[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of
Whitpain 5-13-1974 by Ord. No. 95. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Whitpain Township
Grading Ordinance."
The purpose of this chapter is to provide minimum standards to safeguard
persons, to protect property and to promote the public welfare by regulating
and controlling the design, construction, quality of materials, use, location
and maintenance of grading, excavations and fills.
Whenever used in this chapter, the following words shall have the meaning
indicated:
A permit issued by the Building Official pursuant to Whitpain Township
regulations for the construction, erection or alteration of a structure or
building.
Any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or any other similar material
is cut into, dug, quarried, uncovered, removed, displaced, relocated or bulldozed,
and includes the conditions resulting therefrom.
Any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or any other material
is deposited, placed, pushed, dumped, pulled, transported or moved to a new
location, and includes the conditions resulting therefrom.
The elevation of the existing ground surface at the location of any
proposed excavation or fill.
Excavation or fill or any combination thereof, and includes the conditions
resulting from any excavation or fill.
Any permit required under § 96-5 hereof.
A natural person but shall also include a partnership or corporation.
A lot, tract or parcel of land, or a series of lots, tracts or parcels
of land joined together, where grading work is continuous and performed at
the same time.
New grading, excavations and fills, or changes, additions, repairs or
alterations made to existing excavations and fills, shall conform to the provisions
of this chapter, except that this chapter shall not apply to:
A.
Work in a public street or alley or in a township park,
playground or recreation area or on other public property.
B.
The mining, quarrying, excavating, processing or stockpiling
of rocks, sand, aggregate or clay unless such work affects the support of
adjacent or contiguous property or structures.
C.
The depositing of rubbish or other material at any dump
operated by the township.
No person shall commence or perform any grading, excavation or fill
without first having obtained a grading permit from the Township Engineer.
A separate grading permit shall be required for each site. One permit may
cover both an excavation and any fill made on the same site. A grading permit
will not be required, however, in the following situations, but in all other
respects the provisions of this chapter shall apply:
A.
An excavation which does not exceed three feet in vertical
depth at its deepest point measured from the natural ground surface nor cover
an area of more than 1,000 square feet. This exception shall not affect the
applicability of this chapter to, or the requirement of a grading permit for,
any fill made with the material from such excavation.
B.
A fill which does not exceed 10 cubic yards of material
on any one site or a fill which does not exceed three feet in vertical depth
at its deepest point measured from the natural ground surface, nor cover an
area of more than 1,000 square feet, provided that the surfaces of such fills
do not have a slope at any point steeper than five horizontal to one vertical.
C.
An excavation below finished grade for basements and
footings of a building, swimming pool or underground structure authorized
by a building permit and excavation for a driveway between a building site
and the street. This exception shall not affect the applicability of this
chapter to, or the requirement of a grading permit for, any fill made with
the material from such excavation. A grading permit shall not be required
for the temporary stockpiling on the same site of the material from such excavation.
D.
A single-family house site where the maximum gradient between property lines or the maximum excavation or fill (exclusive of the situations referred to in Subsection C hereof) does not exceed the grades or quantities set forth in the following table:
|
Single-Family House Site
(square feet)
|
Maximum Gradient Without Permit
(feet)
|
Maximum Excavation or Fill Without Permit
(cubic yards)
| |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Less than 6,000
|
12 in 100
|
75
| |
|
6,000 to 10,000
|
15 in 100
|
100
| |
|
10,000 to 18,000
|
15 in 100
|
200
| |
|
18,000 to 30,000
|
15 in 100
|
250
| |
|
Over 30,000
|
20 in 100
|
250
|
A.
Every applicant for a grading permit shall file a written
application therefor with the Township Engineer. Such application shall:
(1)
Describe the land on which the proposed work is to be
done, by lot, block, tract or street address or similar description which
will readily identify and definitely locate the proposed work.
