[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Dobbs Ferry 4-21-1998 by L.L. No. 4-1998. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
A.
EXCAVATED/GRADED PREMISES
EXCAVATION/GRADING WORK
IMPROVEMENT
LEGAL IMPROVEMENT
MATERIALS
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall
have the meanings indicated:
The whole of any premises or property from which topsoil,
earth, sand, gravel, humus, rock or other mineral deposit and/or surface
vegetation is excavated/graded, removed or added or from which it
is proposed that such material be excavated/graded, added or removed.
The whole of an operation for the excavation/grading, removal
or addition of any materials from an excavated/graded or filled premises,
including the grading and seeding of said excavated/graded premises
and the construction of a legal improvement or legal improvements
on said excavated premises; or grading or regrading.
A building, wall structure, parking area, playground, walk,
driveway, street, highway or road.
An improvement that complies, or if constructed would comply,
wholly with the provisions of all pertinent zoning, building, fire
prevention and other ordinances, rules, regulations, laws and statutes
affecting such improvement.
Topsoil, earth, sand, gravel, humus, rock or other mineral
deposit and/or surface vegetation and trees.
B.
Words of the masculine gender as used in this chapter
shall include the feminine and neuter genders and may refer to a firm,
company or corporation.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, company
or corporation to excavate/grade, strip or remove topsoil, earth,
sand, gravel, humus, rock or other mineral deposit and/or surface
vegetation or to regrade the topography by either installing topsoil,
earth, sand, gravel, humus, rock or other material so as to raise
the grade in whole or in part of any property located within the Village
unless an excavation/grading permit for such excavation/grading work
shall have been duly issued by the Building Department.
B.
No excavation/grading permit shall be required where said materials must necessarily be excavated/graded or removed from the excavated/graded premises for usage on another location on the said excavated/graded premises or brought into the site or moved on the same site for the purpose of constructing a legal improvement thereon and the aggregate amount of said materials excavated/graded, removed or added is less than 300 cubic feet; provided, however, that the owner of the excavated/graded premises shall have filed with the Building Inspector a written agreement, in duplicate, duly executed and acknowledged by said owner and in a form required in accordance with the provisions of § 171-3B of this chapter.
C.
No materials shall be excavated/graded or removed
from any excavated/graded premises or brought into the site in excess
of the maximum amount shown on the excavation/grading permit issued
for such excavation/grading work or in excess of 300 cubic feet where
no excavation/grading permit has been issued for such excavation/grading
work.
The application for an excavation/grading permit
shall be on a form approved by the Building Department, shall be duly
executed and verified by the owner of the excavated/graded premises
and shall be filed in duplicate. Such application shall furnish all
the data and information required by the Building Department respecting
the proposed excavation/grading work, including the location and purpose
of the proposed excavation/grading work, the nature of the proposed
legal improvement to be constructed on the excavated/graded premises,
the time required to complete the proposed excavation/grading work
and the approximate aggregate number of cubic yards of materials to
be added, excavated/graded or removed from the excavated/graded premises.
Such application so filed shall be accompanied by the following:
A.
A topographical map prepared by an engineer duly licensed in the State of New York, drawn at a scale of not more than 100 feet to the inch with contour elevations at intervals of not more than five feet, showing the location and dimensions of the excavated/graded premises; the existing grades thereof and the proposed finished grades thereof after completion of the proposed excavation/grading work; the size and use of any existing buildings thereof; cross sections and elevations to indicate the effect of the proposed excavated/graded work upon the existing grades of the excavated/graded premises; and the relationship in grade, after completion of the proposed excavation/grading work, between the excavated/graded premises and any abutting land and highways lying within at least 50 feet of the excavated/graded premises; such map to show how such abutting land and highways would be protected with slopes not to exceed an angle of 35° or with suitable engineered masonry retaining walls or other suitable walls or terraces in accordance with the provisions of § 171-9 of this chapter.
(1)
The topographical map shall show the location, species
and approximate size of all existing trees having a trunk diameter
of four inches or more at a point three feet above ground level before
excavation/grading, as well as the location, size and species of all
existing trees after completion of the proposed excavation/grading
work.
(2)
All final existing property grades after completion
of a legal improvement shall be suitably drained by pipe, swale or
gutter as specified by the Building Department. All drainage water
shall be disposed of into storm sewer, dry wells or other suitable
areas as approved by the Building Inspector. Such drainage and disposal
shall be indicated by scaled dimensions on the topographical map.
B.
