Chapter 13.20
CRITICAL DRAINAGE AREAS
Sections:
13.20.030 Area of critical drainage.
13.20.040 Vegetation removal permit.
13.20.070 Duties of the manager.
13.20.080 Appeal from city manager’s denial.
13.20.090 Violations—Penalties.
13.20.010 Purpose.
It is the purpose of this chapter to regulate activities within and outside the city limits of Sutherlin to the fullest extent allowed by state law to prevent any damage to the city sewage system constructed by the city and to protect the lives and property of the citizens of Sutherlin. (Ord. 765 § 1 (part), 1989)
13.20.020 Definitions.
As used in this chapter:
“Applicant” means a person required to obtain a vegetation removal permit.
“City” means the city of Sutherlin.
“City sewage system” means the storm sewage system of the city, including those portions of Cook, Sutherlin and Cooper Creeks within the city limits and upstream of the city limits and all other water courses, drains, pipes, culverts, ditches and other features which control or direct natural and human created water flows into and through the city.
“Critical drainage area” means the area described in Section 13.20.030.
“Height” means the distance between the point of growth furthest from the surface of the ground at the base of the vegetation and the lowest point of ground level at the base of the vegetation, measured in a straight line.
“Manager” means the city manager or the manager’s designee.
“Overstory” means vegetation which is more than twenty (20) feet in height.
“Parcel” means real property within the boundaries of an ad valorem tax lot description as found in the Douglas County, Oregon, ad valorem tax records.
“Person” means every natural person, firm, corporation, partnership or association.
“Removal of vegetation” means any action to remove or sever vegetation from its root structure or the intentional use of any procedure the natural result of which is to cause the death or substantial destruction of the vegetation. Removal of vegetation does not in any context include normal trimming, pruning or topping of vegetation.
“Understory” means vegetation which has not achieved a height greater than twenty (20) feet.
“Vegetation” means all living plant material.
“Vegetation removal permit” means a permit issued by the city authorizing the removal of vegetation subject to the restrictions of this chapter and to the conditions set forth in the vegetation removal permit.
“Water runoff” means naturally occurring precipitation within the critical drainage area which will or is likely to enter or affect the city sewage system. (Ord. 765 § 2, 1989)
13.20.030 Area of critical drainage.
A. The area included within the boundaries of lines extending from Interstate 5 due east to the point where Highway 99 crosses the ridgeline marking the highest point of drainage into Sutherlin Creek north of the city and thence eastward along that ridgeline to the intersection of a straight line drawn from the ridgeline marking the highest point of drainage into Sutherlin Creek through a point one-half mile upstream of the normal winter high water line where Sutherlin Creek flows into Plat I Reservoir and thence through a point one-half mile upstream of the normal winter high water line where Cooper Creek flows into Cooper Creek Reservoir and thence to the ridgeline marking the highest point of drainage into Cooper Creek; generally southward along such line to the ridgeline marking the highest point of drainage into Cooper Creek; westward along this ridgeline to a point due south of the confluence of Cooper Creek and Sutherlin Creek and then in a straight line westward to exit 135 on Interstate 5; then northwestward to a point one half mile upstream of the point where Cook Creek enters the city limits and then in a straight line to a point due south of the western-most point of the city limits; then north along this line through the western-most point of the city limits and due north to the intersection of this line and a line drawn due west of the point of origin on Interstate 5; and then east along this line to the point of origin on Interstate 5.
B. The manager shall keep a map of this critical drainage area at the Sutherlin City Hall, to be made available for examination during normal business hours. (Ord. 765 § 3, 1989)
13.20.040 Vegetation removal permit.
A. Any person who intends to remove, or whom the manager has determined is likely to remove, vegetation in an amount which represents more than fifty (50) percent of the overstory or seventy-five (75) percent of the understory, or any combination of understory and overstory which constitutes more than sixty (60) percent of the then living vegetation from an area totaling more than one acre within any parcel of publicly or privately owned land within the critical drainage area shall secure a vegetation clearance permit from the city before commencing any removal of vegetation.
B. No vegetation removal permit shall be required for the removal of vegetation:
1. Commonly recognized as grass or weeds on any land with an average slope of less than twenty-five (25) percent;
2. With a normal growth cycle of less than one year which is harvested or removed annually as a part of normal farming or ranching operations; or
3. By any public agency or utility exercising its legal authority, or by the employees of such public agency or utility in the performance of their duties, including but not limited to the clearing of rights-of-way, and acts for fire protection or suppression. (Ord. 765 § 4, 1989)
13.20.050 Permit application.
A. An applicant shall apply for a vegetation removal permit thirty (30) days before commencing any operation to remove vegetation. Applications shall be made to the city manager in writing on forms provided by the city and shall include the following information:
1. Name, address, telephone number and authorized representative of the applicant;
2. Location of all areas of proposed vegetation removal and type and amount of vegetation to be removed;
3. Soil types, identified by soil conservation service classifications, and the minimum, maximum and average slope of the area of proposed vegetation removal;
4. The amount of vegetation to be removed and the method of removal; and
5. The steps to be taken to prevent soil erosion and an increase in water runoff above the mean annual runoff prior to the removal of vegetation.