(2)
Be accompanied by plans and specifications prepared by
a registered engineer, including: a contour map showing the present contours
of the land and the proposed contours of the land after completion of the
proposed grading; a plot plan showing the location of the grading, boundaries,
lot lines, neighboring streets and alleys, buildings, trees over 10 inches
in diameter two feet above the ground and sufficient dimensions and other
data to show the location of all work; description of the type and classification
of the soil; details and location of any proposed drainage structures and
pipes, walls and cribbing; nature of fill material and such other information
as the Township Engineer may require to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
All plans shall be dated and bear the names of the person who prepared the
same, the applicant and the owner of the land. Plans shall be submitted in
triplicate.
(3)
State the estimated dates for the starting and completion
of the grading work.
(4)
State the purpose for which the grading application is
filed.
B.
The Township Engineer may waive the requirement for any
or all plans and specifications listed above if he finds that the information
on the application is sufficient to show that the work will conform to the
provisions of this chapter.
[Amended 5-19-1986 by Ord. No. 165]
Before issuing a grading permit, the township shall collect a permit
fee in accordance with a schedule of fees as adopted and revised from time
to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors and on file in the office
of the Township Manager.
The owner shall pay the actual cost of any material tests and reimburse
the township for necessary inspection at the current rate for each hour or
portion thereof that a township inspector is engaged on the work.
Every grading permit shall expire by limitation and become null and
void if the work authorized by such permit has not been commenced within six
months or is not completed within one year from the date of issue, provided
that the Township Engineer may, if the permit holder presents satisfactory
evidence that unusual difficulties have prevented work from being started
or completed within the specified time limit, grant a reasonable extension
of time, and provided further that the application for the extension of time
is made before the date of expiration of the permit.
A.
Where, in the opinion of the Township Engineer, the work
as proposed by the applicant is likely to endanger any property or any street
or alley, he shall deny the grading permit. In determining whether the proposed
work is likely to endanger property or streets or alleys or create hazardous
conditions, the Township Engineer shall give due consideration to: possible
saturation by rains, earth movements, runoff of surface waters and subsurface
conditions such as the stratification and faulting of rock and the nature
and type of the soil or rock.
B.
The Board of Supervisors shall consider promptly appeals
from the provisions of this chapter or from the determinations of the Township
Engineer, and the Board shall make determinations of alternate methods, standards
or materials when in its opinion strict compliance with the provisions of
this chapter is unnecessary. Any applicant or permit holder shall have the
right to appeal to any court of competent jurisdiction from any decision or
determination of the Board of Supervisors.
A.
The Township Engineer shall, when requested, make the
inspections hereinafter required and shall either approve that portion of
the work which has been completed or notify the permit holder wherein the
same fails to comply with the provisions of this chapter. Where it is found
by inspection that the soil or other conditions are not as stated or shown
in the application, the Township Engineer may refuse to approve further work
until approval is obtained for a revised grading plan conforming to existing
conditions.
B.
Plans for grading work, bearing the stamp of approval
of the Township Engineer, shall be maintained at the site during the progress
of the grading work and until the work has been approved.
C.
The permit holder shall notify the Township Engineer
in order to obtain inspections in accordance with the following schedule and
at least 24 hours before the inspection is to be made:
(1)
Initial inspection. When work on the excavation or fill
is to be commenced.
(2)
Rough grading. When all rough grading has been completed.
(3)
Drainage facilities. When drainage facilities are to
be installed and before such facilities are backfilled.
(4)
Special structures. When excavations are completed for
retaining or crib walls and when reinforcing steel is in place and before
concrete is poured.
(5)
Final inspection. When all work, including the installation
of all drainage and other structures, has been completed.
D.
If at any stage of the work the Township Engineer shall
determine by inspection that the nature of the formation is such that further
work as authorized by an existing permit is likely to endanger property or
streets or alleys or create hazardous conditions, the Township Engineer may
require, as a condition to allowing work to be done, that such reasonable
safety precautions be taken as the Township Engineer considers advisable to
avoid such likelihood of danger. Safety precautions may include, but shall
not be limited to, specifying a flatter exposed slope, construction of additional
drainage facilities, berms, terracing, compaction or cribbing.
