(a) General. It shall be unlawful for any owner, permittee or other person to perform or cause to be performed any grading or clearing on any property contrary to any provision of this Division, or to use or maintain such property in an unlawfully graded or cleared condition, or to commit any other act prohibited by this Division. This prohibition shall apply to any person operating grading or clearing equipment or otherwise performing work for hire, only if that person knowingly participates in activity prohibited by this Division. An owner shall be considered to have caused any grading, clearing or prohibited act on the property under the owner's dominion and control, and shall be responsible for the correction of any violation of any provision of this Division, including a violation which occurred prior to the owner's acquisition thereof which continues after such acquisition.
(b) Hazardous Conditions. The owner of the property upon which an excavation, embankment or fill is located, or other person or agent in control of said property, upon receipt of notice in writing from the County Official to do so, shall within the period specified in such notice, repair or eliminate such excavation, embankment or fill so as to eliminate the hazard and be in conformance with the requirements of this Division.
(c) Compliance With Plans and Requirements. All permits issued under this Division shall be presumed to include the provision that the permittee and his or her agent, contractors and employees, shall carry out the proposed work in accordance with the approved plans and specifications, where such approval is required, and in compliance with any applicable storm water pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) prepared and maintained pursuant to federal or state requirements or a County directive, and in compliance with all the requirements of the permit and this Division. Failure to carry out the work in accordance with approved plans and specifications, any applicable SWPPP, and in compliance with all the requirements of the permit and this Division shall be a violation of this Division.
(d) Storm Damage Precautions. The owner, the permittee, and all persons performing any grading operations shall remove all loose dirt from the grading site and provide adequate erosion control or drainage devices, debris basins, or other safety devices and take all safety precautions reasonably necessary to protect persons and property. All such persons shall put into effect all safety precautions which in the opinion of the County Official are necessary.
(e) Maintenance of Protective Devices. The owner of any property on which a fill or excavation has been made, the permittee pursuant to a permit granted under the provisions of this Division, or any other person or agent in control of such property, shall maintain in good condition and repair all retaining walls, cribbing, drainage structures or means and other protective devices and planting shown in the approved plans and specifications or in the record plans filed pursuant to Section 87.425 or required by the permit. Facilities dedicated for use by the public and accepted for such use by a public agency are excepted.
(f) Protection of Utilities and Adjacent Property. During grading operations the permittee shall be responsible for the prevention of damage to any public utilities or services. This responsibility applies within the limits of grading and along any routes of travel of equipment. Notwithstanding the minimum standards set forth in this Division, the permittee is responsible for the prevention of damage to adjacent property and no person shall excavate on land so close to the property line as to endanger any adjoining public street, sidewalk, alley, or any other public or private property without supporting and protecting such property from settling, cracking, or other damage which might result. In the event that, during the grading operation, expansive soil is found within either two feet of the finished lot grade or three feet of the finished floor grade of any area intended or designed to be used as the location of a building, the applicant shall either: (1) remove the expansive soil and replace it with non-expansive soil properly compacted, to a depth of three feet; or (2) install a foundation which either conforms to the San Diego County Standard Foundation System For Single Family Dwellings (on file with the Department of Planning and Development Services) or has been approved and signed by a licensed civil engineer.
(g) Truthful Statements. Owners, permittees, soils engineers, engineers serving as Permit Compliance Engineers, and others filing reports or providing official information to the County pursuant to this Division shall cooperate with and provide truthful and correct information to the County Official relating to the enforcement of this Division. Any falsification or misrepresentation made to the County concerning compliance with this Division, including any voluntary disclosures and including any report that is so deficient or incomplete as to cause misunderstanding, and any withholding of information required to be submitted by or pursuant to this Division, is a violation of this Division.
(h) Compliance with Federal and State Requirements. Any violation of an applicable federal or state-issued Storm Water Permit, or any failure to conform to an applicable storm water pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) prepared pursuant to such a permit or pursuant to this division or Chapter 8 of Division 7 of Title 6 of the San Diego County Code, or any failure to comply with storm water-related provisions of a County-issued grading permit or of a grading plan prepared to secure such a permit, is also a violation of this division. Potentially applicable federal or state-issued Storm Water Permits and requirements include but may not be limited to: the state Industrial Activities Storm Water General Permit (State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) Order 97-03-DWQ, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) General Permit No. CAS000001); the state General Permit for Construction Activities Associated With Construction Activities (SWRCB Order 99-08-DWQ, NPDES General Permit No. CAS000002); the State Ocean Plan, Inland Surface Waters Plan, or Enclosed Bays and Estuaries Plan; the State Comprehensive Water Quality Control Plan for the San Diego Basin; any applicable U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or state-issued multi-sector, group, or general permit; and the stormwater-related provisions of any NPDES permit or state-issued Waste Discharge Requirements permit issued to a specific facility, each as it now exists or may hereafter be amended or superseded.
(i) Permits and Compliance. Neither the issuance of a grading permit, clearing permit, watercourse permit, or reclamation plan under the provisions of this division, nor the compliance with any provisions or condition thereof, nor compliance with federal or state requirements, shall relieve any person from any liability or responsibility for compliance with this Division or responsibility or liability otherwise imposed by law for damage to person or property.
(Added by Ord. No. 9547 (N.S.), effective 5-9-03; amended by Ord. No. 9634 (N.S.), effective 4-23-04; amended by Ord. No. 10224 (N.S.), effective 10-25-12)