Ordinance No._____- 2012 AN ORDINANCE ... - San Juan County

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Page 4 of 56 Ord. ____-2012 U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, Soil Survey, San Juan County Washington, 1962. Wenger, S.J. and L. Fowler, 2000. Protecting Stream and River Corridors, Creating Effective Local Riparian Buffer Ordinances. Carl Vinson Institute of Government, The University of Georgia. VII. The functions and values of FWHCAs include benefits to people such as providing fish, shellfish and other commercial and recreational food sources; supporting wildlife that draw visitors from around the world, which then help support island businesses; decreasing contamination of fish and shellfish that may be consumed by people; providing aesthetically pleasing views; reducing flooding; and maintaining the desirability of properties adjacent to streams, lakes, ponds and the marine shoreline. VIII. Despite broad outreach for BAS, very little local science is available for San Juan County. IX. The County has developed and obtained funding for a County wide water quality monitoring program which is currently being implemented. This monitoring will begin to fill data gaps in the local BAS. X. The County has also developed and obtained funding for actions to address any water quality issues that are identified through the monitoring program. XI. The nature of land development in San Juan County is generally light intensity with very limited manufacturing, industrial and commercial development. XII. The BAS provides little peer reviewed, direct evidence that San Juan County’s existing regulations are not protecting the functions and values of wetlands. VII.XIII. The following waters of the State are designated as FWHCAs: lakes, marine waters, and s treams. Other waters were not designated because they are adequately protected under other categories of FWHCAs. VIII. The San Juan Islands are comprised of a wide variety of habitats that support individual species, as well as the food chain that supports all species, including birds and mammals listed as endangered, threatened or sensitive. These habitats include extensive and overlapping areas with shellfish, eelgrass, kelp beds and other critical salt water habitats, as well as important salmon habitat. In addition, currents flowing along the shoreline transport materials to and from these areas, inextricably linking their processes and functions. Because of this, even areas that are more intensely developed have the potential to positively or negatively affect adjacent areas with important habitat. For these reasons, all marine shorelines except for those areas within the jurisdiction of the Town of Friday Harbor, are designated as fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas. An alternative approach that could be considered is to designate marine habitats separately (i.e. not designate marine shorelines as a FWHCA), but apply the protection regulations unless an applicant provides documentation and supporting BAS from qualified professionals showing that there are no FWHCAs on or adjacent to the site, and that proposed activities will not influence nearby FWHCAs, considering the zone of influence resulting from currents, tides, and other site characteristics. XIV. To address the risks associated with sea level rise, the County will develop informational materials that will be provided to those preparing applications for building permits. IX.XV. The following general scientific principles and assumptions were used in developing the components of the site-specific buffer and tree protection zoneTree Protection Zone requirements. These principles N:\LAND USE\LONG RANGE PROJECTS\PCODES-11-0004 CAO FWHCAs\Docs from PC and CC\FWHCAOrdCC_2012-10-26.doc
Page 5 of 56 Ord. ____-2012 are discussed in the Best Available Science Synthesis, San Juan County Washington, May 2011 and the underlying scientific documents adopted by the County Council to guide this review and update. a. In addition to directly supporting species which live in or near streams, well-functioning streams and riparian areas are an important source of organic material, food and nutrients for the marine food web, eventually supporting salmon, rockfish, marbled murrelet, orca and other listed species. To protect water quality, quantity, and habitat functions, vegetation should be retained along all streams, with tree protection zoneTree Protection Zones retained along all type F and type Np streams, as well as type Ns streams flowing more than 6 months per year. b. There are many similarities in the function of stream, lake and marine shoreline buffers and tree protection zoneTree Protection Zones. To be effective at protecting habitat functions, buffers and tree protection zoneTree Protection Zones adjacent to water bodies must be adequate to provide organic material (e.g. leaves, needles, wood), and to slow and store water during storm events. Because the functions are so similar, the science related to stream buffers and tree protection zoneTree Protection Zones is applicable to those along marine shorelines. c. Marine riparian vegetation is an important component of nearshore terrestrial and aquatic habitat providing structure, shade, and temperature moderation (e.g., for forage fish spawning beaches); providing nutrients and organic inputs (leaf litter, woody debris, terrestrial insects) that support the food web; and maintaining bank stability. d. In San Juan County Douglas fir is the predominant tree. Douglas fir reach maturity at approximately 80 - 200 years (from the Washington State 1999 Forests and Fish Report), continue to grow for up to 1,000 years, and can eventually attain heights of over 400 feet (though due to shallow and/ or impermeable soils and low rainfall in the summer, they would likely not attain these heights in most areas of San Juan County). e. According to the 1962 San Juan County Soil survey (U.S. Dept. of Ag., 1962), the following are approximate percentages of land area in each soil site class. Soil Site Class Percentage of Land Area Within SJ County 3 19.1 % 4 36.8 % 4 & 5 23.1 % Unclassified 21 % Soil Type (U.S. Dept. of Ag., 1962) Alderwood gravelly loam Alderwood gravelly sandy loam Alderwood stony loam Bow silt loam Bow gravelly silt loam Bow stony silt loam Everett gravelly sandy loam Everett stony sandy loam Indianola sandy loam Indianola-Roche complex Norma loam Site Index Rating (feet) Soil Site Class Percentage (%) of land area in San Juan County 111 114 120 114 112 100 117 112 140 119 135 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 3 .1 .4 1.6 3.5 8.5 1.3 3.8 .2 1.5 2.1 .4 N:\LAND USE\LONG RANGE PROJECTS\PCODES-11-0004 CAO FWHCAs\Docs from PC and CC\FWHCAOrdCC_2012-10-26.doc
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SECTION 11. Savings Clause. Page 55
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Ordinance No._____- 2012 AN ORDINANCE ... - San Juan County

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