This chapter shall not apply to the following activities:
(A) Excavations or grading conducted for farming or on-site construction or for the purpose of restoring land following a flood or natural disaster.
(B) On-site excavation and on-site earthmoving activities which are an integral and necessary part of a construction project that are undertaken to prepare a site for construction of structures, landscaping, or other land improvements, including the related excavation, grading, compaction, or the creation of fills, road cuts, and embankments, whether or not surplus materials are exported from the site, subject to all of the following conditions:
(1) All required permits for the construction, landscaping, or related land improvements have been approved by a public agency in accordance with applicable provisions of state law and locally adopted plans and ordinances, including, but not limited to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
(2) The city's approval of the construction project included consideration of the on-site excavation and on-site earthmoving activities pursuant to CEQA.
(3) The approved construction project is consistent with the city's general plan and zoning of the site.
(4) Surplus materials shall not be exported from the site unless and until actual construction work has commenced and shall cease if it is determined that construction activities have terminated, have been indefinitely suspended, or are no longer being actively pursued.
(C) Operation of a plant site used for mineral processing, including associated on-site structures, equipment, machines, tools, or other materials, including the on-site stockpiling and on-site recovery of mined materials, subject to all of the following conditions:
(1) The plant site is located on lands designated for industrial or commercial uses in the city's general plan.
(2) The plant site is located on lands zoned industrial or commercial, or are contained within a zoning category intended exclusively for industrial activities.
(3) None of the minerals being processed are being extracted on-site.
(4) All reclamation work has been completed pursuant to the approved reclamation plan for any mineral extraction activities that occurred on-site after January 1, 1976.
(D) Prospecting for, or the extraction of minerals for commercial purposes and the removal of overburden in total amounts of less than 1,000 cubic yards in any one location of one acre or less.
(E) Surface mining operations that are required by federal law in order to protect a mining claim, if those operations are conducted solely for that purpose.
(F) Any other surface mining operations that the Board determines to be of an infrequent nature and which involve only minor surface disturbances.
(G) The solar evaporation of sea water or bay water for the production of salt and related minerals.
(H) Emergency excavations or grading conducted by the State Department of Water Resources, the State Reclamation Board or other state or local agencies for the purpose of averting, alleviating, repairing, or restoring damage to property due to imminent or recent floods, disasters, or other emergencies.
(I) Excavations or grading for the exclusive purpose of obtaining materials for roadbed construction and maintenance for timber operations or forest management on land owned by the same person or entity. This exemption is limited to excavation and grading that is conducted adjacent to timber operations or forest management roads. This exemption is only available if: (1) slope stability and erosion are controlled in accordance with state regulations; and (2) upon closure of the site, the person closing the site implements, where necessary, revegetation measures and post-closure uses in consultation with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. This exemption does not apply to on-site excavation or grading that occurs within 100 feet of a Class One watercourse or 75 feet of a Class Two watercourse, or to excavations for materials that are, or have been, sold for commercial purposes.
(`83 Code, § 15.30.050) (Ord. 97-03 § 1, 1997)