Valley County workshop outlines riparian overlay, BMP requirements and plan for engineering-fee collection

At a Valley County workshop, staff described proposed countywide changes to land-use rules that would add a riparian-area overlay triggering within 150 feet of the high-water line of any water body and require a 50-foot setback and stormwater management plans with BMPs for projects in that zone. Staff also explained how the county plans to collect engineering-review fees through the county engineer's invoicing process and clarified that the fees are intended to reimburse documented services.

The draft code would expand the definition of lot coverage to include impervious areas such as patios, walkways and driveways, "anything that will shed the water," Speaker 3 said, so those surfaces count toward lot coverage limits. Speaker 3 said projects in riparian areas will likely require engineered BMP plans "in probably 90% of the cases," and that an approved plan and engineer approval letter must be on file before the building department issues a permit.

On fee collection, Speaker 3 described a process discussed with the county engineer in which the engineer will continue to serve under contract with the county and invoice the county for engineering-review work. "He said it will be very clunky" to have the engineer enter separate contracts with each applicant, Speaker 3 said; instead, the engineer will include the fee amount in the approval letter, and the building department will charge the applicant at permit issuance. Staff said engineering fees will be coded to the county's engineering-fee revenue line and the county typically charges 105% of the billed engineering fee to cover administration.

Speaker 3 also described training requirements. "Anyone that gets a building permit in that riparian area is going to have to have the training, the good neighbor training or the responsible party training," she said, adding the county plans to arrange training in the spring and may use the online course used in McCall. The county intends to require at least one certified responsible person associated with each property or contractor before issuing permits in riparian areas.

Staff noted implementation details: cloudpermit will need to flag whether a site is within 150 feet of a water body to trigger submission of BMP materials; additional field inspections are expected (usually one extra trip before excavation) to verify BMPs are installed; and for complex stormwater systems an engineer must inspect and certify that construction matches approved plans. Speaker 3 cited Valley County code 9434F as the basis for requiring stormwater permits and BMPs prior to grading in affected areas.

The workshop also covered related matters: an International Fire Code-based change requiring fire-department driveway approval for structures more than 150 feet from an access road, outreach plans (checklists, builders guild contact, website postings), and the county's approach to nonconforming structures and demolition permits. On the latter, Speaker 3 said demolition permits will be required and rebuilding that constitutes a new building must comply with current setbacks.

No formal vote or adoption occurred at the workshop. Staff said they will work with legal and the county engineer to finalize fee language and technical materials, distribute checklists and training notices to contractors and excavators, and return with a resolution or agenda item to adopt any fee changes if necessary.