The ordinance and regulations submitted by a
municipality to the Department must include at a minimum the following
components:
(1) A setback ordinance
and regulations must meet the minimum requirements and contain a minimum
setback distance for each class of structure under this chapter.
(2) The municipality must provide a mechanism
for permitting all proposed construction, installation, or substantial
improvement of structures, or utility facilities such as water, sewage,
electric, gas and telephone facilities in designated bluff recession hazard
areas. This bluff setback permitting process may be incorporated into any
existing permitting process administered by a municipal building code or zoning
officer. At the request of the municipality, the Department will provide
assistance to the municipality in developing this procedure.
(3) The municipality must provide a
procedure, as a part of the ordinance and regulations, that enables monitoring
of substantial improvements to structures bisected by or within the bluff
setback distance. The procedure must ascertain the market value of the
structure prior to the first improvement and document subsequent improvements
to the structure to ensure that they do not exceed 50% of the market value for
a consecutive 5-year period. At the request of the municipality, the Department
will provide assistance to the municipality in developing this
procedure.
(4) The municipality
must provide a variance to its bluff setback ordinance and regulations only in
the following cases:
(i) When a parcel
established prior to a bluff recession hazard area designation does not have
adequate depth considering the minimum bluff setback requirements to provide
for any reasonable use of the land, a variance may be applied for. The variance
shall be authorized when the following standards and criteria are met:
(A) The structure and all associated
structures and utility facilities shall be located on the property as far
landward of the bluff line as allowed by other municipal ordinances.
(B) The structure shall be designed and
constructed to be movable. Construction activities must meet the minimum
erosion and sediment control practices established by Chapter 102 (relating to
erosion and sediment control) and reflect guidance contained in municipal
stormwater ordinances or county watershed stormwater management plans. As part
of the moving operation, all construction materials, including foundations,
shall be removed and disposed of in accordance with the Solid Waste Management
Act (35 P. S. §§ 6018.101-6018.1003) and the regulations
promulgated thereto. Access to and from the structure must be of sufficient
width and acceptable grade to allow for moving of the
structure.
(ii) When a
proposed structure or utility facility requires access to the body of water and
there is no feasible alternative for obtaining access, a variance may be
applied for. The variance will be authorized only when the following standards
and criteria are met:
(A) The variance may be
granted only for bluff recession control devices designed to reduce bluff
recession; water withdrawal lines or discharge lines; power cables; natural gas
or oil pipelines; or communication cables; or other public service lines which
require access through the bluff recession hazard area to the body of
water.
(B) To achieve adequate
protection of the bluff, the construction activity must occur in a manner that
minimizes potential short-term and long-term disruption of the bluff recession
hazard area, must be in conformance with Chapter 102 and reflect guidance
contained in municipal stormwater ordinances or county watershed stormwater
management plans.
(C) To help
ensure that increased turbidity levels on the lake are not caused, all
construction activities must comply with the erosion and sedimentation control
practices established under Chapter 102.
(D) The area of the construction site shall
be reestablished to ensure that subsequent erosion will not damage the
structure or harm the environment or adjacent
properties.
(5)
The municipality must provide a procedure to amend municipal setback
ordinances. The Department will, at the request of the affected municipality,
provide assistance in incorporating revisions to this chapter into the
municipal ordinance and regulations.
(6) The municipality must provide an
administrative procedure for maintaining records of all correspondence,
applications for permits, and issuance and denial of the permits. The
Department will assist if requested. On February 28 of each year, a copy of the
records from the preceding calendar year shall be submitted to the Department
for its review and permanent record. This procedure must require that necessary
records include the name and address of the applicant and the location and
description for the following activities:
(i)
Construction, installation or engagement in any substantial improvement to
structures affected by the minimum bluff setback distance including the
information collected as a result of the monitoring procedure established in
paragraph (3).
(ii) Improvement
projects for an existing structure located within the minimum bluff setback
distance.
(iii) Variances granted
by the municipality in bluff recession hazard areas.
(7) When an applicant submits an application
for a permit for any construction or development activities in areas subject to
bluff recession hazards, the municipality shall alert the applicant of the
minimum bluff setback prescribed in §
85.26(c)
(relating to designated municipalities and minimum bluff setback distances for
identified categories of structures).