Riverton City Zoning Code

To provide meaningful protection against further degradation of water quality within the stream corridor.

To promote continued restoration of the stream corridor ecosystem.

To protect significant ecological components of the stream corridor, including, but not limited to, wildlife and plant habitat, steep slopes, stable stream banks, woodland areas, groundwater recharge zones, floodplains and wetlands.

To prevent excessive nutrients, sediment, organic matter and pollutants from reaching the surface water.

To provide shading of the aquatic realm so as to moderate temperatures, retain dissolved oxygen and support a healthy assemblage of aquatic flora and fauna.

To provide natural organic matter (fallen leaves, twigs, trees and limbs) as food and habitat for lower classification organisms essential to the ecosystem's food chain.

To preserve and restore natural stream flow patterns.

To insure adequate flood event capacity, thereby protecting the natural communities from flood damage.

To preserve recreational and education resources of the Pompeston Creek, including the visual integrity of the creek experience.

To complement state, regional, county and municipal corridor protection and management regulations and initiatives.

It is in the public interest to restore and then maintain the ecological health and vitality of the Pompeston Creek for present and future generations.

It is in the public interest to protect and enhance the scenic value of the creek, as well as its educational and recreational resources.

It is necessary and desirable to regulate the impact of land development because such activity has proven to be a significant source of environmental degradation along the Pompeston Creek.

It is necessary to regulate the total impact of site specific developments and avoid disjointed and ad hoc reviews of individual projects that affect the stream.

It is desirable to provide land use regulations that protect riparian and aquatic ecosystems in a manner that is also cognizant of the landowners' interest in making reasonable use of parcels of land that include protected stream corridor zones.

Wildlife sanctuaries, woodland preserves, public parks, and existing municipal facilities.

Pervious pedestrian and bicycle trails.

Passive recreation, including recreational fishing.

Environmentally sensitive stream restoration activity and reforestation.

Water quality and ecosystem monitoring activities.

Removal of invasive plant species as identified in the Riverton Environmental Resource Inventory.

Removal of dead or dying trees only when they threaten the health or real property (such as a building) of the landowner.

Boardwalks that are designed and constructed to minimize disturbance of the stream corridor's ecosystem.

Reconstruction of existing structures within the stream buffer zone provided such structures existed at the time this section was adopted, and the reconstructed structures are built in the same location or farther from the stream, on the same or smaller footprint and do not exceed the height of the original structure.

Preexisting accessory uses and structures, such as lawns, driveways, swimming pools, gardens, and sheds.

Alteration of the streambed or stream corridor by development, construction or land disturbance activity.

Clearing or cutting of any vegetation, except for the removal of invasive plant species as identified in the Riverton Environmental Resource Inventory.

Application or storage of pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides, and other environmentally hazardous substances unless otherwise permitted with valid state or federal approval.

Disposal of brush, debris or solid or liquid waste unless otherwise permitted with state or federal approval.

Construction of any type of permanent structures, including fences.

The expansion of existing principal structure, accessory structures and/or accessory uses.

Construction of new structures, accessory uses, surface or subsurface stormwater management and/or drainage systems, new impervious surfaces.

Discontinued uses or structures that do not resume use within one year of their discontinuation shall not be permitted and any new activity on the site for which municipal approval is required shall include the removal of discontinued uses or structures unless otherwise determined by the Zoning Board of Adjustment.

Stream buffer zone. All property within 100 feet of the top of the stream bank, or the seasonal high waterline of the streambed if a stream bank is not discernible, or the calculated one-hundred-year floodplain, whichever is greater, shall be subject to the standards included herein. The stream buffer zone shall be increased by two feet for every 1% slope as calculated based on the average slope of the initial hundred-foot buffer zone, beginning at the seasonal high waterline. The average slope shall be calculated perpendicular to the stream, at twenty-foot intervals across the property, with a minimum of three transects per site. The landowner or applicant shall be responsible for the initial determination of the stream buffer zone, which shall be reviewed and approved by the Zoning Officer in consultation as necessary with the Borough Engineer or Planner.

