This chapter shall be known as the "Freshwater
Wetlands Protection Law of the Village of Hewlett Neck."
It is declared to be the public policy of the Village
to preserve, protect and conserve freshwater wetlands and the benefits
derived therefrom, to prevent the despoliation and destruction of
freshwater wetlands and to regulate the development of such wetlands
in order to secure the natural benefits of freshwater wetlands, consistent
with the general welfare and beneficial economic, social and agricultural
development of the Village. It is further declared to be the policy
of the Village to exercise its authority pursuant to Article 24 of
the State Environmental Conservation Law.
A.Â
The freshwater wetlands located in the Village are
invaluable resources for flood protection, wildlife habitat, open
space and water resources.
B.Â
Freshwater wetlands are in jeopardy of being lost,
despoiled or impaired by unregulated acts of draining, dredging, filling,
excavating, building, pollution or other acts inconsistent with the
natural uses of such.
C.Â
Recurrent flooding aggravated or caused by the loss
of freshwater wetlands has serious effects upon natural ecosystems.
D.Â
Freshwater wetlands conservation is a matter of Village
concern.
E.Â
Any loss of freshwater wetlands deprives the people
of the Village of some or all of the many and multiple benefits to
be derived from wetlands, to wit:
(1)Â
Flood- and storm-control by the hydrologic absorption
and storage capacity of freshwater wetlands.
(2)Â
Wildlife habitat by providing breeding, nesting and
feeding grounds and cover for many forms of wildlife, wildfowl and
shorebirds, including migratory wildfowl and rare species.
(3)Â
Protection of subsurface water resources and provision
for valuable watersheds and recharging groundwater supplies.
(4)Â
Recreation by providing areas for hunting, fishing,
boating, hiking, bird-watching, photography, camping and other uses.
(5)Â
Pollution treatment by serving as biological and chemical
oxidation basins.
(6)Â
Erosion control by serving as sedimentation areas
and filtering basins, absorbing silt and organic matter and protecting
channels and harbors.
(7)Â
Education and scientific research by providing readily
accessible outdoor bio-physical laboratories, living classrooms and
training and education resources.
(8)Â
Open space and aesthetic appreciation.
(9)Â
Sources of nutrients in freshwater food cycles and
nursery grounds and sanctuaries for freshwater fish.
The following terms, phrases, words and their
derivatives shall have the meaning given herein:
Any land in the Village immediately adjacent to a freshwater
wetland lying within 100 feet, measured horizontally of the boundary
of a freshwater wetland.
The Board of Trustees of the Village.
Any person who files an application for any permit issued
by the agency pursuant to this chapter, and includes the agent of
the owner or a contract vendee.
The Freshwater Wetlands Appeals Board established by Article
24 of the State Environmental Conservation Law.
The outer limit of the vegetation specified in Subsections
A and B of the definition of "freshwater wetlands" in this section
and of the waters specified in Subsection C of such definition.
Lands and waters lying within the boundaries of the Village,
as shown on a freshwater wetlands map, or other lands or waters which
contain any or all of the following:
Lands and submerged lands commonly called "marshes,"
"swamps," "sloughs," "bogs" and "flats" supporting aquatic or semiaquatic
vegetation of the following vegetative types:
Wetland trees, which depend upon seasonal or
permanent flooding or sufficiently waterlogged soils to give them
a competitive advantage over other trees, including, among others,
red maple (Acer rubrum), willows (Salix spp.), black spruce (Picea
mariana); swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor), red ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica),
American elm (Ulmus americana) and larch (Larix laricina).
Wetlands shrubs, which depend upon seasonal
or permanent flooding or sufficiently waterlogged soils to give them
a competitive advantage over other shrubs, including, among others,
alder (Alnus spp.), buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), bog rosemary
(Andromeda glaucophylla) and leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata).
Emergent vegetation, including, among others,
cattails (Typha spp.), pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata), bulrushes
(Scirpus spp.), arrow-arum (Peltandra virginica), arrowheads (Sagittaria
spp.), reed (Phragmites communis), wildrice (Zizania aquatica), bur-reeds
(Sparganium spp.), purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), swamp loosestrife
(Decodon verticillatus) and water plantain (Alisma plantago-aquatica).
