1. Short Title. This Part shall be known and may be cited as the "Borough of East McKeesport Borough Grading Ordinance."
2. Purpose. This Part is intended to provide minimum standards to protect the safety of persons and property and promote the public health and welfare by regulating the design, construction, quality of materials, manner of use, location and maintenance of grading, excavation and fill of earth within the corporate limits of Borough of East McKeesport Borough.
3. Definitions. For the purpose of interpreting the provisions of this Part, the following words will have the meaning or meanings hereby ascribed to them:
BOROUGH ENGINEER - The engineer appointed by the Council of Borough of East McKeesport Borough.
BUILDING PERMIT - A permit issued by the Building Inspector of Borough of East McKeesport Borough pursuant to the provisions of the Construction Code.
EXCAVATION - Any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or any similar material is penetrated, cut, dug, quarried, uncovered, removed, displaced, relocated or bulldozed and shall include the condition of the land surface resulting therefrom.
FILL - Any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or any other material is deposited, placed, pushed, dumped, pulled, transported, or moved to a new location and shall include the condition of the land surface resulting therefrom.
FILL (MINOR) - Fill which:
(1) Does not exceed 25 cubic yards of material on any one site,
(2) Does not exceed five feet in vertical depth at any point,
(3) Does not cover an area of more than 1.000 square feet; and
(4) Is not in an area recognized by the Soil Survey as containing landslide -prone soils, provided that the surfaces of such fills do not have a slope at any point steeper than a ratio of three horizontal to one vertical.
GRADE - The elevation of the existing land surface at the location of any proposed excavation or fill.
GRADING - Excavation or fill, or any combination thereof, including the condition of the land surface resulting from any excavation or fill or combination thereof.
GRADING PERMIT - A permit required under § 9-103 of this Part.
HAZARD - A danger or potential danger to life or health and an actual or potentially adverse effect on the safety, use or stability of land, waterways including stream pollution, public ways, structures, utilities and storm sewers.
NOTICE - A writing, mailed by certified mail to the property owner at his mailing address or served by any competent adult in the manner provided by the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure for the service of a summons.
PERSON - A natural person, his heirs, personal representatives and assigns and a corporation, its successors and assigns.
PROPERTY OWNER - The owner of record of real property. In the case of tenants in common or joint tenants, it shall mean any or all of them and where such real property is managed or operated by an agent, it shall mean the owner's agent. Where a record owner is deceased, it shall mean his personal representatives and heirs or either of them.
SECURITY - A bond of an applicant, with approved corporate surety, conditioned as the circumstances shall require and at the amount indicated by the Borough Engineer or his designee or by counsel, or a cash deposit with the Borough in an equal amount.
SITE - A lot, tract or parcel of land or a series of lots, tracts or parcels of land forming a single contiguous whole tract where grading, excavation or fill occurs as a continuous or unitary operation.
SOIL SURVEY - Until the publication and promulgation of the Soil Survey for Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, "soil survey" means the unpublished and operational soil survey dated January, 1968, together with all accompanying documents and the accompanying text, "Soil Survey Interpretation for Allegheny County," as prepared under the authority of the U.S.D.A. Soil Conservation Service. Upon the publication and promulgation of Soil Survey, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, "soil survey" shall mean said official document.
(Ord. 965, 10/13/2022)