[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Glen Cove 8-25-1981
by L.L. No. 1-1981 as Ch. 26, Arts. V and VII, of the 1981 Code. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
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, excavation and fill.
As used in this chapter, unless the context or subject matter otherwise
requires, the following words shall have the meanings indicated:
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 shall include 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 shall include 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 shall include the
conditions resulting from any excavation or fill.
Any permit required under § 136-5 hereof.
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.Â
Violations prohibited. 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 provisions of this chapter.
B.Â
Notice of violation. When written notice of a violation
of any of the provisions of this chapter has been served by the Building Department
Administrator on any person, such violation shall be discontinued immediately.
No person shall commence or perform any grading, excavation or fill
without first having obtained a grading permit from the Building Department
Administrator. 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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
A single family house site where the maximum gradient between property lines of the maximum excavation or fill, exclusive of the situations referred to in Subsection C hereof, do not exceed the grades or quantities set forth in the following table:
Single-family house site
(square feet)
|
Maximum gradient without permit
|
Maximum excavation or fill without permit
(cubic yards)
| |
---|---|---|---|
Less than 6,000
|
12 in 100 feet
|
75
| |
From 6,000 to 10,000
|
15 in 100 feet
|
100
| |
From 10,000 to 18,000
|
15 in 100 feet
|
200
| |
From 18,000 to 30,000
|
15 in 100 feet
|
250
| |
Over 30,000
|
20 in 100 feet
|
250
|
Every applicant for a grading permit shall file a written application
therefor with the Building Department Administrator. Such application shall:
A.Â
Land description. 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.
B.Â
Accompanying documents. Be accompanied by topographic
map or maps certified by an engineer licensed by the State of New York, 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 Building Department Administrator and City
Engineer may require to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
(1)Â
All plans shall be dated and bear the name of:
(2)Â
Such map shall be drawn to a scale of not greater than
one inch to 100 feet nor less than one inch to 20 feet, shall show the elevations
of all property within 50 feet of the perimeter of the property which is the
subject of the application, and of all streets adjoining the said property,
or, if there are no adjoining street or streets, the means by which access
is to be gained to the property and the location and name of the nearest street
or streets.
C.Â
Dates. State the estimated dates for the starting and
completion of the grading work.
D.Â
Purpose. State the purpose for which the grading application
is filed.
E.Â
Rehabilitation. Contain a detailed plan and specifications
showing rehabilitation. The Building Department Administrator may waive the
requirement for any or all plans and specifications listed above if he or
she finds that the information on the application is sufficient to show that
the work will conform to the provisions of this chapter.
B.Â
Additional fees. The applicant shall pay an additional
fee as set forth from time to time by the City Council before any permit or
renewal thereof may be issued.[3] However, in the event of a denial of the application for a permit,
a sum as set forth from time to time by the City Council, or such portion
thereof as the City Engineer shall certify has not been expended in connection
with the investigation and processing of the application, may be refunded
upon a claim therefor in the usual form required by the Controller after audit
thereof by him or her. No allowance in fees may be made because the rights
of the permittee may not be or may not have been exercised throughout the
entire permit period. Renewals of permits may be issued by the Building Department
Administrator for additional one-year periods upon payment of a fee as set
forth from time to time by the City Council, provided that all conditions
upon which the original permit, or renewal thereof, was issued have been complied
with by the permittee or his or her successor in interest at the time of application
for such renewal.
[3]
Editor's Note: The fee schedule is on file in the city offices.
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 one year from the date of issue.
Where in the opinion of the Building Department Administrator the work
as proposed by the applicant is likely to endanger any property or any street
or alley, he or she 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 Building Department Administrator shall give
due consideration to possible saturation by rain, earth movements, runoff
of surface waters and subsurface conditions, such as the stratification and
faulting of rocks, and the nature and type of the soil or rock.
The City Council shall consider promptly appeals from the provisions
of this chapter or from the determinations of the Building Department Administrator,
and the Council 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 City Council.
A.Â
Authority of Building Department Administrator. The Building
Department Administrator 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 Building
Department Administrator may refuse to approve further work until approval
is obtained for a revised grading plan conforming to existing conditions.
B.Â
Plans. Plans for grading work, bearing the stamp of approval
of the Building Department Administrator, shall be maintained at the site
during the progress of the grading work and until the work has been approved.
C.Â
Schedule of inspections. The permit holder shall notify
the Building Department Administrator in order to obtain inspections in accordance
with the following schedule and at least 24 hours before the inspection is
to be made:
(1)Â
Initial inspection. When work on the excavation or fill
is about to be commenced.
(2)Â
Rough grading. When all rough grading has been completed.
(3)Â
Drainage facilities. When drainage facilities are to
be installed and before such facilities are backfilled.
(4)Â
Special structures. When excavations are complete for
retaining and crib walls, and when reinforcing steel is in place and before
concrete is poured.
(5)Â
Final inspection. When all work, including the installation
of all drainage and other structures, has been completed.