Rooted, floating-leaved vegetation, including,
among others, water-lily (Nymphaea odorata), watershield (Brasenia
Schreberi) and spatterdock (Nuphar spp.).
Free-floating vegetation, including, among others,
duckweed (Lemma spp.), big duckweed (Spirodela polyrhiza) and watermeal
(Wolffia spp.).
Wet meadow vegetation, which depends upon seasonal
or permanent flooding or sufficiently waterlogged soils to give them
a competitive advantage over other open land vegetation, including,
among others, sedges (Carex spp.), rushes (Juncus spp.), cattails
(Typha spp.), rice cut-grass (Leersia oryzoides), reed canary grass
(Phalaris arundinacea), swamp loosestrife (Decodon verticillatus)
and spikerush (Eleocharis spp.);
Bog mat vegetation, including, among others,
sphagnum mosses (Sphagnum spp.), bog rosemary (Andromeda glaucophylla),
leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata), pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea)
and cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon and V. oxycoccos).
Submergent vegetation, including, among others,
pondweeds (Potamogeton spp.), naiads (Najas spp.), bladderworts (utricularia
spp.), wild celery (Vallisneria americana), coontail (Ceratophyllum
demersum), water milfoils (Myriophyllum spp.), muskgrass (Chara spp.),
stonewort (Nitella spp.), waterweeds (Elodea spp.) and water smartweed
(Polygonum amphibium).
Lands and submerged lands containing remnants
of any vegetation that is not aquatic or semiaquatic that has died
because of wet conditions over a sufficiently long period, provided
that such wet conditions do not exceed a maximum seasonal water depth
of six feet, and provided further that such conditions can be expected
to persist indefinitely, barring human intervention.
A map on which are indicated the boundaries of any freshwater
wetland and which has been filed with the Clerk of the Village by
the State Department of Environmental Conservation pursuant to § 24-0301
of the State Environmental Conservation law.
The Village of Hewlett Neck.
[Amended 1-5-1998 by L.L. No. 1-1998]
The applicant, the agency, the State Department of Environmental Conservation, each local government in which the regulated activity or any part thereof is located and any person who appears and wishes to be a party in interest at the public hearing held pursuant to § 161-11 of this chapter.
Any corporation, firm, partnership, association, trust, estate,
one or more individuals and any unit of government or agency or subdivision
thereof.
The presence in the environment of human-induced conditions
or contaminants in quantities or characteristics which are or may
be injurious to humans, plants, animals or property.
Any action which may result in direct or indirect physical
impact on a freshwater wetland, including but not limited to any regulated
activity.
Any form of draining, dredging, excavation, removal of soil, mud, sand, shells, gravel or other aggregate from any freshwater wetland, either directly or indirectly; any form of dumping, filling or depositing of any soil, stones, sand, gravel, mud, rubbish or fill of any kind either directly or indirectly; erecting any structures or roads, the driving of pilings or placing of any other obstructions, whether or not changing the ebb and flow of the water; any form of pollution, including but not limited to installing a septic tank, running a sewer outfall, discharging sewage treatment effluent or other liquid wastes directly into or so as to drain into a freshwater wetland; that portion of any subdivision of land that involves any land in any freshwater wetland or adjacent area; and any other activity which substantially impairs any of the several functions served by freshwater wetlands or the benefits derived therefrom which are set forth in § 161-3 of this chapter.
The annual or periodic removal of trees, individually or
in small groups, in order to realize the yield and establish a new
crop and to improve the forest, which removal does not involve the
total elimination of one or more particular species of trees.
Any state department, bureau, commission, board or other
agency, public authority or public benefit corporation.
The State of New York.
Any division of land into two or more lots, parcels or sites,
whether adjoining or not, for the purpose of sale, lease, license
or any form of separate ownership or occupancy (including any grading,
road construction, installation of utilities or other improvements
or any other land use and development preparatory or incidental to
any such division) by any person or by any other person controlled
by, under common control with or controlling such person or by any
group of persons acting in concert as part of a common scheme or plan.
"Subdivision of land" shall include any map, plat or other plan of
division of land, whether or not previously filed. "Subdivision of
land" shall not include the lease of land for hunting and fishing
and other open space recreation uses and shall not include the division
of land by bona fide gift, devise or inheritance.
The Village of Hewlett Neck.
