(a) No person, the owner of any property or in possession or control of any property, shall cause, permit or allow any earth disturbance activity to be undertaken on such property unless an earth disturbance permit has been issued by the City Engineer, provided however that in order to prevent undue hardship, no permit shall be required for:
(1) Normal cemetery operations including the opening or closing of graves or the construction of mausoleums;
(2) The construction of a single-family dwelling or two-family dwelling, or structures accessory thereto on a lot of record;
(3) Minor subdivisions containing no more than five lots, not including any new streets or easements of access and not requiring the extension of public water or sanitary sewer lines;
(4) Public highways, transportation and drainage improvements or maintenance thereof undertaken by a governmental agency provided that its standard soil erosion and sedimentation control policies have been approved by the City Engineer or the Chief of the Division of Soil and Water Conservation of the Department of Natural Resources and provided further that such practices are no less restrictive than these regulations;
(5) Landscaping activities on existing developed lots of record; and
(6) Exploratory excavations under the direction of a professional engineer.
(b) No earth disturbance activity initiated pursuant to subsections (a)(1) through (6) hereof shall cause any slope to become unstable; impose loads which may affect the safety of structures or slopes; interfere with adequate drainage for the site or the drainage area of the land tributary to the site; impede or obstruct the flow of any watercourse; interfere with designated wetland areas; obstruct, damage or adversely affect lawfully existing sewerage or drainage, public or private; cause a stagnant pond of water to form; or cause accelerated soil erosion or sedimentation. The submittal of specific information or documentation may be required to determine compliance.
(Ord. 2011-69. Passed 9-13-11.)