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Shoreland Information for Residential Property Owners
The City of Buffalo regulates alterations of vegetation and topography within the shoreland area to prevent erosion into public waters, fix nutrients, preserve shoreland aesthetics, preserve historic value, prevent bank slumping, and protect fish and wildlife habitat. Please use the following guidance for informational purposes only and always contact the City to verify requirements.
- When is a permit required?
- What are the general design standards?
- Is my lot located in the shoreland overlay district?
Always contact the City of Buffalo to verify if a permit is required for your project. A permit is required for:
• Construction of a building or addition to a building (including but not limited to decks, patios, staircases, lifts, etc.)
• Alteration of a SSTS (septic system)
• Any grading or filling activities that involve the movement of more than 10 cubic yards of material along a steep slope, shore impact zone, or bluff impact zone
• The building footprint (including the home, driveway, stairs, retaining walls and all accessory structures) must comply with the impervious coverage calculation for the lot.
• Maximum slope is 30%.
• Refer to Section 50 in the City Code for all setback requirements.
• Roads, driveways, and parking areas must meet structure setbacks and must not be placed within bluff and shore impact zones, when other reasonable and feasible placement alternatives exist.
•When more than one setback applies to a lot, structures must meet all setbacks.
•General Development Lakes (Buffalo and Pulaski) maintain a 50 feet setback (sewered) and 75 feet (unsewered) from the ordinary high-water level. Additional setbacks may apply if located by top of bluff, unplatted cemetery, or right-of-way line of highway or street.
• New constructed stormwater outfalls to public waters must provide for filtering or settling of suspended solids and skimming of surface debris before discharge to lake.
• If the parcel is located within the floodplain district, additional standards may apply.
Please use the map below as a guideline. The blue shaded area represents the shoreland overlay district. Shoreland areas are defined as 1,000 feet from the ordinary high-water level of a lake, pond, or flowage and 300 feet from a river, stream, or landward extent of a floodplain. Always check with a professional land surveyor to confirm site boundaries.
Common Development Projects:
• Installation of a sand blanket above the OHWL that includes more than 10 cubic yards of material requires an excavation permit.
• For projects constructed below the OHWL, residents must contact the MN DNR as a permit may be required.
• Please refer to the MN DNR for installation best practices.
• If located within a shore or buff impact zone: movement of more than 10 cubic yards of materials requires an excavation permit.
• If located outside a shore or bluff impact zone: extraction of over 75 cubic yards of material or landfill of over 50 cubic yards require an excavation permit.
• Alterations of topography are only allowed if they are permitted and do not adversely affect adjacent or nearby properties.
• Plans to place fill or excavated material on steep slopes must be reviewed by qualified professionals for continued slope stability and must not create finished slopes of 30% or greater.
• Fill or excavated material must not be placed in bluff impact zones.
• Any alterations below the ordinary high-water level of public waters must first be authorized by the MN DNR.
• If the parcel is located within the floodplain district or wetland, additional standards may apply.
• Stairs must not exceed 4 feet in width on residential lots.
• Landings must be less than 32 square feet in area.
• Canopies or roofs are not allowed.
• Must be located in the most visually inconspicuous portions of lots as viewed from the surface of the public water, assuming summer, leaf-on conditions, whenever practical.
• Ramps, lifts, or mobility paths allowed for physically handicapped must meet dimensional and performance standards.
• If the parcel is located within the floodplain district, additional standards may apply.
• If located within a shore or buff impact zone: movement of more than 10 cubic yards of materials (including riprap) requires an excavation permit.
• If located outside a shore or bluff impact zone: extraction of over 75 cubic yards of material or landfill of over 50 cubic yards require an excavation permit.
• Retaining walls over 4 feet in height require a building permit and approval by a Professional Engineer.
• Placement of natural rock riprap (including associated grading of the shoreline and placement of a filter blanket) is permitted if:
1. the finished slope does not exceed three feet horizontal to one foot vertical;
2. the landward extent of the riprap is within ten feet of the ordinary high-water level, and;
3. the height of the riprap above the ordinary high-water level does not exceed three feet.
• Retaining walls with a measurement of one square foot or more shall be included in the calculation of impervious surface.
