Council hereby finds that excessive quantities of soil are eroding
from certain areas that are undergoing development for nonagricultural
uses, such as housing developments, industrial areas, recreational
facilities and roads. This erosion makes necessary costly repairs
to gullies, washed out fills, roads and embankments. The resulting
sediment clogs storm sewers and road ditches, muddies streams, leaves
deposits of silt in lakes and reservoirs and is considered a major
water pollutant.
The purpose of this chapter is to prevent soil erosion and sedimentation
from occurring as a result of nonagricultural development within the
City by requiring proper provisions for water disposal and the protection
of soil surfaces during and after construction, in order to promote
safety, public health, convenience and the general welfare of the
community.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
BUILDING OFFICIAL
The Chief of the Building Department of the City or his or
her duly authorized representative.
CERTIFICATION OF COMPLETION
A signed written statement by the City Engineer or the Building
Official that specific construction has been inspected and found to
comply with all grading plans and specifications.
CITY ENGINEER
The City Engineer or his or her duly authorized representative.
DEBRIS
Loose refuse or earth material not suitable for use as presently
situated or constituted, as determined by the City Engineer.
EARTH CHANGE
A man-made change in the natural cover or topography of land,
including cut and fill activities, which change may result in or contribute
to soil erosion or sedimentation of the waters of the state. "Earth
change" shall not apply to the practice of plowing and tilling soil
for the purpose of crop production.
EROSION
The process by which the ground surface is worn away by action
of wind, water, gravity or a combination thereof.
EXCAVATION or CUT
Any act by which soil or rock is cut into, dug, quarried,
uncovered, removed, displaced or relocated, and includes the conditions
resulting therefrom.
FILL
A deposit of soil, rock or other material, placed or replaced
by man or machine, which raises an existing elevation.
FLOODPLAIN
That area which would be inundated by storm runoff or flood
water equivalent to that which would occur with a rainfall or flood
with a one-hundred-year recurrence frequency after total development
of the watershed.
GRADING
Any stripping, excavating, filling, stockpiling or combination
thereof, including land in its excavated or filled condition.
GRADING PERMIT
A permit issued to authorize work to be performed under this
chapter.
HAUL ROAD
An on-site roadway constructed to prevent the spread of debris
onto the public right-of-way.
HAZARD
Any danger to public health, welfare and safety, including
exposure to risk of damage to property or liability for personal injury,
or risk of harm to land, air or water resulting in environmental degradation.
"Hazard" includes flooding and ponding, compaction and settling, landslides,
earthquakes, toxic chemicals, radiation, fire and disease.
LAND USE
A use of land which may result in an earth change, including,
but not limited to, subdivision, residential, commercial, industrial,
recreational or other development, private and public highway, road
and street construction, drainage construction, logging operations,
agricultural practices and mining.
NATURAL FEATURES
Includes, but is not limited to, existing streams, soil,
vegetation and trees two inches or greater in diameter or 15 inches
or greater in height, whichever is less.
NATURAL GROUND SURFACE
Any ground surface in its original state before any grading,
excavation or filling, and established by the City Engineer when there
is any question of its location.
NONEROSIVE VELOCITY
A speed of water movement which is not conducive to the development
of accelerated soil erosion.
PERSON
A natural person, firm, corporation, partnership or association.
SEDIMENT
Any solid particulate material, both mineral and organic,
that is in suspension in, is being transported by, or has been moved
from its origin by air, water or gravity as a product of soil erosion.
SITE
Any lot or parcel of land or combination of contiguous lots
or parcels of land where grading is performed or permitted.
SLOPE
Any inclined, exposed surface or a fill, excavation or natural
terrain.
SOIL
All earth material, of whatever origin, that overlies bedrock,
including the decomposed zone of bedrock which can be readily excavated
by mechanical equipment.
SOIL EROSION CONTROL FACILITY
A facility or measure placed or constructed as necessary
for the successful control or abatement of accelerated soil erosion.
STABILIZATION
The proper placement of earth materials or rock for temporary
periods of time in accordance with the requirements of this chapter
for the purpose of facilitating construction operations.
