20031125 2003-23ORDINANCE NO. 2003- 23
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING
SECTION 110-4, ARTICLE I, CHAPTER 110
OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA
BE IT ORDAiNED, by the City Council of the City of Fairfax, that Section 110-4, Article I,
Chapter 110 of the Code of the City of Fairfax, Virginia is amended by adding the following
definitions:
Sec. 110-4. Definitions.
The following words and terms used have the following meanings, unless the context clearly
indicates otherwise. In addition, any terms not defined in this section shall be in accordance
with the definitions in the Code of Virginia, § 10.1-2101.
Best management practice or BMP means a practice, or combination of practices, that are
determined by the commonwealth to be the most effective, practicable means of preventing or
reducing the amount of pollution generated by non-point sources to a level compatible with
state water quality goals.
Buffer area means an area of natural or established vegetation managed to protect other
components of a resource protection area and state waters from significant degradation due to
land disturbances.
Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area or CBPA means any land designated by the City Council
pursuant to Code of Virginia, § 10.1-2107. A Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area shall consist
of a resource protection area and a resource management area.
Development means the construction, or substantial alteration of residential, commercial,
industrial, institutional, recreational, transportation, or utility facilities or structures.
Highly erodible soils mean soils (excluding vegetation) with an erodibility index (El) from
sheet and rill erosion equal to or greater than eight. The erodibility index for any soil is
defined as the product of the formula RKLS/T, where K is the soil susceptibility to water
erosion in the surface layer; R is the rainfall and runoff; LS is the combined effects of slope
length and steepness; and T is the soil loss tolerance.
Highly permeable soils means any soil having a permeability (potential to transit water
through the soil profile) equal to or greater than six inches of water movement per hour in any
part of the soil profile to a depth of 72 inches (permeability groups "rapid" and "very rapid")
as found in the most recent publication of the "National Soil Survey Handbook" of November
1996 in the "Field Office Technical Guide" of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil
Conservation Service.
Impervious cover means a surface composed of any material that significantly impedes or
prevents natural infiltration of water into the soil. Impervious surfaces include, but are not
limited to, roofs, buildings, streets, parking areas, and any concrete, asphalt, or compacted
gravel surface.
Intermittent stream means a channel with flowing water during certain times of the year,
when groundwater provides water for stream flow. During dry periods, intermittent streams
may not have flowing water. Runoff from rainfall is the primary source of water for stream
flow.
Non-point Source Pollution means pollution consisting of constituents such as sediment,
nutrients, and organic and toxic substances from diffuse sources, such as runoff from
agriculture and urban land development and uses.
Non-tidal wetlands means areas other than tidal wetlands that are inundated or saturated by
surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under
normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in
saturated soil conditions, as defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to
section 404 of the Federal Clean Water Act, in 33 CFR 3238.3b.
Redevelopment means the process of developing land that is or has been previously
developed.
Resource Management Area or RMA means the component of the Chesapeake Bay
Preservation Area that is not classified as the resource protection area and which is contiguous
to the inland boundary of the RPA. Resource management areas include land types that, if
improperly used or developed, have a potential for causing significant water quality
degradation or for diminishing the functional value of the resource protection area. All lands
in the city that are not designated as resource protection areas are resource management areas.
Resource Protection Area or RPA means that component of the Chesapeake Bay Preservation
Area comprising lands adjacent to water bodies with perennial flow that have an intrinsic
water quality value due to the ecological and biological processes they perform or are
sensitive to impacts which may result in significant degradation to the quality of state waters.
In their natural condition, these lands provide for the removal, reduction or assimilation of
sediments, nutrients and potentially harmful or toxic substances in runoff entering the Bay
and its tributaries, and minimize the adverse effects of human activities on state waters and
aquatic resources. The resource protection area shall include the following:
1. Tidal wetlands;
2. Nontidal wetlands connected by surface flow and contiguous to tidal wetlands or
water bodies with perennial flow;
3. Tidal shores;
4. Intermittent streams that remain largely in a natural condition and that have not been
significantly impacted by adjacent development as depicted on the City's Chesapeake
Bay Preservation Area map;
5. Water bodies with perennial flow; and
6. A one-hundred-foot vegetated buffer area located adjacent to and landward of the
components listed in subparagraphs (a) through (e) above, and expanded to include
noncontiguous wetlands within the floodplain that are partially located within the
buffer, along both sides of any water body with perennial flow. The full buffer area
shall be designated as the landward component of the Resource Protection Area
notwithstanding the presence of permitted uses, encroachments or permitted
vegetation clearing in compliance with the performance criteria of this Division.
Designation of the components listed in subsections (1) through (6) above shall not be subject
to modification unless based on reliable, site-specific information in accordance with section
110-86(c).
The Act means the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act (Code of Virginia, § 10.1-2100 et seq.).
Tidal wetlands means vegetated and non-vegetated wetlands as defined in 3~ 28. 2-1300 of the
Code of Virginia.
Water body with perennialflow means a body of water flowing in a natural or man-made
channel year-round, except during periods of drought. The term "water body with perennial
flow" includes perennial streams, estuaries, and tidal embayments. A perennial stream means
any stream that is both perennial and so depicted on the City's Chesapeake Bay Preservation
Area map adopted by the City Council. Lakes and ponds that form the source of a perennial
stream, or through which the perennial stream flows, are part of the perennial stream. The
width of the perennial stream may be measured from top-of-bank to top-of-bank or at the
Ordinary High Water Mark (OHWM) as defined by 33 CFR Part 328.3(e). The aerial extent
of a pond or lake is measured at the OHWM. Generally, the water table is located above the
streambed for most of the year and groundwater is the primary source for stream flow. In the
absence of pollution or other man-made disturbances, a perennial stream is capable of
supporting aquatic life.
The ordinance shall become effective as provided by law.
Planning Commission Work Sessions:
Planning Commission Hearings:
City Council Work Session:
City Council Public Hearing:
ADOPTED: November 25, 2003
September 22, 2003 and October 15, 2003
January 13, 2003; January 27, 2003; February
10, 2003; March 24, 2003; and October 27, 2003
November 11, 2003
November 25, 2003
1
..... . l~layor
Attest:t , ~
City Clerk ----
]~te on the motion to adopt the ordinance was recorded as follows:
Vote
J. Cross Aye
J. Greenfield Aye
G. Lyon Aye
G. Rasmussen Aye
S. Silverthorne Aye
P. Winter Aye