[HISTORY: Adopted by the Grand Island Town
Board 3-6-2000 by L.L. No. 1-2000 (Ch. 15 of the 1963 Code). Amendments
noted where applicable.]
A.Â
Except in conformity with a grading permit issued
under the provisions of this chapter, there shall be no excavating,
mining, grading, regrading or filling of land in the Town of Grand
Island, New York.
B.Â
This chapter shall not apply to regrading or filling
of land for the following purposes:
(1)Â
The construction of a building or part thereof pursuant
to a valid building permit or construction/replacement/repair of a
septic system.
(2)Â
The construction of nondrainage infrastructure (water,
sewer, electric or telecommunications lines, roads, streetlights)
improvements pursuant to a valid public improvement permit.
(3)Â
The regrading (including excavating) or filling of
land where such activity will involve less than two cubic yards per
thousand square feet of gross lot area, or 60 cubic yards of material,
whichever is less, at a site over a period of 12 successive calendar
months, provided that such work does not cause a danger of surface
waters flooding adjacent property and no stream, watercourse or floodway
is filled or diverted from its course.
A.Â
Before any excavating, regrading or filling of land
subject to this section is commenced, and/or topsoil, earth, sand,
gravel or other substance is brought to be relocated on the site,
the owner or lessee of the site or agent thereof shall obtain a grading
permit from the Building Department of the Town of Grand Island.
B.Â
An application for a grading permit shall be submitted
to the Town Building Department, with the appropriate fee as determined
by the adopted fee schedule of the Town of Grand Island, and shall
include a detailed statement of quantities of fill material involved,
a proposed work plan and such other information as may from time to
time be required, including, without limitation, an environmental
assessment form, site plan approval from the Town Board and copies
of any other regulatory permits. The statement of quantities involved
and the proposed work plan shall state and show the exact condition
of the plot or premises before and after proposed work.
C.Â
The proposed work plan must show the drainage system
to be installed by the applicant to insure proper surface drainage
of the site and adjacent property at all times during and after completion
of work. The statement of quantities involved and the proposed work
plan must be prepared by a licensed professional engineer or land
surveyor.
D.Â
Every application for a grading permit shall be accompanied
by a topographic site plan drawn to a scale of not less than one inch
equals 50 feet, showing lot lines and dimensions, the street or streets
on which the site occupies frontage, contours of existing ground at
intervals of one foot, or spot evaluations on a fifty-foot grid, based
on United States Coast and Geodetic Survey datum, existing buildings
and utilities, existing and proposed drainage systems and cross-sections
at one-hundred-foot intervals extending from the center line of the
frontage street to 25 feet beyond the property limits of the site.
Such cross-sections shall indicate elevations, at intervals of 50
feet, of both existing and proposed ground surfaces. The applicant
shall also furnish a sworn consent, in writing, of the owner of the
site, including his address. Proof shall be furnished that all taxes
and assessments against the site have been paid to the date of application.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Particles not ordinarily considered fly ash or dust because
of their greater size, consisting essentially of fused ash and/or
unburned matter.
The permanent relocation to topsoil, earth, gravel or other
fill from one place to another.
Particulate matter capable of being gasborne or airborne
and consisting essentially of fused ash and/or burned or unburned
material.
The excavating, leveling, removing, moving or sloping of
topsoil, earth, gravel or other fill.
The premises where filling or regrading shall be performed.
Any garbage, refuse, sludge from a wastewater treatment plant,
water supply treatment plant or air pollution control facility and
other discarded materials, including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained
gaseous material, resulting from industrial, commercial, mining and
agricultural operations, and from community activities, but does not
include solid or dissolved materials in domestic sewage, or solid
or dissolved materials in irrigation return flows or industrial discharges
that are point sources subject to permit under 33 U.S.C. § 1342,
as amended (86 Stat. 880).
No grading permit shall be issued unless:
A.Â
The Town Engineer determines that the proposed filling
or regrading activity ensures proper surface drainage of the site
and adjacent properties at all times during and after completion of
the work. No grading work shall cause a danger of surface waters flooding
adjacent property, and no stream, watercourse or floodway will be
filled or diverted from its course. To the extent that surface waters
are redirected to property adjacent to the site in violation of an
approved site plan, the owner or lessee of the site shall be ordered
to correct any problem caused by such redirected surface waters as
the Town Engineer may require;
B.Â
Adequate barricades are erected and maintained;
C.Â
Adequate provisions, including the application of
"dust down" or its equal, are made for the prevention of release of
suspended particulate matter into the ambient air;
D.Â
Any filling or regrading material is clean, nonburnable
fill containing no garbage, refuse, offal, fly ash or any deleterious,
toxic, hazardous or unwholesome matter. No material which constitutes
solid waste may be used as fill;
E.Â
An erosion/sedimentation control plan is prepared
and implemented in accordance with the New York State Guidelines for
Urban Erosion and Sediment Control, for filling or regrading areas
of one acre or more; and
F.Â
A revegetation plan, which includes site grading,
placement of not less than four inches of topsoil, seeding, fertilization
and mulching, is prepared and implemented.
A.Â
Before the issuance of a grading permit, the Town
Board may require the applicant and/or the owner of the site to execute
and file with the Town Clerk a bond, approved by the Town Board of
the Town of Grand Island, in the amount to be fixed by the Board but
not less than $10,000, with a surety company as surety, and conditioned
for the faithful performance of the provisions of this chapter and
the conditions or the grading permit, the observance of all municipal
ordinances or local laws and to indemnify the Town of Grand Island
and/or the Superintendent of Highways for any damage to Town property
caused by the applicant. In the event of a default, such bond shall
be forfeited to the Town of Grand Island.
B.Â
Said bond shall remain in full force and effect until
a certificate of compliance has been issued by the Town Code Enforcement
Officer, certifying to the fact that all provisions of this chapter
and conditions of the grading permit have been fully complied with.
Application for such certificate of compliance shall be made by the
applicant, owner, lessee or his agent, on forms provided by the Town
of Grand Island, and shall require a certification prepared by a duly
licensed engineer or land surveyor of the State of New York that the
regrading or filling was completed in general compliance with the
provisions of this chapter and conditions of the grading permit.
Violation of this chapter shall be a misdemeanor.
Each violation shall be a separate offense. Every violation of the
provisions of this chapter shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed
$1,000 or by imprisonment for not more than one year or by both such
fine and imprisonment.