Implementation of Your Stream Corridor Protection Ordinance An important first step in developing a SCO is to ensure that your Master Plan has a stream corridor protection and a stormwater management section that supports such an ordinance. To pass a stream corridor ordinance in your municipality it must be introduced, or have a first reading, at which time a public hearing date is set. A public hearing or second reading must take place at least ten days after the introduction or first reading of the ordinance and notice of the hearing must be given in the official newspaper seven days in advance of the hearing. After the ordinance is introduced, the planning board is given 35 days to review and comment. The ordinance must be published in the official newspaper by title and include either a summary of the substance or the entire text of the ordinance. Informal copies of the proposed ordinance must be made available to the public at the municipal offices. After the public hearing or second reading, the ordinance is then voted on and is passed, defeated or revised. If significant changes are made to the ordinance during the public hearing, it will have to be re-introduced. After the ordinance is passed, the governing body must publish the title and include either a summary of the substance or the entire text of the ordinance. In addition to introducing a stream corridor ordinance, your municipality should consider implementing the following: A public information campaign should be developed to explain the benefits of a stream corridor protection ordinance. Streams, including headwaters, should be mapped and existing land uses that may pose a threat to water quality (e.g., septic tanks, storage, farming, etc.) should be marked on the map. Ordinances protecting the stream corridor should be viewed as part of a larger picture, which is meaningful conservation of the environment in a municipality. As a result of the interconnections in the environment, additional ordinances or land use "tools" should be considered as complementary to the Stream Corridor ordinance in order to better ensure that a community achieves its desired conservation objectives. Your community needs to determine what its goals are for protecting the environment and the next steps it should take to reach these goals. Additional supporting land use ordinances would include, but certainly not limited to, the following: Stormwater Management Usable Lot Restrictions Clustering / Lot Size averaging ordinances Impervious cover limitations Shade Tree/Woodland Protection Well-head Protection Ground Water Recharge Septic System Maintenance and Monitoring