Section 11-107 Bull Run Watershed Protections.

City Charter Section

The Bull Run Watershed Closure Area, as defined in City Code and containing the federally designated Bull Run Watershed Management Unit, is dedicated to the production of pure, high quality drinking water and the protection and stewardship of the Bull Run’s natural environment.  Policies and practices established in the Charter affecting City lands within the Bull Run Watershed Management Unit are constrained by and must conform with applicable federal and state law, federal and state administrative policy, and tribal treaty rights if any. Only the following individuals may enter City lands within the Bull Run Watershed Closure Area: authorized employees or authorized contractors of the United States Forest Service, the United States Bureau of Land Management, or the Portland Water Bureau; persons accompanied by such authorized employees; law enforcement personnel; or emergency response personnel.

Recreational use of City lands in the Bull Run Watershed Closure Area is prohibited. Residential, industrial or commercial uses are prohibited, except as necessary for protection, enhancement, operation or maintenance of the water supply system and facilities for electric power generation and transmission. Domestic animals may not run at large within the Bull Run Watershed Closure Area and grazing is prohibited.

Tree cutting or removal, including salvage, is prohibited on City lands within the Bull Run Watershed Closure Area except for the following purposes: protection, enhancement or maintenance of water quality; protection, enhancement or maintenance of water quantity;  construction, expansion, protection or maintenance of municipal water supply facilities;  construction, expansion, protection or maintenance of facilities for the transmission of energy through the Bull Run Watershed Management Unit or of hydroelectric facilities or hydroelectric projects associated with municipal water supply facilities; or management of dangerous or hazardous trees that pose a threat to human safety or City infrastructure.

City land or infrastructure within the Bull Run Watershed Closure Area that is integral to the delivery of municipal water shall not be transferred to any private entity.  City land or infrastructure within the Bull Run Watershed Closure Area that is integral to the delivery of municipal water shall not be transferred to any public entity unless the transfer is approved by ordinance passed by City Council. 

Development in the Bull Run Watershed Closure Area that is allowed by the Charter must first seek to avoid, then minimize and mitigate for impacts to water quantity and quality, cultural resources, and the natural environment including soils, vegetation, and fish and wildlife and related habitat, to the greatest extent practicable.  Public notice of development inside the Bull Run Watershed Closure Area is required and all development must comply with the Bull Run Watershed Protection provisions of the Portland City Code. [New sec. Dec. 4, 2019.]

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