ORDINANCE NO. 129

AN ORDINANCE OF KENNETT TOWNSHIP, CHESTER COUNTY, PA AMENDING THE SUBDIVISION AND LAND DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE OF KENNETT TOWNSHIP, ORDINANCE NO. 46, AS AMENDED, BY ADDING DEFINITIONS AND DESIGN STANDARDS

The Board of Supervisors of Kennett Township hereby enacts and ordains that the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance of Kennett Township Ordinance No. 46, as amended, be amended further as follows:

Section 1.        Amend ARTICLE II DEFINITIONS, SECTION 204, by adding the following definitions:

Clearcutting.  The indiscriminate removal of all trees on a site, or portion thereof, during a single timber harvesting operation or within a six (6) month timeframe.

Buildable Area.  An area identified on a lot to ensure that sufficient area is provided for the general location of the building, driveway, patio, on-lot sewage facilities (where applicable), and other necessary improvements and site alterations while meeting the natural resource protection standards and minimum setback requirements of this Ordinance.

Selective Cutting.  The felling of certain, but not all, trees in an area for the purpose of removing dead, diseased, damaged, mature, or marketable timber or for improving the quality of a tree stand.

Steep Slope.  Those areas of land where the grade is fifteen (15) percent or greater.  For the purpose of this Ordinance, steep slopes are divided into two categories:

A.        Moderately Steep Slopes are those areas of land where the grade is fifteen (15) percent to twenty-five (25) percent.

B.         Very Steep Slopes are those areas of land where the grade is greater than twenty-five (25) percent.

Slopes shall be measured as the change in elevation over the horizontal distance between consecutive contour lines and expressed as a percent.  For the purpose of application of these regulations slope shall be measured over three (3) or more two (2) foot contour intervals (six (6) cumulative vertical feet of slope).  All slope measurements shall be determined by a topographic survey signed and sealed by a registered surveyor or engineer licensed to practice in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

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Timber Harvesting Operation.  The uprooting or removal of more than four (4) trees of six (6) inches or greater DBH per acre from any lot for the purpose of allowing or encouraging the natural regeneration or preservation of a tree stand on a lot which has a gross area prior to any subdivision or land development of more than three (3) acres and which is undertaken in compliance with an approved timber harvesting plan. The removal of dead or diseased trees shall be exempted from this standard.  Forestry, as defined by the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, as amended, shall also be considered a tree harvesting operation and shall require the submittal and approval of a timber harvesting plan.

Timber Harvesting Plan.  A description, by means of text and maps, of proposed actions involving the removal of trees from a tract of land.  Such plan shall have been prepared by a forester with demonstrable expertise in forest management, and shall document measures to be taken to:  protect water quality; minimize impacts from skid trails and logging roads, land areas, and the tree removal process; and ensure site restoration.  Such plan shall be reviewed and approved by the Township Engineer.

Wetland Margin.  A wetland margin is the transitional area extending from the outer limit of a wetland.  Where hydric soils are present, the wetland margin shall extend to the limit of the hydric soils or to seventy-five (75) feet, whichever is less.  Regardless of the presence of hydric soils, the wetland margin shall always extend at least a minimum width of twenty-five (25) feet from the edge of the wetland boundary.

Section 2.        Amend ARTICLE II DEFINITIONS, Section 204 by revising the following definitions.

Floodplain.  A relatively flat or low area adjoining a river, stream, or watercourse which is subject to partial or complete inundation, or an area subject to the unusual and rapid accumulation of runoff of surface areas.  For the purpose of this Ordinance, the floodplain shall include the area within the Flood Hazard District as defined by Section 1102.

Hydric Soils.  Any soil inventoried or described as hydric or as a soil with hydric inclusions according to the Soil Survey of Chester and Delaware Counties, Pennsylvania, or other information provided by the U.S. Soil Conservation Service (SCS).  In Kennett Township, hydric soils shall include, but are not limited to:

            Hydric Soils                                          Soils with Hydric Inclusions

            Calvert (Ca)                                         Bedford (BdA, BdB2)

            Guthrie (Gu)                                         Chewacla (Ch)

            Wedhadkee (We)                                 Conagree (Cn)

            Worsham (WoA, WoB, WoB2)           Glenville (GnA, GnB, GnB2, GnC2)

                                                                        Lawrence (LaA, LaB)

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Where site conditions indicate that the location of hydric soils or the hydric inclusions differ from locations indicated by the SCS, the burden shall be upon the Applicant to verify such location(s) to the satisfaction of the Board of Supervisors, otherwise the SCS information shall be presumed to be accurate.  Where the Applicant seeks reclassification of hydric soils and their location, such reclassification shall be undertaken by a Certified Soil Scientist or other similarly qualified professional.

