Township of Mine Hill, NJ Lot Grading and Land Disturbance

Grading required. The yards of every structure shall be graded to secure proper drainage away from buildings and to dispose of runoff without ponding. The minimum slope for lawns shall be 2.0%. The minimum slope for smooth hard-finished surfaces shall be 0.75%.

Grading goals. Site grading shall be designed to establish building floor elevations and ground surface grades that:

(1)

Allow drainage of surface water away from buildings.

(2)

Minimize earth settlement problems.

(3)

Avoid concentrating runoff onto neighboring properties.

(4)

Keep earthwork to a practical minimum.

(5)

Provide usable outdoor space.

(6)

Minimize erosion.

(7)

Relate aesthetically with the terrain and buildings on adjacent properties.

(8)

Address handicap accessibility where accessibility requirements must be met on a project.

(9)

Minimize land disturbance to better protect existing forested areas.

Earthwork and yard grading.

(1)

No excavation shall be made with a cut face steeper in slope than two horizontal to one vertical in wooded areas or three horizontal to one vertical in nonwooded or lightly wooded areas except as approved by the Township Engineer under special conditions.

(2)

No fill shall be placed that creates any exposed surface steeper in slope than two horizontal to one vertical in wooded areas or three horizontal to one vertical in nonwooded areas, except as approved by the Township Engineer under special conditions.

(3)

Adequate provisions shall be made to prevent surface water from eroding the cut face of excavations or the sloping surface of fills.

(4)

Retaining walls or cribbing shall be required where needed to prevent the surface of excavations or fills from exceeding at any point the maximum allowable slope.

(5)

Excavations shall not be made so close to property lines as to endanger adjoining property without supporting and protecting the face of the excavation.

(6)

No fill or excavation shall be made closer than five feet to an existing property line or proposed property line.

(7)

The finished grade within 20 feet of the building or structure shall not exceed a ten-percent grade except as approved by the Township Engineer under special conditions.

(8)

When the terrain is such that stormwater will be directed toward a building foundation, appropriate measures such as swales and storm sewers shall be provided to intercept and drain surface water.

(9)

Swales must be located at least 15 feet from the front and rear faces of a building and 10 feet away from any sidewalls. Swales shall not cross any driveways.

(10)

Where swales are run across property boundaries, appropriate easements shall be recorded, including provisions for repair and maintenance of the swales.

Driveways. Driveways to be constructed, modified or altered as part of a lot grading and land disturbance application shall conform with the provisions of Chapter 213, Driveways.

§ 310-273 Land disturbance and drainage.

Deposit or removal of soil. No soil shall be excavated, removed or deposited within a steep slope area except as a result of and in accordance with a site grading plan approved by the Township Engineer.

Reasons for soil disturbance. Proposed disturbance of soil shall be for purposes consistent with the intent of this article and shall be executed in a manner that conforms with the provisions set forth in the Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Act (N.J.S.A. 4:24-39 et seq.) and that will not cause excessive erosion or other unstable conditions.

Surface water runoff. Provision shall be made for the proper disposition of surface water runoff so that it will not create unstable conditions or increase the potential for off-site flooding. Appropriate storm drainage facilities shall be constructed as deemed necessary, and adequate protective measures shall be provided for downstream properties.

Public safety. Safety barriers such as fences, railings or guide rails shall be placed along the top of any wall or headwall or slope exceeding a four-to-one ratio and located adjacent to a street, driveway, sidewalk or other pedestrian route.

Impeding flow of surface water. No proposed building, structure or attendant protective measures shall impede the flow of surface waters through any watercourse or cause an increase in flood heights or velocities.

Roads and parking areas. Any proposed vehicular facilities, including roads, drives or parking areas, shall be so designed that any land disturbances shall not cause excessive erosion. Both the vertical and horizontal alignment of vehicular facilities shall be so designed that hazardous circulation conditions will not be created.

Removal of trees. No trees in excess of 10 inches caliper shall be removed within the area of disturbance without the prior approval of the Planning Board.

Soil classifications.

(1)

For the purpose of this article, soils will be classified based upon their natural permeability and relative suitability for the absorption of surface water runoff as follows:

(a)

Low permeability: less than 0.63 inch per hour.

(b)

Moderate permeability: 0.63 to 2.0 inches per hour.

(c)

Good permeability: greater than 2.0 inches per hour.

(2)

Soil permeability may be obtained from data compiled in the Soil Survey of Morris County, New Jersey, as published by the United States Department of Agriculture, or from other reference sources, unless otherwise directed by the Township Engineer.

Roof runoff.

(1)

All stormwater runoff from roof areas shall be transported to dry wells, seepage pits, detention basins or other on-site stormwater management facilities, as approved by the Township Engineer. The required methodology for the implementation of a roof runoff system will be as follows:

(a)

Low-permeability soils: detention basins or other on-site stormwater management facilities.

(b)

Moderate-permeability soils: dry wells, seepage pits or other on-site stormwater management facilities.

(c)

Good-permeability soils: dry wells and seepage pits.

(2)

All dry wells or seepage pits shall have a capacity to store not less than three inches of direct runoff from all roof areas. The dry wells or seepage pits shall be constructed of precast concrete rings with perforations that shall be surrounded with gravel or broken stone not exceeding one-and-one-half-inch size. For the purpose of computing volume, the gravel or stone shall have a porosity of 40%. Each dry well, or series of dry wells, shall have an overflow to grade. The conveyance system from the roof to the dry well shall conform with the requirements of the National Standard Plumbing Code. The location, construction details and specifications for such facilities shall be shown on the site grading plan.

