Label
Remove detention/retention ponds & swales from
Front yards
Zoning & Planning Committee
Title
Amending Toledo Municipal Code (TMC), Part Eleven, Subsection 1108.0206 Removing Detention/Retention Ponds and Sales from Front Yards; and declaring an emergency.
Body
SUMMARY & BACKGROUND:
The Toledo Plan Commission is requesting review of an amendment to remove traditional detention/retention ponds and swales from front yards. Currently, traditional detention/retention ponds are prohibited in the frontage greenbelt per TMC?1108.0206 Bioretention Areas (Rain Gardens). This section was amended in 2016 due to growing concerns over improper installation and lack of maintenance of stormwater treatment facilities. The amendment language was developed in consultation with the Division of Engineering Services, Division of Environmental Services and the Plan Commission. The modifications were designed to bring all three agencies to a consensus when working with developers what is expected in the design, location, installation, maintenance, and overall best management practices in concern to bioretention areas or stormwater treatment facilities.
While there have been improvements in the installation and maintenance of stormwater facilities as a result of the amended regulations, there is still a concern with the aesthetics and maintenance of traditional detention/retention ponds and swales that have been installed. Hence, an amendment is proposed to prohibit traditional detention/retention ponds and swales from the front yard. The front yard is defined by TMC?1116.0137 as the area between the right-of-way and the principal building. This change will ensure that retention/detention facilities and swales will not encroach upon any frontage greenbelts and landscaping. This is important because frontage greenbelts and landscaping provide protection of adjacent land uses and improve visual aesthetics. In addition, the location of detention/retention ponds and swales behin...
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