[R.O. 2008 §70.200; Ord. No. 551, 6-13-1961]
The purpose of this Article is the protection and safeguarding of life, health, property and the general welfare by regulating and controlling the design, construction and quality of materials to be used in the grading of property within the City of Olivette.
[R.O. 2008 §70.205; Ord. No. 551, 6-13-1961]
The following words, when used in this Article, shall have the following meanings:
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 similar material is deposited, placed, pushed, pulled or transported to a place other than the place from which it was excavated and shall include the conditions resulting therefrom.
GRADING
Excavation or fill or any combination thereof and shall include the conditions resulting from any excavation or fill.
SITE
Lot, tract, project or subdivision of a single owner or several owners.
[R.O. 2008 §70.210; Ord. No. 551, 6-13-1961; Ord. No. 1406, 1-11-1983]
A. 
No alteration of existing surface drainage shall be commenced without obtaining a permit from the Building Official. A separate permit shall be required for each site, provided however, that one (1) permit may cover both the excavation and fill made from excavated materials. An application for a grading permit shall be in writing and filed with the Building Official. Said application shall be accompanied by duplicate copies of the following documents and information:
1. 
Contoured development map showing existing contours of the site and adjoining strips of non-site property and proposed contours after completion of the proposed grading and development, based on United States Geodetic Survey datum, with established elevations at buildings, walks, drives, streets and roads; and information on necessary clearing and grubbing, removal of existing structures, excavating, filling, spreading and compacting.
2. 
An accurate plot plan showing the location of the grading site, a description of the type and features of the soil, the drainage plan approved by the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District and corresponding to the development map and details of all structures, walls, cribbing and surface protection.
3. 
The estimated schedule of operations, including the dates of starting and completion of grading work.
4. 
Each application for a grading permit shall be accompanied by fees in accordance with the following schedule:
Up to 1 acre
$6.00
Between 1 and 2 acres
$10.00
Between 2 and 5 acres
$16.00
Over 5 acres
$20.00
No part of such fee shall be refundable.
[R.O. 2008 §70.212; Ord. No. 2136, 11-12-2002; Ord. No. 2395 §1, 1-29-2009]
A. 
Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, no permit shall issue under this Article when:
1. 
There is no primary structure on, or an approved and active primary structure permit for, the property; or
2. 
Taxes relative to the property, including without limitation, special taxes, special assessments or other fees owed to the City are delinquent, until satisfaction of such delinquency. For purposes of this Section, the term "delinquent" with respect to property taxes, special taxes and special assessments, shall have the same meaning and use as that term is used in Section 140.010, RSMo., and the term "delinquent" with respect to fees, shall mean any fee due and remaining unpaid.
[R.O. 2008 §70.215; Ord. No. 551, 6-13-1961; Ord. No. 2167, 3-25-2003]
A. 
A permit shall be issued and shall remain in force only upon compliance with the following requirements:
1. 
Adequate provision shall be made to prevent any surface water from damaging the cut face of an excavation or the sloping surface of a fill.
2. 
Retaining walls or cribbing shall be required whenever necessary to prevent the surface of any excavation or fill from exceeding at any point the maximum allowable slopes set forth herein.
3. 
All drainage provisions shall be of such design as to carry surface waters to the nearest practical storm drain, natural watercourse or street approved by the Building Official and the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District as a suitable place to deposit and receive such waters.
4. 
No excavation shall be made so close to the property line to endanger any adjoining public or private street without supporting and protecting such public or private street or property from settling, cracking or other damage.
5. 
Prior to the initiation of any work under a grading permit or other permit required under this Article, the owner or permit holder shall cause to be clearly demarcated with survey stakes or similar devices placed by a land surveyor licensed to practice by the State of Missouri each boundary corner of such property and shall maintain the survey stakes or similar devices for the duration of work authorized under the permit.
6. 
Materials for fills shall consist of material obtained from excavation of banks, borrowed pits or other approved source. Material shall be free of vegetable matter and deleterious material and shall not contain large rocks or lumps.
7. 
Minimum standards of excavation and fills:
a. 
No excavation shall be made with a cut face steeper in slope than two (2) horizontal to one (1) vertical, unless the material in the excavated face is stable at a steeper slope as determined by experience for similar materials under comparable conditions and so certified by an experienced registered soils engineer.
b. 
No fill shall be made which creates an exposed embankment face steeper in slope than three (3) horizontal to one (1) vertical. The embanked end of the fill shall be uniformly compacted as provided in Subsection (8) hereof and stable under the proposed conditions. If a steeper slope is proposed, its stability shall be certified by an experienced registered soils engineer.