B. For locations within the critical drainage area which have an average slope equal to or greater than twenty-five (25) percent, or which are within five hundred (500) feet of any part of the sewage system of the city, including any street and the normal winter high water level of Plat I Reservoir, Cooper Creek Reservoir, and Cook, Sutherlin and Cooper Creeks within the critical drainage area, the applicant shall submit the following additional information:
1. A statement signed by a professional hydrologist, or other person who the manager shall determine is capable of reaching a knowledgeable conclusion by reason of professional training and experience, attesting that the signatory has examined the proposed area of vegetation removal and the proposed method of vegetation removal and has determined that the applicant’s proposal will not create an increased risk of flooding within the city and will not create any risk of damage to the city sewage system. Such an assessment must include an examination of the drainage patterns of the entire area, including the impact of other activities within the critical drainage area.
If the professional cannot so attest, the applicant must submit additional information showing that the applicant will take all practical steps to reduce erosion and runoff, and mitigate any damage caused by such erosion and runoff. Such a proposal shall be accompanied by a signed statement by a professional hydrologist, or other person or persons who the manager shall determine is capable of reaching a knowledgeable conclusion by reason of professional training and experience, attesting that the applicant has proposed all economically practicable steps to avoid an increase in erosion and water runoff, and setting forth the annual average increase in erosion and water runoff likely to affect the city sewage system, and the period in years before the water runoff will return to a level within five percent of the mean annual runoff prior to the removal of vegetation;
2. A signed statement by a professional forester, or other person who the manager shall determine is capable of reaching a knowledgeable conclusion by reason of professional training and experience, attesting that the applicant’s proposed method of vegetation removal represents the minimum removal of vegetation following the technically feasible method which will afford the most soil and vegetation protection while affording recovery of the costs of the operation and a reasonable return on investments. Adequate compliance with this requirement may be shown by presentation of a permit issued by the State Forester which imposes limitations on vegetation removal and provides for reforestation, and which is accompanied by a statement signed by the person issuing the permit attesting that the requirements imposed by the State Forester’s permit represent compliance with state law and are the methods which, in that official’s opinion, will most reduce erosion and prevent increased runoff. The method of vegetation removal selected must represent, in that official’s opinion, the minimum removal of vegetation following the technically feasible method which will afford the most soil and vegetation protection while affording recovery of the costs of the operation and a reasonable return on investments. (Ord. 765 § 5, 1989)
13.20.060 Permit conditions.
A. The city manager will evaluate the data furnished by the applicant and may require additional information. If the application meets the requirements of this chapter, and is accompanied by the payment of all required fees and satisfactory evidence of financial responsibility, the city shall issue a vegetation removal permit.
B. Permits shall be issued for a specified time period, not to exceed twelve (12) months.
C. Vegetation removal permits shall be expressly subject to all provisions of this chapter and to the methods of vegetation removal proposed in the application. Permits may contain the following conditions:
1. Evidence of the posting of a bond or the issuance of insurance naming the city as a beneficiary not subject to cancellation for nonpayment of premiums, adequate to protect the city and the residents of the city from any harm which might result from flooding or damage to the sewage system which was in any way caused by or contributed to by the applicant’s removal of vegetation;
2. The manager may require the applicant to furnish indemnity insurance or an indemnity bond sufficient to indemnify the city, the manager and any city employee from any claim that might arise out of the granting of the permit to remove vegetation;
3. Additional fees or monetary contributions that the manager determines are necessary to compensate the city for additional construction or repairs to the sewage system made necessary by the proposed removal of vegetation; and
4. Other conditions as deemed appropriate by the city manager to achieve compliance with this chapter. (Ord. 765 § 6, 1989)
13.20.070 Duties of the manager.
A. The manager shall adopt rules establishing application fees for a vegetation removal permit and all other rules necessary for the effective implementation of this chapter.
B. In determining whether a proposed removal of vegetation is consistent with the provisions of this chapter, the city manager shall base the decision on one or more of the following:
1. The topography of the land and the effect of removal on erosion, soil retention, stability of earth, flow and character of surface waters and streams;
2. The effect the vegetation removal has on the city sewage system and the risk of flooding within the city;
3. The necessity to remove vegetation in order to construct proposed improvements, or to otherwise utilize the applicant’s property in a reasonable manner;
4. The adequacy of the applicant’s proposals, if any, to plant new vegetation as a substitute for the vegetation to be removed;
5. That the removal would be compatible with generally accepted practices of horticulture, silvaculture or landscape architecture;
6. If applicable, that the removal is within the guidelines set forth in the Field Guide to Oregon Forestry Practices Rules published by the state of Oregon, Department of Forestry, as they apply to the southwest Oregon region, or the corresponding future publication of the state of Oregon Department of Forestry. (Ord. 765 § 7, 1989)
13.20.080 Appeal from city manager’s denial.
A. An applicant may appeal the city manager’s permit denial to the city council by filing a written notice of appeal with the city manager within thirty (30) business days from the date of the denial.
B. The council shall hear and determine the appeal at its first regularly scheduled meeting occurring after receipt of the notice of appeal.
C. The appellant shall carry the burden of proving the proposed removal of vegetation is consistent with the criteria of Section 13.20.070 and wherein the city manager erred in his or her denial. (Ord. 765 § 8, 1989)
13.20.090 Violations—Penalties.
A. Any person violating this chapter, or the conditions of a vegetation removal permit issued in compliance with this chapter, shall be civilly liable for any damage resulting from such a violation. Where it can be shown that the actions of any person in violation of this chapter contributed to any damage suffered by the city or the residents of the city, but the amount that such violation contributed to any damage suffered can not be determined, any such person shall be jointly and severally liable for all damage suffered.
B. Any person violating this chapter, or the conditions of a vegetation removal permit issued in compliance with this chapter, shall be guilty of a violation, and shall be fined in an amount not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for each acre of land on which vegetation was removed in violation of this chapter. (Ord. 765 § 9, 1989)