A written agreement, in duplicate, duly executed and
acknowledged by the owner of the excavated/graded premises, and in
a form approved by the Building Department, covenanting and agreeing
on the part of such owner to perform the proposed excavation/grading
work in its entirety in strict accordance with all applicable ordinances,
rules, regulations, laws and statutes, and consenting for himself,
his heirs and successors that, in the event of any failure of such
performance at any time, any officers, employees and duly authorized
agents of the Village may, upon direction of the Board of Trustees,
enter upon the excavated/graded premises and take all action thereon
as is deemed necessary and appropriate to restore said premises to
a safe, clean and properly appearing condition at the expense of the
owner and, further that, in the event of failure of such performance
at any time, the Board of Trustees may declare any performance bond
filed by the owner to be in default, collect the sum payable thereunder
and use such bond proceeds to defray the expense of the aforementioned
restoration of the excavated/graded premises.
C.
A duly acknowledged written consent of all mortgagees
holding mortgages, if any, on the excavated/graded premises, consenting
to the proposed excavation/grading work.
D.
A certificate from the Receiver of Taxes of the Village
certifying that all taxes and assessments levied against the excavated/graded
premises have been paid as of the date of the application.
F.
A performance bond in the amount as determined below,
issued by a bonding or surety company approved by the Building Department,
conditioned for the faithful performance by said owner of the proposed
excavation/grading work in its entirety in accordance with all terms,
conditions and provisions of this chapter and of the agreement executed
by said owner filed in conjunction with the application.
|
Total Number of Cubic Yards to be Added,
Excavated/Graded or Removed
|
Amount of Bond Required
| |
|---|---|---|
|
37 or less
|
$1,000
| |
|
Between 38 and 50,000 inclusive
|
$5,000
| |
|
Between 50,001 and 100,000 inclusive
|
$10,000
| |
|
Between 100,001 and 200,000 inclusive
|
$20,000
| |
|
Between 200,001 and 500,000 inclusive
|
$30,000
| |
|
In excess of 500,000
|
$50,000
|
A.
No excavation/grading permit shall be issued unless
the Building Inspector and the Superintendent of Public Works shall
have determined that the proposed excavation/grading work and the
proposed finished grades of the excavated/graded premises after completion
thereof will not interfere with or overload any existing or planned
drainage facilities of the Village, will not endanger any street,
highway or road within the limits of the Village and are necessitated
for the purpose of constructing a legal improvement or legal improvements
on the excavated/graded premises, unless the Board of Trustees shall
have waived this requirement.
B.
In the event that the Building Department shall in
any instance determine that the proposed excavation/grading work or
any part thereof is not necessitated for the purpose of constructing
a legal improvement or legal improvements on the excavated/graded
premises, the owner of such excavated/graded premises may apply to
the Board of Trustees for a waiver of this requirement. The Board
of Trustees shall have the right to waive said requirement upon such
terms and conditions as may be deemed appropriate, including the right
to increase the amount of the performance bond required pursuant to
the provisions of this chapter.
C.
Upon the issuance of an excavation/grading permit,
the excavation/grading work permitted thereby shall be undertaken,
performed and completed in accordance with all the provisions of this
chapter. The permit shall be nontransferable and shall expire six
months from the date of its issuance unless the Building Department
shall extend same for such period or periods of time and upon such
terms and conditions as it shall deem reasonable.
If an application for an excavation/grading
permit shall be finally rejected or denied, the Building Department,
upon the request of the applicant, shall refund the portion of the
fee paid by him in excess of $10.
The excavation/grading on the excavated/graded
premises shall be performed in strict accordance with the topographical
map filed by the owner of the excavated/graded premises and in the
following manner:
A.
No materials shall be added, excavated/graded or removed
except from those areas and portions of the excavated/graded premises
as are expressly indicated for excavation/grading, addition to or
removal on said topographical map.
B.
No materials shall be excavated/graded, moved, added
to or removed from any area or portion of the excavated/graded premises
at any depth below the proposed grade shown for such area or portion
on said topographical map.
C.
The grades and slopes of the excavated/graded premises
shall be finished in accordance with all details shown on said topographical
map.
D.
Retaining wall installation in accordance with all
wall details shown on said excavation/grading plans as designed by
a licensed engineer and approved by the Building Inspector.
In any case where excavation/grading work will
be, is being or has been performed on excavated/graded premises, whether
or not an excavation/grading permit has been or is required to be
issued therefor, the Building Department shall have the right and
authority to impose the following additional requirements on the owner
of the excavated/graded premises:
A.
The furnishing of such data, information, maps and
plans as shall be necessary to determine whether the excavation/grading
work will be, is being or has been performed pursuant to the provisions
of this chapter.
B.
The submission of sworn periodical reports setting
forth the amount of materials that have been excavated/graded, added,
moved or removed from the excavated/graded premises and the placing
of such stakes and markings on the excavated/graded premises as shall
be required by the Building Department for the purpose of inspection.
C.
