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The Lakes and Watershed Commission has scheduled two public input sessions on the revised draft shoreland and riparian management plan: Tuesday, November 17 (Verona Senior Center, 108 Paoli St) and Wednesday, November 18 (Sun Prairie City Office meeting room, 300 E Main St). Both meetings will be from 7-9 p.m.
Anyway, click Myths and Facts about the Waterbody Classification Project to get a PDF document prepared by the Department of Planning & Development & Office of Lakes and Watersheds answering many of the claims made against the project.
"The purpose of the project is to develop a better understanding of the unique characteristics of various types of waterbodies, their resilience to shoreland development and to develop strategies to protect those waters....The LWC is holding two public hearings November 17th and 18th in the event the Commission and the Board decides to consider approval/adoption of the plan."
The full revised draft:
Waterbody Classification: Shoreland and Riparian Management Plan, Public Hearing Draft 11-5-09
Excerpts:
Dane County Waterbody Classification Project
Phase II: Shoreland and Riparian Management Plan
B. Executive Summary
1. Problem
Shorelands, or the areas closest to navigable waters, provide critical functions related to the water quality, ecology, biodiversity and environmental health of Dane County’s waters....[P]oorly designed urban and suburban development in shoreland areas can have disproportionate environmental impacts....Although many of these impacts can be effectively mitigated with relatively inexpensive design, landscaping and engineering practices, such practices are not common in current single-lot residential development, even in shoreland areas.
Recent science suggests that individual waters respond to development impacts in different ways....Dane County’s current shoreland management program, however, is based on an antiquated statewide model ordinance that applies the same rigid zoning standards to all unincorporated shorelands in the county, making no distinction between environmentally sensitive and more resilient waters....
In incorporated cities and villages, shoreland management practices vary widely from community to community....This results in uneven and inconsistent shoreland management, along the same body of water.
2. Response
The Shoreland and Riparian Management Plan attempts to create a flexible, yet rigorous, set of
recommendations to better protect Dane County’s surface waters from near-shore impacts....One size does not fit all. The Shoreland and Riparian Management Plan builds on the sound science and research of the Phase I Waterbody Classification Report, which classifies Dane County Waters into Urban, Developing and Rural categories, based on their physical characteristics and planned level of development....
The Shoreland and Riparian Management Plan fills in a critical gap by specifically addressing impacts to critical areas immediately adjacent to county surface waters....
3. Purposes
• Protect, enhance and restore water quality, habitat, and natural scenic beauty.
• Treat different types of waterbodies differently.
• Treat similar types of waterbodies similarly.
• Provide consistency across government boundaries.
• Allow flexibility for landowner & municipalities.
• Complement other water-related efforts.
• Focus limited resources where they will do the most good.
4. Approach
The Shoreland and Riparian Management Plan takes a multi-pronged approach to addressing impacts to Dane County’s waters resulting from shoreland development. The plan applies to shoreland areas within unincorporated and incorporated communities of Dane County. Under state law, “shorelands” are defined as areas within 1,000 feet of the ordinary highwater mark of navigable lakes or ponds and within 300 feet of navigable streams and rivers. Non-navigable waters, such as artificial dry stormwater basins with no natural waterway history, or active agricultural drainages exempted by state law, would not be affected.
5. Policies
The plan recommends using a variety of strategies and implementation tools to achieve goals and objectives for each class of navigable water. Specific policy recommendations include:
a. Shoreland Zoning Regulations: For each class of Urban, Developing and Rural lakes, ponds, rivers and streams, the plan recommends two sets of regulatory policies: traditional zoning standards, based on setbacks and designated buffer areas, and performance-based standards, based on designs that meet objective, measurable engineering criteria....
b. Public Lands: The Dane County Waterbody Classification System should be considered during future updates to the Parks and Open Space Plan, the Land and Water Conservation Plan, and other priority-setting documents for county land acquisition. Dane County should also set a very high standard for environmental stewardship and management of all publicly-owned shoreland properties.
c. Public Infrastructure: County, municipal, regional and state facilities should be managed to minimize their negative impact on the condition of Dane County surface water resources....
d. Incentives and Technical Assistance: Existing cost-share and other incentive programs should use the Dane County Waterbody Classification System to better target funding to those waters that can most benefit from particular programs. Dane County should also develop new incentive and costshare programs for riparian landowners who volunteer to restore shoreland habitat on their property.
e. Education and Outreach: Dane County and its partners conduct a variety of outreach and
educational programs focused on protecting, restoring or enhancing Dane County’s surface waters, and to assist local governments, landowners and others with natural resource protection, invasive species control, habitat protection and native landscaping. Educational programs should be targeted to the specific needs of each waterbody class.
END OF EXCERPT
Doug,
ReplyDeleteI received the two of the scare mailings (I've started referring to such snail mail as "spam", guess that's my gen X showing through), and while immediately suspicious, and after reading those as well as the links you provided, I'm still not sure of the scope of this proposed ordinance... The scare mail said something about having to get additional permits if you're doing something as simple as adding a deck onto your house, and I would argue that having to spend several hundred (or thousand) dollars *would* be a big expense for someone who is used to doing work themselves.
I was looking at putting on a small front porch this year (~8x14' or so) and was looking at doing it myself. The material cost wasn't bad at all (between $750-900), but the fees and other expenses would have been actually almost doubled the cost. $500 for a lot survey, however much for the easement request (can't remember), $50 building permit, etc... To insist on an additional "lake vicinity" permit just to put in a porch/deck (and since we along with most other Monona residents live within 1000' of the shoreline) seems a bit odious, if you ask me.
Now, this is just an exampled based on my experience trying to put in a deck (ended up with landscaping instead, particularly due to the fees/easement/etc), which was mentioned in the scare mail. I'm fine with ordinances to protect our lakes and waterways, but do we really need to go almost 1/4 mile inland of any body of water to insist on additional permits for something as simple as a few post-holes dug, or a shed put up on a corner of your property?
Below is a response from County Supervisor Robin Schmidt. Basically, there is no proposed ordinance right now and one is imminent. Robin's comments:
ReplyDelete"Doug - my comments would simply be that there is NO ordinance being drafted for County Board review/approval - there is a report that does suggest that ordinances may follow- but right now, no ordinances are being proposed or drafted.
I have assured several constituents that I would not support any ordinance changes without full disclosure of what impacts they would have on Monona
properties (both water quality impacts as well as property impacts) and public meetings in Monona.
Right now, the county has agreed to not move forward on developing any ordinance changes until DNR revises ch. NR 115 - and most likely any changes that we make would then be to comply with state law. I don't believe these changes at the state level are imminent.
Again to reiterate - this report does not make policy changes, nor does it change any ordinance (although I agree the wording certainly implies that such changes are imminent). If I were on Lakes and Watershed, I would have approached this report differently, but the report does not go before the County Board for approval - it is a Commission project that was done with a DNR grant, not county funding.
I hope this helps - and I can follow up with you after attending the meeting tomorrow night in Sun Prairie, in case I hear anything different than what I stated above.
Thanks for asking!
Robin"
I also followed up with Travis to clarify his situation. It turns out under law he needed a zoning variance to build the porch he proposed and that was why he needed a survey and had to pay the 'easement' fee (actually, the zoning variance application fee).
ReplyDeleteBecause there is no draft ordinance to implement the recommendations of the report, it is impossible to say what will be required.