Bluffton staff outline proposed wetland-ordinance changes, launch 30-day public comment

Bluffton — Town staff on Tuesday presented a package of proposed amendments to the Unified Development Ordinance that would clarify how the town identifies and protects wetlands, add resilience-focused language to stormwater rules, and create a new wetland-mapping tool to guide applicants.

Andrea, a town planning staff presenter, said the proposal focuses on UDO Section 5.10 (stormwater) and Section 9.2 (definitions) and is intended to replace an interim ordinance adopted last year. "We are here tonight to discuss proposed amendments to UDO, specifically section 5 1 stormwater and 9 2 are defined terms," Andrea said, summarizing the scope and the consultant work with McCormick Taylor.

The changes would keep the town's 50-foot undisturbed wetland buffer as the baseline but add several clarifications and tools. Staff described a wetland-mapping tool that screens properties and flags low, medium and high wetland potential so applicants know in advance whether a field delineation is likely to be required. According to staff, the overlay analysis identified roughly 3,000 more wetlands and about 500 more wetland acres on undeveloped parcels than the National Wetlands Inventory (NWI), which staff said has not been updated for the area since about 2011.

Staff also proposed several regulatory clarifications: defining "heavy machinery" to make clear which routine maintenance activities (for example, chainsaws or small side-by-side vehicles) are allowed without large equipment, creating a five-year permit-restriction option to assure future protections, and changing the required age of wetland delineations from three years to five to align with U.S. Army Corps guidance. Under the proposal, an applicant that receives a permit to impact a jurisdictional wetland would still be subject to the town's 50-foot buffer on any remaining wetland boundary after permitted impacts, and the staff recommended clearer ordinance language to reflect that legal interpretation.

On specific use and setback questions, staff proposed that stormwater facilities and utility lines may be located in the wetland buffer but that land disturbance should not occur within 10 feet of the wetland edge (the 10-foot setback is measured from the wetland itself, not from the 50-foot buffer). The presentation also included a proposed prohibition on motorized vehicles along multipurpose paths in wetlands and wetland buffers, with exceptions for ADA-compliant motorized wheelchairs and vehicles used for maintenance or safety.

Council members and attendees raised practical concerns during the workshop. Drew Locker, a civil engineer with Thomas and Hutton who said he works in Bluffton, urged council to consider additional conveyance and stormwater maintenance measures to reduce flooding rather than relying solely on ordinance changes: "There are additional avenues, right, for alleviating flooding in Bluffton ... maintaining ditches, improving stormwater conveyance," Locker said. Other council members questioned whether a variable buffer based on ecological classification would be administratively complicated or invite legal challenges; staff noted the classification task is part of the consultant scope and any variable approach would initially affect about 8% of the town.

Staff described options to assure protection after a permitted impact, including conservation easements, deed restrictions or a town-held permit-restriction form that would bar additional impacts to the delineated wetland for five years; the permit-restriction form would remain in town records rather than be recorded at the Beaufort County Register of Deeds unless an applicant chose a recorded instrument. Andrea said the town plans to solicit technical comments from environmental consultants during the public comment period and to update the mapping tool as new aerial imagery and project GIS data become available.

The town will start a 30-day public comment period next week and staff said they will distribute media releases and contact environmental consultants and frequent applicants. Staff outlined a tentative schedule that includes planning commission review and a target of first reading before the council in June and second reading in July.

"We have a 30 day public comment period, starting next week," Andrea told council, and staff said they will use multiple outreach steps so stakeholders can review the draft before formal readings.

Next steps: the draft ordinance and mapping tool will be posted for a 30-day comment period, staff will collect feedback and the consultant will revise text as appropriate before the item returns to the planning commission and then to council for readings in the summer.