Provisions governing the stream buffer zone. There shall be no disturbance within the stream buffer zone unless otherwise approved in accordance with this section. Only permitted activities noted in Subsection E above may be undertaken within a stream buffer zone. All other activities, not expressly noted in Subsection E above, are expressly prohibited. Any activity within the stream buffer zone, including permitted activities, with the exception of activities in Subsection E(6) and (7) shall require review and approval by the Zoning Officer. Should the Zoning Officer determine that a site plan of the proposed activity is required, a site plan for permitted activities shall be submitted for review by the Planning Board. Proposed activities that are not permitted shall be reviewed by the Zoning Board as part of a use variance application. Proposed activities that are not permitted in the stream buffer zone, but which receive variance approval from the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall not be visible from the streambed. All activities within the stream buffer zone shall rehabilitate or cure the effects of disturbance to the zone, maintain the integrity of the surrounding habitat and advance the purposes of this section.

Stream buffer restoration. An applicant for any land development application which includes a stream buffer zone shall rehabilitate degraded areas of the stream as part of the development application. Such rehabilitation shall be conducted in such a manner as to be acceptable to the board of jurisdiction.

Stream buffer averaging. To accommodate reasonable flexibility for site planning, the Planning or Zoning Board of Adjustment may modify the stream buffer zone line and reduce it by no more than 25 feet as long as the buffer zone is increased by an equal amount elsewhere on site and such an adjustment does not adversely impact the purposes of this section.

Stream buffer conservation easement. On sites on which the stream buffer zone is modified by the local board of jurisdiction or because of preexisting, nonconforming buildings or other improvements, no new activity may begin within the stream buffer zone until a stream buffer conservation easement has been drafted, approved by the Borough and recorded with the deed of the property at the county. Such an easement will define the limits of the stream buffer zone and stipulate that the zone cannot be further reduced in size.

Development density. The land area within the stream buffer zone which is not subject to state-regulated wetlands, wetlands buffers or floodplain restriction shall not be subtracted from the buildable area of the lot relative to permissible housing density or commercial floor area development.

Stormwater management. All stormwater shall be discharged outside the stream buffer zone, but may flow through it, provided the area is stabilized adequately against increased soil erosion.

Stream buffer zone plan review required. All development applications and building permit applications on lots encumbered by a stream buffer zone shall be subject to a stream buffer zone plan review. In addition, any activity within a stream buffer zone, whether regulated by other land use procedures or not, shall require a stream buffer zone plan review, unless specifically exempt by under Subsection E(6) and (7) of this section.

Plan submission requirements. Site plan(s) for any project or parcel that requires a stream buffer zone plan review shall include the following information:

Review process. Once the submission is deemed complete by the Zoning Officer, the Zoning Officer shall review the application within 15 days and/or refer the application to the appropriate municipal board for review if required. If the stream buffer zone plan is not referred to a municipal board, the Zoning Officer will review, and if appropriate, approve the plan and issue a permit for the proposed activity. If a stream buffer conservation easement is required, it must be recorded with the county before a permit for the proposed activity can be issued and the applicant will be advised accordingly in writing by the Zoning Officer.

Appeals process. The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall be authorized to consider and decide all appeals pertaining to stream buffer zone plans, reviews and decisions.

Where a lot owner disturbs the stream buffer in violation of this section, the Zoning Officer shall require a complete remediation of the disturbed area of the stream buffer zone. Depending on the severity of the unauthorized disturbance, such restoration may return the disturbed area to its original condition or, using reasonable discretion, the Zoning Officer may require an enhanced restoration plan that will improve the environmental state of the disturbed areas. It is the intention of this section that egregious and woeful acts of disregard for the purposes of this section shall be addressed with more stringent remediation requirements. Remedial work may include the removal of unauthorized improvements, revegetation of ground cover, understory and overstory vegetation, restoration of natural topographic features, creation of habitat and other remedial operations as may be necessary to reverse the unauthorized disturbance. In incidences where a property owner refuses to calculate the site-specific limits of the one-hundred-year flood, the one-hundred-year line as determined by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) shall apply.

All areas subject to erosion shall be corrected and stabilized within 30 days of notification of the violation from the Zoning Officer. All other remedial work shall occur within 30 days of notification or, if it is not the season for planting, work shall occur prior to the end of the following April. The notice of violation shall stipulate the anticipated completion time for remedial work.

If it is determined that the violation continues after the time affixed for remediation, the Zoning Officer shall issue a citation by certified mail to the person who is in violation. The person to whom the citation is sent shall have 30 days to complete the remediation or appeal it to the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Failing to do so will result in civil penalties, not to exceed $1,000 for each violation, unless other penalties are deemed appropriate by the Court. The person to whom the citation is sent shall also be responsible for any and all costs and expenses incurred by the Borough for the violation.