HomeMy WebLinkAboutord2012-003 • WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL AGENDA BILL NO. 2012 - 40
CLEARANCES Initial Date Date Received in Council Office Agenda Date Assigned to:
Ori 'nator: Brown-Davi 1 /3/2012 1 /10/2012 Intro
Division Head: / n L / 24 / 2012 Hearing
Dept. Head:
Prosecutor:
Purchasing/Budget:
Executive:
TITLE OF DOCUMENT:
Ordinance imposing an interim moratorium on apps. in the Lk. Whatcom Watershed
ATTACHMENTS:
Ordinance
SEPA review required? ( ) Yes ( ) NO Should Clerk schedule a hearing ? ( X ) Yes ( ) NO
SEPA review completed? ( ) Yes ( ) NO Requested Date:
1 /24/2012
SUMMARY STATEMENT OR LEGAL NOTICE LANGUAGE: (If this item is an ordinance or requires a public
hearing, you must provide the language for use in the required public notice. Be specific and cite RCW or WCC as appropriate.
Be clear in explaining the intent of the action.)
This ordinance will impose an interim (six month ) moratorium on the acceptance of new applications for divisions of land resulting in lots smaller than
five acres within the Lake Whatcom watershed .
COMMITTEE ACTION: COUNCIL ACTION:
1 / 10 / 2012 : Introduced
1 / 24 / 2012 : Council Adopted 6 - 1 , Crawford
opposed Ord . 2012-003
Related County Contract #: Related File Numbers: Ordinance or Resolution
Number: Ord . 2012- 003
Please Note: Once adopted and signed, ordinances and resolutions are available for viewing and printing
on the County 's website at: www. co. whatcom. wa. us/council.
1 SPONSORED BY : Consent
2 PROPOSED BY: Consent
3 INTRODUCTION DATE : January 10, 2012
4
5 ORDINANCE # 2012-003
6
7 IMPOSING AN INTERIM MORATORIUM ON THE ACCEPTANCE OF NEW
8 APPLICATIONS FOR DIVISIONS OF LAND RESULTING IN LOTS SMALLER THAN
9 FIVE ACRES WITHIN THE LAKE WHATCOM WATERSHED
10
11 WHEREAS, oxygen levels in Lake Whatcom are declining to lower levels and
12 declining faster than in the past ; and
13
14 WHEREAS, lower oxygen levels and more rapid decline in oxygen in Lake Whatcom
15 are related to increased rates of sediment and phosphorus loading into the lake ; and
16
17 WHEREAS, increased availability of phosphorus has limited the nitrogen availability
18 in the lake , making the lake more susceptible to blue- green algae blooms ; and
19
20 WHEREAS, longer durations of very low oxygen levels increase the rate of
21 methylization of mercury and other anaerobic compounds ; and
22
23 WHEREAS, increased productivity in the upper waters of the lake lead to increased
24 disinfection byproducts such as total trihalomethanes (TTHMs) ; and
25
26 WHEREAS, longer durations of very low oxygen levels release phosphorus bound in
27 the lake sediments resulting in increased availability of phosphorus and further increasing
28 biological production in the lake ;
29
30 WHEREAS, Washington State Department of Ecology has listed Lake Whatcom as an
31 impaired water body and placed Lake Whatcom on the federal Clean Water Act 303 ( d ) list
32 because of low oxygen levels ; and
33
34 WHEREAS , the 303 ( d ) listing requires the establishment of a Total Maximum Daily
35 Load (TMDL) that designates loading capacity of the lake such that there will be no
36 measurable change in oxygen levels from natural lake conditions ; and
37
38 WHEREAS, a TMDL requires meeting Water Quality Standards and , for lakes, the
39 dissolved oxygen criterion requires no decline from natural conditions ;
40
41 WHEREAS, other pollutants identified and monitored within the Lake Whatcom
42 watershed have the highest concentrations in the most developed areas of the watershed ;
43 and
44
45 WHEREAS, meeting the TMDL goals and improving oxygen levels in Lake Whatcom
46 will require variety of comprehensive planning , pollution prevention , pollution reduction and
47 technical approaches ; and
48
49 WHEREAS, continued development while the TMDL goals are established and while
50 approaches for meeting those goals are developed will increase the size of the reductions
51 and will increase the costs that will be necessary to meet the TMDL goals ; and
52 WHEREAS , Lake Whatcom County Code 20 . 71 establishes the Lake Whatcom
53 Watershed as a Water Resource Protection Overlay District ; and
54
55 WHEREAS, Lake Whatcom is the drinking water source for approximately half the
56 residents of Whatcom County ; and
57
58 WHEREAS, the preservation and protection of drinking water is a high priority for
59 Whatcom County ; and
60
61 WHEREAS, the Whatcom County Comprehensive Plan , adopted on May 20 , 1997 ,
62 establishes the Lake Whatcom watershed as a Special Study Area ; and
63
64 WHEREAS, Lake Whatcom is a valuable recreation lake for swimming , boating and
