(a) The County Official shall facilitate the filing and processing of applications for agricultural grading plans, improvement plans and grading permits.
(b) The County Official shall prepare, circulate for public review, disseminate and maintain guidance documents which shall identify, explain and clarify standards for approval of grading plans, improvement plans and grading permits for agricultural grading. The guidance documents may include criteria which can be used to assure that proposed grading avoids adverse impacts to neighboring properties or the environment. The guidance documents may also address matters related to compliance with such plans and permits. The County Official may take these guidance documents into consideration when determining whether applications for grading plans or improvement plans for agricultural grading should be approved. The guidance documents shall not confer rights on applicants, nor constrain the discretion of the County Official relative to acting on such applications or enforcing such permits.
(c) An application for grading plans or improvement plans for agricultural grading may be approved per Section 87.204 and the County Official makes all of the following determinations:
(1) The graded area is to be used exclusively for agricultural production;
(2) There will be no more than 200 cubic yards of soil imported or exported from the site;
(3) The graded area does not include or affect a watercourse (a watercourse may be onsite, but not in the graded area or affected by the proposed grading);
(4) The grading will not result in cut slopes steeper than one and one-half horizontal to one vertical, or in an exposed fill slope steeper than two horizontal to one vertical, exclusive of benches and rounding;
(6) If the grading will involve waters, rivers, streams or lakes, as referenced in Section 87.214, the applicant has submitted documentation of compliance with the requirements of that Section;
(7) The application is accompanied by plans showing a vicinity sketch, property lines, location of all structures in the area to be graded (including those on land of others if within fifteen feet), contours showing the topography of the existing ground, elevations, dimensions, location, extent and slopes of all proposed grading, the location, extent and square footage of the total area to be cleared of vegetation, all areas proposed to be subjected to any "Land Disturbance Activity" (as that term is defined in Section 67.802 of this Code), all watercourses located on site and a map of the drainage area tributary to the site, all at a scale that allows analysis and review of what is proposed and is not smaller than 200 feet = 1 inch;
(8) The grading conforms to the setbacks stated in paragraphs (a) and (b) of Section 87.412;
(9) The application and accompanying plans demonstrate compliance with Title 6, Division 7, Chapter 8 of this code;
(10) The plans include dust control measures sufficient to comply with Section 87.428;
(11) The graded area is not to be used as a site for a building other than a greenhouse or agricultural shade structure; and
(12) The property owner has signed a statement under penalty of perjury (which must be reaffirmed prior to grading permit issuance) certifying the following:
(aa) His or her intention to grade for a specified agricultural operation, to continue or establish the agricultural operation within one year and to retain the land in agriculture (including changing crops and fallowing for the specified agricultural operation) for at least five years (ten years if the land is located within the "MSCP Subarea" as defined in Section 87.803) from the date the permit is issued;
(bb) His or her agreement to take no actions to change from the specified agricultural operation to a different type of land use for the period of time stated at paragraph (aa); and
(cc) His or her acknowledgement that the County will deny any application for any non-agricultural land development, as specified in Section 87.902, for a period of five years (ten years if the land is located within the "MSCP Subarea" as defined in Section 87.803) following the date the grading permit is issued.
(Added by Ord. No. 10804 (N.S.), effective 9-16-22)