Fayetteville's proposed streamside-protection ordinance to be discussed as Tuesday, January 24, 2011, City Council: Passing and enforcing it on future projects near streams can prevent many problems

Streamside Protection Ordinance

The Nutrient Reduction Plan, completed in April 2009 by Geosyntec Consultants as part of an Agreement with the Beaver Water District and the City of Fayetteville, recommends the development and implementation of a riparian buffer ordinance. This ordinance is part of a series of recommendations designed to reduce non-point source loadings of total phosphorus in the Beaver Lake Watershed and would ultimately reduce the non-point source loadings of total phosphorus in all the City’s waterways.

The City of Fayetteville hosted two public education and input sessions on streamside protection in early March, as well as an online survey during March and April, in order to get citizen input in the development of the ordinance.  Questions asked of participants included input into which streams should have buffer protection and what activities should be allowed or prohibited in the protected areas.   

A question and answer session for property owners who might be affected was held on October 12 at the City Administration building.  The question and answer slide show from this meeting can be found HERE.

The Planning Commission forwarded the Streamside Protection Ordinance to the City Council with a recommendation for approval on November 8, 2010 with a vote of 7-2-0. The ordinance will go to City Council on February 1, 2011.

View a draft of the current proposed Streamside Protection Ordinance that goes before the City Council for review on 2_01_11.
View a draft of the City's Streamside Protection Best Practices Manual.
View a draft of the City's Streamside Protection Zone Map.
View a draft of the City's Streamside Protection Ordinance that was forwarded by the Planning Commission on 11_08_10.

The Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service published a Streamside Protection Ordinance Fact Sheet which also offers information on protecting riparian zones.

Images from March 6 Input Session and field trip to College Branch at Martin Luther King Boulevard
(March 6 Images courtesy of Aubrey Shepherd)

        
         

Images from March 10 Input Session and field trip to College Branch 

        

 For more photos of areas where riparian zones (the vegetated area adjacent to stream banks including flow areas too far upstream to be protected by this proposed ordiinance) are NOT properly managed as well as places where wetland and riparian areas of streams have been protected, please see the following sets of photos on Flickr:
Limestone and sunken wetland
Streamside management
Government Avenue at Prairie Street floodplain of Tanglewood Branch
 Red Oak Park in Ward 4
 Aspen Ridge/Hill Place project in Ward 1's Town Branch Neighborhood
 Baum Stadium detention pond and fence construction on 15th Street
 Illinois River watershed
 Watershed of the West Fork of the White River
 Town Branch Watershed
 Ruskin Heights in Illinois River watershed
 Park West Wetland
Audubon Wilson Spring wetland and adjacent sites
Prairie plants lurk under former pastures
 Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department
 Trails in Northwest Arkansas
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