Whenever the following words are used in this Division they shall have the following meanings:
(2) "AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS" or "AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION" shall mean routine and ongoing commercial operations associated with a farm, grove, dairy, or other agricultural business, and shall include:
(a) The cultivation and tillage of the soil; crop rotation; fallowing for agricultural purposes; the production, cultivation, growing, replanting and harvesting of any agricultural commodity including viticulture, vermiculture, apiculture, or horticulture;
(b) The raising of livestock, fur bearing animals, fish, or poultry, and dairying;
(c) Any practices performed by a farmer on a farm as incident to or in conjunction with those farming or grove operations, including the preparation for market, delivery to storage or to market, or delivery to carriers for transportation to market; and
(d) Ordinary pasture maintenance and renovation and dry land farming operations consistent with rangeland management and soil disturbance activities.
All such activities must be consistent with the economics of commercial agricultural operations and other similar agricultural activities. The final determination of a qualifying use shall be made by the County Official.
(3) "BEDROCK" is the solid undisturbed rock in place either at the ground surface or beneath surficial deposits of gravel, sand or soil.
(4) "CERTIFY" or "CERTIFICATION" shall refer to a signed written statement that the specific inspections and tests where required have been performed and that such tests comply with the applicable requirements of this Division.
(5) "CIVIL ENGINEER" is an engineer duly registered by the State of California to practice in the field of civil engineering.
(6) "CLEARING" shall mean the removal or destruction of natural vegetation by any means, including brushing and grubbing.
(7) "COMPACTION" shall mean densification of a soil or rock fill by mechanical or other acceptable procedures.
(8) "COUNTY OFFICIAL" shall generally mean the Director of Public Works or his or her authorized representative, except that it shall mean the Director of Planning and Development Services or his or her authorized representative when used in any of the following contexts:
(a) minor grading pursuant to Section 87.206 (b);
(b) clearing pursuant to Chapter 5 and Section 87.903 of this Division;
(c) surface mining pursuant to Chapter 7 of this Division; or
(d) exercise of enforcement authority given to the Director of Planning and Development Services under Section 87.102.
(9) "COUNTY STORMWATER STANDARDS MANUAL" shall mean the manual adopted by Ordinance No. 9426 (N.S.) as Appendix A to the County of San Diego Watershed Protection, Stormwater Management, and Discharge Control Ordinance (San Diego County Code Section 67.801 and following).
(10) "CUT" shall have the same meaning as "excavation."
(11) "EMBANKMENT" shall have the same meaning as "fill."
(12) "ENGINEERING GEOLOGIST" is a geologist duly registered by the State of California and certified in "Engineering Geology" by the State.
(13) "ENGINEERING GEOLOGY" is the application of geological data and principles to engineering problems dealing with naturally occurring rock and soil for the purpose of assuring that geological factors are recognized and adequately interpreted in engineering practice.
(14) "EROSION" shall mean the process by which the ground surface is worn away by the action of water or wind.
(15) "EXCAVATION" shall mean any act by which soil, sand, gravel or rock is cut into, dug, quarried, uncovered, removed, displaced or relocated and shall include the conditions resulting therefrom.
(16) "EXPANSIVE SOIL" is any soil which swells more than 3 percent when prepared and tested in accordance with the test prescribed by Chapter 6 or other equivalent test approved by the County Official.
(17) "FILL" shall mean deposits of soil, sand, gravel, rock or other materials placed by man.
(18) "FINISH GRADE" is the final grade or elevation of the ground surface conforming to the proposed design.
(19) "FLOOD PLAIN" means a land area in and adjoining a river, stream, watercourse, ocean, bay or lake, which is likely to be flooded.
(20) "FLOOD PLAIN FRINGE" means all that land lying within the 100-year flood plain that is not within a floodway, where a floodway has been defined.
