When used in this chapter, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section.
(a) "Applicant" means any person, corporation, partnership, association of any type, public agency, or any other legal entity who submits an application to the building official for a permit pursuant to this chapter.
(b) "As-graded" means the surface conditions extant on completion of grading.
(c) "Bedrock" means in-place solid rock.
(d) "Bench" means a relatively level step excavated into earth material on which fill is to be placed.
(e) “Best management practices” or “BMPs” means a technique or series of techniques which, when used in an erosion control plan, is proven to be effective in controlling construction-related runoff and erosion.
(f) "Borrow" means earth material acquired from an off-site location for use in grading on a site.
(g) "Building official" means the chief building official of the city of Palo Alto and his/her duly authorized designees.
(h) "City engineer" means the city engineer of the city of Palo Alto and his/her duly authorized designees.
(i) "Civil engineer" means a professional engineer registered in the state of California to practice in the field of civil works.
(j) "Civil engineering" means the application of the knowledge of the forces of nature, principles of mechanics, and the properties of materials to the evaluation, design, and construction of civil works for the beneficial uses of mankind.
(k) "Compaction" means the densification of a fill by mechanical means.
(l) "Drainageway" means a natural or manmade channel which collects and intermittently or continuously conveys storm water runoff.
(m) "Earth material" means any rock, natural soil, or fill, and/or combination thereof.
(n) "Engineering geologist" means a geologist experienced and knowledgeable in engineering geology and certified by the state of California to practice engineering geology.
(o) "Engineering geology" means the application of geologic knowledge and principles in the investigation and evaluation of naturally occurring rock and soil for use in the design of civil works.
(p) "Erosion" means the wearing away of the ground surface as a result of the movement of wind, water, and/or ice.
(q) "Final erosion and sediment control and storm water pollution prevention plan ('final plan')" means a set of best management practices or equivalent measures designed to control surface runoff and erosion and to retain sediment on a particular site after all other planned final structures and permanent improvements have been erected or installed.
(r) "Grade" means the vertical location of the ground surface. "Existing grade" means the grade prior to grading. "Rough grade" means the stage at which the grade approximately conforms to the approved plan. "Finish grade" means the final grade of the site which conforms to the approved plan.
(s) “Grading” means any civil engineering or landscape construction work that involves establishing a level base, or one with a specified slope, for foundations, surface drainage or other construction work.
(t) “Groundwater” means water that is found underground in the cracks and spaces in soil, sand and rock formations called aquifers.
(u) “Groundwater exclusionary techniques” means methods that use cut-off walls and other barriers to minimize or exclude groundwater from the excavation.
(v) “Groundwater plume” means a volume of contaminated (polluted) groundwater in an aquifer that extends downward and outward from a specific source (usually a site where pollutants have been released to the ground and entered groundwater).
(w) “Groundwater plume area” means a groundwater plume with a specific buffer of five hundred feet from the outer-boundary of the mapped groundwater plume, or a lesser distance from the outer-boundary as determined by the city engineer and established in the regulations adopted under Section 16.28.155(i) of this chapter.
(x) “Interim erosion and sediment control and stormwater pollution prevention plan” or “interim plan” means a set of best management practices or equivalent measures designed to control surface runoff and erosion and to retain sediment on a particular site during the period in which pre-construction and construction-related land disturbances, fills, and soil storage occur, and before final improvements are completed.
(y) “Key” means a designed compacted fill placed in a trench excavated in earth material beneath the toe of a proposed fill slope.
(z) “Land disturbance” or “land-disturbing activities” means any moving or removing by manual or mechanical means of the soil mantle or top six inches (6") of soil, whichever is shallower, including but not limited to excavations.
(aa) “Land fill” means any human activity depositing soil or other earth materials.
(bb) “Manual of standards” means a compilation of technical standards and design specifications published by the Association of Bay Area Governments.
(cc) “Permittee” means the applicant in whose name a valid permit is duly issued pursuant to this chapter and his/her agents, employees, and others acting under his/her direction.
(dd) “Sediment” means earth material deposited by water or wind.
(ee) “Site” means any lot or parcel of land, or contiguous combination under the same ownership where grading is performed or permitted.
(ff) “Slope” means an inclined ground surface, the inclination of which is expressed as a ratio of horizontal distance to vertical distance.
(gg) “Soil” means naturally occurring superficial deposits overlying bedrock.
(hh) “Soils engineer” means a professional civil engineer experienced and knowledgeable in the practice of soils engineering and licensed by the state of California for practice in that field.
(ii) “Soils engineering” means the application of the principles of soils mechanics in the investigation, evaluation, and design of civil works involving the use of earth materials and the inspection and/or testing of the construction thereof.
(jj) “Temporary construction-related ground-water de-watering” means temporary pumping of groundwater to facilitate construction of below ground structures such as basements and garages. Discharge may occur to either the sanitary sewer or storm drain system, depending on project type.
(kk) “Wet season” means the period from October 1 to April 15.
(Ord. 5425 § 1, 2018: Ord. 5410 § 2, 2017: Ord. 4564 § 1 (part), 1999)