[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council
of the Township of Greenwich 6-18-2007 by Ord. No. 13-2007. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
To eliminate issues concerning drainage alteration
to adjacent properties upon construction, it is proper to establish
a Grading Ordinance for the public welfare and safety of Greenwich
Township and its residents.
The requirement set forth herein shall apply
to the development of all lots within the Township of Greenwich for
residential purposes. For development where an overall grading plan
has already been revised and approved by the Planning/Zoning Board,
the review and approval of an individual lot grading plan prior to
the issuance of a building permit is required. For the purpose of
this chapter, the term "development" shall mean the construction,
reconstruction or relocation of any residential structure; the enlargement
of a residential structure resulting in a land disturbance of 500
square feet or more; the construction or placement of an accessory
structure on a residential lot resulting in a land disturbance of
500 square feet or more; and/or construction of an in-ground swimming
pool on a residential lot.
The developer of a tract of land in the Township
of Greenwich shall provide the following items for each lot proposed
to be developed:
Nothing contained herein shall prohibit the
Engineer from requiring a new overall grading plan for review and
approval. The developer shall be entitled to administrative review,
if the plan meets the performance standards contained herein, provided
that the proposed changes do not violate or create a conflict with
the prior approvals granted by the approving authority. If in the
opinion of the Engineer the revised grading plan substantially deviates
from the prior approval, the applicant shall be required to seek the
approval of the applicable board.
A.
The State of New Jersey, through the Uniform Construction
Code, requires that a foundation location survey be submitted to the
Township Construction official as soon as possible after the installation
of the foundation's wall. Further, the final verification of such
a prior approval rests with the Construction Official. This plan shall
be prepared by a land surveyor licensed by the State of New Jersey
and show all building corners of the foundation. To confirm that the
top-of-block elevation conforms to the approved plan, the permittee
shall also submit a foundation location plan to the Engineer for review.
The foundation location plan shall contain the top-of-block elevation.
B.
Nothing in this section shall prohibit a permittee from commencing with framing prior to the submission of the foundation location plan to the Engineer but will instead be a matter to be resolved by the contractor prior to the issuance of the certificate of occupancy. However, since the permittee shall demonstrate conformance to the performance standards listed below in § 403-7 prior to the issuance of the certificate of occupancy, it is recommended that the foundation location plan be submitted to the Engineer as soon after the installation of the foundation walls as possible but not more than five business days following installation.
A certificate of occupancy shall not be issued
until the permittee submits an accurate final survey (as-built plan)
to the Engineer for approval. The final survey (as-built plan) shall
be prepared by a New Jersey licensed professional land surveyor. The
purpose of the final survey (as-built plan) is to ensure that the
lot grading is in substantial conformance to the approved plan and
that the lot will adequately drain and have no adverse impact on adjoining
properties. The final survey (as-built plan) shall be reviewed by
the Engineer and determined to comply with the above standards.
A.
All grading shall be done in a manner that will result
in a no adverse impact to adjacent properties. Adjacent properties
with natural swales and/or wetlands must be evaluated to insure that
adequate capacity is available to accept the runoff from the site
being developed and graded. Whenever possible, that land shall be
graded in one of the following three methods:
(1)
The rear yard shall drain overland to the street through
side yard swales on either side of the house, located on the common
property lines with adjoining lots, and the front yard shall drain
directly to the street;
(2)
The rear year shall drain and be collected in a system
or interior yard inlets and piping designated in accordance with accepted
standards, connected to the development's overall stormwater drainage
system, and the front yard shall drain directly to the street; or
(3)
The rear yard shall drain overland onto adjoining properties only as permitted by right, i.e., no net increase in rate of runoff or manner of flow or via an acceptable easement. The rear yard shall be graded to drain as required in Subsection A above. The front yard shall drain directly to the street.
B.
No more than three lots in a row shall be allowed
to drain through a swale unless protected by an acceptable easement.
