HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 09-02-2003-6bORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: September 2, 2003
Action Agen~l~
Item No. ((~~
SUBJECT: Stillhouse Creek Wetlands Restoration Project
DEPARTMENT: ERCD, NRCS/Soil and Water PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No
District
ATTACHMENT(S):
1) Timeline of Activities
2) Draft (sample) Conservation Easement
3) Map of Project Area
4) Before/After Graphic and Picture
INFORMATION CONTACT:
David Stancil, ERC Director, 245-2590
Brent Bogue, District Conservationist, 245-2750
TELEPHONE NUMBERS:
Hillsborough 732-8181
Chapel Hill 968-4501
Durham 688-7331
Mebane 336-227-2031
PURPOSE: To receive a presentation on the Stillhouse Creek Stream and Wetlands
Restoration Project, a joint venture of Orange County, the N.C. Wetlands Restoration
Program (Division of Environment and Natural Resources) and the U.S. Natural Resource
Conservation Service (NRCS) /Orange Soil and Water District.
BACKGROUND: In June, 2001, the Board adopted a resolution agreeing to a joint stream
restoration project for Stillhouse Creek in Hillsborough. Stillhouse Creek is a tributary of the
Eno River that runs through the County governmental campus in downtown Hillsborough.
This project would restore the stream and wetlands vegetation from Margaret Lane (near the
Government Services Center) to the Eno River. Substantial erosion has occurred along this
segment of the stream in the past 20 years, and this project is needed to restore streamside
vegetation and minimize future erosion along the stream segment.
The project will be paid for by the N.C. Division of Water Quality (DWQ) Wetlands
Restoration Program, and will be managed by DWQ in conjunction with NRCS and the
Orange Soil and Water District. The delay in activity in the project was due to State budget
complications and personnel changes at DWQ.
A staff work group has met on several occasions in the last several months to move the
project forward. Activities to restore the stream are planned to occur in the fall of this year,
with new plantings and installation completed in the winter. The plantings will be all native
species, with some re-routing of the stream planned to decrease erosion and new offset
"wetland pools" created to enhance aquatic life habitat (please see attached graphic). Three
2
or four crossings of the stream will be set (using primarily existing crossings) as part of a
conservation easement that the County must grant to DWQ at the close of project
construction.
Staff has coordinated with the Purchasing and Central Services Director (to ensure
consistency with the Justice Facilities expansion and Space Study), the Erosion Control
Division of the Planning Department, the Recreation and Parks Management Director
(Recreation and Parks will ultimately maintain this site as part of the adjoining RiverPark
area) and the Town of Hillsborough Planning Department. While the conservation easement
will generally be 50 feet on either side of the stream, the State has agreed to exclude the
Government Services Center, County parking lots and the Occoneechee Village from the
easement. The easement will provide for three to four bridge crossings of the stream, to be
determined prior to the finalization of the easement (at a later date). Staffs and
representatives of the involved parties are meeting this month to assess the existing bridges.
Staffs involved in the project propose to also use this as an opportunity for environmental
education, creating a signage plan to explain the nature of the project (and to discourage
human activity in the sensitive areas) as well as explaining activities involved in stream
restoration and habitat that has been created or restored.
A map of the project area is attached, as are pictures of the existing stream corridor and
other similar projects. A before/after cross-section perspective of the project has also been
created by Open Space Design Specialist Kimberly Siran.
Once the project construction is completed, a final report along with conservation easement
will be presented to the Board for action, probably in November/December 2003. A sample
of a conservation easement is provided for information only at this time.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The State Division of Water Quality is responsible for the cost of the
project, anticipated to be $50-60,000. There are no County funds involved. An eventual
conservation easement donation to NCDWQ will be required. The easement will ensure
permanent protection for the project corridor and allow for designated stream crossings, as
well as preclude incompatible activities within the easement and require that new vegetation
for the stream restoration is left undisturbed. County buildings and other built areas will be
excluded from the easement.
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board receive the information
and provide any feedback as desired, with a final report and conservation easement to be
brought back for action in late 2003.
