95.       24.2.5. Steep slope Development on steep slopes can impair the recharge of groundwater contained in the regolith-fractured crystalline rock aquifers which underlie Polk County. Preservation of existing vegetation reduces the velocity of raindrops and slows the velocity of surface water flow by increasing the roughness of the ground, thereby increasing recharge of those aquifers. Such groundwater recharge is also enhanced by minimizing impermeable areas caused by construction of buildings, paving of roads and compaction of soils. Wholly apart from efforts to protect groundwater recharge by preserving existing vegetation and minimizing impermeable areas, studies conducted under the auspices of the US Geological Survey establish that, in the central Piedmont of North Carolina, the minimum area required to enable recharge of groundwater supplies required by a single-family dwelling in a developed area to a sustainable level varies between 2.45 and 2.66 acres. Much of the Eastern part of Polk County is a part of the central Piedmont of North Carolina and is similar in topography and soil content and structure to the Piedmont areas in which these studies were conducted. However, due to far greater runoff quantities and velocities and less permeable soil conditions, the minimum area to assure sustainable recharge in developed, and to be developed, areas of the mountainous terrain of Western Polk County is indisputably greater. Studies published by the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources conclude that, as the slope increases beyond 15%, little groundwater recharge is expected.  Calculations performed in connection with the Polk County Land Use Plan suggest that the minimum area to assure adequate recharge may be as great as 10 acres or more for a single-family dwelling where the slope exceeds that 15%.

 

96.       24.2.6.  Polk County has recently been experiencing rapid growth in the number of subdivision lots available for residential housing development  Prior to December of 2007, Polk County experienced rapid growth of subdivision lots available for residential housing development. Since 2004, the Polk County Planning Board has given final plat approval to subdivisions comprising 1,427 building lots, and subdivisions comprising another 925 are currently awaiting final plat approval. This growth has been paralleled by similar growth in the towns in Polk County, where well over 1,000 additional lots have been either approved or proposed since 2004. A significant part of this development has occurred, and continues to occur, both within and adjacent to the mountainous region of Western Polk County.

 

97.       24.2.8.3  Deleted.

 

98.       24.3 PURPOSE, INTENT AND OBJECTIVES.

Amend last sentence: These regulations are also intended to encourage the application of principles of landscape architecture, building architecture, planning and civil engineering to preserve the appearance and protect the resources of those mountainsides and ridgelines.

 

99.       24.3.2  Deleted.

 

100.    24.4  Applicability.  Unless (and only to the extent) an exemption granted by Section 24.5.1 or 24.5.2 applies, this Article governs all land-disturbing activity on any lot of record for which  when the average slope, as defined herein, of the proposed building and grading envelope, equals or exceeds thirty percent (30%) twenty-five percent (25%).

 

101.    SECTION 24.7 APPLICATION SUBMISSION AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS.

Unless (and only to the extent) an exemption granted by Section 24.5 applies, no land-disturbing activity shall be conducted on any lot of record for which the average slope, as defined herein, equals or exceeds thirty percent (30%) twenty-five (25%) until the application required by this Article has been submitted to and approved by the Administrator.

 

102.    SECTION 24.8 GENERAL APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL LAND-DISTURBING ACTIVITY.

The following information shall be submitted as a part of each application required by Section 24.7 with respect to any land-disturbing activity attributable to construction, erection or installation of any building or other structure on a lot of record for which  when the average slope, as defined herein, of the proposed building and grading envelope, equals or exceeds thirty percent (30%) twenty-five percent (25%).

 

103.    24.8.1 Site Plan and Topographic Map. A site plan and topographic map of the lot of record that is the subject of the application shall be required. The site plan and topographic map shall be prepared by a Professional Surveyor, a Professional Engineer or a Professional Landscape Architect.  It shall be scaled no less than 1” = 40’ and depict contour intervals of no more than 5 feet. It shall show the boundaries of that lot of record, the boundaries of the proposed building and grading envelope, the location or locations of the proposed buildings and other structures, and the finished floor elevations of those buildings and other structures in relation to the natural ground surface. The site plan and topographic map shall also indicate the data pertinent to any slope calculations required by Section 24.9.6, setting forth the required slope calculations themselves. Areas proposed or required to remain undisturbed shall be marked on the site plan and topographic map and in the field with tape, orange plastic fencing, or other approved marker until a certificate of occupancy is issued. Notes and details of existing terrain features of consequence shall be included on the site plan and topographic map.

 

Where reliable data in sufficient detail to enable the Administrator to administer the requirements of this Article are available from:

 

24.8.1.1. On-site GPS observations taken, observed or confirmed by the Administrator;

 

24.8.1.2. Polk County GIS maps;

 

24.8.1.3. Recorded plats or surveys of an area in which the lot of record is included; or

 

24.8.1.4. Unrecorded preliminary plats or surveys of an area in which the lot of record is included, prepared by a Professional Surveyor, Professional Engineer or Professional Landscape Architect, that were previously submitted pursuant to this Article or the Polk County Subdivision Ordinance or that were prepared for other purposes (so long as properly certified), the data contained in a site plan and topographic map that might otherwise be provided by a physical on-site survey may be based on them. However, if and to the extent that the Administrator determines that such data are insufficient, he or she may require the pertinent data to be acquired from a physical on-site survey to be conducted by a Professional Surveyor or Professional Engineer.

 

The site plan and topographic map can be consolidated in a single document with the graphic information required by one or more of the soils report required by Section 24.8.2, the hydrological control plan required by Section 24.8.3 or the geotechnical analysis and report required by Section 24.8.4, provided that all information required by all pertinent sections is compiled in the manner and by the persons specified in those sections.

 

104.    24.8.5 Impact Assessment. Applications with respect to subdivisions other than family subdivisions and two-lot subdivisions shall be accompanied by a written assessment of the developer or his or her or its representative addressing the environmental, scenigraphic and public safety impacts that the project will have on the environment of the mountainside or ridgeline after the project has been completed and is in operation, and the measures proposed to ameliorate those impacts.

 

105.    24.8.6  Certification of Maximum Structure Height.  Delete this section.