HomeMy WebLinkAboutord2009-011 WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL AGENDA BILL NO. 2008 - 114 C
CLEARANCES Date Date Received in Council Office Agenda Date Assigned To
Orig. Dept. : County Council 2/18/2009 2/24/2009 Introduction
Division Head: 3 /17 / 09 Public Hearing
Dept. Head :
Prosecutor:
Budget:
Executive:
SUBJECT:
Ord. Imposing interim moratorium on new apps within Lake Whatcom Watershed
ATTACHMENTS
Ordinance
SUMMARY STATEMENT::
Related County Contract #: j Should the Clerk schedule a hearing? (Y/N) Y Requested Date: 3/17/2009
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.
RECOMMENDED MOTION (for final action) :
COMMITTEE ACTION TAKEN :
3 / 17 / 2009 : Rebecca Craven gave a brief update .
COUNCIL ACTION TAKEN
2 / 24 / 2009 : Introduced
3 / 17 / 2009 : Council Adopted 5 - 2 Nelson & Crawford opposed
Ord . 2009 - 011
Related File Numbers: Ordinance or Resolution Number (this item only):
Ord . 2009 - 011
1 SPONSORED BY : Consent
2 PROPOSED BY: PDS
3 INTRODUCTION DATE : February 24, 2009
4
5
6
7 ORDINANCE # 2009 - 011
8
9 IMPOSING AN INTERIM MORATORIUM ON THE ACCEPTANCE OF NEW
10 APPLICATIONS FOR DIVISIONS OF LAND RESULTING IN LOTS SMALLER THAN
11 FIVE ACRES WITHIN THE LAKE WHATCOM WATERSHED
12
13 WHEREAS, oxygen levels in Lake Whatcom are declining to lower levels and
14 declining faster than in the past ; and
15
16 WHEREAS, lower oxygen levels and more rapid decline in oxygen in Lake Whatcom
17 are related to increased rates of sediment and phosphorus loading into the lake ; and
18
19 WHEREAS, increased availability of phosphorus has limited the nitrogen availability
20 in the lake , making the lake more susceptible to blue -green algae blooms ; and
21
22 WHEREAS , longer durations of very low oxygen levels increase the rate of
23 methylization of mercury and other anaerobic compounds ; and
24
25 WHEREAS, increased productivity in the upper waters of the lake lead to increased
26 disinfection byproducts such as total trihalomethanes (TTHMs) ; and
27
28 WHEREAS, longer durations of very low oxygen levels release phosphorus bound in
29 the lake sediments resulting in increased availability of phosphorus and further increasing
30 biological production in the lake ;
31
32 WHEREAS, Washington State Department of Ecology has listed Lake Whatcom as an
33 impaired water body and placed Lake Whatcom on the federal Clean Water Act 303 (d ) list
34 because of low oxygen levels ; and
35
36 WHEREAS, the 303 ( d ) listing requires the establishment of a Total Maximum Daily
37 Load (TMDL) that designates loading capacity of the lake such that there will be no
38 measurable change in oxygen levels from natural lake conditions ; and
39
40 WHEREAS, a TMDL requires meeting Water Quality Standards and , for lakes , the
41 dissolved oxygen criterion requires no decline from natural conditions ;
42
43 WHEREAS , other pollutants identified and monitored within the Lake Whatcom
44 watershed have the highest concentrations in the most developed areas of the watershed ;
45 and
46
47 WHEREAS, meeting the TMDL goals and improving oxygen levels in Lake Whatcom
48 will require variety of comprehensive planning , pollution prevention , pollution reduction and
49 technical approaches ; and
50
51 WHEREAS, continued development while the TMDL goals are established and while
52 approaches for meeting those goals are developed will increase the size of the reductions
53 and will increase the costs that will be necessary to meet the TMDL goals ; and
54
55 WHEREAS, Lake Whatcom County Code 20 . 71 establishes the Lake Whatcom
56 Watershed as a Water Resource Protection Overlay District ; and
57
58 WHEREAS, Lake Whatcom is the drinking water source for approximately half the
59 residents of Whatcom County ; and
60
61 WHEREAS, the preservation and protection of drinking water is a high priority for
62 Whatcom County ; and
63
64 WHEREAS, the Whatcom County Comprehensive Plan , adopted on May 20 , 1997 ,
65 establishes the Lake Whatcom watershed as a Special Study Area ; and
66
67 WHEREAS, Lake Whatcom is a valuable recreation lake for swimming , boating and
