[Amended 7-18-1996 by L.L. No. 5-1996; 5-10-2005 by L.L. No.
3-2005]
Before any excavation or filling operation which exceeds 60
cubic yards or where found necessary by the Commissioner is commenced
for any purpose, other than for the construction of a wall, driveway,
sidewalk, building or part thereof, or before any topsoil, sand, gravel,
rock or earth is removed from any plot or premises in the city, the
owner or lessee, or agent of either, or the architect or builder employed
by such owners or lessee in connection with the proposed excavation
or removal or filling shall obtain a written permit therefor from
the Department.
[Amended 7-18-1996 by L.L. No. 5-1996; 5-10-2005 by L.L. No.
3-2005]
Before the issuance of a permit for excavation, soil removal
or filling, the applicant and the owner of record of the premises
shall execute and file with the Department a bond, approved as to
form and validity by the Corporation Counsel, with a surety company
as surety, in an amount to be fixed by the Mayor, Commissioner of
Housing and Buildings and Commissioner of Public Works, and in no
event less than $25,000, conditioned upon the faithful performance
of the conditions contained in this article or the New York Uniform
Code and the observance of all municipal ordinances and laws and for
indemnification of the City for any damages to City property. In the
event of a default, the City Council may declare such bond to be in
default and collect the sum remaining payable thereunder, and upon
receipt of the proceeds thereof, the City may complete the work required
to be performed by the applicant or owner and may apply such proceeds
to the cost thereof and to the cost, if any, of repairing or remedying
any damage to City property. Such bond shall remain in full force
and effect until a certificate of completion has been issued by the
Commissioner certifying that all of the applicable provisions of this
article and the conditions of the permit have been fully complied
with. The application for such certificate shall be accompanied by
a map prepared after the completion of operations by a duly licensed
engineer, architect or land surveyor of the State of New York. The
map shall be drawn to scale; shall show a cross-section of the affected
property; shall give elevations thereof at intervals of fifty-foot
squares and also at each break in the grades; shall show the elevation
of the premises as compared to the elevation of any abutting highways;
and shall certify that there are not less than six inches of topsoil
remaining upon the ground from which topsoil has been removed and
that such area has been limed, fertilized and seeded.
[Amended 6-11-1991 by L.L. No. 5-1991; 7-18-1996 by L.L. No.
6-1996; 5-10-2005 by L.L. No. 3-2005; 6-26-2012 by L.L. No.
11-2012; 5-14-2019 by L.L. No. 5-2019]]
Prior to the issuance of a permit for excavation, soil removal
or filling, the applicant or owner shall pay to the Chief Financial
Officer fees in the following amounts:
A.
For excavations, including the removal of sand, gravel, rock or earth,
a minimum fee of $1,000 for an excavation volume not to exceed 20,000
cubic yards. For excavations exceeding 20,000 cubic yards, the minimum
fee shall be $1,500 plus $0.25 for each additional cubic yard or fraction
thereof.
B.
For topsoil removal, a minimum fee of $1,000 for the first 5,000
square feet. For areas exceeding 5,000 square feet, the minimum fee
shall be $1,500 plus $0.25 for each additional square foot or fraction
thereof.
C.
For filling vacant land, a minimum fee of $1,000 for a fill volume
not exceeding 20,000 cubic yards. For fill exceeding 20,000 cubic
yards, the minimum fee shall be $1,500 plus $0.25 for each additional
cubic yard or fraction thereof. The placing of three twenty-cubic-yard
truckloads of topsoil to level off a front, side or rear yard as part
of a building permit is exempt from the fee requirements.
[Amended 7-18-1996 by L.L. No. 5-1996]
Permits for excavations, including removal of sand, gravel,
rock and earth, shall expire one (l) year from the date of issuance
unless extended by the Commissioner. Permits for topsoil removal shall
expire 60 days from the date of issuance unless extended by the Commissioner.
[Amended 7-18-1996 by L.L. No. 5-1996]
If the person whose duty it shall be under provisions of this
article to guard and protect an excavation properly or to prevent
adjoining earth from caving in or to preserve or protect any wall,
building or structure from injury shall neglect or fail so to do,
the Department may enter upon the premises and order such labor to
be performed and such materials be furnished as, in its judgment,
may be necessary to prevent the adjoining earth from caving in or
to make such wall, building or structure safe and secure or to prevent
the same from becoming unsafe or dangerous, at the expense of the
person whose duty it is to keep the same safe and secure. The cost
of such work, labor and materials shall constitute a debt of the owner
of such building or buildings, premises or structure or structures
to the City, the same to be sued for and recovered by the City in
a civil action.
Final grading shall be such as to shed surface runoff away from
buildings. Swales and/or slopes shall be provided to direct surface
runoff to streets, storm drains, drainage channels or in a direction
and with an intensity unchanged from that which existed for runoff
prior to property improvements.
