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 Richland County’s Water Quality Buffers Ordinance
Richland County Council is considering a proposal to take away your land with additional “Water Quality Buffers.” An ordinance proposed by the Council will limit property owners’ use of their land that falls into a “buffer zone”– up to a 100-foot strip of land that surrounds rivers, lakes, streams or wetlands. Under the new ordinance,
any use of your land within the buffer zone will be strictly regulated and altogether prohibited. You, the property owner, will still be responsible for the land and pay taxes on it, but will not be able to enjoy any use of it. According to the County’s own calculations, more than 27,000 acres or over 5% of the total area of Richland
County (excluding wetlands) will be restricted from the property owners’ control -- a conservative loss of $400 million to $1 billion to you and your neighbor’s land. SC DHEC studies show the doubling and tripling of the standard 25’ buffer has minimal pollutant removal and general wildlife and avian habitat value (http://www.scdhec.gov/environment/ocrm/pubs/docs/buffers.pdf).
The regulation of buffer areas adjacent to waters is becoming more and more popular as a management technique. Whereas buffer areas may serve to mitigate the effects of adjacent land use, the implications of such buffer zone regulations must be addressed prior to adoption. Primarily, the imposition of buffer zones serves to infringe upon land use planning decisions and further dictates the activities of private landowners. Secondly, an appropriate methodology for determining the width and effectiveness of buffer areas has not yet been established (as noted in SC DHEC’s publication).
Oftentimes, new or revised rules, as the Richland County proposal, are adopted due to political pressure or in response to a particular project to ensure that a similar project will not be allowed in the future. That is no way to develop meaningful or acceptable policy and oftentimes fails to address the intended issues.
In an attempt to better understand the purpose, scope, and implications of a proposed ordinance, it is suggested that you ask the following questions:
- Why is the ordinance needed – what is specifically lacking in the existing rules that deters the county from meeting its goals? Where is the proof to support the County’s allegations?
- Where is building taking place/where is the buildable land?
- How will the ordinance be administered? Does the County have sufficient resources?
A more effective practice would allow for flexible criteria on which to determine the width of a buffer region, to be based upon the environmental values of the stream or other resource to be protected, the protective qualities of the buffer, and the intensity of the adjacent land use. Another effective practice is to determine the width of the buffer area as a percentage of the size of the parcel (i.e., for a lot that is 200 feet deep, require a 10% buffer, or 20 feet, similarly, a 500 foot deep lot would require a 50 foot buffer). Such a practice further legitimatizes the buffer requirement through equity, and may result in higher compliance rates. Further, a variance provision for those lots/parcels that cannot meet the requirements must be included.
State/local regulations which require buffer zones typically choose widths between 25 and 50 feet. Regardless of the agreed upon width, any requirement for a vegetated buffer area must be supplemented with guidance regarding the density and size of the planted or preserved areas, as well as any criteria pertaining to the perpetual maintenance of the buffer region.
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