The title of this addition to the Code of the Village of Buchanan,
New York, shall be "Soil and Excavation Law."
The Board of Trustees of the Village of Buchanan, in order to
provide for the proper use of land in the Village and to remove the
dangers caused by soil erosion, filling operations, excavations in
the ground, sand and gravel excavation, the removal of trees, the
stripping of soil and alteration to the natural contour of earth as
it presently exists in the Village, thereby resulting in detriment
to the health, welfare and safety of persons and property in the Village,
the depletion of trees, soil and natural vegetative cover, damage
to agricultural crops, and depreciation in value and physical damage
to properties adjacent to such dangers, has enacted this Soil and
Excavation Law.
It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Buchanan to provide for the proper use of land and
to regulate or prohibit excavation, removal of materials from, filling
up, draining, cleaning, operating and using any land, whether for
commercial or noncommercial purposes, in a manner which:
A. Tends to create hazardous or dangerous conditions by creating pits,
holes or hollows in the earth, by creating or leaving unprotected
banks or ledges of exposed earth or by permitting or creating conditions
which cause the collection of water.
B. Impairs the usefulness of the property involved or any surrounding
properties, fails to take into consideration the relation of residential
and commercial areas and the contouring of land with relation to remaining
portions of the land affected or neighboring areas, and tends to reduce
the value of the property in question or other property in the Village.
C. Causes soil erosion which depletes the land of vegetative cover and
supply of organic material and results or tends to result in the washing
of the soil, erosion or interference with normal drainage.
D. Diverts or causes water to collect on the property of others, interferes
with or overloads any existing or planned drainage facilities of the
Village, causes unnatural runoff or results in the collection of pools
of water, with the possibility of health and safety hazards or the
lowering of value of property affected.
This chapter shall apply only to lands located in the incorporated
area of the Village of Buchanan.
No cut trees, timber, debris, rocks, stones, junk, rubbish or
other waste materials of any kind shall be buried in any land or left
deposited on any lot or street, except as approved by the Building
Inspector, upon site inspection. If a building permit has been previously
issued for the premises, no certificate of occupancy shall be issued
unless the conditions described above, which are not approved by the
Building Inspector, have been remedied; nor shall any building permit
or certificate of occupancy in the same subdivision be issued until
the conditions described, unless approved, also have been remedied.
Whether or not a permit is required and under this chapter,
any person causing any excavation to be made shall provide such sheet
piling and bracing as may be necessary to prevent the earth of adjoining
property from caving in before permanent supports have been provided
for the sides of such excavation; and whenever provisions are lacking
for the permanent support of the side of an excavation, the person
causing or having caused such excavation to be made shall build a
retaining wall at his own expense, on his own land, such retaining
wall to be carried to a height sufficient to retain the adjoining
earth and to be in accordance with specifications acceptable to the
Village Engineer.
[Amended 6-18-1990 by L.L. No. 8-1990]
All applications for soil and excavation permits shall be accompanied by the appropriate fee as set forth in Chapter
67, Building Construction, Article
I, of the Village Code of the Village of Buchanan.
Every permit holder shall apply for an inspection of the premises covered by the permit, by the Building Inspector, at least 30 days prior to the termination date of any issued permit, together with the fee set forth in §
159-11. Upon inspection of the premises, the Building Inspector shall approve the application and issue a certificate of completion or shall disapprove the same, specifying his reasons therefor in writing, served upon the holder of the permit and setting forth a time period for correction. Upon failure of the permit holder to so correct within the time set forth, the Building Inspector shall request that the Village Board authorize a proceeding for violation of the chapter. Failure to apply for a certificate of completion within the time period set forth in this section shall be deemed to be a prima facie violation of the terms of this chapter.
Any person violating this chapter may be subject to a civil
or criminal penalty, enforceable and collectible by the Village, in
an amount up to $500 or six months' imprisonment, or both such
fine and imprisonment. Each week's continued violation is considered
a separate violation. Nothing contained in the preceding section of
this chapter shall prevent the Village Board from maintaining an action
or proceeding in the name of the Village in a court of competent jurisdiction
to compel compliance with or restrain by injunction the violation
of any provisions of this chapter or any rules or regulations promulgated
hereunder.