These regulations shall be known and may be cited as the "Sand
and Gravel Regulations of the Town of Newtown." These regulations
shall be liberally construed and applied to promote their underlying
purposes and policies, which are stated to be as follows.
A.
To regulate all construction or grading activities upon improved
or unimproved real estate and to control the excavation, removal,
grading, or addition of soil, loam, sand, gravel, clay, rock or any
other earth material on land or premises not in public use in the
Town of Newtown.
B.
To provide for the maintenance and preservation of existing elevations
and contours and for the establishment of proposed elevations and
contours in appropriate cases, subject to the provisions of these
regulations.
C.
To control and regulate all excavation, removal, grading, and addition
of earth materials so as to prevent the creation of any safety or
health hazard, including, without limitation, soil erosion, stagnant
water, water pollution and excessive drainage runoff to the public
or to owners of adjoining or adjacent property and to preserve land
values of premises situated within the Town of Newtown and to provide
for the quiet use and enjoyment thereof.
D.
To preserve the vegetation and other natural growth for the purpose
of preventing erosion by the wind or water and to protect historic
factors such as stone walls and archaeological artifacts for the purpose
of preserving our heritage on premises situated within the Town of
Newtown.
E.
To accomplish such other purposes as permitted by Connecticut General
Statutes, as needed, Sections 7-148, 8-2 and 8-25.
A.
Two classes of permits are hereby established and shall be referred
to as a "construction permit" and a "mining permit."
B.
Permits of both classes shall be issued to the applicant/permittee only, who shall be responsible for carrying out its terms. Said permit shall be nontransferable. The applicant/permittee shall transfer ownership with the right to excavate, remove, grade, or add earth materials thereon or therefrom for which the permit is obtained. If any such transfer is made, the permit shall be immediately null and void without the necessity of an order as provided by §§ 550-9D and 550-11C hereof.
No excavation, removal, grading, or addition of soil, loam,
sand, gravel, clay, rock, or any other earth material upon land or
premises not in public use in the Town of Newtown shall be commenced
or conducted, except in accordance with and subject to the provisions
of these regulations.
For the purpose of this regulation, "application" and/or "permittee"
shall mean the owner or any other person, firm, or corporation claiming
a right under a recorded deed or easement to excavate and/or remove
earth material from or to add material to or to grade earth material
upon a premises.
The following limitations shall be imposed upon any residential
building lot created or approved on or after April 11, 1997, whether
by first cut, by subdivision, by resubdivision, or realignment of
lot lines.
A.
No more than 200 cubic yards of earth materials shall be removed
from each such lot, in addition to an amount equal to the volume of
the building foundation, sewage disposal system and, if applicable,
a water storage tank for fire suppression, or other structures being
constructed below grade, or a drainage basin approved by the Commission.
B.
No more than 200 cubic yards of earth materials shall be added to
each such lot in addition to materials added for foundation, stones
for footings and slabs, gravel for driveway, processed stone for the
driveway, septic materials, topsoil to meet code, mulch for slopes,
curtain drain materials.
C.
The two-hundred-cubic-yard limitation on the removal of or the addition of earth materials on lots in Subsections A and B shall include any material deposited or removed within the lot area, including such material that is associated with or necessary for an existing or proposed road when such regrading is not within the existing or proposed public right-of-way.
[Amended effective 4-17-2000]
Each word, phrase, clause, subsection or section capable of
being separated from other words, phrases, clauses, subsections or
sections without loss of essential meaning is hereby declared to be
separable. If any such word, phrase, clause, subsection or section
of these regulations or the application thereof to any person or property
is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the validity of
the remainder of these regulations or their application to other persons,
property or situations.
Permits under these regulations shall not be required for:
A.
The construction of a wall, driveway, sewer, gas, water or other utility line, fence, sidewalk, septic system, drainage structure or landscaping in conjunction with the use of premises permitted by Chapter 595, Zoning, of the Code of the Town of Newtown, provided said construction does not result in the removal from or the addition to the premises of more than 100 cubic yards of earth material.
B.
The removal of topsoil from one part of premises to another part
of the same premises, when such removal is reasonably necessary for
the purpose of farming or landscaping said premises.
C.
An excavation which is made solely for the purpose of the construction
of a foundation or cellar hole, the installation of a sewage disposal
system, or water storage tank for fire suppression, provided that
no topsoil is removed from the premises, and provided further that
no more than 100 cubic yards of earth material are removed from or
added to the premises in addition to an amount equal to the volume
of the building foundation or other structure being constructed below
grade.
