So there appears to be an area that is a gulley / dry creek that feeds the wetland (those V shaped countour lines). You can't grade that away (that water comes from the rest of the lot....) and there are both bulding and grading setbacks noted on your survey.

Your county / city can help you with definitions and understanding of the limitations.

However - no one should be trying to grade it away, and it will probably just reform anyway..... wetlands are critical to the ecosystem.

I doubt an internet forum is the best place for your question. Wetlands and resulting limitations are quite regional. In my area, you would have signifcant impervious surface limitations just because of bordering on a wetland. Wetlands may limit fencing if you are interested in that. There may be limitations on removing vegetation there. Who knows? Certainly not me living in NC.

Also in my area, you can't significantly disturb any natural waterflow even if not a wetland but filling in a corner of a lot probably would not raise any eyebrows.

Frogs can be really annoying. Or kind of fun. Depends on your cup of tea. The amount that went in our neighbors pool was annoying to them...

There is nothing to be concerned about . . .

. . . during the daytime.

Mark, you are scarring me even more! Please elaborate.

We have an option to switch the lot.

I would be worried about it being a mosquito breeding ground.

It was a "Friday Comment", made for some comic relief after a long week of work, meetings, and travel.

Not knowing what the area looks like and its composition, you are probably best relying on the advice of your designer and surveyor. I grew up on a pond and my youth was filled with adventure and mishap; some say it built character. Do not let anyone grade it or fill it in, or you will have more adventure with certain governmental and environmental agencies than you want or can handle.

We have wetlands on our lot. Our town conservation commission has been highly involved and have proposed a ridiculous plan for plantings in that area. We are trying to scale it back. We are not deterred from the lot, most of our town has wetlands somewhere adjacent

to peoples property. Attached is a photo taken of our lot by our builder to give you an idea.

While you're waiting to hear back from your city/county, you could check this FEMA map:

https://msc.fema.gov/portal/search

If your lot doesn't have a street address yet, just use the closest one and you should be able to pinpoint your location as you zoom in on the map. Keep in mind that as more property in the area is developed that's likely to increase whatever risk of flooding may exist now.

Thank you very much for the replies and apologies in advance for the long post. English is my second language and sometimes struggle to explain what exactly I am asking, so pardon me. Also, not sure if this is a right place to ask these questions(as someone quoted internet forum is not the best place, but believe it was about restrictions and regulations). I am an average stay home mom and a week ago had no idea we got a wetland on our lot. I posted here because people here share and discuss their concerns/situations and then the expert advise from some professionals. This wetland thing is making me very uncomfortable. Then all these permits, surveys, EPA, US Army Corps of Engineers( we are assuming builder is taking care of all), my head is spinning!

We understand there is a wetland and the survey has clearly marked it and setback restrictions. I am searching internet for information and learning about wetlands, restrictions and their importance to ecosystem.

We are concerned about drainage issues, flooding, moisture/wet basement, smell, bugs and other life that might be present. We are going to have full finished walkout basement later and do not expect unwanted surprises that will keep us indoors. The extra measures that need to be taken during grading, pouring foundation and waterproofing that will add to construction costs. So as per advise here, we need to contact county/city or surveyor. Will we get answers from them. Or we have to just rely on builder and designer (they are friends) that there is nothing to worry about. Is there anything specific we should ask the builder or designer.

Also,

@just janni, 'there are both bulding and grading setbacks noted on your survey.' I understand the building setbacks, are those V shaped lines grading setback? That area also stays undisturbed?

@Mark, sounds you had an adventurous childhood. Thanks for the info. Your first comment still scaring me though!!

@JP Haus, thank you for the link. It says Area of mininal flood hazard. When entered the nearby street address it says UNINCORPORATED area of county, does this have anything to do with permits/regulations? Builder told us our house will be sitting up than the wetland and slope is towards the wetland, there is no concern of drainage issues or flooding. Is that correct if house is sitting up then no issues? I read that wetlands actually help/protect from floods. But then as more and more houses are built and how they will impact the likelihood of floods, how to check this, surveyor?

@ K M, your lot appears to be sloped also. So your house will sit higher, right? Are you taking any extra steps during land preparation and construction that are normally not required? Wetland on our lot looks like the one in bottom right photo of your but much darker(I remember builder using words like black, organic soil while talking about wetland)

For now guess this much is enough! Thank you once again and hoping to get more advise from awesome contributors of Houzz.