STOCKPILING
The depositing of earth materials or rock for temporary periods
of time in accordance with the requirements of this chapter for the
purpose of facilitating construction operations.
STREAM
A river, stream, creek or other surface waterway which may
or may not be serving as a drain, as defined by Act No. 40 of the
Public Acts of 1956, as amended, being MCLA 280.1 to 280.630, as amended,
and which has definite banks, a bed and visible evidence of a continued
flow or continued occurrence of water, including the connecting waters
of the Great Lakes.
STRIPPING
Any activity which removes or significantly disturbs the
vegetative surface cover, and includes clearing and grubbing operations.
No site plan, plot plan or plat shall be approved under the
Zoning Code unless such site plan, plot plan or plat includes soil
erosion and sediment control measures consistent with the requirements
of this chapter and related land development regulations.
No certificate of occupancy for any building shall be issued
under the Zoning Code unless the applicant for such certificate has
obtained a certification of compliance indicating compliance with
all grading plans and specifications and completion of all permanent
soil erosion control measures, issued by the County of Wayne.
A grading permit shall not be issued unless the permittee first
posts per Wayne County requirements a bond executed by the landowner
and a corporate surety with authority to do business in the state
as a surety.
If a permittee is unable to complete the work authorized by
this chapter within the specified time, he or she must adhere to Wayne
County requirements pertaining to extension of time.
The City will not issue a certificate of occupancy if the permittee
fails to complete the work and to meet all requirements.
Grading permits shall not be issued where:
A. The proposed work would cause hazards to the public safety and welfare.
B. The work as proposed by the applicant will damage any public or private
property or interfere with any existing drainagecourse in such a manner
as to cause damage to any adjacent property, result in the deposit
of debris or sediment on any public way or into any waterway or create
an unreasonable hazard to persons or property.
C. The land area for which grading is proposed is subject to geological
hazard to the extent that no reasonable amount of corrective work
can eliminate or sufficiently reduce settlement, slope instability
or any other hazard to persons or property.
D. The land area for which the grading is proposed may lie within the
floodplain of any stream or watercourse (not specifically designated
and delineated by the City as an area subject to flood hazard) unless
a hydrologic report, prepared by a professional engineer, is submitted
to certify that the proposed grading will have, in his or her opinion,
no detrimental influence on the public welfare or upon the total development
of the watershed.
All modifications of approved grading plans must be submitted
to and approved by the City Engineer. All necessary sustaining reports
shall be submitted with any proposal to modify the approved grading
plan. No grading work in connection with any proposed modification
shall be permitted without the approval of the City Engineer.
During grading operations the permittee shall be responsible
for:
A. The prevention of damage to public utilities or services within the
limits of grading and along any routes of travel of the equipment;
B. The prevention of damage to adjacent property. No person shall grade
on land so close to the property line as to endanger any adjoining
public street, sidewalk or alley, or any public or private property,
without supporting and protecting such property from settling, cracking
or other damage that might result;
C. Carrying out the proposed work in accordance with the approved plans
and in compliance with all the requirements of the permit and this
chapter; and
D. The prompt removal of all soil, miscellaneous debris or other materials
applied, dumped or otherwise deposited on public streets, highways,
sidewalks or other public thoroughfares during transit to and from
the construction site, where such a spillage constitutes a public
nuisance or hazard.
Persons carrying out soil erosion and sediment control measures
under this chapter, and all subsequent owners of property concerning
which such measures have been taken, shall maintain all permanent
erosion control measures, retaining walls, structures, plantings and
other protective devices.
All grading plans and specifications, including extensions of
previously approved plans, shall include provisions for erosion and
sediment control in accordance with, but not limited to, the standards
contained in the County Soil District Standards for Soil Erosion and
Sedimentation Control. Copies of such standards shall be available
for inspection in the offices of the City Clerk and the City Engineer.
A violation of any provision of this chapter shall be a municipal
civil infraction, punishable as provided in Chapter
1, General Provisions,
Article
II.