22.08.100 Shoreline native vegetation management.
A. Policies.
1. The city should protect, conserve and establish native vegetation in order to protect and restore the ecological functions and ecosystem-wide processes performed within riparian and near-shore areas which include but are not limited to:
a. Protecting plant and animal species and their habitats;
b. Providing food sources for aquatic and terrestrial species;
c. Protecting and increasing the stability of river banks and bluffs;
d. Reducing the hazard of slope failures or accelerated erosion;
e. Reducing the need for structural shoreline stabilization measures;
f. Improving the visual and aesthetic qualities of the shoreline;
g. Protecting and improving water quality;
h. Providing continuous shade to the adjacent water body; and
i. Providing habitat corridors parallel and perpendicular to the water body.
2. Installation and management of any native vegetation should be consistent with the City of Bellingham’s 2004 Shoreline Characterization and Inventory (SCI) (Appendix A).
The SCI identified within each reach, the general vegetation types, their age, their distribution or coverage, and their ability to perform, or not, adequate riparian functions. Within each reach, the SCI identified the presence of noxious or non-native vegetation. Required native vegetation management plans and restoration projects should be consistent with the identified objectives in the functional analysis section of the pertinent reach in which a project is located.
3. New restoration plans and projects should be designed to incorporate native vegetation management plans that are similar to the standards as specified in subsection (B) of this section.
4. Native vegetation management plans for riparian areas should include a diversity of both conifer and deciduous tree species as well as noninvasive woody shrubs and as may be specified within the 2004 SCI for the subject reach on which a project occurs.
B. Regulations.
1. For development on all shorelines, including within a required buffer area, the following shall apply:
a. Removal of or alteration to any native vegetation within the shoreline jurisdiction including within critical areas is strictly prohibited unless such activity is required for a permitted use or is determined to be a hazard tree as specified below.
b. Proposed removal of native vegetation for a permitted use shall be reviewed per the mitigation sequencing specified in BMC 22.08.020, Mitigation sequencing.
c. The following standards shall apply for removal and replacement of existing native vegetation to all shoreline designations except as specified in subsection (B)(1)(c)(iv) of this section:
i. Removal of native trees greater than six inches diameter at breast height (dbh) shall be replaced at a 3:1 ratio with native species and shall be re-established within any required buffer on the project site.
ii. Required buffer areas for riparian, marine and Lake Padden shorelines shall be installed with additional native vegetation that yields a total density mix of two native trees, 10 shrubs and groundcover where none is present per every 100 square feet (except as specified in subsection (B)(1)(c)(iv) of this section). New native vegetation to be installed within required buffers shall include species types that are capable of achieving the objectives specified in the 2004 SCI Functional Analysis per the subject reach.
iii. For development that includes expansion, during the life of the project, of more than 10 percent of an overall existing development footprint, except single-family residences, the requirements in subsections (B)(1)(c)(i) and (ii) of this section shall apply to every 100 square feet of additional footprint above the aforementioned 10 percent and shall be installed within any required buffer (except within the urban maritime shoreline designation and the waterfront district “water-oriented use” sub-areas).
iv. There are no required buffers for those urban maritime and waterfront district “water-oriented use” sub-areas and hence no required native vegetation management standards apply.
d. For development or redevelopment, as defined in Chapter 16.80 BMC, that occurs within the shoreline residential designation, native vegetation shall be installed in required buffer areas as required in subsection (B)(3) of this section and Chapter 16.80 BMC.
2. Within a critical area report as specified within Chapter 22.06 BMC a native vegetation management plan for the project site including the associated buffer shall include the following information except as provided in subsection (B)(3) of this section.
a. The pre-development quantity, species type, distribution, approximate height of native vegetation, diameter at breast height (dbh) for trees only, successional stage of overall vegetative cover, potential native vegetation types, soil type/characteristics, a reference site and any existing hazard trees on the entire site. Said information shall be indicated and represented on a site plan drawn to scale and shall be reflected on an accompanying species and count matrix.
b. Identification of native vegetation to be removed and protected as a result of the proposed site plan.
c. Identification of any non-native or noxious vegetation.
d. Identification of the following: new trees to be installed and that specify installation size of a minimum height of 12 inches to 18 inches and minimum of one-fourth-inch caliper in size; shrubs shall be of at least four different varieties or those recommended by said professional that will accompany the potential native vegetation types; ground cover and a minimum of four inches of wood chip mulch distributed over the entire planting area.
e. Methodology for removal of any noxious or non-native vegetation, necessary soil amendments, installation and maintenance as described above.
f. Preparation of a financial surety (an assignment of funds or surety bond) that accounts for 150 percent of the cost of a five-year maintenance and monitoring plan that ensures a survival rate of 100 percent for trees and 85 percent for all other vegetation. The five-year maintenance and monitoring period shall commence at the time the required native vegetation has been installed, and inspected and verified by a representative from the planning and community development department.
g. “Volunteer” native vegetation is allowed to be counted towards the survival rate percentage requirement as specified in subsection (B)(2)(f) of this section.
3. For native vegetation protection areas that are required for development or redevelopment within the shorelines of Lake Whatcom as required by Chapter 16.80 BMC, the critical area report shall contain the information specified in BMC 16.80.080(E)(2).
If the timing of required installation occurs between April 1st and October 1st of any given year, said installation may be postponed until after October 1st, of the same year, provided a written request for postponement is submitted by the proponent, the financial surety has been secured by the city and the director has issued a letter of approval for said postponement of native vegetation installment.
4. Materials required in subsections (B)(2)(a) through (e) of this section shall be submitted, reviewed and approved by the planning department prior to issuance of any development permits on the site. (The parks and public works departments including the environmental resources division shall also review and approve said plan where there is an interface or overlap with a feature that is within their jurisdiction; adjacent to a trail or stormwater management facility.) Installation of all required vegetation and submittal of the maintenance and monitoring report shall be completed prior to receiving any certificate of occupancy for the subject use.
5. As-installed reports shall be submitted to the planning department at the end of each year for the five-year maintenance and monitoring period to assure compliance.
6. Management and replacement of hazard trees shall adhere to the standards within BMC 16.55.080(C)(6).
7. Unless otherwise stated, native vegetation management does not include those activities covered under the Washington State Forest Practices Act, except for conversion to other nonforestry uses and those other forest practice activities over which the city has authority.
8. As with all master program provisions, native vegetation management provisions apply even to those shoreline uses and developments that are exempt from the requirement to obtain a permit.
9. Like other master program provisions, native vegetation management standards do not apply retroactively to existing uses and structures. [Ord. 2013-02-005 § 2 (Exh. 1)].