A.
No excavation shall be made with a cut face steeper in
slope than one horizontal to one vertical except under one or more of the
following conditions:
(1)
The excavation is located so that a line having a slope
of one horizontal to one vertical and passing through any portion of the cut
face will be entirely inside the property lines of the property on which the
excavation is made.
(2)
The material in which the excavation is made is sufficiently
stable to sustain a slope of steeper than one horizontal to one vertical and
a written statement of a civil engineer, licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
and experienced in erosion control, to the effect is submitted to the Township
Engineer and approved by him. The statement shall state that the site has
been inspected and that the deviation from the slope specified above will
not result in injury of persons or damage to property.
(3)
A retaining wall or other approved support is provided
to support the face of the excavation.
B.
The Township Engineer may require an excavation to be
made with a cut face flatter in slope than one horizontal to one vertical
if he finds the material in which the excavation is to be made unusually subject
to erosion or if other conditions exist which make such flatter cut slope
necessary for stability and safety.
C.
Excavations shall not extend below the angle of repose
or natural slope of the soil under the nearest point of any footing or foundation
of any building or structure unless such footing or foundation is first properly
underpinned or protected against settlement.
D.
Before commencing any excavation which will in any way
affect an adjoining property or structures thereon, the person making or causing
the excavation to be made shall notify in writing the owners of adjoining
buildings not less than 30 days before such excavation is to be made that
the excavation is to be made. Adjoining properties and structures shall be
properly protected.
A.
No fill shall be made which creates any exposed surface
steeper in slope than 11/2 horizontal to one vertical except under one or
more of the following conditions:
(1)
The fill, in the opinion of the Township Engineer, is
located so that settlement, sliding or erosion of the fill material will not
result in property damage or be a hazard to adjoining property, streets, alleys
or buildings.
(2)
A written statement from a civil engineer, licensed by
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and experienced in erosion control, certifying
that he has inspected the site and that the proposed deviation from the slope
specified above will not endanger any property or result in property damage,
is submitted to and approved by the Township Engineer.
B.
The Township Engineer may require that the fill be constructed
with an exposed surface flatter than 11/2 horizontal to one vertical if he
finds that under the particular conditions such flatter surface is necessary
for stability and safety.
C.
Whenever a fill is to be made of materials other than
clean soil or earth, the grading permit shall be subject to the following
additional limitations and requirements:
(1)
The fill shall be completed within a reasonable length
of time, the said time limit to be determined by the Township Engineer and
to be specified on the grading permit.
(2)
Clean soil or earth shall be placed over the top and
exposed surfaces of the fill to a depth sufficient to effectively conceal
all materials other than clean soil or earth within the fill. Where the nature
of the fill requires, the Township Engineer may require clean soil or earth
to be placed over the top and exposed surfaces of the fill to a depth sufficient
to conceal all materials at the end of each day's operations.
(3)
No grading permit shall be issued for the filling of
materials other than clean soil or earth until a faithful performance bond
in the amount of at least 200% of the Township Engineer's estimated cost
of adequately covering such fill with clean soil or earth has been furnished
to the township. Such bond shall be executed by a corporate surety as well
as by the principal and shall be subject to the approval of the Township Solicitor
as to form. The bond shall inure to the benefit of the township and be conditioned
upon the faithful performance of the work required under the terms and conditions
of the grading permit to the satisfaction of the Township Engineer. In lieu
of the said bond, a cash deposit in the said amount may be made with the Township
Treasurer or with a bank or trust company approved by the Township Solicitor,
which shall act as escrow agent.
