(A) Except as exempted below, no person shall commence construction prior to obtaining the appropriate grading and drainage permit as defined below. The Zoning and Building Director, or his or her designee, shall issue grading and drainage permits. In order to preclude inappropriate phasing of developments to circumvent the intent of this chapter, when a proposed development activity will occur on a lot or parcel of land that has contiguous lots or parcels of lands owned by the same property owner, then the criteria as defined in this section will be applied to the total land area compiled from aggregate ownership parcels.
(B) (1) A grading and drainage permit shall not be required for the following:
(a) Any construction activity below the minimum thresholds for a Class 1 grading and drainage permit;
(b) The agricultural use of land, including the implementation of conservation measures included in a farm conservation plan approved by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and including the construction of agricultural structures;
(c) The maintenance of any existing stormwater control facility including dredging, levee restoration, tree removal, or other function that maintains the original design capacities of the facility;
(d) The construction of, improvements to, or the maintenance of any street, road, highway, or interstate highway, or other public infrastructure performed by the county. However the requirements of this chapter will be honored by the county for such improvements; and
(e) The construction of or improvements to residential accessory structures (for example, carports, garages, pole barns, and the like).
(2) However, all other requirements of this chapter are still required.
(Ord. passed - -; Ord. passed 1-21-2014)