ORDINANCE NO. 503
An Ordinance To Repeal Section 2.40 of Chapter Two (2) of the General Ordinances and to Create Section 7.0308 of Chapter Seven (7), the Zoning Ordinance of the Village of River Hills, Creating the Primary Environmental Conservancy Zoning Corridor District, and Establishing Regulations Regarding the Use of Land in the Primary Environmental Conservancy Corridor Zoning District.
The Village
Board of the Village of River Hills,
Section I. Section 2.40 of Chapter Two (2) of the General Ordinances of the Village of River Hills is hereby repealed.
Section II. Section 7.0308 of Chapter Seven (7) of the Zoning Ordinance of
the General Ordinances of the Village of River Hills is hereby created to read
as follows:
A. Authority.
This Ordinance is adopted pursuant to the
authority granted to the Village of River Hills (the “Village”) by Sections
61.34(1) and 61.35 of the Wisconsin Statutes.
B. Purpose.
The purpose of this Ordinance is to preserve
the quality and to encourage stewardship of the natural environment within the
Village in order to promote the health, safety and general welfare of the
residents of the Village. Specifically, by regulating the use of lands within
the Primary Environmental Corridor Conservancy Zoning District (the “District”)
by creating a riparian buffer zone through the creation of district boundaries
as identified in Sec. D below, the Ordinance will avoid public harm to the
Village resulting from the loss of healthy ecological systems and diminution of
water quality.
C. Intent.
The intent of this Ordinance is to manage and
control the use of land within the District so as to (a) maintain and preserve
the fishable and swimmable waters, (b) preserve and protect remaining wetland,
woodland and other significant natural resources which contain the best
remaining wildlife habitat and scenic areas within the Village, and (c) control
erosion and reduce effluent and nutrient flow from the shoreland into the
Milwaukee River and to provide for the administration and enforcement of this
Ordinance and penalties for its violation.
D. District Boundaries Established.
This ordinance shall apply to all land within
the Village which extends landward of the ordinary high water mark of the
E. District Regulations.
The following controls and regulations upon the use of the land within the District are hereby established:
1.
All uses
of land within the District including, without limitation, all landscaping activity, excavating, grading and filling
that substantially impair the natural fauna, flora, watercourses, water regimen
or topography therein are hereby prohibited unless specifically permitted under
subsection (E)(2) below, or unless a permit for such use has been granted as
specified under subsection (F) below.
2. The removal or destruction of any tree, shrubbery or
vegetation in the District is prohibited unless authorized by issuance of a
permit pursuant to subsection (F) below provided, however, that if such tree,
shrubbery or vegetation meets any of the following criteria, it is exempt from
the prohibition against removal or destruction or the requirement to obtain a
permit:
a. The tree, shrubbery or vegetation is dead or
irreversibly diseased;
b. The tree, shrubbery or vegetation has been
damaged by natural events and is so structurally unstable that it needs to be
removed because it is a safety hazard; or
c. The tree, shrubbery or vegetation has been
identified as invasive or a nuisance (including because of infection or
pathogens or infestation by insects) by the WDNR.
3. Notwithstanding
anything is subsection (E)(2) to the contrary:
a. Routine pruning or trimming of trees and
shrubs shall not be prohibited hereunder or require a permit under subsection F
below;
b. Native vegetation shall be preserved as far
as practicable. For purposes of this
section, native vegetation shall be defined as all indigenous terrestrial and
aquatic species that evolved naturally in the ecosystem;
c. Where vegetation is removed, it shall be
replaced with other vegetation that is effective in stabilizing runoff,
preventing erosion and preserving natural habitat;
d. The provisions of other Village ordinances
relating to pruning or removal of diseased or infected trees shall take
precedence over any conflicting provisions in subsection (E)(2); and
e. Emergency actions by police, fire or other
governmental authorities in the District are hereby exempt from the provisions
of subsection E(2);
F. Notification and Permitting.
1. Any person who intends to remove or destroy any tree, shrubbery or vegetation in the District or to engage in any use which might contravene the prohibition set forth in section E(1) above (collectively, “a Project”) shall notify the Village Manager in writing no less than fifteen (15) business days before commencing such Project. Such notification shall specify what action is intended to be taken, the scope of the Project, the proposed commencement and expected completion dates, and the reason(s) for undertaking the Project. The Village Manager may request additional information necessary to determine whether: the Project is exempt under subsection (E)(2) or the Project will require a permit under subsection (F.2) below;
The Village Manager may consult with the
Committee on the Environment (“COE”) in making such determination and shall
advise the person submitting the notification whether or not a permit needs to
be filed no less than five (5) business days prior to the proposed commencement
date.