• If the parcel is located within the floodplain district, additional standards may apply.
• If any portion of the retaining wall is below the OHWL, residents must contact the MN DNR as a permit may be required.
• Intensive vegetation clearing within the shore and bluff impact zones and on steep slopes is not allowed.
• Limited clearing and trimming of trees and shrubs is allowed to provide a view of the water from the principal dwelling following provisions.
• Contact the MN DNR before removing any emergent vegetation (cattails, bulrushes, etc.), using chemicals to control aquatic vegetation, altering a lakebed, or any disturbance below the ordinary high-water level.
• Impervious surface coverage of lots located within the shoreland overlay district must not exceed 25% of the lot area in most residential zones.
• Impervious surface coverage of lots located outside of the shoreland overlay district must not exceed 35% of the lot area in most residential zones.
• The use of pervious pavement materials when installed to allow the percolation of drainage into the soil is considered 100% pervious surface.
• Porches and decks which allow drainage through to pervious surfaces directly below are not included in the calculation of impervious surfaces.
Shoreland Stewardship:
Please consider the following tips to practice shoreland stewardship:
- Plant a Buffer Strip. Native vegetation provides important water quality benefits by filtering pollutants, naturally reducing runoff, and provides valuable fish and wildlife habitat. It also strengthens the soil column with deep roots that prevent erosion and bank failure.
- Use Phosphorus-Free Fertilizer. Minnesota State Law requires that phosphorus-free fertilizer be used in Shoreland areas. Did you know phosphorus is one of the leading causes of algal blooms?
- Do not dump waste. Grass clippings, pet waste, leaves, and debris add excess phosphorus into the water.
- Locate fire pits away from the shore and properly dispose of ash. Ash is high in phosphorus and the debris can easily blow into the lake. It is recommended that fire pits be located at least 50 feet away from the shore.
- Properly install, operate, and maintain your septic system.
- Shoreland homeowners are encouraged to stay updated with their Lake Improvement District.
Definitions:
Additional Resources:
Bluff means a topographic feature such as a hill, cliff, or embankment having all of the following characteristics:
(1)Part, or all, of the feature is located in a shoreland area.
(2)The slope rises at least 25 feet above the ordinary highwater level of the waterbody.
(3)The grade of the slope from the toe of the bluff to a point 25 feet or more above the ordinary highwater level averages 30 percent or greater.
(4)The slope must drain toward the waterbody.
An area with an average slope of less than 18 percent over a distance for 50 feet or more shall not be considered part of the bluff.
Bluff impact zone means a bluff and land located within 20 feet from the top of a bluff.
Impervious surface means an artificial or natural surface through which water, air or roots cannot penetrate.
Ordinary highwater level (OHWL) means the boundary of public waters and wetlands and shall be an elevation delineating the highest water level which has been maintained for a sufficient period of time to leave evidence upon the landscape, commonly that point where the natural vegetation changes from predominantly aquatic to predominantly terrestrial. For watercourses, the ordinary highwater level is the elevation of the top of the bank of the channel. For reservoirs and flowages, the ordinary highwater level is the operating elevation of the normal summer pool.
Pervious surface means an artificial or natural surface through which water, air or roots can penetrate.
Shore impact zone means land located between the ordinary highwater level of a public water and a line parallel to it at a setback of 50 percent of the structure setback.
Shoreland means land located within the following distances from public water:
(1)1,000 feet from the ordinary highwater level of a lake, pond, or flowage; and
(2)300 feet from a river or stream; or
(3)The landward extent of a floodplain designated by ordinance on a river or stream, whichever is greater.
The limits of shorelands may be reduced whenever the waters involved are bounded by topographic divides which extend landward from the waters for lesser distances and when approved by the commissioner.
Steep slope means land where agricultural activity or development is either not recommended or described as poorly suited due to slope steepness and the site's soil characteristics, as mapped and described in available county soil surveys or other technical reports, unless appropriate design and construction techniques and farming practices are used in accordance with the provisions of these regulations.
Where specific information is not available, steep slopes are lands having average slopes over 12 percent, as measured over horizontal distances of 50 feet or more, that are not bluffs.