All excavation operations are subject to the following limitations, restrictions, and controls.
(A) Dust, noise, vibration, smoke, lights, and odor. All equipment and machinery used on the site and in transportation of products shall be constructed, maintained, and operated in such a manner as to minimize the impact of dust, noise, vibration, smoke, welding lights and other lights, odor, and all other negative or undesirable impacts on adjacent and surrounding properties. Soil berming, landscaping, and other techniques shall be used to accomplish the objective of reducing the impact of smoke, odor, lights, noise and vibration on adjacent property, and to control loose dirt and dust such that it remains on the operation site. All state and federal emission guidelines and regulations must be adhered to. Access and haulage roads shall be maintained in a dust-free condition by surfacing or other treatment as approved by the city’s Road Department and fugitive dust shall be controlled in all operational areas of the excavation site.
(B) Operation boundaries. To protect neighboring residents and properties from the potentially adverse effects of dust, noise, vibration, smoke, welding and other lights, odors, soil erosion, and all other negative or undesirable impacts, all excavation operations are prohibited within 200 feet of an adjacent residential property or a subdivision or within 50 feet of a public highway or street, except for accessory roads. Rock crushing operations shall not be conducted within 600 feet of adjacent properties with a residence, if allowed at all.
(C) Fencing and barriers. Fencing or other suitable barriers shall be created and maintained on or around the boundary of the excavation site or on or around portions of the site where such fencing is practicable and necessary because of dangerous conditions, whether existing or created by the excavation, as determined by the Planning Commission. Fencing or barriers may also be required, at the option of the Planning Commission, to provide screening of the excavation operation from public view and to enhance the general aesthetics of the area. Fencing, monuments, or other means of identification shall be placed and maintained around the perimeter of the excavation site so as to enable reasonable identification of the property line separating the excavation property from adjacent properties.
(D) Landscaping. The planting of trees, shrubs, or other appropriate landscaping, or the placement of berms or structures, shall be required where natural conditions make such feasible and practical in order to provide a dust and/or sound barrier to screen excavation from public view, to enhance the general appearance, and to minimize the damaging effect of such operations to the aesthetics and character of the surrounding area. Vegetative material shall be planted together with necessary topsoil as per a schedule approved in the granting of the conditional use permit, and shall be maintained in a healthy, growing condition.
(E) Washing operations. The washing of sand and gravel, when permitted, shall be done so as to prevent the discharge of waste water directly into an adjacent open waterway onto any public or private roads or onto any private property without the written consent of the property owner or jurisdictions.
(F) Run-off water detention. The operator or owner shall, on determination by the city zoning staff, be required to construct run-off water detention facilities to prevent damage to neighboring property and structures and for protection of the residents and property below the site. A Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) shall be prepared and submitted in accordance with the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) requirements, and all necessary federal, state, and local permits shall be obtained.
(G) Truck washing and covering. Prior to entry onto asphalt roadways from dirt surfaces, truck tires shall be washed or otherwise cleaned to remove dust, soil, mud, gravel, and all other debris, and trucks shall be covered to prevent contamination of public roadways by the depositing of dust, mud, soil, gravel, and all other debris on any public roadway.
(H) Load limits. All trucks, equipment, and machinery operating on public roadways shall comply strictly with city and state road limitations setting forth allowable vehicle weight limits, heights, and lengths, and all vehicles must meet state safety requirements, and, where necessary, flagging and other traffic controls shall be implemented to preserve public safety.
(I) Hours of operation. Excavation operations and/or for the transport of materials to and from the site, except for the maintenance and repair of vehicles and equipment, which does not have a negative or unacceptable impact on surrounding or adjacent property owners, shall take place between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on any day, except as provided herein. No truck used in hauling operations will be allowed into the site before the specified time or permitted to leave the site loaded with materials from the site after the specified time. The Planning Commission may modify the hours of operation for any excavation area based on findings of fact. No excavation operations shall take place on Sundays or on any legal city, state or federal holidays. During periods of national, state, or local emergency or to ensure safety of citizens, the time and hours of operation may be altered at the discretion of the Planning Commission.
(J) Restricted or related manufacturing operations. The manufacture of concrete building blocks or other similar blocks, the production or manufacture of lime products, the production of ready-mixed concrete, the production of asphalt mixes, rock crushing and screening operations, and any similar production or manufacturing processes that might be related to the excavation operation shall not be permitted, except as otherwise provided in the city zoning code and except where a nonconforming use related to one or more of the referenced activities is legally proven to have been established or is accepted by city officials as having been established.
(K) Permits and compliance with laws. Compliance with all federal, state, and local laws relating to excavation operations shall be achieved and maintained and all required permits obtained, including a business license from the city.
(L) Cessation of operations. Within one year after the cessation of operations, all temporary structures (except fences), equipment, rock piles, rubble heaps, or other debris shall be removed or back-filled into the excavation so as to leave the site in neat and orderly condition as determined by the city zoning staff and as provided below. This includes the rehabilitation and revegetation of all excavated areas as outlined in § 155.362.
(M) Blasting. Any excavation by blasting shall only be allowed by separate application to and approval by the Planning Commission, after a public hearing for which prior notice was given.
(N) Safety of operations. Any excavation operation shall be conducted in a safe manner. To protect against collapse, cuts, banks, and any other open slopes on the premises shall not be left past the end of a working day, or left unattended when such slopes are more steep than one to one (1:1). The city zoning staff may require less steep slopes of any operation if he, she, or they determines that, due to the angle of repose for the type of the soils being excavated, a less steep slope ought to be maintained to ensure proper safety. Other applicable state and federal occupational health and safety requirements must also be met. The owner of the land, as well as any contractor conducting the excavation operation shall be jointly responsible for compliance with safety requirements.
(Ord. 2008-005, passed 8-12-2008) Penalty, see § 155.999