Stillhouse Creek Stream Restoration Project
Action Steps and Projected Timetable
U date to BOCC on ro'ect September 2, 2003
Construction begins /wetland pools Mid-late October 2003
created
Plantings of native vegetation to stabilize November-December 2003
banks
Com letion of ro'ect construction Februa 2004
Conservation easement signed (based on March 2004
as-built
Plantin rowth and stabilization Sprin 2004 and be and
Stillhouse Creek Conservation Easement
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
ORANGE COUNTY
Draft 6/17/03
CONSERVATION EASEMENT
THIS CONSERVATION EASEMENT DEED, made this day of
2003, by and between Orange County, North Carolina, having an address of
Post Office Box 8181, Hillsborough, NC 27278 (hereinafter "Grantor"'), and the State of North
Carolina, whose mailing address is State of North Carolina State Property Office, 116 West Jones
Street, Raleigh, NC 27603-8003 (hereinafter "Grantee"). The designations Grantor and Grantee
as used herein shall include said parties, their heirs, successors, and assigns, and shall include
singular, plural, masculine, feminine, or neuter as required by context.
WITNESSETH:
WHEREAS, pursuant to the provisions of N.C. Gen. Stat. 3 143-214.8 et sea., the State
of North Carolina has established the Wetlands Restoration Program (as defined in N.C. Gen Stat.
3 143-214.8) within the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for the purposes of
acquiring, maintaining, restoring, enhancing, and creating wetland and riparian resources that
contribute to the protection and improvement of water quality, flood prevention, fisheries, aquatic
habitat, wildlife habitat, and recreational opportunities; and
WHEREAS, the Wetlands Restoration Program in the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources has approved acceptance of this instrument; and
WHEREAS, the acceptance of this instrument for and on behalf of the State of North
Carolina has been granted to the Department of Administration by resolution as approved by the
Governor and Council of State adopted at a meeting held in the City of Raleigh, North Carolina,
on the 8`i' day of February 2000; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the provisions of N.C. Gen. Stat. 3 143-214.8, two of the
components of the Wetlands Restoration Program are (1) restoration and perpetual maintenance
of wetlands, riparian areas, and surface waters and (2) land ownership and management; and
WHEREAS, Grantor owns in fee simple certain real property situated, lying, and being
in Hillsborough Township, Orange County, North Carolina (the "Protected Property"), and being
more particularly described as that certain parcel of land and
being conveyed to the Grantor by deed recorded in Deed Book at Page of the
Orange County Registry, North Carolina; and
WHEREAS, Grantor is willing to grant a Conservation Easement on the Protected
Property, thereby restricting and limiting the use of the Protected Property to the terms and
conditions and for the purposes hereinafter set forth, and Grantee is willing to accept such
easement.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants, terms, conditions, and
restrictions hereinafter set forth, Grantor unconditionally and irrevocably hereby grants and
conveys unto Grantee, its successors and assigns, forever and in perpetuity, a Conservation
Easement of the nature and character and to the extent hereinafter set forth, over a portion of the
Stillhouse Creek Conservation Easement Draft 6/17/03
Protected Property, referred to hereafter as the Easement Area, for the benefit of the people of
North Carolina, and being all of the tract of land as identified as Tract _ as shown on a plat
of survey entitled " "dated ,certified by ,and
recorded in Map Book ,Page County Registry. Tract
being more particularly described as follows:
[INSERT LEGAL DESCRIPTION]
The purposes of this Conservation Easement are to maintain, restore, enhance, and create
wetland and/or riparian resources in the Easement Area that contributes to the protection and
improvement of water quality, flood prevention, fisheries, aquatic habitat, wildlife habitat, and
recreational opportunities; to maintain permanently the Easement Area in its natural condition,
consistent with these purposes; and to prevent any use of the Easement Area that will
significantly impair or interfere with these purposes. To achieve these purposes, the following
conditions and restrictions are set forth:
I. DURATION OF EASEMENT
This Conservation Easement shall be perpetual. It is an easement in gross, runs with the
land, and is enforceable by Grantee against Grantor, their personal representatives, heirs,
successors, and assigns, lessees, agents, and licensees.
