(A) All land clearing and grading, including clearing and grading exempt from the requirements for a permit in § 154.04, as well as clearing and grading authorized by the city pursuant to this subchapter, shall conform to the following standards and provisions, unless otherwise recommended in an approved soil engineering, engineering geology, hydrology, or forest management plan where the alternate procedures will be equal or superior in achieving the policies of this chapter.
(B) In addition, the following standards and provisions shall be the governing criteria for the issuance or denial of land clearing and grading permits or certificates of appropriateness under this chapter:
(1) General regulations, including:
(a) The clearing and/or grading will not create or contribute to landslides, accelerated soil creepage, settlement and subsidence, or hazards associated with strong ground motion and soil liquefaction;
(b) The proposal shall contain reasonable provisions for the preservation of natural land and water features created by natural processes (not human-made), vegetation, drainage, and other indigenous natural features of the site;
(c) The clearing, grading, or excavating will not create or contribute to flooding, erosion, or increased turbidity, siltation, or other forms of pollution;
(d) No ground cover or trees which are within a maximum of 15 feet of the annual high water mark of creeks, streams, lakes, and other shoreline areas or within ten feet of the top of the bank of the same shall be removed, nor shall any mechanical equipment operate in such areas; provided, the conditions deemed by the city to constitute a public nuisance may be removed; and provided, a property owner shall not be prohibited from making landscaping improvements where such improvements are consistent with the aims of this chapter, and where the owner can convincingly demonstrate such consistency to the city;
(e) 1. The clearing and/or grading will be undertaken in such a manner so as to preserve and enhance the city’s aesthetic and historic character. Vegetative screens or buffer strips shall be maintained or reestablished in a timely manner with approved plantings along public streets and adjoining property boundaries, or with approved alternate clearing techniques consistent with the aims of this subchapter as administered by the city;
2. Development shall be initiated or a vegetative screen or buffer established within six months or sooner of the date of initiation of land clearing or grading activities;
(f) Clearing and grading operations shall be conducted so as to expose the smallest practical area of soil to erosion for the least possible time, consistent with an anticipated build-out schedule;
(g) The clearing, grading, and excavating activities shall be performed in accordance with all city, county, state, and federal laws, rules, and regulations in all respects, including, but not limited to, those pertaining to air and water pollution, noise control, and environmental protection; and
(h) Slash shall be removed from a cleared site within 90 days from the completion of the operation or sooner.
1. At the discretion of the Planning and Zoning Commission, an extension of the 90- day period can be granted.
2. Any slash project not completed within this time frame, including any period of extension, shall be in violation of this subchapter, and each day such violation remains shall be considered a separate and distinct offense and shall be prosecuted as such.
(2) The following provisions shall apply to cuts and fills, unless otherwise waived by the city:
(a) Cut slopes shall be no steeper than is safe for the intended use. Cut slopes greater than five feet in height shall be no steeper than two horizontal to one vertical (2:1), except where approved retaining walls are engineered and installed and where trenches are refilled with material from the excavation, revegetation with native trees and grasses, or other landscaping materials;
(b) The ground surface shall be prepared to receive fill by removing vegetation, unapproved fill, topsoil, and other unsuitable materials as determined by the city. Where the slopes are a five-to-one ratio (5:1) or steeper, by the excavation of relatively-level steps into the slope on which the fill is to be placed;
(c) Fill slopes shall not be constructed on natural slopes that are steeper than a two-to-one ratio (2:1) without an engineered retaining wall;
(d) The slope of fill surfaces shall be no steeper than is safe for the intended use. Fill slopes exceeding five feet in depth shall be no steeper than two horizontal to one vertical (2:1), except where approved retaining walls are engineered and installed;
(e) When the owner of any parcel shall raise, lower, or alter the level or existing grade of a site by a fill or excavation, he or she shall, at his or her own expense, protect all adjoining property from encroachment by such fill, drainage runoff, or from danger of collapse due to such excavation either by the erection of an engineered retaining wall or by sloping the sides of such fill or excavation entirely within the confines of the site;
(f) The Planning and Zoning Commission may require cut and fill slopes be provided with subsurface drainage to retain slope stability, or require geotechnical and/or hydrological analysis by a qualified expert; and
(g) The faces of slopes shall be prepared and maintained to control erosion. Check dams, riprap, plantings, terraces, diversion ditches, sedimentation ponds, straw bales, or other devices or methods shall be employed to control erosion and provide safety. Devices or procedures for erosion protection shall be initiated as soon as possible during grading operations and shall be maintained in operable condition by the owner.
(Prior Code, § 11-1-9) (Ord. 2004-02, passed 5-17-2004; Ord. 2022-02, passed 4-13-2022) Penalty, see § 154.99