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Lancaster wetland board approves Topside LLC living-shoreline plan pending mitigation-credit proof
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Summary
The Lancaster County Wetlands Board on Sept. 11 conditionally approved Topside LLC's plan to install a 110-foot living shoreline sill and riprap revetment on Carlos Creek. Staff and the applicant said the Nature Conservancy mitigation credits (1:1) have been purchased but must be documented before a permit is issued.
Topside LLC was granted conditional approval Sept. 11 by the Lancaster County Wetlands Board to place a 110-foot living-shoreline sill, 60 cubic yards of clean sand fill, 880 square feet of wetland plantings and a 300-foot riprap revetment along the eroding shoreline of Carlos Creek.
Kelsey Haney of Ransom’s Nursery, representing Topside, told the board the project will reuse existing riprap as core material for the sill and that the company has “purchased 0.0016 acres of mitigation credits from the Nature Conservancy” to compensate for vegetated-wetland impacts. Haney said the Nature Conservancy had received funds and was processing issuance of the credits.
Olivia Hall, county staff, recommended a motion that would tie permit conditions to the statutory compensation ratio and the board’s permit language. Hall said the Code of Virginia requires a 1-to-1 ratio for the compensatory mitigation option used in this case and that the vegetated-wetland impact was calculated at 0.0016 acre.
Board members asked site-specific questions about protecting an existing U.S. Army benchmark on the point and recommended contractor staking and other precautions. One member also urged outreach to property owners to avoid mowing right down to the waterline, which the board said accelerates erosion.
A board member read a recommended motion calling for approval “pending proof of the purchase of wetlands credits for the compensatory mitigation at the required ratio of 1 to 1 as dictated by the Code of Virginia.” A second was recorded and the board voted in favor by a show-of-hands; the official permit cannot be issued until staff confirms documentation of the mitigation-credit purchase.
The board’s action focused on site suitability and required compensation; staff emphasized that permit issuance will be withheld until the applicant provides proof of the Nature Conservancy credits. The next step is that Topside must submit that proof to county staff before staff releases the permit.