The permittee shall confirm to the Engineer that any approved easement
has been conveyed and recorded and that it is not subject or subordinate
to any other interest that could extinguish it or otherwise diminish
its effectiveness.
C.
The minimum slope for swales, lawns and disturbed
areas shall be 2%, and for smooth, hard surfaces, i.e., driveways,
1%.
D.
Slopes shall not be steeper than three horizontal
to one vertical.
E.
No grading shall occur within five feet of a property line unless necessary to direct drainage off or onto the property, and then into acceptable drainage facilities. All drainage directed off the property shall conform to the requirements listed in Subsection A above.
F.
The maximum grade for driveways shall be 10%.
G.
The top-of-block elevation shall be a minimum of eight
inches above the highest adjacent grade and shall be provided on all
grading plans. The notation of the finished floor alone is not acceptable.
H.
Grading within 10 feet of the dwelling shall be in
accordance with local building codes.
I.
Retaining walls over three feet in height must be
designed and then reviewed and approved by the Engineer.
J.
Topsoil moved during the course of construction shall
be redistributed so as to provide at least five inches of spread cover
to all seeded and planted areas of the development and shall be stabilized
by seeding or planting. Topsoil shall be reasonably free of stone
and contain no stones larger than two inches in any dimension. In
the event that the quantity of topsoil at the site is insufficient
to provide five inches of cover for all seeded an planted areas, the
permittee shall provide and distribute a sufficient quantity of topsoil
to provide such cover. The composition of any borrowed topsoil shall
be in accordance with New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT)
standards and suitable for use in a residential setting.
K.
Grading necessary to construct an in-ground swimming
pool shall not interrupt the existing and/or approved drainage patterns.
Finished deck elevations shall be set above the natural grade occurring
on the lot to prevent water from flowing into the swimming pool.
L.
The permittee may request a waiver of a particular
performance standard upon presentation of a reasonable justification.
The Engineer shall have the authority to review the request and issue
an administrative change, provided it does not violate the intent
of this chapter.
Where a performance bond and inspection escrow
have already been or will be established, the requirements relating
to the posting of the fees may be waived upon written request of the
applicant for billing to be applied to the escrow account. In those
instances, a separate line item for lot grading shall be included
in the performance bond estimate and the inspection escrow deposit
shall be calculated per the Municipal Land Use Law (Chapter 291, Laws
of N.J. 1975, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.). The performance bond estimate
for lot grading shall be calculated at a rate of $1,500 per lot. The
bonding for lot grading shall not convert over to any subsequent maintenance
bond.
All conditions and requirement herein shall
be consistent with the New Jersey Stormwater Best Management Practices.
[Amended 9-4-2007 by Ord. No. 16-2007]
The following fees are required for the Township
application, review and inspection of the site:
A.
Application fee: $35.
B.
A flat fee of $300 per lot shall be paid at the time
of submission of a grading plan and a sum of $100 in the event upon
submission of any revised grading plan. These fees are flat fees and
constitute the actual fee charged to the Township of Greenwich by
its Engineer for review of the plan.
C.
Inspection fees. A flat inspection fee of $200 per
lot shall be submitted by the applicant to be utilized for the payment
of the Township Engineer's inspection of the site.
D.
Reinspection fee. A flat fee of $100 per lot shall
be paid to the Township for any reinspection of a grading plan in
the event the initial inspection should reveal any errors/omissions
or construction not in accordance with the filed plan. Each reinspection
shall be charged at the flat rate of $100 and shall be paid at the
time of the request for any reinspection.
E.
No certificate of occupancy shall be issued until
the grading plan has been submitted and approved as built.
F.
All fees shall be paid to the Chief Financial Officer
of the Township of Greenwich.
[Amended 9-4-2007 by Ord. No. 16-2007]
All of the requirements for the control of grading
and drainage of residential lots shall be required to adhere to the
checklist attached hereto as Schedule A.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Schedule A is included at the end of this chapter.