II. RESERVED USES AND RESTRICTED ACTIVITES
The Easement Area shall be restricted from any development or usage that would impair
or interfere with the purposes of this Conservation Easement. Unless expressly reserved as a
compatible use herein, any activity in, or use of, the Easement Area by the Grantor is prohibited
as inconsistent with the purposes of this Conservation Easement. Any rights not expressly
reserved hereunder by the Grantor have been acquired by the Grantee. The following specific
uses are prohibited, restricted, or reserved as indicated:
A. Recreational Uses. Grantor expressly reserves the right to undeveloped recreational
uses, including hunting and fishing, and access to the Easement Area for the purposes
thereof. Usage of motorized vehicles in the Easement Area is prohibited.
B. Educational Uses. The Grantor reserves the right to undeveloped educational uses
and the right of access to the Easement Area for such purposes including organized
educational activities such as site visits, studies, and observations.
C. Vegetative Cutting. Cutting, removal, mowing, harming, or destruction of any
vegetation in the Easement Area is prohibited. Trees and lambs may be removed, cut
and otherwise managed to control insects and disease, and to prevent personal injury
and property damage, but only with advance written approval of the Grantee.
D. Industrial Use. Industrial activities in the Easement Area are prohibited.
E. Residential Use. Residential use of the Easement Area is prohibited.
F. Commercial Use. Commercial activities in the Easement Area are prohibited.
G. Agricultural Use. Agricultural use of the Easement Area including use for cropland,
waste lagoons, or pastureland is prohibited.
H. New Construction. There shall be no building, facility, mobile home, or other
structure constructed or placed in the Easement Area. Existing bridges may be
Stillhouse Creek Conservation Easement
Draft 6/17/03
repaired, reasonably enlarged and replaced at their current locations, as shown on
Exhibit B, with the advance written approval of the Grantee.
I. Signs. No signs shall be permitted in the Easement Area except interpretive signs
describing restoration activities and the conservation values cif the Easement Area,
signs identifying the owner of the Protected Property and the holder of the
Conservation Easement, and signs giving directions or proscribing rules and
regulations for the use of the Easement Area or for the adjacent County-owned land.
J. Dumping. Dumping of soil, trash, ashes, garbage, waste, abandoned vehicles,
appliance or machinery, or other material in the Easement Area is prohibited.
K. Grading, Mineral Use, Excavation, Dredging. Except for the construction of
bridges authorized under Paragraph H, there shall be no grading, filling, excavation,
dredging, mining, or drilling; no removal of topsoil, sand, gravel, rock, peat,
minerals, or other materials.
L. Water Quality and Drainage Patterns. There shall be no diking, draining,
dredging, channeling, filling, leveling, pumping, impounding or related activities, or
altering or tampering with water control structures or devices, or disruption or
alteration of the restored, enhanced, or created drainage patterns. In addition,
diverting or causing or permitting the diversion of surface or underground water into,
within or out of the easement area by any means, removal of wetlands, polluting or
discharging into waters, springs, seeps, or wetlands, or use of pesticide or biocides is
prohibited.
M. Subdivision. Subdivision, partitioning, or dividing the Easement Area is prohibited.
N. Development Rights. No development rights which have been encumbered or
extinguished by this Conservation Easement shall be transferred pursuant to a
transferable development rights scheme or cluster development arrangement or
otherwise.
The Grantee, and authorized representatives of the Grantee, shall have the right to enter
the Easement Area and shall have the right of reasonable ingress and egress to the Easement Area
over the Protected Property, at all reasonable times to undertake any activities to restore, manage,
maintain, enhance, and monitor the wetland and riparian resources of the Easement Area. These
activities include planting of trees, shrubs and herbaceous vegetation, installation of monitoring
wells, utilization of heavy equipment to grade, fill, and prepare the soil, modification of the
hydrology of the site, and installation of natural and manmade materials as needed to direct in-
stream, above ground, and subterraneous water flow. In addition, the Grantee, and authorized
representatives of the Grantee, shall have the right to enter the Easement Area and shall have the
right of reasonable ingress and egress to the Easement Area over the Protected Property, at all
reasonable times for the purpose of inspecting said property to determine if the Grantor is
complying with the terms, conditions, restrictions, and purposes of this Conservation Easement.