68 fishing , and enhances the property values in the area as long as the lake maintains high
69 water quality ; and
70
71 WHEREAS, declining oxygen levels poses a risk to the water quality of Lake
72 Whatcom that could harm drinking water quality, recreational opportunities and , lake
73 property values ; and
74
75 WHEREAS, actions required under the 303 ( d ) listing and TMDL goals as well as
76 declining water quality will cause a hardship to tax payers , local property owners in the
77 watershed and water consumers and those hardships may be limited by effective planning ,
78 prevention and remediation programs established prior to the establishment of the TMDL
79 goals ; and
80
81 WHEREAS, the Whatcom County SEPA Official issued a Determination of Non -
82 significance on January 24 , 2005 ; and
83
84 WHEREAS, the Council makes the following findings of fact to justify its actions as
85 required by RCW 36 . 70 . 795 :
86
87 1 . This interim moratorium on the acceptance of applications for division of land
88 into lots of smaller than five ( 5 ) acres is necessary to avoid future
89 degradation of the Lake Whatcom watershed and the associated threat to the
90 drinking water supply of approximately half of the citizens of Whatcom County
91 as well as recreational and lake property values .
92
93 2 . Without a moratorium additional development lots may be created within the
94 Lake Whatcom Watershed that will lead to negative hydrologic and storm
95 water impacts that may cause irreversible harm to Lake Whatcom and
96 therefore cause harm to the health and welfare of the public .
97
98 3 . The Whatcom County Council desires the opportunity to evaluate the impacts
99 of future development in relation to reducing phosphorus loads to Lake
100 Whatcom and meeting the TMDL goal of reversing the declining oxygen trends
101 in Lake Whatcom . This evaluation may include but are not limited to the
102 following :
103 N Storm water management plans, implementation and maintenance .
104 rJ Storm water funding in the watershed .
105 N Review existing zoning densities and development standards within the
106 Bellingham Urban Growth Areas in the Lake Whatcom watershed .
107 N Review existing zoning densities outside the Bellingham Urban Growth
108 Areas within county jurisdiction .
109 N Storm water management in areas that cross City of Bellingham and
110 Whatcom County jurisdictions .
111 N Transfer of development rights programs .
112 Land acquisition .
113 N Reviewing the proposed TMDL from the Department of Ecology and its
114 implications for additional county land use regulations .
115 N Reviewing the ongoing monitoring studies on the Lake and its
116 tributaries to understand the extent to which new monitoring data
117 further informs our understanding of the relationships between
118 development and other land use activities and Lake Whatcom water
119 quality .
120
121 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Whatcom County Council that a
122 moratorium is hereby imposed on the acceptance of new applications for divisions of land
123 into lots smaller than five ( 5 ) acres in the Lake Whatcom watershed , as identified on the
124 map attached as Exhibit A .
125
126 BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED that divisions resulting in lots all of which are five ( 5 )
127 acres or larger shall be exempt from this division moratorium .
128
129 BE IT FINALLY ORDAINED by the Whatcom County Council that, pursuant to RCW
130 36 . 70 . 795 , this moratorium may be renewed for one or more six- month periods if
131 subsea tips J)c hearings are held and findings of fact are made prior to each renewal .
132 ```��' j C �.",,
134 mac` +' h1AT '� '4 17th day of March , 2009 .
135 ��` Q — C0 *. ,.. S.
136 �9 � WHATCOM COU TY COUNCIL
WHATCc, M • ( ' ASHINGTON
137 r �� . / / I , /
138 a'! . 4, ; �__w _ t `'4 :4W.Pr ► '
139 sa)anth• . re 'rr- D ' ptIe rE of the Council Sr h Flevr ood , Council Chair
140 IN •
141 ;A D P oVE Ak IQ•
F .
rite
142 ki, 14/hill lin
143 ♦ i �_ . lt..l_.�.
144 Civil Deputy Prosecutor Pete Kre en , Executive
145
146 ( Approved ( ) Denied
147
148 Date : 39�97
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