D.Â
Safety precautions. If at any stage of the work the Building
Development Administrator 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 Building Department Administrator may require as a condition to allowing
the work to be done that such reasonable safety precautions be taken as the
Building Department Administrator 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.Â
Slope generally. No excavation shall be made with a cut
face steeper in slope than two horizontal to one vertical, except under one
or more of the following conditions:
(1)Â
The excavation is located so that a line having a slope
of two horizontal to one vertical and passing through any portion of the cut
face will fall not closer than 20 feet with lines of the property on which
the excavation is made.
(2)Â
A retaining wall or other approved support is provided
to support the face of the excavation.
B.Â
Erosive material. The Building Department Administrator
may require an excavation to be made with a cut face flatter in slope than
two horizontal to one vertical if he or she 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.Â
Underpinning, other protection. 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.Â
Protection of adjoining property. 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 protected in accordance with the approved
plan.
A.Â
Slope generally. No fill shall be made which creates
any exposed surface steeper in slope than two horizontal to one vertical,
except under one or more of the following conditions:
(1)Â
The fill, in the opinion of the Building Department Administrator
and City 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)Â
A retaining wall or other approved support is provided
to support the face of the excavation.
B.Â
Flatter slope. The Building Department Administrator
may require that the fill be constructed with an exposed surface flatter in
slope than two horizontal to one vertical if he or she finds that under the
particular conditions such flatter surface is necessary for stability and
safety.
C.Â
Additional restrictions. Whenever a fill is to be made
of material other than clean soil or earth, the grading permit shall be subject
to the following additional limitations and requirements:
(1)Â
The fill shall be completed within a reasonable length
of time, said time limit to be determined by the Building Department Administrator
and to be specified on the grading permit.
(2)Â
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 Building Department Administrator 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
operation.
(3)Â
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 10% more than the Building Department Administrator's
estimated cost of adequately covering such fill with clean soil or earth has
been furnished to the city. Such bond shall be executed by a corporate surety,
as well as by the principal, and shall be subject to the approval of the City
Attorney as to form. The bond shall inure to the benefit of the city 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 Building Department
Administrator. In lieu of said bond, a cash deposit in said amount may be
made with the controller, or with a bank or trust company approved by the
City Attorney, 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 Building Department
Administrator and City Engineer may require tests or other information if
in his or her opinion the conditions or materials are such that additional
information is necessary.
Adequate provision 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 Building Department Administrator and City Engineer
as a safe place to deposit and receive such waters. The Building Department
Administrator and City Engineer may require such drainage structures or pipes
to be constructed or installed which 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.Â
Slopes. The top or bottom edge of slopes shall be at
least 20 feet from property or right-of-way lines of streets. At property
lines where walls or slopes are steeper than one vertical to one horizontal
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.Â
Silt, debris. The owner of a property shall be responsible
to protect and clean up lower properties of silt and debris washing from his
or her property as a result of the regrading of his or her property.
C.Â
Natural features. In order to prevent the denuding of
the landscape, whenever practical, large trees and other natural features
constituting important physical, aesthetic and economic assets to existing
or impending suburban development shall be preserved.
A.Â
Issuance. 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 Building Department Administrator.
B.Â
Revocation. The Building Department Administrator shall
have the power to revoke any grading certificate whenever he or she finds
that the work covered by the certificate has been materially extended or altered
without a permit so to do, or that any retaining walls, cribbing, drainage
structures, fences 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.Â
Notice of revocation. Before such revocation, the Building
Department Administrator 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.Â
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation
to construct, alter, repair, move, remove, demolish, equip, use, occupy or
maintain any building or structure or portion thereof in violation of any
provision of this chapter or to fail in any manner to comply with a notice,
directive or order of the Building Department Administrator or other authority
or to construct, alter or use and occupy any building or structure or part
thereof in a manner not permitted by an approved building permit or certificate
of occupancy.
B.Â
Any person who shall fail to comply with a written order of the Building Department Administrator or other authority within the time fixed for compliance therewith, and any owner, builder, architect, tenant, contractor, subcontractor, construction superintendent or their agents or any other person taking part or assisting in the construction or use of any building who shall knowingly violate any of the applicable provisions of this chapter, or any lawful order, notice, directive, permit or certificate of the Building Department Administrator or other authority made thereunder, shall be guilty of a violation pursuant to the Penal Law and shall be punishable by a fine as set in accordance with Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article II, General Penalty. Each day that a violation continues shall be deemed a separate offense.
[Amended 5-10-1994[1]]
C.Â
Except as provided otherwise by law, such a violation
shall not be a crime and the penalty or punishment imposed therefor shall
not be deemed for any purpose a penal or criminal penalty or punishment and
shall not impose any disability upon or affect or impair the credibility as
a witness, or otherwise, of any person convicted thereof.[2]
Appropriate actions and proceedings may be taken at law or in equity
to prevent unlawful construction or to restrain, correct or abate a violation
or to prevent illegal occupancy of a building, structure or premises or to
prevent illegal acts or conduct of business in or about any premises; and
these remedies shall be in addition to the penalties prescribed in the preceding
section.