HomeMy WebLinkAboutord2010-011 WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL AGENDA. BILL NO. 2010 — 101 .
CLEARANCES Initial Date Date Received in Council Office Agenda Date Assigned to:
Originator: 2/9/2010 2/9/2010 Introduction
Division Head. 2 / 23 / 2010 Hearing
Dept. Head:
Prosecutor: .
Purchasing/Budget:
Executive:
TITLE OF DOCUMENT:
Interim ordinance-applications for division of land in Lake Whatcom Watershed
ATTACHMENTS:
SEPA review required? ( ) Yes ( ) NO Should Clerk schedule a hearing ? ( X ) Yes ( ) NO
SEPA review completed? ( ) Yes ( ) NO Requested Date: 2/23/2010
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.)
Ordinance imposing an interim 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:
2 / 09 / 2010 : Introduced
2 / 23 / 2010 : Council Adopted 6 - 1 Crawford
opposed Ord . 2010- 011
Related County Contract #: Related File Numbers: Ordinance or Resolution
AB2009-332 Number: Ord . 2010- 011
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.
s
1 SPONSORED BY: Consent
2 PROPOSED BY: Council
3 INTRODUCTION DATE : February 9, 2010
4
5 ORDINANCE # 2010-011
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
53 WHEREAS, Lake Whatcom County Code 20 . 71 establishes the Lake Whatcom
54 Watershed as a Water Resource Protection Overlay District ; and
55
56 WHEREAS, Lake Whatcom is the drinking water source for approximately half the
57 residents of Whatcom County ; and
58
59 WHEREAS, the preservation and protection of drinking water is a high priority for
60 Whatcom County ; and
61
62 WHEREAS, the Whatcom County Comprehensive Plan , adopted on May 20 , 1997 ,
63 establishes the Lake Whatcom watershed as a Special Study Area ; and
64
65 WHEREAS, Lake Whatcom is a valuable recreation lake for swimming , boating and
66 fishing , and enhances the property values in the area as long as the lake maintains high
67 water quality ; and
68
69 WHEREAS, declining oxygen levels poses a risk to the water quality of Lake
70 Whatcom that could harm drinking water quality, recreational opportunities and , lake
71 property values ; and
72
73 WHEREAS, actions required under the 303 ( d ) listing and TMDL goals as well as
74 declining water quality will cause a hardship to tax payers, local property owners in the
75 watershed and water consumers and those hardships may be limited by effective planning ,
76 prevention and remediation programs established prior to the establishment of the TMDL
77 goals ; and
78
79 WHEREAS, the Whatcom County SEPA Official issued a Determination of Non =
80 significance on January 24, 2005 ; and
81
82 WHEREAS, the Council makes the following findings of fact to justify its actions as
83 required by RCW 36 . 70 . 795 :
84
85 1 . This interim moratorium on the acceptance of applications for division of land
86 into lots of smaller than five ( 5 ) acres is necessary to avoid future
87 degradation of the Lake Whatcom watershed and the associated threat to the
88 drinking water supply of approximately half of the citizens of Whatcom County
89 as well as recreational and lake property values .
90
91 2 . Without a moratorium additional development lots may be created within the
92 Lake Whatcom Watershed that could lead to negative hydrologic and storm
93 water impacts that may cause irreversible harm to Lake Whatcom and
94 therefore cause harm to the health and welfare of the public .
95
96 3 . The Whatcom County Council desires the opportunity to evaluate the impacts
97 of future development in relation to reducing phosphorus loads to Lake
98 Whatcom and meeting the TMDL goal of reversing the declining oxygen trends
99 in Lake Whatcom . This evaluation may include but are not limited to the
100 following : .
101 N Storm water management plans, implementation and maintenance .
102 Storm water funding in the watershed .
103 N Review existing zoning densities outside the Bellingham Urban Growth
104 Areas within county jurisdiction .
105 N Storm water management in areas that cross City of Bellingham and
106 Whatcom County jurisdictions .
107 f1 Transfer of development rights programs .
108 N Land acquisition .
109 N Reviewing the proposed TMDL from the Department of Ecology and its
110 implications for additional county land use regulations . .
111 N Reviewing the ongoing monitoring studies on the Lake and its
112 tributaries to understand the extent to which new data further informs
113 our understanding of the relationships between development and other
114 land use activities and Lake Whatcom water quality .
115
116 4 . All of the parcels remaining subject to this moratorium are also under review
117 in the rural element update/ LAMIRD designation currently underway that may
118 affect potential future development on those parcels . Completion of that
119 review is expected before this ordinance would expire and the outcome of
120 that review will inform the Council 's future decisions relating to future zoning
121 densities within the rural areas of the watershed .
122
123 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Whatcom County Council that a
124 moratorium is hereby imposed on the acceptance of new applications for divisions of land
125 into lots smaller than five ( 5 ) acres in the Lake Whatcom watershed , as identified on the
126 map attached as Exhibit A .
127
128 BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED that divisions resulting in lots all of which are five ( 5 )
129 acres or larger shall be exempt from this division moratorium .
130
131 BE IT FINALLY ORDAINED by the Whatcom County Council that, pursuant to RCW
132 36 . 70 . 795 , this moratorium may be renewed for one or more six- month periods if
133 subsequentS hearings are held and findings of fact are made prior to each renewal .
134 \‘‘,0% ir
135 ���`` T* : ? " rd day of February , 2010 .
136 J .
137 e`0 •O( � H--- 0 •• 01%0 WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
i
138 A • ' . OUNTY • r = WH , TCOM COUNTY, ASH , GTON elk
139 ,Awe-. = Clam,
140 13 • _�!fr_► )� _ i�
141 63na Br Davi brk ti the Council S : m Crawford , Co cil Chair
142 '% . . H , NG • .•
143 APPF`LQ ED AS to.
FO
145 � } . "I4, 1rrii t.%n rA._;#r7_s:�
146 ( ivil Deputy Prosecutor Pete Kremen , Executive
147
148 ( pproved ( ) Denied
149
150 Date : � _a2 Cie
•
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USE of itifAPCOM CGOk ITS NIS DATA IMPLIES Ti iE ITSPN'S
AGREEMENT'MTN la POLLOWiftG STATEMENT.
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Whatcom Count PDS ;- 5 a �0ti '
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