16.10.130 Monitoring program and contingency plan.
A. For all actions requiring a mitigation plan, a monitoring program shall be prepared and implemented by the applicant to evaluate the success of the mitigation project and to determine necessary corrective actions. This program shall determine if the original goals and objectives are being met. The monitoring program shall be reviewed and approved by the city prior to implementation. The monitoring program shall include a contingency plan in the event that implementation of the mitigation plan is inadequate or fails.
B. A performance and maintenance security is required to ensure the applicant’s compliance with the terms of the approved mitigation plan. The amount of the performance security shall equal 125 percent of the cost of the mitigation project for the length of the monitoring period; the director may agree to reduce the security in proportion to work successfully completed over the period of the security.
C. Incorporate the following into monitoring programs prepared to comply with this chapter:
1. Appropriate, accepted, and unbiased qualitative or precise and accurate quantitative sampling methods to evaluate the success or failure of the project compared to performance standards approved by the city;
2. Quantitative sampling methods that include permanent photopoints installed at the completion of construction and maintained throughout the monitoring period and shall also include permanent transects, sampling points (e.g., quadrants or water quality or quantity monitoring stations), and wildlife monitoring stations;
3. Clearly stipulated qualitative and quantitative sampling methods that are approved by the city before implementation by the project proponent;
4. Appropriate qualitative and/or quantitative performance standards that will be used to measure the success or failure of the mitigation. For wetlands, streams and habitat areas these will include, at a minimum, standards for plant survival and diversity, including structural diversity, the extent of wetland hydrology, hydric soils, and habitat types and requirements as appropriate; all proposed standards are subject to review and approval by the city or the consultant selected by the city to review the mitigation monitoring plan. The qualitative and/or quantitative performance standards shall generally address the following subject areas:
a. Requirements for survival of plantings;
b. Requirements for plant density or percentage cover by plants;
c. Requirements for plant diversity (species composition diversity, structural diversity – tree, shrub, and groundcover layers, deciduous and evergreen, etc.);
d. Requirements that are staged over time so that different performance standards must be met as the mitigation area matures;
e. Measures to verify that the type and amount of functional areas that are part of the mitigation plan are successfully established (e.g., identify steps that will be implemented to confirm that the amount and type of created wetland meets the criteria of a wetland);
f. Requirements specifically limiting occurrence of exotic and nuisance plant species;
g. Requirements for ongoing preservation and protection measures such as continued existence in good condition of fencing and critical area signage. Also, avoidance of disturbance, trampling and the accumulation of litter or debris within the critical area and its buffer.
5. Monitoring programs for a minimum period of five years for buffer enhancement and other types of mitigation programs that include, at a minimum, preparation of an as-built plan; biannual monitoring and preparation of annual monitoring reports following implementation; and a maintenance plan. More stringent monitoring requirements or longer monitoring periods may be required on a case-by-case basis for more complex mitigation plans (e.g., 10 years or more when forested or scrub-shrub wetlands are the intended result);
6. Monitoring reports shall be submitted to the director by December 1st of the year in which monitoring is conducted. The reports are to be prepared by a qualified consultant and must contain all qualitative and quantitative monitoring data, photographs, and an evaluation of each of the applicable performance standards. If performance standards are not being met, appropriate corrective or contingency measures must be identified and communicated to the director and upon concurrence, implemented to ensure that performance standards will be met;
7. Provision for the extension of the monitoring period beyond the minimum time frame if performance standards are not being met at the end of the initial five-year period; and provision for additional financial securities or bonding to ensure that any additional monitoring and contingencies are completed to ensure the success of the mitigation. (Ord. 6733 § 3 (Exh. B), 2019; Ord. 5894 § 1, 2005.)