You asked about the "unincorporated" notation on a nearby street. In our area, that means the property is not within the city limits of any city within the county. As such, it would be subject to the regulations of the county but not the surrounding city/cities. Your mailing address could say 123 Any St., Small City, State, but your property may not actually be inside the city's limits.

You should be able to find a plat map of the property that shows if it's within city limits or not. I've found the local building department in the last few places we called home to be very helpful, too. Don't hesitate to call them.

Decades ago, we had a house in FL that backed up to a wetlands conservation area which we learned too late. It attracted alligators (they didn't climb our fence, although they've been documented doing so elsewhere) but we could hear them bellowing. Some venomous snakes and other critters often visited, and it was a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Also, it was typical for builders there to drive telephone pole size treated posts into the ground before laying the slab; we had about 30 under a house that was only about 1900 sq ft. Apparently, the builder didn't put any (or not enough) under the lanai slab and a subsequent owner told me that part of it sank several inches about a decade after it was built.

You may want to see if any neighbors living nearby are willing to chat about their experiences with flooding, bugs, etc. Sometimes the area forums such as City-Data or NextDoor can be helpful. Local information will be best.

The V shaped lines note a depression - they are showing the elvation - so that's the start of a gully or depession where water will flow.

Based on the elevation lines - there's some pretty steel areas on the other side of your property. Water flows downhill - think about that and heavy rains (if your area gets those and how frequently). The wetland area looks rather large as I expect it extends onto the adjacent property.

Can you be there during a heavy rain? or have you been there shortly thereafter?

And agree - ask the neighbors if they exist yet!

@just_janni you meant pretty 'steep' areas in your comment, right?

There is another wetland that is on the back of lot 83, not sure if it matters!

My husband and family say only a tiny part of wetland is on our lot and not worried much. But I am taking into consideration the whole wetland and its affects. Haven't been there recently or after a rainfall, but as I mentioned in my original post, it was pretty wet with thin layer of water after heavy snow thawed. There is no house built yet on this street, but there are some houses on the street before so will see if we can catch someone who can give some insight. As per comments here, mosquitoes could be an issue. It looks like the photo I posted down when we went there last time(not our lot). The soil is very dark in that spot.

Could you or someone please guide who's the right person to contact(other than the buider and designer) or hire who could tell how the wetland will affect the construction and how it will appear during different times of the year. Also who could tell us about the slope of our lot and how it might be affecting drainage and other construction costs. What questions we should ask the builder and designer.

Or better we just switch the lot.

I understand I am repeating my questions, but not getting a right direction to follow.

The designer said it's a class 2 wetland, but what is his source and insist he gives you the source. The Builder said it will go away after grading? If it's a wet land a builder can't grade it.

I suspect it's just low land, which is land that is below the level of the surrounding land. A wetland is a land area that is either permanently or seasonally saturated with water, typically having characteristics of a distinct ecosystem. Some examples include swamps, marshes, and bogs. Does this describe the corner of your lot?

You can access the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Wetland finder to see if the spot is a wetland. The state of Ohio EPA directs people to the same map when looking for wetlands, so the state doesn't have it's own maps. It's dead on accurate with a legend of the color stating it's category, and the map will also lists a 4 to 7 character letter and number code that identifies the sub categories and will need to download the wetland classification codes from the U.S. fish & wildlife service if you want the exact classification.

I do not take anyone's word about land use, it's not worth the risk and used this map often when looking for property. Finding a property on zillow 10 sates away I can zoom right on the address in the locator and see for myself. As far as your concerns I don't see one, Wetland or lowland in that little corner, it wouldn't effect my decision on bit.

I’d save the hassle and go for the non wet land lot

You can hire a certified wetlands delineator to mark the boundaries of the wetland and advise you on what to expect seasonally. Ask them about any wetlands buffer requirements that may be applicable in your area--those can reduce the building envelope and introduce additional design constraints. In our area, the required buffer is 100 ft.

Yes - sorry - STEEP.

You county may have online GPS tools that show you wetlands and properties (check out your county's GIS (geographical infomation systems) Department. They will also likely have a ton of infomration about restrictions and you could always call them - for me - it would be Environmental Services Department.

I've found local government employees quite helpful and grateful that you have a care / concern.

Our house is on the top of the hill that you see, so we are not worried about water getting into our house. We had the barriers that had to be in place and our builder is being carefully monitored. Our biggest issue is with our town conservation commission which is calling for a large amount of plantings in the protected zone. It amounts to 54 trees and 26 bushes which is ridiculous. We are calling for a redesign since the plan was done in the winter and now in the summer there is clearly ground cover and more trees that wouldn't have been noticed in the snow.