(21) "FLOODWAY" means the channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas required to carry and discharge a flood. The selection of the floodway shall be based on the principle that the area chosen for the floodway must be designed to carry the waters of the 100-year flood, without increasing the water surface elevation of that flood more than one foot at any point. "100-YEAR FLOOD" means a flood estimated to occur on an average of once in 100 years (one percent probability of occurrence each year) which is determined from an analysis of historical flood and rainfall records and computed in accordance with the San Diego County Flood Control District Design and Procedure Manual approved by the Board of Supervisors on May 19, 1970, and filed with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors as Document Number 427201 and as amended by the Board of Supervisors on July 8, 1975, and filed with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors as Document Number 506917.
(22) "GRADING" is any excavating or filling or combination thereof and shall include the land in its excavated or filled condition.
In calculating the quantities of grading, soil to be removed and replaced for purposes of conditioning and compaction shall not be included.
(24) "GRAZING" means the use of cattle, sheep or other livestock for the purposes of clearing vegetation.
(25) "GRUBBING" means the removal of trees and/or stumps at the root.
(26) "IMPROVEMENT PLANS" are plans for road or drainage improvements which are presented to the County for approval, which also show grading work associated with such road or drainage improvements. "Improvement plans" include plans which accompany a subdivision improvement agreement and other agreements entered into with the County which require the construction of improvements.
(27) "LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT" shall mean a landscape architect registered by the State of California.
(30) "MSCP Subarea" shall mean that area shown as the "County of San Diego MSCP Subarea" on the map referenced in Section 86.502 of this Code.
(31) "MAJOR SLOPE" shall mean any constructed slope which is greater than fifteen feet in vertical height measured from toe of slope to brow of slope as illustrated in San Diego County Design Standard DS-10 and DS-11 on file with the San Diego County Engineer.
(32) "MINOR SLOPE" shall mean any constructed slope which is not a major slope.
(33) "NATURAL GROUND SURFACE" shall mean the ground surface in its original state before any grading, excavation or filling.
(34) "OWNER" shall mean any person who is the owner of, has a possessory interest in, has possession or control of, or occupies, real property. The County of San Diego is not a "person" (See Section 12.115 of this Code) and shall not be considered an "OWNER" of real property for purposes of this Division, even if it is the holder of an open space easement, drainage easement, flowage easement, development restriction easement or other interest less than fee title, and regardless of whether it exercises or enforces its rights under such easement or interest.
(35) "PERMITTEE" shall mean any person to whom a permit is issued pursuant to this division.
(36) "PERSON" shall have the meaning assigned in Section 12.115 of this Code.
(37) "PREVIOUSLY APPROVED PROJECT GRADING" is grading which meets the requirements of Section 87.207.
(38) "SITE" is any lot or parcel of land or combination of contiguous lots or parcels of land where grading is performed or permitted.
(39) "SLOPE" shall mean the inclined exposed surface of a fill, excavation or natural terrain.
(40) "SOIL" is all earth material of whatever origin that overlies bedrock and may include the decomposed zone of bedrock which can be excavated readily by mechanical equipment.
(41) "SOIL ENGINEER" shall mean a person who meets the qualifications stated in Section 6736.1 of the Professional Engineers Act (Business and Professions Code Section 6700 and following).
(42) "STRUCTURAL ROCK FILLS" shall mean fills constructed predominantly of rock materials for the purpose of supporting structures.
(43) "TILLING" means to prepare (land) for the raising of crops by digging, stirring, overturning, plowing, or harrowing.
(44) "TRENCHING" means to dig out a deep furrow or ditch for a trench, commonly for pipeline or irrigation piping.
(45) "VERTICAL HEIGHT" shall be the measurement from the toe of the slope to a point projected horizontally from the top of the slope.
(46) "WATERCOURSE" means any surface water body (including any arroyo, canal, channel, conduit, creek, culvert, ditch, drain, gully, ravine, reservoir, river, stream, wash, waterway or wetland), in which waters from a tributary drainage area of 100 acres or larger flow in a definite direction or course, either continuously or intermittently, and any area adjacent thereto which is subject to inundation from a 100-year flood.
(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; amended by Ord. No. 10804 (N.S.), effective 9-16-22)
Cross reference(s)--Definitions, § 12.101 et seq.