Ordinance 3129-09 - Laserfiche WebLink

Restoration and Land Use Concepts Floodway from their current Flood Fringe or Special Development area overlay zones in the City or Density Fringe in the unincorporated County. The subarea would be subject to new FEMA "reasonable and prudent alternative" elements including the requirement that floodplain activities meet mapping requirements and avoid habitat functional changes through avoidance or mitigation. Dikes within the proposal would also need to meet new vegetation requirements. Everett's floodplain regulations will be updated as FEMA updates requirements and guidance. The habitat restoration and dike setback proposals may assist the City in meeting criteria for lower flood insurance rates. The City is supportive of state legislation, such as House Bill 2199, that would assure that while the ordinary high water mark may move further inland as a result of the tidal restoration, there would be a means to avoid additional shoreline regulations and permitting for adjacent properties not previously subject to such requirements. 3.3.2 Restoration Potential/Feasibility The subarea plan proposes substantial habitat restoration and recreation/public access opportunities. This section will discuss the benefits and feasibility issues inherent in the plan. A breakdown of the amount and types of habitat creation and recreational facilities are shown in Tables 1-1 and 3-1. 3.3.2.1 Restoration Feasibility The Marshland is an area that has been identified as having significant fish and wildlife restoration potential, but also significant technical challenges, including hydrology/hydraulic issues, geotechnical issues, diverse property ownership, transportation and utility facilities. The maximum restoration concepts in this plan appear to be feasible when considering factors such as property owner willingness to participate, and protection of utilities and transportation infrastructure. However, significant technical feasibility and design issues remain to be answered by future hydrologic and hydraulic studies, and geotechnical investigations and analysis. The future studies will likely result in changes to the existing conceptual plans, such as changes in dike locations, changes to the planned infrastructure shown in Figure 3-1, and changes to the habitat and wetland types shown in Figures 3-1 and 3-2. The studies should consider alternative designs that maximize restoration while minimizing impacts if future studies show that the restoration concepts are not feasible as Draft Subarea Plan June 2009 Everett Marshland 47 070346-01