[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Estell
Manor by Ord. No. 66-8; amended by Ord. No. 77-1 (Ch. VIII, Sec. 8-3, of the 1974 Revised General Ordinances).
Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended by Ord. No. 82-12; Ord. No. 84-3; Ord. No. 89-6]
In addition to the definitions contained in Chapter 380, Zoning, § 380-3, of this Code, the following shall apply:
Refers to the sale or commercial use of the sand or other
product which is excavated as distinguished from personal use of the
product by the owner of the ground at the place where the same is
excavated.
Includes digging or mining and applies to all topsoil, sand,
gravel, solid or mineral products of the soil.
The dredging, digging, extraction, mining and quarrying of
sand, gravel, clay or ilmenite for commercial purposes, not including,
however, the private or agricultural extraction and use of extracted
material by a landowner.
Refers to all state, county, city or local roads, but has
no reference to private roads or private rights-of-way.
A.
In their interpretation and application, the provisions of this section
shall be held to be for the promotion of the public health, morals
and general welfare, for the elimination of dust and noise, for the
elimination of danger from deep pits in the close proximity to highways,
for the conservation of the soil and for the betterment of the community.
B.
The provisions and requirements of this section shall be held paramount
to any corresponding or similar provision of any existing law, ordinance,
rule or regulation.
[Amended by Ord. No. 82-12; Ord. No. 86-3; Ord. No. 86-12; Ord. No. 89-6]
No excavating, dredging, digging or mining of topsoil, sand or gravel may be done for commercial purposes in the City without first obtaining a permit therefor from the City Council in the manner as hereinafter set forth. No more than two permits for private mining operations shall be issued hereunder in the City of Estell Manor. Except as otherwise authorized in this chapter or in Chapter 380, Zoning, of the Code of the City of Estell Manor, the extraction or mining of mineral resources other than sand, gravel, clay and ilmenite is prohibited in the Pinelands Area.
[Amended by Ord. No. 81-3; Ord. No. 82-12; Ord. No. 84-3; Ord. No. 86-3; Ord. No. 89-6]
Applications for permits for excavating, dredging, digging or
mining of topsoil, sand or gravel in the City shall be made to the
City Clerk, and no permit shall be issued by the City Council unless
the following have been complied with:
A.
A deposit of $250 shall accompany the application for the purpose
of paying the costs of engineering fees necessary in making an investigation
of the license application, and the applicant shall generally be responsible
for payment of all engineering fees and costs incurred in connection
with any application or permit hereunder.
B.
Attached to the application shall be a survey or blueprint drawn
by a licensed engineer, which shall show the area proposed to be excavated,
dug or mined. The survey shall indicate the distance to the closest
highway, road or property line. In addition, the application shall
include all information required by § 380-61A of the Code
of the City of Estell Manor.
C.
No permit shall be issued by the City Council if the survey indicates that the proposed excavating, digging or mining shall be within 200 feet of a public road or any road shown on the Tax Map, 50 feet from any property line or within 200 feet of any church, schoolhouse or public building, or any residential or commercial building which is not related to the operation. In the Pinelands Area, the applicant shall adhere to the requirements of § 315-8 of this chapter.
D.
The City Council shall grant the permit subject to the applicant's
filing with the City Clerk a bond executed by the applicant and owners
of the lands as principals and a satisfactory surety company specifically
conditioned that the applicant will reclaim the area excavated in
accordance with requirements of this chapter and without cost to the
City.
E.
No permit shall be issued hereunder by the City Council without prior certification by the Cape Atlantic Soil Conservation District of a plan for soil erosion and sediment control pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:24-43, and in the Pinelands Area, a certificate of filing from the Pinelands Commission pursuant to § 380-78 of the Code of the City of Estell Manor.
F.
Within the Pinelands Area, no permit shall authorize excavation for
a period exceeding two years following the issuance of a permit.
[Amended by Ord. No. 80-1; Ord. No. 86-3; at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions,
Art. III)]
A.
Where, by reason of exceptional conditions, the strict applications
of any regulation enacted under this section would result in difficulties
and undue hardship upon the owner, the owner may appeal to the City
Council, relating to the property, for a variance so as to relieve
such difficulties and hardships.
B.
No relief may be granted or action taken under terms of this section
unless the relief can be granted without substantial detriment to
the public good and will not substantially impair the intent and purpose
of this section.
C.
In the event that such relief may be granted by the City Council
as aforesaid, the person to whom or to which the relief may be granted
shall not excavate, dig or mine so that the slope shall be in excess
of one foot vertical excavation for every two feet horizontal, and
further provided that the person shall keep and maintain the excavated,
dug or mined area free of water deposits.
[Added by Ord. No. 82-12; amended by Ord. No.
89-6]
A.
Notice of all applications for permits for resources extraction operations, all meetings or hearings regarding such applications and all approvals and denials of such applications shall be provided to the Pinelands Commission in accordance with § 380-77D of the Code of the City of Estell Manor.
B.
Any soil removal permit issued in the Pinelands Area which is subject
to Pinelands Commission notification shall take effect 15 days after
receipt of such notification by the Pinelands Commission or when the
provisions of the New Jersey Administrative Code have been met, whichever
is later. If the Commission disapproves of the final plan, the same
shall be deemed to be rejected within 30 days of the Commission's
action. If the Commission fails to approve said final plan because
of the failure of the applicant to provide information deemed sufficient
to it, the applicant shall, within 10 days after a request is made
of it by the Commission, provide said information to the Commission,
during which period the above time limitation is suspended. If the
Pinelands Commission approves the proposed development subject to
conditions, the City Council may within 30 days modify its final approval
to include some or all of said conditions. If the City Council does
not accept all of the conditions so imposed, the application shall
be considered to have been rejected.