2.
If the
Village Manager determines that a permit for a Project is required, the owner
(or owner’s representative) of the affected land shall file an application for
a permit accompanied by a filing fee and fees to cover the cost of processing
the permit as established by the Village.
No action shall commence on the Project until a permit is issued in
accordance with the following:
a. The Project application shall be filed with
the Plan Commission on a form provided by the Village Manager who shall then
forward a copy of the Project application to the Committee on the Environment.
The application shall incorporate the information required under F(1) above and
such additional information as may be requested by the Village Manager and that
the applicant may desire, including the report of an expert which addresses the
environmental effects of the Project and any planned restorations or
replacements of trees, shrubbery or vegetation.
b. The Plan Commission may invite comments from
the COE and from others to assist in its review and understanding of the
Project as set forth in the application.
The intent and purpose of this Ordinance as set forth above shall
provide guidance in the Plan Commission’s decision concerning the application;
c. The Plan Commission may suggest such
modifications of the Project as it may deem advisable so as to bring the
Project into compliance with this Ordinance; and
d. The Plan Commission shall approve the permit
application when it determines that the applicant has established that the
Project complies with this Ordinance.
G Nonconforming Structures and Uses. The legal use of a building, structure or
property which existed at the time this ordinance, or any amendment to this
ordinance took effect and which is not in conformity with the provisions or the
ordinance, including routine maintenance of such building or structure, may be
continued, subject to the following:
1. This ordinance shall not have the effect of prohibiting the repair, reconstruction, renovating, remodeling, or expansion of any legal nonconforming structure, or any environmental control facility related to a legal nonconforming structure, in the District which was in existence on the date this ordinance become effective. All other modifications to nonconforming structures shall be subject to section 7.0703 of the Zoning Code.
2. Any legal nonconforming use of property which does not involve the use of a structure which was in existence on the date this ordinance became effective may be continued although such use does not conform with the provisions of this ordinance. Any such nonconforming use may not be extended.
3. If a nonconforming use of property or the use of a nonconforming structure is discontinued for a period of 12 consecutive months, any future use of the property or structure shall conform with the provisions of this ordinance.
4. Uses, which are nuisances under common
law, shall not be permitted to continue as nonconforming uses.
H. Penalties
Any person or entity which violates any
provision of this Ordinance shall, upon conviction thereof, forfeit not
less than One Hundred Dollars ($100) nor more than Two Thousand Dollars
($2,000) and costs of prosecution for each violation, and in default of payment
of such forfeiture and costs shall be imprisoned in the County Jail until
payment thereof, but not exceeding 90 days.
Each day a violation exists or continues shall constitute a separate
offense.
I Conflicts
To
the extent any provisions of this Ordinance conflict with the provisions of any
other ordinance as it applies to the regulation of land within the District,
the provisions of Sec 7.0308 shall prevail.
Section III. That if any subsection, section or portions of this article or the sections
of this ordinance as enacted hereunder is for any reason held invalid or
unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portions shall be
deemed a separate, distinct and independent provision and such holdings shall
not effect the validity of the remaining portions hereof.
Section IV. That all ordinances or parts of ordinances conflicting with the
provisions of this ordinance are to such extent repealed.
Section V. That this ordinance shall be in full force and effect upon its passage and publication according to law.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Village Board of the Village of River Hills this ____ day of _____________, 2008.
________________________________
Robert C. Brunner, Village President
Countersigned:
______________________________
Carolyn Toms-Neary, Village Clerk