[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council
of the Township of East Hanover 7-15-2002 by Ord. No. 10-2002. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to protect wetlands
and wetland transition areas from being destroyed and to provide provisions
by which the municipality shall be informed of the presence of wetlands.
Wetlands provide important environmental benefits such as groundwater
recharge, filtration and treatment of stormwater runoff, flood attenuation
and wildlife habitat.
A wetland survey shall be performed by a qualified
professional on all properties which are the subject of a minor or
major subdivision or major site plan application. The survey shall
state whether regulated wetlands are present on the site. All wetlands
and transition areas identified shall be shown on all plans. The name
of the person who performed the wetlands survey shall be shown on
the plans. If regulated wetlands are not present on the site, a note
shall be added to the plan stating that a wetland survey was performed,
who performed the survey, the date the survey was performed and what
method was used to perform the survey. In addition, the note shall
state that no regulated wetlands were identified during the survey.
A wetlands letter of interpretation (LOI) from
the NJDEP must be submitted as part of the application for any major
subdivision or major site plan application. A minor subdivision application
shall not be required to submit an LOI; however, an on-site wetland
delineation shall be prepared by a qualified professional. Any wetlands
identified as a result of such delineation shall be placed on the
minor subdivision plans. If the wetlands present will be impacted
by the proposed improvements, a NJDEP approved LOI is required to
be submitted with the plans for minor subdivision.
No minor or major subdivision plan or major
site plan submitted will be approved unless a wetland survey has been
performed and evidence of such has been provided to the municipality.
A.
Documentation. All wetland and transition areas required
pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:7A-1 et seq. (NJ Freshwater Wetlands Protection
Act Rules) shall be clearly shown on all plats or site plans submitted
for approval.
B.
Wetland protection standards. To prevent adverse impacts
on delineated wetlands, the following guidelines shall be employed:
(1)
A snow fence shall be installed in the area of disturbance
outside of the final wetland transition-area boundary line prior to
the commencement of on-site construction, so as to prevent encroachment
into these regulated areas.
(2)
A silt fence and/or hay bales shall be installed downstream
from disturbance areas adjacent to the state-mandated wetland transition
line (or buffer) so as to prevent the transport of silt into the wetland
areas.
(4)
The applicant shall avoid encroachment into state-regulated
wetland areas. All existing on-site vegetation within or adjacent
to the wetland areas shall be preserved.
(5)
Prior to signing of the final plat or site plan, the
applicant shall provide evidence of the filing of any deed restriction
required by NJDEP to permit transition area modification.
(6)
All wetland boundaries on new sites shall be delineated
with a sufficient number of permanent markers to ensure that future
encroachment and distinction of wetlands does not occur.
(7)
For all plans which contain NJDEP-regulated wetlands,
the applicant shall provide evidence of the filing of any deed restriction
required by NJDEP to permit transition area modifications.
C.
Conservation easement. Whenever an LOI or wetlands
delineation is required by this chapter, all wetlands and transition
areas shall be protected by a conservation easement dedicated to the
municipality. The conservation easement shall, at the request of the
landowner, be amended to conform to any subsequent modification of
the included transition areas, provided that such modification is
first approved by the NJDEP. Modifications may include, but are not
limited to, transition area averaging plans. An owner may request
such modification by submitting an amendatory deed to the Municipal
Engineer for review and approval. The owner shall be responsible to
reimburse the municipality for the cost of having any in-house or
outside professional or technical personnel review the proposed amendatory
deed.
The municipality, its agents or employees may
make reasonable entry upon lands and waters within the municipality
for the purpose of making any investigation, survey or study contemplated
by this chapter.
Land development plans which were approved prior
to the adoption date of this chapter shall be exempt from these requirements.
Development approvals issued pursuant to this
chapter are to be considered an integral part of development approvals
under the subdivision and site plan review process and do not relieve
the applicant of the responsibility to secure required permits or
approvals for activities regulated by other applicable codes, rules,
acts or ordinances. In their interpretation and application the provisions
of this chapter shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the
promotion of the public health, safety and general welfare and the
protection of water quality.
