Apr 10, 2008
Wetlands law
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Stressing education to reduce violations
Is a permit required to do gardening work within 150 feet of a wetland? How about to cut down trees? Or to lay sand down on a beach?
The answer to all of these is maybe.
The Lewisboro Planning Board regularly reviews violations of the town wetlands law, often by people who have been misinformed or who just didn’t realize their actions required a permit. Now, with a new initiative, the board is attempting to reduce the number of people charged with violations by educating residents about when a wetlands permit is required.
“Everybody is aware that when you do some work on your house, you’ll probably need a building permit,” town wetlands inspector Bruce Barber told The Ledger. “We want to encourage people, if they’re working on their site, to think, Do they need a wetlands permit?”
According to the Town Code, which is available at the town’s Web site, lewisborogov.com, only a few activities are strictly prohibited by the wetlands law: construction of a septic system inside a wetland, discharge of untreated storm water into a wetland, construction of chemical or petroleum storage, animal feed lots, or manure storage within the 150-foot buffer, and disposing of construction or demolition materials, including asphalt, within the buffer.
All other activities would be allowed, although some might require a permit. The largest category of activity that would not require a permit is normal ground maintenance — but Mr. Barber emphasized this applied only to “existing landscaped areas.” Some residents have received violations for attempting to maintain areas within the wetlands buffer that had not been previously landscaped — expanding a lawn, clearing an area for a garden or other use. Recent cases before the Planning Board have included people clearing brush to improve a view, cutting down large numbers of trees, or moving a stone wall closer to a regulated wetland.
“We’re trying to work with people to prevent these things from happening,” Mr. Barber said. He tries to look at whether or not an area had previously been maintained to determine whether an activity would fall under normal ground maintenance. Laying down sand on a beach, for example, may be permitted as normal maintenance, unless in doing so the beach gets bigger.
Once work gets into a wetland, the restrictions become even tighter. Residents along the lakes have been hit with violations for dredging without a permit, for replacing docks with larger or smaller docks, and for clearing aquatic weeds, including with pesticides. Members of the Planning Board have met with the town Lakes Committee to attempt to educate residents as to what is permissable and what might need a permit, in an attempt to reduce the number of lake-related violations.
“What we really want to drive home is that we’re here as a resource,” said Mr. Barber. “It’s not to be an impediment.”
He said he was available to discuss projects in advance, so residents could learn whether they might need a permit before work starts. He may be contacted through the Planning Board secretary at 763-5592.
Improving the process
While the board works to improve communication, it has been asked by the Town Board to come up with improvements to the wetlands law itself — specifically, to improve the process for residents without changing any of the environmental protections enshrined in the law.
“Our goal is to have zero impact on the environment with 100% help to the homeowners in streamlining the process,” said board Chairman P.J. Rossi.
The ad hoc group that is looking at the proposed revisions is composed of two members each from the Planning Board and the Town Board, as well as representatives of other related groups, like the Conservation Advisory Council and the Architecture and Community Appearance Review Council. The group has already begun meeting and it is hoped it will present its recommendations to the Planning Board by this summer, said Mr. Rossi.
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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