General. Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following terms shall, for the purpose of this Code, have the following meanings.
(a) "Architect or architect, registered" means a person holding a certificate under RC 4703.06, and registered pursuant to RC 4703.01 to 4703.19.
(b) "Borrow" means earth material acquired from an off-site location for use in grading on a site.
(c) "Building and Housing Department" means the Department of Building and Housing of the City of Cleveland.
(d) "Construction documents" means plans, specifications and other written, graphic and pictorial documents prepared or assembled for describing the design, location and physical characteristics of the elements of a project necessary for obtaining a permit.
(e) "Director of Building and Housing" means the Director or his or her designee.
(f) "Director of Public Works" means the Director or his or her designee.
(g) "Earth material." Any rock, fill or natural soil and/or combination thereof.
(h) "Engineer, geotechnical." A civil engineer experienced and knowledgeable in the practice of geotechnical engineering.
(i) "Engineer, professional." A person holding a certificate of registration under RC 4733.14 or RC 4733.19 and registered pursuant to RC 4733.01 to 4733.23.
(j) "Engineering geologist." A geologist who is certified or registered to practice engineering geology in any of the fifty (50) states or is a member of the Association of Engineering Geologists, with a minimum of three (3) years professional experience under the supervision of a certified engineering geologist or geotechnical engineer, and is competent in the field of geology and knowledgeable in the fundamentals of soil mechanics.
(k) "Erosion." The wearing away of the land surface by the action of the wind, water, gravity, or other natural processes.
(l) "Excavation." Any artificial or mechanical act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or any other similar material is dug into, cut, quarried, stripped of vegetative cover and root systems, uncovered, removed, displaced, relocated or bulldozed and shall include the conditions resulting from the excavation operations.
(m) "Fill."
(1) An artificial or mechanical act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or any other material is placed, pushed, dumped, pulled, transported or moved to a new location above the natural surface of the ground or on top of the stripped surface resulting in a difference in elevation between a point on the original ground and a designated point of higher elevation and any conditions resulting from the fill operations.
(2) Clean hard fill means construction and demolition debris which consists only of reinforced or no reinforced concrete, asphalt concrete, brick, block, tile, and/or stone which can be re-utilized as construction material. Brick in clean hard fill includes but is not limited to refractory brick and mortar. Clean hard fill does not include materials contaminated with hazardous wastes, solid wastes, or infectious wastes.
(n) "General – Slope."
(1) Slope. The inclination of the land surface from the horizontal. Percentage of slope is the vertical distance divided by horizontal distance, then multiplied by one hundred (100). Thus, a slope of twenty (20) percent is a rise of twenty (20) feet in one hundred (100) feet of horizontal distance.
(o) "Grading." Any excavating or filling operations or combination thereof.
(p) "Natural terrain." Existing ground as shown on the most recent Cuyahoga County metropolitan topographic survey.
(q) "Qualified laboratory." A soils analysis laboratory that participates in the United States Environmental Protection Administration contract laboratory program.
(r) "Sediment." Solid material both mineral and organic in suspension, is being transported, or has been moved from its original site or origin by air, water, or gravity as a product of erosion.
(s) "Site." Any lot or parcel of land or contiguous combination thereof, upon which excavation or filling is, has been, or will be performed.
(t) "Site inspection checklist." A questionnaire adopted by the Department of Building and Housing completed in accordance with the American Society for Testing Materials standard method E1527-93 or other method as may be approved by the Director of Building and Housing.
(u) "Soil scientist." A full member in good standing of the Soil Science Society of America and who has special knowledge and training in the physical, chemical, and biological sciences applicable to soils.
(Ord. No. 721-16. Passed 7-13-16, eff. 7-17-16)