65 fishing , and enhances the property values in the area as long as the lake maintains high
66 water quality ; and
67
68 WHEREAS, declining oxygen levels poses a risk to the water quality of Lake
69 Whatcom that could harm drinking water quality, recreational opportunities, and lake
70 property values ; and
71
72 WHEREAS, actions required under the 303 ( d ) listing and TMDL goals as well as
73 declining water quality will cause a hardship to tax payers , local property owners in the
74 watershed and water consumers and those hardships may be limited by effective planning ,
75 prevention and remediation programs established prior to the establishment of the TMDL
76 goals ; and
77
78 WHEREAS, the Whatcom County SEPA Official issued a Determination of Non -
79 significance on January 24 , 2005 ; and
80
81 WHEREAS , the Council makes the following findings of fact to justify its actions as
82 required by RCW 36 . 70 . 795 :
83
84 1 . This interim moratorium on the acceptance of applications for division of land
85 into lots of smaller than five ( 5 ) acres is necessary to avoid future
86 degradation of the Lake Whatcom watershed and the associated threat to the
87 drinking water supply of approximately half of the citizens of Whatcom County
88 as well as recreational and lake property values .
89
90 2 . Without a moratorium additional development lots may be created within the
91 Lake Whatcom Watershed that could lead to negative hydrologic and storm
92 water impacts that may cause irreversible harm to Lake Whatcom and
93 therefore cause harm to the health and welfare of the public .
94
95 3 . The Whatcom County Council desires the opportunity to evaluate the impacts
96 of future development in relation to reducing phosphorus loads to Lake
97 Whatcom and meeting the TMDL goal of reversing the declining oxygen trends
98 in Lake Whatcom . This evaluation may include but are not limited to the
99 following :
100 Storm water management plans, implementation and maintenance .
101 Storm water funding in the watershed .
102 N Review existing zoning densities outside the Bellingham Urban Growth
103 Areas within county jurisdiction .
104 N Storm water management in areas that cross City of Bellingham and
105 Whatcom County jurisdictions .
106 N Transfer of development rights programs .
107 Land acquisition .
108 N Reviewing the proposed TMDL from the Department of Ecology and its
109 implications for additional county land use regulations .
110 N Reviewing the ongoing monitoring studies on the Lake and its
111 tributaries to understand the extent to which new data further informs
112 our understanding of the relationships between development and other
113 land use activities and Lake Whatcom water quality .
114
115 4 . All of the parcels remaining subject to this moratorium are also under review
116 in the rural element update/LAMIRD designation currently underway that may
117 affect potential future development on those parcels . Completion of that
118 review is expected before this ordinance would expire and the outcome of
119 that review will inform the Council 's future decisions relating to future zoning
120 densities within the rural areas of the watershed .
121
122 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Whatcom County Council that a
123 moratorium is hereby imposed on the acceptance of new applications for divisions of land
124 into lots smaller than five ( 5 ) acres in the Lake Whatcom watershed , as identified on the
125 map attached as Exhibit A .
126
127 BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED that divisions resulting in lots all of which are five ( 5 )
128 acres or larger shall be exempt from this division moratorium .
129
130 BE IT FINALLY ORDAINED by the Whatcom County Council that, pursuant to RCW
131 36 . 70 . 795 , thtonittlitiftrgiiiiip may be renewed for one or more six- month periods if
132 subsequen 1 \1 i her6) O'ye held and findings of fact are made prior to each renewal .
133 �` 4� . N T • x`1,4
134 �a113 Ng b rd ay of January , 2012 .
135 = U o.0 COUNTY ° ®® C'�`
136 - . * • WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
137 A1TE I - --`. `--o W WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON
138 0 OF
139 � �.. L' Aar- 44%`!tom ft
140 Dana Brotyn - Da/is , - k o ttke Council. Kathy Kershner , Council Chair
141 � // , -a * ` \\
142 APP ' WED D AS''`I`C9► t`tN"
143
1
4
44 . Lrlb f
145 ivil Deputy Prosecutor . Jack Louwe , Execu ; ve
146
147 XApproved ( ) Denied
148
149 Date : / 244. / Z
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