USACE supportCLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED
Jay-
Thank you so much for reaching out for my input. I think it is awesome Harnett County is doing this. I also run Pender, Sampson, and Cumberland, and they do not have setbacks like this.
I'm willing to bet that the City of Fayetteville wishes they had this type of protection in place. They, as well as private property owners, are spending a ton of money on bank stabilization
projects right now because everyone built right on top of the streams back in the day. That stress, which was likely paired with poor stormwater management, caused the streams to incise
over time. Now that they have hit bedrock, naturally, the streams are moving horizontally, taking out buildings, walkways, parking lots, etc. Having this ordinance in place also alleviates
workload for Harnett's Deeds department because we require a deed notification for each subdivision lot that has wetlands within its boundaries, so it has eased my review of these larger
developments, too.
I think the Conservation Zone ordinance is fair and requiring those areas to remain in open space with development restrictions in perpetuity is smart. I have a few questions for my
edification. What is the legal vehicle that protects those open space areas? Is it something that is included in the subdivision by-laws, like restrictive covenants that are enforced
by the HOA, or is it just documented in the subdivision deed and enforced by the county? If a developer chooses to not build fences for each lot, leaving that up to the homeowner, is
there a mechanism that lets the homeowner know those areas are not to be disturbed, like conservation zone/wetland protection signs, a notification in their deed, HOA rules? Should
a property owner for some reason impact a wetland/stream in the conservation zone, who would the county look to hold responsible, the property owner or the party responsible for those
areas? Or would the county turn it into the state/Corps for enforcement?
Happy Friday and long weekend!
Emily Greer, Regulatory Specialist
Wilmington District - Wilmington Regulatory Field Office
69 Darlington Avenue, Wilmington, NC 28403
910.251.4567 (o)
-----Original Message-----
From: Jay Sikes [mailto:jsikes@harnett.org]
Sent: Thursday, August 29, 2019 2:47 PM
To: Greer, Emily C CIV USARMY CESAW (USA) <Emily.C.Greer@usace.army.mil>
Subject: [Non-DoD Source] Wetlands & Harnett reg's
Good afternoon Emily!
For quite sometime we've been contemplating an amendment to restrict any portion of new residential lots from being located within wetland areas. Current restrictions are basic policies
to hopefully prevent disturbance.
So, after some discussion with our Engineer, etc, the attached is the proposed Ordinance amendment. We’d like to know if you happen to have any thoughts, suggestions, experiences with
such local regulations, etc?
Thank you for your help,
jay
Jay Sikes, CFM
Manager of Planning Services
Harnett County Development Services
108 E. Front St
PO Box 65
Lillington, NC 27546
910-893-7525, x4
910-814-6418
910-814-6459 (fax)
Blockedwww.harnett.org/planning <Blockedhttp://www.harnett.org/planning>
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