Ordinance 2332-98 - Laserfiche WebLink

4. When the minimum buffer for a wetland extends into an area with a slope of greater than twenty-five percent, the buffer shall be the greater of: a. The minimum buffer for that particular wetland; or b. Twenty-five feet beyond the point where the slope becomes twenty-five percent or less. E. Standard Wetland Buffer Width Reduction. The planning director may, using Review Process II.C, reduce the standard wetland buffer width only when there has previously been substantial legal alteration of the wetland and/or buffer on the subject lot or adjoining lots. The planning director shall require buffer width averaging rather than allowing a buffer width reduction except when the proposal includes a wetland and buffer enhancement plan that improves the functional values of the buffer and the wetland. An enhanced buffer shall not result in more than a fifty percent reduction in the standard buffer width, and the reduced buffer shall not be less than the minimum dimension allowed by buffer width averaging. F. Buffer Width Averaging. The city may allow buffer width averaging, provided that the total area on the lot contained within the buffer is not less than that required within the standard buffer, and that averaging will not reduce the wetland functional values. The city may require buffer width averaging in order to provide protection to a particular portion of a wetland which is especially sensitive, or to incorporate existing significant vegetation or habitat areas into the buffer. Buffer width averaging shall not adversely impact the functions and values of the wetland. The adjusted minimum buffer width shall not be less than fifty percent of the standard buffer width or twenty feet, whichever is greater. (Ord. 1838-91 § 10, 1991.) Section 2: Section 14 of Ordinance No. 1838-91(EMC 37.140) which reads as follows: Section 14: Standard Stream Buffer Requirements: A. Standard Buffer Width: It is the goal of this chapter to preserve streams and their buffers in a natural condition to the maximum extent possible. Buffers shall be measured from the top of the upper bank or, if that cannot be determined, from the ordinary high-water mark as surveyed in the field. In braided channels and alluvial fans, the top of the bank or ordinary high-water mark shall be determined so as to include the entire stream feature. Except for category IV streams, if the designated buffer contains significant vegetation with drip lines extending beyond the edge of the buffer, the buffer shall be extended to five feet beyond the outside edge of the drip 6