8. 
Compaction of fills. All fills intended to support buildings or structures or sewers and conduits shall be made to a minimum ninety percent (90%) compaction. Compaction of other fills shall be required where same is necessary as a safety measure to aid in preventing the saturation, slipping or erosion of the fill. The requirements of the Building Official for the compaction of fills shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following:
a. 
Grading tolerance. Areas to be graded by cutting or filling shall be rough graded to within two-tenths (0.2) of a foot of accepted elevation after allowance has been made for thickness of top soil, paved areas and other installations.
b. 
Preparation of the natural ground surface by removing top soil and vegetation and by compacting the fill upon a series of terraces. Hillside or slope fills shall require plowing or scarification of original ground.
c. 
Control of moisture content of the material used for the fill. If fill material moisture content is below the requirement for compacting to maximum practical density, water in proper amount shall be added. If moisture content is too great, fill material shall be aerated by blading or other satisfactory methods to reduce moisture content.
d. 
Limitation on the use of various kinds of materials. Frozen materials or soft, mucky, friable, easily compressible materials shall not be incorporated in fills intended to support buildings, structures, sewers or conduits or in the embanked ends of fills. In heavy rain interrupted work shall not be resumed until moisture content is satisfactory. Fill material shall not be placed, spread or rolled while the ground is frozen or thawing.
e. 
Maximum thickness of layers of the fill to be compacted shall not exceed eight (8) inches.
f. 
Compaction shall be by tamping, sheeps foot rollers, multiple wheel pneumatic or other type rollers. Rolling shall be continuous until desired maximum density is obtained.
g. 
Density of the completed fill shall depend upon the location and use of the fill as required by the Building Official.
h. 
Top soil disturbed by grading and building operations shall be stripped and piled for storage in an amount necessary to complete finished grading.
i. 
Timber, logs, trees, brush, vegetable matter and rubbish of any description shall be removed and disposed of so as to leave the disturbed area with a neat and finished appearance. Tree stumps, masonry and other obstructions shall be removed to the following depths:
Paved areas. Two (2) feet below subgrade
Lawn areas. Two (2) feet below finished grade
Solid rock, shale or similar materials shall be removed to a depth of fifteen (15) inches below subgrade for paved areas and two (2) feet below finished grade for lawn area except where it is impractical because of rock outcropping.
[R.O. 2008 §70.220; Ord. No. 551, 6-13-1961]
Inspections shall be made during each stage of fill operations and final approval shall be required upon completion of operations.
[R.O. 2008 §70.221; Ord. No. 1858, 5-23-1995]
Any person who after having been served with a stop work order shall continue any work governed by this Article, except such work as that person is directed to perform by the Building Official to remove a violation or unsafe conditions, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction therefor shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars ($500.00) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for each such offense. Each day that such violation continues shall be deemed a separate offense.
[R.O. 2008 §70.225; Ord. No. 551, 6-13-1961; Ord. No. 2167, 3-25-2003]
A. 
A grading permit shall not be required in the following instances:
1. 
Grading for the foundation or basement of any building, structure or swimming pool for which a building permit has been duly issued.
2. 
Grading by any public utility for the installation, inspection, repair or replacement of any of its facilities.
3. 
Grading of property for or by any governmental agency in connection with a public improvement or public work on said property.
4. 
Grading in connection with any subdivision, the plat and plans of which have been approved in accordance with the laws and regulations of the City of Olivette, provided however, that all information required by this Article shall be submitted to the Building Official and all grading plans shall be approved prior to the approval of the final plat of any subdivision. The minimum standards imposed by this Article, including, without limitation, the requirement that prior to the initiation of any such grading work, the owner or permit holder shall cause to be clearly demarcated with survey stakes or similar devices placed by a land surveyor licensed to practice by the State of Missouri each boundary corner of such property and shall maintain the survey stakes or similar devices for the duration of the grading work, shall apply to all such grading plans and operations.
[R.O. 2008 §70.230; Ord. No. 551, 6-13-1961]
The Building Official is hereby authorized to revoke any grading permit whenever he/she shall find that the work covered by said permit has been extended or altered without permission previously having been granted to do so or whenever he/she shall find that any retaining walls, cribbing, drainage, structures or other protective devices as shown on the approved plans and specifications submitted with the application for the permit have not been constructed as proposed and approved nor maintained in good order and repair.
[R.O. 2008 §70.235; Ord. No. 551, 6-13-1961]
Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this Article shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be subject to a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) nor more than one hundred dollars ($100.00) for each offense and each day of violation, after notice, shall be deemed a separate offense.