All fills shall be compacted to provide stability of material and to
prevent undesirable settlement. The fill shall be spread in a series of layers,
each not exceeding 12 inches in thickness, and shall be compacted by a sheepsfoot
roller or other approved method after each layer is spread. The Township Engineer
may require tests or other information if in his opinion the conditions or
materials are such that additional information is necessary.
Adequate provisions shall be made to prevent any surface waters from
damaging the cut face of an excavation or the sloping surface of a fill. Slopes
of more than 10 feet in vertical height shall be separated by level berms
of at least four feet in width. Berm ditches shall be constructed where necessary
to prevent erosion. All drainage provisions shall be of such design as to
carry surface waters to the nearest practical street, storm drain or natural
watercourse approved by the Township Engineer as a safe place to deposit and
receive such waters. The Township Engineer may require such drainage structures
or pipes to be constructed or installed as in his opinion are necessary to
prevent erosion damage and to satisfactorily carry off surface waters.
The owner of any property on which an excavation or fill has been made
shall maintain in good condition and repair all retaining walls, cribbing,
drainage structures, fences and other protective devices.
A.
The top or bottom edge of slopes shall be at least three
feet from property or right-of-way lines of streets in order to permit the
normal rounding of the edge without encroaching on the abutting property.
At property lines where walls or slopes are steeper than one to one and six
feet or more in height, they shall be protected by a substantial fence three
feet or more in height. Before a grading permit is issued, a bond may be required
to guarantee the protection of steep slopes.
B.
The owner of a property shall be responsible to protect
and clean up lower properties of silt and debris washing from his property
as a result of the grading of his property.
C.
In order to prevent the denuding of the landscape, wherever
practicable, large trees and other natural features constituting important
physical, aesthetic and economic assets to existing or impending suburban
development shall be preserved.
D.
An erosion and sedimentation control plan in conformance
with the regulations of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
must also be prepared and implemented. A Department of Environmental Protection
permit may also be required.
A.
If, upon final inspection of an excavation or fill, it
is found that the work authorized by the grading permit has been satisfactorily
completed in accordance with the requirements of this chapter and any other
requirements imposed, a grading certificate covering such work and stating
that the work is approved shall be issued to the permit holder by the Township
Engineer.
B.
The Township Engineer shall have the power to revoke
any grading certificate whenever he finds that the work covered by the certificate
has been materially extended or altered without a permit to do so or that
any retaining walls, cribbing, drainage structures, fence or other protective
devices shown on the approved plans and specifications submitted with the
application for a permit have not been maintained in good order and repair.
C.
Before such revocation, the Township Engineer shall first
give written notice to the permit holder and to the owner of the property
involved, specifying the defective condition and stating that unless such
defective condition is remedied satisfactorily, the grading certificate may
be revoked. If the defective condition is remedied, the certificate shall
not be revoked.
A.
No person shall construct, enlarge, alter, repair or
maintain any grading, excavation or fill or cause the same to be done contrary
to or in violation of any provision of this chapter.
B.
When written notice of a violation of any of the provisions
of this chapter has been served by the Township Engineer on any person, such
violation shall be discontinued immediately.
C.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter
shall be liable, on conviction thereof, to a penalty not exceeding $600 and
costs of prosecution for each and every offense or, upon default in payment
of the fine and costs, to imprisonment in the county jail for not more than
30 days, and whenever such person shall have been notified by the Township
Engineer by service of summons in a prosecution or in any other way that he
is committing such violation of this chapter, each day that he shall continue
such violation after such notification shall constitute a separate offense,
punishable by a like fine or penalty. Such fines or penalties shall be collected
as like fines or penalties are now by law collected.
[Amended 5-19-1986 by Ord. No. 165; 1-2-1989
by Ord. No. 184]
In case any work is performed by any person in violation of any of the
provisions of this chapter, the proper officer of the township, in addition
to other remedies, may institute in the name of the township any appropriate
action or proceeding, whether by legal process or otherwise, to prevent such
unlawful work and to restrain or abate such violation.