Riparian Buffer.  An area of trees and other vegetation adjacent to a watercourse that forms a transition area between the aquatic and terrestrial environment.  The riparian buffer is designed to intercept runoff from upland sources for the purpose of mitigating the effects of nutrients, sediment, organic matter, pesticides, or other pollutants prior to entry into surface waters.  For the purposes of this Ordinance, the riparian buffer shall be divided into two (2) Zones;

A.        Zone One:  Inner Riparian Buffer – This zone begins at each edge (i.e. the sloping banks of the stream) of an identified watercourse and occupies a margin of land with a minimum width of twenty-five (25) feet measured horizontally on a line perpendicular to the edge of the water at the top of the defined bank, as reviewed and approved by the Township Engineer. Where very steep slopes (+25%) are located within twenty-five (25) feet of a watercourse, Zone One shall extend the entire distance of this sloped area.

B.         Zone Two:  Outer Riparian Buffer – This zone begins at the outer edge of Zone One and occupies a minimum width of fifty (50) feet in addition to Zone One.  In cases where Zone One extends beyond twenty-five (25) feet due to the presence of very steep slopes, the width of Zone Two shall be adjusted so that the total riparian buffer width equals a seventy-five (75) foot maximum.

Specimen Vegetation.

A.                 Any individual plant or group of plants identified on any Kennett Township Resource Prioritization Maps, the Kennett Township Visual Resources Analysis, or which are located in a Rare, Threatened, Endangered (RTE) Species Site; or

B.                 Any tree or other vegetation determined to be of specimen quality as determined by a registered landscape architect or which generally falls within the parameters of the following table.  The examples of specimen trees included in the following table are intended to provide general guidelines and examples of what constitutes a specimen tree and are not considered all inclusive for the purpose of defining a specimen tree.

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Examples of Potential Specimen Trees

Watercourse.  A watercourse is a channel or conveyance of surface water having defined bed and banks, whether natural or artificial, with perennial or intermittent flow.  Note that this definition is more inclusive than that used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Wetlands.  Wetlands are those areas inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances, do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions, including swamps, marshes, bogs, ponds, lakes, and similar areas. Wetlands include all lands regulated as wetlands by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  In the event there is a conflict between the definitions of these agencies, the more restrictive definition shall apply.

Section 3.        Amend ARTICLE V DESIGN STANDARDS, Section 508 Sanitary Sewage Disposal by adding the following:

508.3      REPLACEMENT AREAS FOR ON-SITE SYSTEMS

Where lots are to be served by on-site sewage facilities, the location of both a primary and replacement area for the sewage disposal facilities shall be determined by complete soil testing and clearly identified on the subdivision plot plan.  No construction activities, construction equipment, earthmoving activity, earthmoving equipment or paving shall be permitted to occur within the area designated on the subdivision plan as the primary or replacement sewage disposal area.  These areas as marked on the final subdivision or land development plan shall be protected and preserved as required above.  This requirement shall be noted on the plan as a deed restriction.  Soil percolation tests shall be performed in accordance with the procedure of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the Sewage Enforcement Officer of Chester County Health Department.  In the case of replacement areas, minimal soil testing (i.e. test pits only) may be permitted at the discretion of the Sewage Enforcement Officer.

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Section 4.        Amend ARTICLE V DESIGN STANDARDS, delete Section 516, Conservation of Riparian Buffer Areas, including subsections 516.1, 516.2, and 516.3 in their entirety and replacing as follows:

SECTION 516:          NATIONAL RESOURCE PROTECTION STANDARDS

Natural resources on the site shall be protected in accordance with the requirements of Section 1414 of the Zoning Ordinance.

Section 5.        Amend ARTICLE V DESIGN STANDARDS, Section 517 by revising the first paragraph to read as follows:

SECTION 517:          CONSERVATION OF WOODLANDS, HEDGEROWS, AND SPECIMEN VEGETATION

The purpose of this section is to promote conservation of woodland, hedgerow, and specimen vegetation throughout Kennett Township through the establishment of specific limitations to land development activities, replacement requirements, and management planning provisions.  In addition to the following standards, the applicant shall meet the natural resource protection requirements of Section 1414 of the Zoning Ordinance.

ENACTED AND ORDAINED this19th day of February, 2001.

                                                                                    KENNETT TOWNSHIP

                                                                                    BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

                                                                                                Michael E. Elling

Attest:

                                                                                                Thomas W. Nale, III

Secretary-Treasurer

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Charles G. Shoemaker