Union Township City Zoning Code

Disturbance of Prime Ground Water Recharge Area (PGWRA), as shown in Exhibit 7, by any regulated development is prohibited and shall be permitted only upon a finding by the reviewing board that the proposal complies with the provisions of this subsection.

Development shall not occur in PGWRA unless either, the entirety of the subject property is located within a Prime Ground Water Recharge Area and thus cannot be avoided, or the disturbance represents the only viable alternate means to avoid Critical Habitat, Highlands Open Waters buffers, Vernal Pool Buffers, Moderately Constrained Steep Slopes, or Severely Constrained Steep Slopes, to the extent that these resources are also present upon the subject property.

Where total avoidance is not feasible, total recharge area disruption (i.e., alteration of natural recharge patterns or volumes) shall not exceed 15% of the PGWRA located within the affected parcels, placed where feasible on those parts of the PGWRA having the lowest relative recharge rates and the least potential for aquifer recharge based upon site analysis.

Low Impact Development practices shall be used in the design of the development proposal to reduce total recharge disruption to the minimum feasible, within the 15% cap.

Any development application involving disturbance of a PGWRA shall be accompanied by a mitigation plan, providing for an equivalent of 125% of pre-construction recharge volumes for that portion of the PGWRA that will be disturbed. The recharge mitigation shall occur within the following areas, in order of priority: (1) the same development site to the maximum extent feasible; (2) the same HUC14 subwatershed; or (3) where no feasible option exists in the same HUC14 subwatershed, an interrelated HUC14 subwatershed approved by the Highlands Council.