[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Ossining 2-5-1974 as Ch. 10 of the 1974 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Village Board of Trustees hereby determines
that the excessive removal or deposit of fill on private property
in the Village as well as the removal of trees has resulted in increased
surface drainage and increased soil erosion, thereby impairing the
benefits of occupancy of property and impairing the stability of value
of both improved and unimproved real property with attendant deterioration
of conditions affecting the health, safety and general welfare of
the inhabitants of the Village.
Nothing contained in this chapter shall prevent
the Village Building Inspector from approving any application for
the removal or deposit of soil, sand or stone from any property where
the total amount of soil, sand or stone does not exceed five cubic
yards in quantity and where, in his or her opinion, the removal of
five yards or less is necessary to improve the property and the applicant
agrees to restore the property upon completion of the work.
A.Â
Permit required; exception. It shall be unlawful for
any person to excavate and remove soil or stone or to deposit fill
of any kind upon any privately-owned property in the Village without
having first obtained a permit from the Building Inspector for such
work. This prohibition shall not apply where excavation or the deposit
of fill is necessary and incidental to the construction of a building,
wall, driveway or structure where a building permit has been issued
for such work.
B.Â
Application; contents. Every application for a permit
required by this section shall be in such form as determined by the
Building Inspector but shall contain a sketch map sufficient to identify
the property, and shall further indicate the present grade, the change
proposed and the grade after the work has been completed and shall
show the approximate grades of all adjacent properties for an area
large enough so as to reasonably determine the effect of such changes
in grade upon these areas.
C.Â
Referral of application to Planning Board. Every application
for a permit required by this section shall be referred to the Planning
Board of the Village for approval. The Planning Board shall approve
such applications if, in the opinion of such Board, the change of
grade will not create excessive drainage or erosion conditions and
will not impair the values of adjoining parcels.
D.Â
Issuance; conditions. Any permit required by this
section issued by the Planning Board of the Village shall, where applicable,
provide that:
(1)Â
Adequate barricades will be erected and maintained
and adequate provision made for the prevention of flying dust;
(2)Â
Any excavation made upon property above the level
of an abutting highway shall be so made that neither the excavation
nor any deposit of topsoil, earth, sand, gravel, rock or other substance
removed from the excavation will interfere with any natural watercourses
on or the natural drainage of the property and at the termination
of the permit;
(3)Â
The premises shall be rough graded in such a manner
that the natural drainage shall be fully restored;
(4)Â
Any excavation upon any property at or below the level
of the abutting highway shall be promptly refilled to the natural
grade of the property with clean, nonburnable fill containing no garbage,
refuse, offal or any deleterious or unwholesome matter, and dust down
or its equivalent shall be spread to prevent dust from flying;
(5)Â
In the case of topsoil removal there shall be left
at least four inches of topsoil upon the surface from which topsoil
is removed and the area from which the topsoil is taken shall be harrowed
and reseeded with rye or other fast-growing vegetation;
(6)Â
There shall be filed a bond in such amount as may
be determined by the Planning Board and approved by the Corporation
Counsel or cash to ensure the proper and faithful completion of the
work in accordance with the terms of the permit issued and which bond
shall further indemnify the Village for any damage to Village property.
[Amended 8-3-1999 by L.L. No. 2-1999]
The Building Inspector of the Village shall
charge and collect for the permits required by this article, which
are referred to the Planning Board, a fee set from time to time by
resolution of the Village Board of Trustees.[2]
Permits issued pursuant to the provisions of
this article shall expire one year from the date of their issuance
unless extended by resolution of the Planning Board of the Village.
[Added 8-3-1999 by L.L. No. 2-1999]
A.Â
Whenever any person violating this chapter shall have been notified by the Building Inspector or by service upon him or her of a summons in a prosecution or in any other way that he or she is committing such violation of this chapter, each day that he or she shall continue such violation after such notification shall constitute a separate offense punishable as provided in  Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article III, General Penalty.