[Added by Ord. No. 82-12; amended by Ord. No.
89-6; Ord. No.
97-3]
The following standards shall be applicable to all operations
hereunder located within the Pinelands Area:
B.
The operation shall be designed so that no area of excavation, sedimentation
pond, storage area equipment or machinery or other structure or facility
is closer than 200 feet to any property line.
[Amended 2-2-2022 by Ord. No. 01-2022]
C.
The operation shall be located on a parcel of land at least 20 acres
in size.
D.
The plan shall provide that all topsoil that is necessary for restoration
will be stored on the site and will be protected from wind or water
erosion.
E.
The entire area of the resource extraction operation shall be enclosed
with chain-link fencing eight feet in height.
[Amended 2-2-2022 by Ord. No. 01-2022]
F.
Ingress and egress to the resource extraction area from public roads
shall be by way of gravel or porous paved roadways.
G.
The plan shall be so designed that the surface runoff will be maintained
on the parcel in a manner that will provide for on-site recharge to
groundwater.
H.
The operation shall not involve excavation exceeding 65 feet below
the natural surface of the ground existing prior to excavation unless
it can be demonstrated that a depth greater than 65 feet will result
in no significant adverse impact relative to the proposed final use
or on off-site areas.
[Amended 2-2-2022 by Ord. No. 01-2022]
I.
The operation shall be carried out in accordance with an extraction
schedule which depicts the anticipated sequence as well as anticipated
length of time that each portion of the parcel proposed for extraction
will be worked.
J.
The operation shall not involve clearing adjacent to ponds in excess
of 20 acres or an area necessary to complete scheduled operations
or will not involve unreclaimed clearing exceeding 100 acres or 50%
of the area to be mined, whichever is less, for surface excavation
at any time.
K.
The plan will provide for restoration of disturbed areas at the completion
of the recourse extraction operation in accordance with the following
requirements:
(1)
Restoration shall be a continuous process and each portion of the
parcel shall be restored such that the ground cover be established
within two years and tree cover established within three years after
resource extraction is completed for each portion of the site mined.
(2)
Restoration shall proceed in the same sequence and time frame set out in the extraction schedule required in Subsection I above.
(3)
All restored areas shall be graded so as to conform to the natural contours of the parcel to the maximum extent practical; grading techniques that help to control erosion and foster revegetation shall be utilized; and the slope of the surface of restored surfaces shall not exceed one foot vertical to three feet horizontal except as provided in Subsection K hereof.
(4)
All topsoil shall be restored in approximately the same quality and
quantity as existed at the time the resource extraction operation
was initiated. All topsoil removed shall be stockpiled and used for
the next area to be restored, unless it is immediately reused for
reclamation that is currently underway.
(5)
Drainage flows, including direction and volume, shall be restored
to the maximum extent practical to those flows existing at the time
the resource extraction operation was initiated.
(6)
Any body of water created by the resource extraction operation shall
have a shoreline not less than three feet above and three feet below
the projected average water table elevation. The shoreline both above
and below the surface water elevation shall have a slope of not less
than five feet horizontal to one foot vertical. This requirement shall
apply to any water body or portion of a water body created after December
5, 1994. For any water body or portion of a water body created prior
to December 5, 1994, this requirement shall apply to the extent that
it does not require grading of areas which have not been disturbed
by mining activities. Where grading would require such disturbance,
a reduction in the distance of the graded shoreline above and below
the average water table elevation shall be permitted.
(7)
All equipment, machinery and structures, except for structures that
are usable for recreational purposes or any other use authorized in
the area, shall be removed within six months after the resource extraction
operation is terminated and restoration is completed.
(8)
Reclamation shall to the maximum extent practical result in the reestablishment
of the vegetation association which existed prior to the extraction
activity and shall include:
(a)
Stabilization of exposed areas by establishing ground cover
vegetation; and
(b)
Reestablishment of the composition of the natural forest and
shrub types that existed prior to the extraction activity through
one of the following:
[1]
The planting of a minimum of 1,000 one-year-old pitch pine seedlings
or other native Pinelands tree species per acre in a random pattern;
[2]
Cluster planting of characteristic Pinelands oak species, such
as blackjack oak, bear oak, chestnut oak and black oak, and shrubs
such as black huckleberry, sheep laurel and mountain laurel, at a
spacing sufficient to ensure establishment of these species;
[3]
A combination of the planting techniques set forth in Subsections K(8)(b)[1] and [2] above; or
[4]
The use of other planting techniques or native Pinelands species
as may be necessary to restore the vegetation association which existed
prior to the extraction activity.
(9)
Slopes beyond a water body's shoreline shall be permitted at the
natural angle of repose to the bottom of the pond.
(10)
The letter of credit, surety bond or other guaranty of performance which secures restoration of each section shall be released after the City has determined that the requirements of Subsection K(1) through (9) above are being met and the guarantee of performance is replaced with a maintenance guaranty for a period of two years.
(11)
The operation shall not result in a substantial adverse impact
upon those significant resources depicted in the Special Areas Map
appearing as Figure 7.1 in the Pinelands Comprehensive Management
Plan.
[Amended by Ord. No. 82-12]
As of January 14, 1981, all existing sand and gravel pits shall
be operated as provided under this chapter, and in the event there
are any deviations now existing and not in accordance with this chapter,
then such deviations shall not be enlarged upon.
[Amended by Ord. No. 82-12]
This chapter shall be administered and enforced by the City
Council or any other public official who shall be designated by the
City Council, and who shall in no case grant any permit unless this
chapter shall have been fully complied with.
