For the purpose of this chapter, the words and phrases defined herein shall have the meanings therein respectively ascribed to them unless a different meaning is clearly indicated by the context.
(a) "Borrow" means earth material acquired from an off-site location for use in grading on the site.
(b) "Building Inspector" includes authorized employees appointed to perform specific duties of the Division of Engineering and Building Inspection, in the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter.
(c) "Channel" means the area between definite banks of a natural or man-made watercourse which confine and conduct the permanent or intermittent flow of water.
(d) "City Engineer" means a professional engineer employed by the City or any consultant designated by the City to perform the duties of the City Engineer.
(e) "Cut" means that portion of the land surface or area from which earth material or any other material has been removed by excavation. The difference in elevation between a point on the original ground and a designated point of lower elevation on the final grade.
(f) "Detention basin" means a storage area for storm water runoff that stores water for a short period and releases it at a controlled rate.
(g) "Development" means any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to buildings or other structures, streets and other paving, utilities, cutting or filling, grading, excavating and the subdivision of land.
(h) "Ditch" means an excavation either dug or natural for the purpose of drainage.
(i) "Diversion" means a channel across a hillside used to protect bottomland from storm water runoff or to divert water away from buildings or into other storm water management facilities.
(j) "Drainage" means the flow of water and the methods of directing such flow.
(k) "Drainageway" means an area of concentrated water flow other than a stream, ditch or grassed waterway.
(l) "Earth disturbance activity" means any cutting, filling, grading, excavating or other alteration of the earth's surface where natural or man-made ground cover is removed or destroyed and which may result in or contribute to soil erosion and sediment pollution.
(m) "Earth disturbance permit" means the permit required prior to the initiation of any earth disturbance activity pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
(n) "Earth material" means soil, sediment, rock, sand, gravel and organic material or residue associated with or attached to the soil.
(o) "Erosion" means the wearing away of the land surface by the action of water, wind, ice or other geologic agents, including such processes as gravitational creep. Erosion includes the following:
(1) "Accelerated erosion" means erosion more rapid than normal, natural or geologic erosion, primarily as a result of the influence of the activities of man.
(2) "Floodplain erosion" means abrading and wearing away of the nearly level land on either side of a channel due to overflow flooding.
(3) "Gully erosion" means the erosion process whereby water accumulates in narrow channels during and immediately after rainfall or snow or ice melt and actively removes the soil from this narrow area to considerable depths such that the channel would not be obliterated by normal smoothing or tillage operations.
(4) "Natural (geologic) erosion" means the wearing away of the earth's surface by water, ice or other natural environmental conditions of climate, vegetation, etc., undisturbed by man.
(5) "Normal erosion" means the gradual erosion of land used by man which does not greatly exceed natural erosion.
(6) "Rill erosion" means an erosion process in which numerous small channels only several inches deep are formed; occurs mainly on recently disturbed soils.
(7) "Sheet erosion" means the removal of a fairly uniform layer of soil from the land surface by wind or water runoff.
(p) "Excavation" means any artificial or mechanical act by which earth material, or any other material is dug into, cut, quarried, uncovered, removed, displaced, relocated or bulldozed and includes the condition resulting therefrom.
(q) "Fill" means any artificial or mechanical act by which earth material or any other material is placed, pushed, dumped, pulled, transported or moved to a new location above the original ground surface or on top of the stripped surface and includes the conditions resulting therefrom. The difference in elevation between a point on the original ground and a designated point of higher elevation on the final grade. The material used to make a fill.
(r) "Flood" means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:
(1) The overflow of inland or tidal waters; and/or
(2) The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.
(s) "Floodplain" means a normally dry land area adjacent to a stream channel that is susceptible to being inundated by overbank stream flows. For regulatory purposes, see the floodplain regulations in the City Zoning Code.
(t) "Grading" means any artificial or mechanical stripping, cutting, filling, stockpiling or any combination thereof and includes the land in its cut or filled condition.
(u) "Grassed waterway" means a broad or shallow natural course or constructed channel covered with erosion-resistant grasses or similar approved vegetative cover and used to conduct surface water. Commonly referred to as a "swale".
(v) "High delay vegetative strip" means an area covered with erosion-resistant grasses or similar approved vegetative cover designed to delay storm water runoff and increase infiltration.
(w) "Landslide" means the rapid downward and outward movement of earth material under the influence of gravity in which the movement of the earth material occurs along an interior surface of sliding.
(x) "Obstruction" means any structure or assembly of materials including fill above or below the surface of the land or water, any activity which might impede, retard or change flood flows.
(y) "Professional engineer" means a person duly licensed as a professional engineer by the State of Ohio.
(z) "Professional surveyor" means a person duly licensed as a professional surveyor by the State of Ohio.
(aa) "Retention basin" means a storage area for storm water runoff that maintains a planned permanent level of water even after storm runoff has ceased.
(bb) "Sediment" means solid material both mineral and organic, that is in suspension, is being transported, or has been moved from its site of origin by water, wind, gravity or ice, and has come to rest on the earth's surface above or below sea level.
(cc) "Sediment basin" means a barrier, impoundment or other suitable detention facility built across an area of waterflow to settle and retain sediment carried by runoff waters.
(dd) "Sediment pollution (sedimentation)" means that which occurs as a result of the failure to use soil erosion and sedimentation control practices to abate water or wind erosion of the soil or to abate the degradation of watercourses by soil sediment in conjunction with grading, excavating, cutting, filling or other earth disturbance activities.
(ee) "Site" means any lot or parcel of land or contiguous combination thereof.
(ff) "Site Stabilization Plan" means the required plan providing for the maintenance of slopes and the prevention of landslides or mass earth movement caused by or related to earth disturbance activities.
(gg) "Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plan" means the required plan providing for the control of sediment pollution from accelerated erosion on a development site which occurs as a result of earth disturbance activities.
(hh) "Soil stabilization" means the chemical or structural treatment of a mass of soil to increase or maintain its stability or otherwise improve its engineering properties.
(ii) "Storm water runoff" means drainage runoff from the surface of the land resulting from precipitation or snow or ice melt.
(jj) "Stream" means a body of water running or flowing on the earth's surface or channel in which such flow occurs.
(kk) "Subdivision" as defined by Ohio R.C. 711.001(B) means:
(1) The division of any parcel of land shown as a unit or as contiguous units on the last preceding tax roll, into two or more parcels, sites or lots, any one of which is less than five acres for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of transfer of ownership, provided, however, that the division or partition of land into parcels of more than five acres not involving any new streets or easements of access, and the sale or exchange of parcels between adjoining lot owners, where such sale or exchange does not create additional building sites, shall be exempted; or
(2) The improvement of one or more parcels of land for residential, commercial or industrial structures or groups of structures involving the division or allocation of land for the opening, widening or extension of any street or streets, except private streets serving industrial structures; the division or allocation of land as open spaces for common use by owners, occupants or lease holders or as easements for the extension and maintenance of public sewer, water, storm drainage or other public facilities.
(ll) "Topsoil" means surface and upper surface soils which presumably are darker colored, fertile soil materials, ordinarily rich in organic matter or humus debris.
(mm) "Watercourse" means any channel or conveyance of surface water having a defined bed and banks, whether natural or man-made, whether with permanent or intermittent flow.
(nn) "Wetlands" means marsh, swamp, bog or other lands containing high levels of soil moisture and related species of plant or animal life, and designated as "wetlands" by a State or Federal agency charged with making such determination.
(Ord. 1991-122. Passed 11-18-91.)