|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Developers say wider stream buffers are unnecessary
by Debra A. Golden, Wake Weekly Staff Writer
One side sees it as a water quality issue for the present and the future. The other considers it a detriment to making money and a potential hardship for homebuyers.
The argument? Whether to change Rolesville's required 50-foot stream buffers to 100 feet. The proposal brought many to their feet in Monday night's town board meeting. Currently, Neuse River buffer rules established by the state Department of Environmental and Natural Resources require that up to 50 feet of riparian areas (land adjacent to streams, ponds and lakes) be protected and maintained. According to those rules, the first 30 feet of buffer must remain essentially undisturbed while the other 20 feet are to be covered with vegetation. In contrast, the county has established a 100-foot riparian buffer on either side of perennial and intermittent streams, lakes and ponds which have more than 25 acres of drainage within a watershed area. Until now, Rolesville has required 50-foot riparian buffers outside watershed areas. Monday night, upper Neuse riverkeeper Dean Naujoks told Rolesville town board members he is in favor of extending riparian buffers. Buffers are "the last line of defense preventing pollution from making its way into the waterway," he said. Naujoks, who is also on the board for the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, said wider buffers not only protect aquatic habitats, but also create critical corridors for wildlife to move back and forth. Buffers protect waterways from nitrogen, Naujoks explained. Too much nitrogen causes algae blooms. When algae blooms form, fish die and the oxygen level in the water decreases. Less oxygen means more fish die, and so on, he said. Since Rolesville is on the brink of a construction boom, now is the time to protect its waterways, he said. "There are degraded streams all over Atlanta" because leaders in that city neglected to protect the waterways, and now the Environmental Protection Agency is involved. Rolesville is part of a burgeoning region, he said, noting that more than 3 million people are projected to live in the Neuse River basin in the next 20 years. Naujoks estimated that currently more than 600,000 people in this area get their drinking water from the Neuse River. Pat Wharton of West Young Street said she is in favor of "100-foot buffers everywhere. I think all of Rolesville should have 100-foot buffers." Her husband, Ralph, said he would "like to see Rolesville become one of those stellar communities concerned about this spaceship called Earth." In south Florida, where the Whartons used to live, people began cutting down mangrove trees because they were ugly. The loss of habitat left no place for small fish to live. No small fish means the big fish have nothing to eat, Wharton said. Builders and developers who attended the meeting were opposed to any increase in watershed buffers. Ken Kirby of the Homebuilders Association of Raleigh and Wake County said "according to Tetra Tech, there is not one shred of evidence" that increasing riparian buffers past 50 feet offers additional protection. Tetra Tech is a California-based engineering firm which offers environmental services worldwide. "It's a shame to take somebody's land when there's no reason for it," he said. Cary's required 100-foot buffers on all perennial and intermittent streams, lakes and ponds is an "extreme measure," Kirby said. Bruce Herbert of Rhein Interests also spoke against increasing the riparian buffers. Rhein Interests is creating the Village at Rolesville behind Redford Place Shopping Center. Increasing riparian buffers directly affects people's wallets, he said, by decreasing the value of the land. Homeowners would pay thousands of dollars more to make up the difference, he said. Johnny Edwards also spoke against increasing the buffers. Wake County requires wider riparian buffers, he said, because county lots are larger and the roads don't include curb and gutter. In most subdivisions, rain water is captured in storm drains, not streams, he said. Wider buffers aren't the only way to protect bodies of water -- retention ponds and grass swales work, too, he said. Rusty Ammons added that increasing riparian buffers "economically does not make sense." Commissioner Frank Eagles, who served on the county's watershed task force, said that group "had a lot of evidence that 100-foot buffers make a difference." The task force wanted to require 100-foot buffers all over Wake County, but commissioners compromised to please developers, he said. "It's looking at developers' pocketbooks that gets me ill. The pocketbooks come before our children . . . and the future of this country," Eagles said. Since the town board did not have a written ordinance proposal to review that night, town attorney Beth Trahos said she would draft one to bring back for review. In addition, she is checking with experts at the Triangle J Council of Governments for more information and will look into ways the town could grandfather in current developments if commissioners approve wider buffers. The public hearing on the matter was closed Monday night, but commissioners are expected to look at the new information in their March 16 town board meeting. At that time, they could decide to reopen the public hearing, Town Manager Matt Livingston said.
Last Updated On: March 4, 2004
Copyright 2004 The Wake Weekly