[Amended 3-8-1984 by Ord. No. 84-3]
A. Title. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Borough
of Bellevue Grading Ordinance."
B. Purpose. 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.
C. Definitions. As used in this chapter, the following terms 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.
INSPECTOR
The person in the position of Superintendent of Public Works
for the Borough of Bellevue.
PERMIT
A permit issued by the Borough Street Commissioner pursuant
to the provisions of this chapter.
PERSON
A natural person, but shall also include a partnership or
corporation and their heirs, successors and assigns.
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 work in a public street or alley or a Borough park, playground
or recreation area or on other public property.
No person shall commence or perform any grading, excavation
or fill without first having obtained a grading permit from the Inspector.
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 or 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 unless such fill is within the exception of Subsection
B herein.
B. A fill which does not exceed 10 cubic yards of material on any one
site and a fill which does not exceed three feet in vertical depth
at its deepest point measured from the natural ground surface and
does not 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 of a driveway between a building site and the street; provided, however that a permit is required for excavation of a driveway between the building site and the street when conditions such as excessive cut of fill make such permit necessary. 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 unless such fill is within the exception of Subsection
B herein. 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 or 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
(feet)
|
Maximum Excavation or Fill Without Permit
(cubic yards)
|
---|
|
Less than 6,000
|
12 in 100
|
75
|
|
From 6,000 to 10,000
|
15 in 100
|
100
|
|
From 10,000 to 18,000
|
15 in 100
|
200
|
|
From 18,000 to 30,000
|
15 in 100
|
250
|
|
Over 30,000
|
20 in 100
|
250
|
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 within one year from the date
of issue, provided that the Inspector may, if the permit holder presents
satisfactory evidence that unusual difficulties have prevented the
work being started or completed within the specified time limits,
grant a reasonable extension of time; and provided, further, that
the application for the extension of time is made before the date
of expiration of the permit.
In order to prevent erosion, the permittee shall be required
to provide adequate ground covering of such kind and character as
may be approved by the Inspector. The ground covering shall be either
grass, crown vetch or other approved variety of vegetation.
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 sheep's-foot roller or other approved method
after each layer is spread. The Inspector may require tests or other
information if, in his opinion, the conditions or materials are such
that additional information is necessary. Where fills are placed on
slopes of 5% or more, benching of the surface shall be required and
indicated on the cross sections.
Adequate provisions 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 six feet in vertical height shall be
separated by level berms of at least four feet in width. The Inspector
shall 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. 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 Inspector
as a safe place to deposit and receive such 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, ground cover and other
protective devices as established by permit, and further, the continued
use of said area shall be contingent upon the maintenance and upkeep,
satisfactory to the Borough, and subject to such further conditions
as the Borough may prescribe from time to time. The certificate of
completion therefor may, at any time, be revoked by the Town Council
upon the recommendation of the Borough Engineer and/or Public Works
Chairman that the conditions of the permit are not being observed
and that conditions exist that prejudice the health, safety and welfare
of any person, persons or property. Before such revocation, the Inspector
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, the certificate
may be revoked. If the defective condition is remedied, the certificate
shall not be revoked. Such conditions shall be corrected within 30
days of notice to the owner to correct same.
In case any work is performed by any person in violation of
any of the provisions of this chapter, the proper officers of the
Borough, in addition to other remedies, may institute in the name
of the Borough any appropriate action or proceeding, whether by legal
process or otherwise, to prevent such unlawful work and to restrain
or abate such violation.