§ 310-274 Site grading plans.

Detailed site grading plans.

(1)

The detailed site grading plan shall be drawn and certified by a licensed professional engineer at a scale of not less than one inch equals 30 feet.

(2)

Detailed site grading plans shall show the following information:

(a)

The Tax Map sheet, block and lot number, date, graphic scale, North arrow, the names and address of owner or owners of the tract and the applicant, if other than the owner, and the engineer who prepared the site grading plan.

(b)

All lot dimensions.

(c)

Front, side and rear yard setback dimensions.

(d)

Location of all proposed buildings, dimensions thereof, and the first-floor, garage and basement elevations.

(e)

Location of all buildings on adjoining lots.

(f)

The existing and proposed contours at a contour interval of two feet or less.

(g)

The proposed elevations of the levels of any land at the corner of the foundation of any structure or structures and the levels of land above and below retaining walls, as well as top-of-wall elevations.

(h)

The layout of existing and proposed public streets and public utilities.

(i)

The location of any existing or approved potable water or sanitary sewage disposal facilities on or within 100 feet of the lot.

(j)

The location and grades of proposed vehicular facilities, including roads, drives or parking areas.

(k)

The location of all existing landscaping, including trees, shrubs and ground cover, with type and size of trees and shrubs.

(l)

The disposition and extent of topsoil to be removed or backfilled.

(m)

The disposition and extent of all other soil to be removed or backfilled.

(n)

The plans and specifications for any proposed retaining walls, fences or other protective structures.

(o)

The location, plans and specifications for any proposed dry wells, detention basins, seepage pits or other on-site stormwater management facilities to control roof runoff.

(p)

The limits of disturbance and clearing.

(q)

The location of all critical impact areas, such as freshwater wetlands, wetlands transition areas, flood hazard areas, and slopes exceeding 15%.

(r)

The location of roof leader drains.

(s)

Depths to seasonal high groundwater at the location of proposed buildings and stormwater management facilities.

Conceptual site grading plans.

(1)

The conceptual site grading plan shall be drawn by a licensed professional engineer or certified landscape architect at a scale of not less than one inch equals 30 feet.

(2)

Conceptual site grading plans shall show the following information:

(a)

Location of all proposed buildings and garage, first-floor and basement elevations.

(b)

The existing and proposed contours at a contour interval of two feet or less.

(c)

The proposed elevations of the levels of land above and below retaining walls, as well as top-of-wall elevations.

(d)

The location and grade of proposed vehicular facilities, including roads, driveways or parking areas.

(e)

The location of all existing wooded areas.

(f)

The plans and specifications for any proposed retaining walls, fences or other protective structures.

(g)

The location of any existing or proposed potable water or sanitary sewage disposal facilities, on or within 100 feet of the lot.

(h)

A slope map showing existing slope areas, limits of grading and clearing and all calculations necessary to determine compliance with this article.

(i)

The location of any proposed dry wells, detention basins, seepage pits or other on-site stormwater management facilities to control roof runoff.

(j)

The location of all critical impact areas, such as freshwater wetlands, wetlands transition areas, flood hazard areas, and slopes exceeding 15%.

(k)

Depths to seasonal high groundwater at the location of the proposed building.

Subdivision and site plan requirements.

(1)

Site grading plans shall be required for all major subdivisions, minor subdivisions and site plans where the total proposed disturbance exceeds 5,000 square feet or where slopes exceed 15%.

(2)

The installation of dry wells, seepage pits, detention basins or other on-site stormwater management facilities to control runoff from roof areas shall be required for the construction of any principal structure upon a lot for major subdivisions, minor subdivisions and site plans. This requirement shall not pertain to existing structures or any addition thereto. All stormwater management measures for a development, regardless of use, shall comply with the provisions of this chapter, as well as the provisions in Chapter 465, Stormwater Management, of this Code.

(3)

In case of major and minor subdivisions, in lieu of submitting detailed grading plans, the applicant may submit conceptual lot grading plans for the purposes of preliminary and final subdivision approval. Notwithstanding the above, prior to the issuance of a building permit, a detailed site grading plan conforming to this article shall be submitted to the Township Engineer for review and approval. If the applicant fails to meet the requirements of this article, a building permit shall not be issued.

Site grading plan procedures.

(1)

A conceptual grading plan shall be submitted to the Planning Board for its review and approval prior to preliminary subdivision or site plan approval.

(2)

All required fees shall be submitted at the time of detailed site grading plan submission.

§ 310-275 Building permits; certificates of occupancy.

Issuance of building permit. No building permit shall be issued by the Construction Official for any proposed structure unless and until the Township Engineer shall have approved a detailed site grading plan submitted in accordance with this article. Upon approval or denial of any site grading plan required by this article, the Township Engineer shall immediately notify the Construction Official thereof.

Certificate of occupancy. No certificate of occupancy shall be issued by the Construction Official unless and until proof has been submitted to him or her that all conditions of the site grading plan approval have been complied with.

§ 310-276 Applicability.

Temporary conditions. The provisions of this article shall not apply to temporary grading and disturbance, such as utility trenches, land disturbance related to the establishment of lawn areas or other similar activities that do not result in a change in the natural grade of the area.

Prior approved lots. For all lots approved or in existence prior to adoption of this article, a detailed site grading plan and a roof runoff plan in accordance with this article shall be provided to the Township Engineer for review and approval prior to issuance of a building permit.

Farming. Nothing herein contained, however, shall be construed to prohibit the use of land for farming activities, provided that such use is permitted in the zone in which the property is located and is consistent with all other applicable Township, county and state regulations.