HOWELL — The township’s riparian buffer ordinance was adopted by the Township Council Sept. 21.
The ordinance was supposed to have been adopted in July but it was pulled from the council’s agenda so the township attorney could give it a final comprehensive review.
The new riparian buffer ordinance prevents any construction or placement of structures on property that lies within 300 feet of either side of a stream corridor.
The previous riparian buffer ordinance prevented any construction or placement of structures on property that was within 100 feet of either side of a stream corridor.
Under the parameters of the new ordinance, a qualifying applicant will be allowed to build something within the buffer zone up to 3,500 square feet in size.
Township Manager Bruce Davis has previously said the ordinance was drafted that way so appeals regarding land use can be decided in the interest of fairness to homeowners who find themselves with back yards that are rendered virtually unusable due to environmental constraints or those imposed by township ordinance.
The 300-foot buffer zone also was adopted so that Howell will be in compliance with the state’s recently enacted stricter protection of watersheds. Much of Howell is included in these state-protected watersheds.
The ordinance stipulates that a riparian corridor is identified as “the land area that acts as a transition between the aquatic and upland ecosystems.”
It also states that the riparian buffer zone will apply to “any area of land within a minimum width of 300 feet located adjacent on either side to permanent or intermittent stream corridors, lakes and ponds.”
— Kathy Baratta