Repairian buffer wake county nc (Apex: landscaping, fence, move)

[Michael1605]

I am looking to put in a paver patio in my backyard but I have a creek running across the back yard. I looked up my survey and there is a 50 ft repairian buffer from the creek. Now depending where you measure because the creek is S shape my new pation would overlap the buffer by 1 to 5 feet. Plus I would need to build a landscaping wall maybe a foot or two high to level land. My question is do I need a permit and if so what is the process when building in a repairian buffer zone? Also I do not have to remove any trees if that makes any difference in needing a permit. Thanks to anyone that can help with these questions.

[danielbmartin]

Originally Posted by Michael1605

I am looking to put in a paver patio in my backyard but I have a creek running across the back yard. I looked up my survey and there is a 50 ft riparian buffer from the creek. Now depending where you measure because the creek is S shape my new patio would overlap the buffer by 1 to 5 feet. Plus I would need to build a landscaping wall maybe a foot or two high to level land. My question is do I need a permit and if so what is the process when building in a riparian buffer zone? Also I do not have to remove any trees if that makes any difference in needing a permit. Thanks to anyone that can help with these questions.

The rules which govern protection of streams may vary by location. For Apex (including the Apex Extraterritorial Jurisdiction) you may refer to the Town's Unified Development Ordinance.
http://files.apexnc.org/docs/plan/udo/udo.pdf

There is an important distinction between perennial streams and intermittent streams.

The term "riparian" appears in many places in this large and detailed document. Of particular interest is Table 6.11.1(G)(1) which enumerates allowable uses within a riparian buffer and Article 12, a table of definitions.

.

[North_Raleigh_Guy]

You will want to contact the planning department for whatever town you are in within Wake County, or call county planning directly if you are in an unincorporated area. They will be best source of information to your questions.

[emanresu2]

Last I checked most towns just echoed the Wake county ordinance, which states that there is actually a 20'+30' buffer. You cant really disturb anything 20 feet from the stream, over the next 30 feet there are restrictions - you have to replace any disturbed vegetation, you have to avoid silt runoff and you cant build permanent structures or non-permeable surfaces. It is debatable whether pavers are non-permeable. An alternative is something like compacted crushed granite which is water permeable and is functionally the same as pavers.

That said I agree the best thing to do is call up your town planning department because they do the enforcement. Turns out they were fine with me building a fence within 6' of the stream and building a wooden bridge over over it so long as I didnt mess with the water flow. The planner basically said the rules are strict because of developers but the town almost never enforces anything on homeowners.