Protect Watersheds and Freshwater Wetlands

Overview

Water resources are essential to environmental protection. They provide habitat and other natural systems services. They provide protection against flooding and storm surge. By creating generous zones of protection around wetlands, development patterns can be shaped in more sustainable patterns. Because watersheds often transgress municipal boundaries, watershed protection initiatives can be leveraged to build inter-municipal cooperation around a larger set of smart land use policies.

Design Detail

Tools and Actions

Planning Tools

Municipal Comprehensive Plan

Comprehensive Plan Resource Protection section to include wetlands and watershed protection objectives.
See Plan
Watershed and Wetlands Planning

Local wetlands plans and local watershed plans can set out targeted policies. For wetlands, a special natural resource ordinance can be written. Counties can create their own wetlands and watershed plans. Wetlands and watershed regulations can limit the kinds and locations of uses near wetlands or within watersheds including development and site plan requirements. Counties can review development proposals near water resources for conformance with their own wetlands and watershed plans and regulations.
See Plan
Critical Environmental Area Designation

"Critical environmental or conservation areas can be mapped over wetlands and
watersheds."
See Plan

Regulatory Tools

Basic Zoning

Basic zoning can control bulk, area, setback, and use requirements within wetlands and watershed areas.
See Tool
Watershed Protection

"Special overlay zoning districts can be mapped over water resources and include
special regulations for their protection."
See Tool
Subdivision Regulations

"Subdivision and site plan regulations can include provisions for protecting
wetlands and watersheds."
See Tool
Site Plan Regulations

Subdivision and site plan review can include wetlands and watershed protection.
See Tool

Administrative Actions

Conservation Advisory Council and Natural Resource Inventory

For wetlands, local wetlands control commissions can review development proposals for impacts.
See Action
Conservation Easements and Land Trusts

Conservation easements and land trusts can preserve wetland areas and critical parcels within watersheds.
See Action
SEQRA

SEQRA (NY State) can establish critical environmental or conservation areas and mandate avoidance, minimization and mitigation measures near wetlands and within watershed areas.
See Action
Conditional Approvals

Conditional approvals near wetlands or within watershed areas can include variances and special permits pursuant to protection measures.
See Action
Intermunicipal Agreements

Inter-municipal coordination will probably be necessary for watershed planning and protection.
See Action

Better Town Toolkit