ARTICLE 15. WETLANDS DISTRICT
15.1 Purpose and Intent
15.1 Purpose and Intent – The Wetlands District is established to protect the public health, safety, and general welfare by controlling and guiding the use of land areas which have been found to be subjected to high water tables for extended periods of time. It is intended to prevent the development of structures and land uses on naturally occurring wetlands which will contribute to pollution of surface and ground water by sewage or toxic substances; to prevent the destruction of, or significant changes to, natural wetlands which provide flood protection; to protect unique and unusual natural areas; to protect wildlife habitats and maintain ecological balances; to protect potential water supplies and existing aquifers (water-bearing strata) and aquifer recharge areas; to
prevent expenditures of municipal funds for the purposes of providing and/or maintaining essential services and utilities which might be required as a result of misuse or abuse of wetlands; and to encourage those low-intensity uses that can be harmoniously, appropriately, and safely located in wetlands.
15.2 District Boundaries – The limits of the Wetlands District are areas of one (1) acre or more, or any size if contiguous to surface waters such as lakes, ponds, and streams, subjected to high water tables for extended periods of time and include, but are not necessarily limited to those areas delineated as Zone A flood plain areas by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Flood Hazard Boundary Map for Gilford (1975), those soils which, according to the high intensity soil mapping standards developed by the Society of Soil Scientists of Northern New England have a drainage classification of 5 (poorly drained), or 6 (very poorly drained), very poorly and poorly drained soils by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, in the Soil Survey of
Belknap County, New Hampshire, dated November, 1968, or those areas designated as either Prime Wetlands or Wetlands by the Lakes Region Planning Commission dated November, 1983.
15.2.1 Wetlands Incorrectly Delineated – When it is alleged an area has been incorrectly delineated as a wetland, or an area not so designated meets criteria for wetlands designation, the Planning Board shall render a decision only upon the determination by a qualified soil scientist(s) and/or plant scientist(s), on the basis of additional on-site investigation or other suitable research that the information contained on the Wetlands Map is incorrect. This evidence shall be accepted only when presented in written form by said scientist to the Planning Board. Any necessary soil testing procedures shall be conducted at the expense of the landowner or developer. Prior to ruling on this, the Planning Board shall request Conservation Commission review and comment on the
reclassification.
15.3 Relation to Other Districts – Where the Wetlands Conservation District is superimposed over another zoning district, the more restrictive regulations shall apply.
15.4 Permitted Uses
15.4.1 – These include those uses which will not alter the natural surface configuration by the addition of fill or by dredging and uses that otherwise are permitted by the Zoning Ordinance. Such uses may include the following:
(a) Forestry – Tree farming, using best management practices in order to protect streams from damage and to prevent sedimentation;
(b) Cultivation and harvesting of crops according to recognized soil conservation practices, including the protection of wetlands from pollution caused by fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides used in such cultivation;
(c) Wildlife refuges;
(d) Parks and recreation uses consistent with the purpose and intent of this ordinance;
(e) Conservation areas and nature trails;
(f) Open spaces as permitted or required by the subdivision regulations or the zoning ordinance.
15.4.2 Special Exception – Special exceptions shall be obtained by application to the Zoning Board of Adjustment, which prior to public hearing shall notify the Board of Selectmen, Town Engineer, Conservation Commission, and Planning Board for review and comment of the application for special exception at least twenty-one (21) days prior to the public hearing. Special exceptions may be granted for the following uses in the Wetlands District:
(a) Streets, roads and other access ways and utility right-of-way easements, including power lines and pipe lines, if essential to the productive use of land not so zoned and if so located and constructed as to minimize any detrimental impact of such uses upon the wetland.
(b) Water impoundments.
(c) The undertaking of a use not otherwise permitted in the Wetlands District, if it can be shown that such proposed use is not in conflict with any and all of the purposes and intentions of this ordinance.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall grant a special exception only after an affirmative finding that the intended use shall not cause pollution of the surface water or ground water, and will not have a detrimental affect on the ecology, and will be consistent with public welfare, health, convenience, and safety, and will not increase the likelihood of flooding in the area, or elsewhere.
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