a.Every person or entity owning property through which a watercourse passes, or such owner’s lessee, shall keep and maintain that part of the watercourse within the property reasonably free of trash, debris, excessive vegetation, and other obstacles that would pollute, contaminate, or significantly retard the flow of water through the watercourse. In addition, the owner or lessee shall maintain existing privately owned structures within or adjacent to a watercourse, so that such structures will not become a hazard to the use, function, or physical integrity of the watercourse. The owner or lessee shall not remove healthy bank vegetation beyond that actually necessary for maintenance, or remove said vegetation in such a manner as to increase the vulnerability of the watercourse to erosion. The property owner or such owner’s lessee shall be responsible for maintaining and stabilizing that portion of the watercourse that is within their property lines in order to protect against erosion and degradation of the watercourse originating or contributed from their property.

b.Watercourse protection shall be identified in the development planning stage of real property by the person or entity owning the property through which a watercourse passes, in order to retain creeks, wetlands, and riparian areas that provide habitat, and to remediate degraded water quality. Such considerations include, but are not limited to, preservation and setbacks from creeks, wetlands, and riparian habitats in compliance with applicable local, state, and federal laws and regulatory permit authorities, such as U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regional Board, SWRCB, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and in conformance with low impact development site assessment and design standards of the NPDES General Permit and Regional Board Resolution No. R3-2013-0032, and as amended thereto. (Ord. 3519 § 7, 2015)