(a) Except as exempted by Section 87.202, no person shall do any grading nor shall an owner allow any grading on his property, nor allow property to remain in a graded condition, unless the person or owner has a valid, unexpired grading permit issued by the County Official authorizing such grading or the grading is part of a surface mining operation authorized by Chapter 7 of this Division. A separate grading permit shall be required for each site.
(b) The grading permit shall constitute an authorization to do only that work which is described or illustrated on the grading or improvement plans which are associated with the grading permit approved by the County Official and the work shall be done in accordance with any conditions imposed by the County Official and in accordance with the requirements of this Division.
(Added by Ord. No. 9547 (N.S.), effective 5-9-03; amended by Ord. No. 9634 (N.S.), effective 4-23-04)
Publisher's Note: This Section has been AMENDED by new legislation (Ord. 10893, adopted 3-12-2024). The text of the amendment will be incorporated below when the ordinance is codified. The following are exempt from the requirements to obtain a grading permit (but not from other requirements of this Division including, but not limited to, the maximum slope, required setbacks, erosion prevention and planting requirements), provided they do not occur in or affect a watercourse or are within one of the exemptions under Section 87.604 of this Division:
(a) An excavation or fill which:
(1) is less than eight feet in vertical height (measured from the toe of the slope to the top of the slope); and
(2) does not result in the movement of more than 200 cubic yards of material on any one site.
(b) An excavation below finished grade for basements and footings of a building, retaining wall, swimming pool, septic tank, leaching system, or other structure authorized by a valid building permit. This paragraph shall not exempt from the permit requirements any fill made with the material from such excavation having an unsupported height greater than eight feet after the completion of such structure.
(c) Refuse disposal areas or sanitary fills operated and conducted in accordance with a use permit issued pursuant to the Zoning Ordinance or a permit issued pursuant to Article 2, Chapter 5, Division 8, Title 6, of this Code or as a lawful non-conforming use and where the operation and conduct thereof does not block or divert any natural drainage way or affect the lateral support of, or unduly increase the stresses in or pressures upon, any adjacent or contiguous property.
(d) Grading incidental to the construction or installation of facilities by a public agency or utility not subject to regulation by this Division.
(e) Grading to the limited extent authorized in advance in writing by the County Official to perform repairs so as to prevent immediately threatened injury to persons or property which has arisen as a result of an emergency. The County Official may require that a grading permit subsequently be obtained to reflect the work performed, and may require the submittal of information, documentation, reports and other matter as required by the applicable provisions of this Division for such permit.
(f) Grading or reclamation work pursuant to a use permit or reclamation plan approved pursuant to Chapter 7 of this Division for a borrow pit, quarry or other surface mining operation, unless the operation is not required to obtain a reclamation plan because it will complete the removal of material to be used exclusively for fill at another approved site or sites within one year. Operations required to secure a grading permit must do so for the excavation site as well as the fill sites.
(g) Routine road maintenance activities, such as smoothing, texturing, and filling of small rills and potholes, provided they do not involve land form changes and are conducted entirely within the existing disturbed footprint of an existing road.
(h) Temporary stockpiling of earth authorized by a valid and unexpired permit issued pursuant to Section 87.218 of this Chapter.
(i) are ministerial, and therefore, exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act under State law.
(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. 10804 (N.S.), effective 9-16-22; amended by Ord. No. 10894 (N.S.), effective 4-12-24)
In determining whether the proposed grading substantially complies with grading plans or improvement plans approved pursuant to Section 87.204 through 87.208 and 87.904, project change(s) required to comply with changes in State or Federal regulatory requirements shall be provided a 10 percent change allowance in addition to the substantial conformance determination if all of the following are met:
(a) It shall be determined that the project change(s) do not result in a new or substantially increased significant impact in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
(b) It shall be determined that the project change(s) do not result in the creation of a situation that would be detrimental to the health, safety, or welfare of the public.
(c) It shall be determined that the project change(s) do not result in the elimination of project features required to meet other County of San Diego code requirements, including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) Elimination of a trail that provides a connection through the project that is needed for regional connectivity.
(2) Reduction in the overall amount of parkland approved with the original project.
(3) Elimination of roads that are needed for emergency access, travel time, or to handle the traffic generated by the project.
(4) Reduction of area needed for required water supply well or onsite wastewater treatment system and reserve area.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), where the approval of plans occurred prior to May 9, 2003, the application for a grading permit shall be evaluated based upon the criteria applicable under Sections 87.204 through 87.208; and where federal or state wildlife protection agencies identify newly discovered concerns with impacts to resources that were not known at the time of grading plan or improvement plan approval, the County Official may defer issuance of a grading permit until those agencies' requirements have been complied with.
(c) The 24 month period referenced in paragraph (a)(3) may be renewed by the County Official one time for an additional 24 months, if he or she determines that no significant changes in the work are proposed, environmental review documentation has been appropriately updated and, in the case of major grading, none of the criteria requiring denial under Section 87.211 exist. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the 24 month period shall not be renewed in violation cases, where the application has been filed to correct work done in violation of this Division (including work done without obtaining a grading permit).
(d) Once issued, the grading permit shall authorize only the work shown on the approved grading plans, which shall be deemed to be incorporated into the grading permit, for a period of 36 months following the date of permit issuance, after which time the permit shall expire and be of no further force or effect. All work authorized by the grading permit, including the matters required by Sections 87.425 (Completion of Work -- Final Reports) and 87.426 (Notification of Completion), shall be completed within 36 months.
(e) On the effective date of this subsection, a grading permit issued on or after August 21, 2007 and before August 21, 2009 that was issued for 24 months shall automatically be extended for an additional 12 months to make the expiration date 36 months from the original issue date.
(f) When requested by a permittee, the County Official shall grant a one time extension, up to an additional 12 months for a permit in subsection (d) or subsection (e) if the County Official determines that:
(1) No significant changes in the work are proposed;
(2) For a permit issued before August 21, 2009 the permittee has provided a statement that due to economic reasons, the permittee has not been able to complete at least 30 percent of the total volume of earthwork. For a permit issued after August 21, 2009, substantial progress has been made towards completing the approved grading, in that at least 30 percent of the total volume of earthwork has been completed; and
(3) The estimates of the costs of the work for purposes of Section 87.304 have been updated to current costs at the time of extension.
(g) Upon application by the owner, the County Official shall approve a modification to a grading permit, provided that:
(1) A grading plan or improvement plan change has been approved for the modification pursuant to Section 87.204(c);
(2) The proposed grading, as modified, substantially complies with grading plans or improvement plans approved pursuant to Section 87.204 through 87.208;
(3) The grading permit application was filed not more than 24 months following the approval of grading plans or improvement plans, or within the duration of a renewal of that period pursuant to paragraph (c);
(4) The grading permit modification fee specified in Chapter 3 of this Division has been paid; and
(5) Appropriate amendments have been entered into, if required by the County Official, for the Agreement relating to a Right of Entry for Inspection and Indemnification pursuant to Section 87.215, and the Agreement and Cash Deposit if required by Section 87.304.
A modification to a grading permit shall have no effect on the period of time within which grading shall be completed.
(Added by Ord. No. 9547 (N.S.), effective 5-9-03; amended by Ord. No. 9997 (N.S.), effective 8-21-09; amended by Ord. No. 10224 (N.S.), effective 10-25-12; amended by Ord. No. 10745 (N.S.), effective 10-1-21; amended by Ord. No. 10804 (N.S.), effective 9-16-22)
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