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City of Glen Cove, NY
Nassau County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Code
New Laws (2) Index
[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:
EXCAVATION
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.
FILL
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.
GRADE
The elevation of the existing ground surface at the location of any proposed excavation or fill.
GRADING
Excavation or fill or any combination thereof and shall include the conditions resulting from any excavation or fill.
GRADING PERMIT
Any permit required under § 136-5 hereof.
SITE
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 city park, playground or recreation area or on other public property.
B. 
The depositing of rubbish or other material at any dump, collection station or incinerator operated by the city.
A. 
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. 
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. 
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 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. 
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. 
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) 
All plans shall be dated and bear the name of:
(a) 
The person who prepared the same.
(b) 
The applicant.
(c) 
The owner of the land. Plans shall be submitted in triplicate and shall show the elevations of the property at intervals of two feet of height as such elevations exist at the time of the application and as proposed to be altered.
(2) 
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. 
Dates. State the estimated dates for the starting and completion of the grading work.
D. 
Purpose. State the purpose for which the grading application is filed.
E. 
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.
A. 
Permit fees. Before issuing a grading permit, the Building Department Administrator shall collect a permit fee as set forth from time to time by the City Council.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: The fee schedule is on file in the city offices.
B. 
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.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
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. 
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. 
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. 
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) 
Initial inspection. When work on the excavation or fill is about 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 complete for retaining and 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. 
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. 
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) 
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) 
A retaining wall or other approved support is provided to support the face of the excavation.
B. 
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. 
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. 
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. 
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) 
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) 
A retaining wall or other approved support is provided to support the face of the excavation.
B. 
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. 
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) 
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) 
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) 
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. 
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. 
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. 
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. 
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. 
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. 
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. 
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. 
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]]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
C. 
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]
[2]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection 26.100D, setting forth certain penalty requirements, which immediately followed this subsection, was deleted at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
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.