than March15 of the calendar year following disturbance; and (f) A 70% survival rate of plantings shall be guaranteed for a 3-year period in the form of a financial deposit, bond or other means sufficient to cover the cost to remove dead and dying species, and to purchase and replant with living species. City staff shall be granted access to the planted area by the property owner as a condition of approval for this use in order to monitor the establishment of the plantings during this 3-year period. (3) Construction Practices. Construction to accommodate a use listed in EC 9.4780(3) shall comply with the following standards: (a) Construction, maintenance, repair, reconstruction and restoration activities shall be planned and timed so as to minimize adverse impacts to water quality; (b) For purposes of this subsection, heavy machinery is defined as motorized or mechanized machinery or equipment capable of deliberately or inadvertently damaging vegetation, or damaging or compacting soil. The following standards shall apply to use of heavy machinery within the /WQ Management Area: Ordinance - 14