Oneida zoning acts to liberalize mitigation ordinance

Lakeland Times

DNR – at least one employee – opposes change

Under the current ordinance, an existing dwelling unit within 75 feet of the OHWM can be replaced, but if a portion of that house sits within 40 feet of the OHWM, mitigation kicks in. That requires an undisturbed vegetative buffer zone of at least 35 feet from the OHWM.

Because open decks and patios are not considered part of a principal structure, any deck or patio jutting into the vegetative buffer zone cannot be replaced.

That has created some oddities. For example, a person with a home 40 feet from the OHWM can remodel both the home and the deck because remodeling does not trigger mitigation. Similarly, that person could replace the deck so long as the house was not replaced.

So a homeowner is able to replace the deck but not the house and the house but not the deck.