The easement rights granted herein do not include public access rights.
The Grantor may request permission to vary from the above restrictions for good cause
shown, provided that any such request is consistent with the purposes of this Conservation
Easement. The Grantor shall not vary from the above restrictions without first obtaining written
approval from the Wetlands Restoration Program, whose mailing address is 1619 Mail Services
Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1619.
Stillhouse Creek Conservation Easement Draft 6/17/03
III. ENFORCEMENT AND REMEDIES
A. In the event. that the Grantee determines that the Grantor has violated or is
threatening to violate any of these terms, conditions, or restrictions, the Grantee
may institute a suit to enjoin such violation and if necessary, to require the
restoration of the Easement Area to its prior condition at the expense of the
Grantor.
B. No failure on the part of Grantee to enforce any covenant or provision hereof
shall discharge or invalidate such covenant or any other covenant, condition, or
provision hereof or affect the right of Grantee to enforce the same in the event of
a subsequent breach or default.
IV. MISCELLANEOUS
A. This Conservation Easement shall be construed to promote the purposes of N.C.
Gen Stat. 3 143-214.8 et seg., the Wetlands Restoration Program.
B. This instrument sets forth the entire agreement of the parties with respect to the
Conservation Easement and supersedes all prior discussions, negotiations,
understandings or agreements relating to the Conservation Easement. If any
provision is found to be invalid, the remainder of the provisions of the
Conservation Easement, and the application of such provision to persons or
circumstances other than those as to which it is found to be invalid, shall not be
affected thereby.
C. Any notices shall be sent by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested
to the parties at their addresses shown above or to other address(es) as either
party establishes in writing upon notification to the other.
D. Grantor shall notify Grantee in writing of the name and address and any party to
whom the Protected Property or any part thereof is to be transferred at or prior to
the time said transfer is made. Grantor further agrees to make any subsequent
lease, deed, or other legal instrument by which any interest in the Protected
Property is conveyed subject to the Conservation Easement herein created.
V. QUIET ENJOYMENT
Grantor reserves all rights accruing from ownership of the Protected Property,
including the right to engage in or permit or invite others to engage in only those uses of
the Easement Area that are expressly reserved herein, not prohibited or restricted herein,
and are not inconsistent with the purposes of this Conservation Easement. Without
limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Grantor expressly reserves to the Grantor,
and the Grantor's invitees and licensees, the right of access to the Easement Area, and the
right of quiet enjoyment of the Easement Area.
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD the said rights and easements perpetually unto
Grantee for the aforesaid purposes.
AND Grantor covenants that Grantor is seized of said premises in fee and has the
right to convey the permanent easement herein granted; that the same are free from encumbrances
8
Stillhouse Creek Conservation Easement
Draft 6/17/03
and that Grantor will warrant and defend title to the same against the claims of all persons
whomsoever.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, the Grantor has hereunto set his hand and seal, the day
and year first above written,
Grantor
ATTEST:
Donna S. Baker, Clerk to the
Board of Commissioners
ORANGE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
By:
Margaret Brown, Chair
Orange County Board of Commissioners
(Notary Seal)
NORTH CAROLINA
COUNTY OF ORANGE
I, a Notary Public of the County and State aforesaid, certify that Donna S. Baker
personally came before me this day and acknowledged that she is Clerk to the Board of
Commissioners for Orange County, North Carolina and that by authority duly given and as the act
of said County, the foregoing instrument was signed in its name by the Chair of said Board of
Commissioners and attested by her as Clerk to said Board of Commissioners.
Witness my hand and official stamp or seal, this the day of , 200_
Notary Public
My commission expires:
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