A. Investigation Required. In compliance with the provisions of the Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act (Public Resources Code, Section 2621, et. seq.) and the Safety Element of the city of Murrieta general plan , a geologic/soils investigation shall be required for any development proposal either located in an area where liquefaction, subsidence, landslide. and fissuring are considered hazards or involving structures for human occupancy within the earthquake fault zones shown on the maps prepared by the state of California department of Conservation. The maps delineating the earthquake fault zones and other geologic hazards are on file at the department.
B. Exemptions. Exemptions from the provisions of this section may be granted under the following circumstances:
1. The proposal involves single-family wood frame dwellings on parcels of land for which a geologic investigation has been previously prepared and approved.
2. The proposal is limited to an addition or alteration to a structure that does not exceed twenty-five (25) percent of the square footage of the structure prior to the proposed addition or alteration.
3. A waiver is granted based on a determination that there is no undue hazard of significant rupture. Waivers for proposals within the Wildomar and the Willard fault zones shall be submitted to and approved by the state geologist.
C. Requirements for Critical Facilities. Active faults may exist outside of identified hazard zones. Geologic investigations shall be required for the following critical uses:
1. Ambulance services;
2. Emergency operations centers (EOC's):
3. Hospitals and other emergency medical facilities;
4. Police, fire, and communications systems:
5. Power plants:
6. Sewage treatment plants;
7. Utility substations;
8. Water works;
9. Those uses which manufacture, handle, or store hazardous or explosive materials; and
10. Occupancy capacity for schools and other public assembly uses shall be the cumulative total of all buildings and facilities which are a part of, related to, the primary use, (e.g., a school auditorium, cafeteria, classrooms, etc.) which shall be added together to calculate occupancy capacity for a proposed school site.
D. Geologic Investigation. Geologic/soils investigations shall be prepared by a geologist or soils engineer registered in the state of California. The city has the option to require a second party review of the investigation by a geologist registered in the state of California who is either an employee or under contract to the city. The applicant shall be responsible for all associated review costs. The content of the geologic/soils investigation reports shall include: purpose and scope of investigation, geologic setting, site description and conditions, and methods of investigation, subsurface and geophysical investigations, conclusions and recommendations. Copies of all geologic investigations shall be kept on file at the department.
All investigations involving proposals within the Wildomar and the Willard earthquake fault zones shall be filed with the state geologist within thirty days following acceptance.
(Ord. 182 § 2 (part), 1997)