The employment of such inspector as may be designated
by the Building Department, without any cost or expense to the Village,
to supervise and inspect any excavation/grading work thereon for the
purposes of determining whether such work is being performed pursuant
to the provisions of this chapter.
No topsoil shall be removed from any excavated/graded
premises except within the construction lines of a legal improvement,
the construction of which necessitates the removal of such topsoil,
without the express consent of the Board of Trustees. Before any earth,
sand, gravel, humus, rock or other mineral deposit is excavated/graded,
added, moved or removed from any part of the excavated/graded premises
lying outside the construction lines of a legal improvement, the topsoil
thereon shall be separated, stripped and neatly piled on the excavated/graded
premises so that such topsoil may be restored to such part of the
excavated/graded areas upon completion of the grading thereof unless
the aforesaid consent to do otherwise is granted by the Board of Trustees.
No excavation/grading or filling shall be made
closer than 25 feet to any abutting property line of the excavated/graded
premises with an angle of slope exceeding 35° unless a suitable
masonry retaining wall or other suitable wall or terrace designed
by an engineer duly licensed in the State of New York and approved
by the Building Department is constructed to protect such abutting
property. If such wall or terrace is over four feet in height, a suitable
iron or pipe guardrail, as approved by the Building Department, shall
be installed on top of said wall or terrace.
Where the depth of an excavation/grading or
fill area is more than four feet in height, the banks shall be broken
down at the end of each working day so that the slope shall not exceed
45°. The Building Department shall have the right and authority
to require adequate safeguards where an excavation/grading is liable
to damage any existing building or wall and to require a suitable
barricade around any open excavation/grading when necessary. All excavated/graded
areas shall be protected during construction with adequate erosion
controls, as outlined in the Westchester County Best Management Practices,
as approved by the Building Inspector.
Any mud, dust or debris carried onto any public
street, highway or road as a result of any excavation/grading work
shall be scraped and swept broom-clean at the end of each working
day.
The owner of the excavated/graded premises shall
repair any damage caused by drainage from the premises and shall correct
any such drainage problems in the manner prescribed by the Building
Department.
A.
Any excavation/grading made for the purpose of constructing
an improvement on the excavated/graded premises which shall remain
open for more than 90 days from the date of the beginning of such
excavation/grading shall be deemed abandoned unless the foundation
of a building constituting a legal improvement or the construction
of a legal improvement other than a building shall have been commenced.
The owner of any excavated/graded premises which shall be deemed abandoned
shall, within a period of 30 days from receipt of written notice from
the Building Department, replace any materials which have been excavated/graded
or removed from the excavated/graded premises and grade said premises
to their original grades and seed same in accordance with the provisions
of this chapter.
B.
No building foundation constructed or in the process
of construction shall remain open for more than six months from the
date of the beginning of the excavation/grading therefor unless that
portion of the building above the foundation shall be in progress
of construction.
C.
All improvements constructed shall be completed within
one year from the date of the issuance of the building permit issued
therefor or the date of the issuance of the excavation/grading permit
relating to such improvement, whichever date is the earlier.
D.
In the case of undue hardship, the Building Department
shall have the right to vary the provisions of this section.
After the grading of the excavated/graded premises
has been completed, topsoil shall be replaced and spread evenly over
the graded portion of the excavated/graded premises lying outside
the construction lines of a legal improvement. In addition, a seed
mixture containing 40 pounds of perennial rye grass, 25 pounds of
domestic rye grass, 25 pounds of chewing fescue and 10 pounds of mixed
clover per 100 pounds, or similar coverage, shall be sown on said
portion of the excavated/graded premises at the rate of 100 pounds
per acre, and the seed shall be brushed in lightly and rolled firm.
All boulders and loose rock shall be buried or removed from the disturbed
areas, and all tree stumps, brush and other debris shall be removed
from the disturbed areas. If the excavation/grading work shall have
been performed for the preparation and construction of a parking area,
such parking area shall be covered with at least two inches of blacktop
on a suitable base or with such other paving as may be approved by
the Building Inspector and shall be properly rolled.
Upon the completion of any excavation/grading
work permitted under this chapter, the owner of the excavated/graded
premises may apply to the Building Department for the cancellation
of any performance bond filed with it, forwarding with such application
a topographical map prepared by an engineer duly licensed in the State
of New York, showing all the conditions existing on the excavated/graded
premises after the completion of the excavation work. Such topographical
map shall be drawn to the same datum plane as the topographical map
filed with the application for the excavation/grading permit. The
Building Department shall thereupon inspect the excavated/graded premises
and complete a report thereon, certifying as to whether all the provisions
of this chapter have been fully complied with. The Building Department
shall then forward to the Board of Trustees such report, whereupon
the Board of Trustees may, if satisfied with the performance and completion
of the excavation/grading work, cancel the performance bond filed.
