[HISTORY: §§ 86-1—86-13 of the 1973
Code as amended through October 13, 2016. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this article:
EXCAVATOR — Any person, firm, corporation, copartnership
or association of individuals engaging in moving, removal or excavation
of soil or topsoil from any land in the borough.
Any land in the borough exceeding one acre in area.
Any person, firm, corporation, copartnership or association
of individuals, owning land in the borough.
Any earth, sand, clay, loam, gravel, humus, rock or dirt,
without regard to the presence or absence therein of organic matter.
Soil that in its natural state constitutes the top layer
of earth on any land in the borough and is composed of 2% or more,
by weight, of organic matter, and having the ability to support vegetation.
[New]
No owner, person, firm or corporation shall excavate, move,
remove, or cause, allow, permit or suffer to be moved, any soil off
any land in the Borough of North Caldwell unless and until a permit
for such soil removal shall first have been issued by the Planning
Board of the Borough of North Caldwell; provided, however, that where
a building permit shall be issued for the erection, construction,
alteration or addition of a building, no permit shall be necessary
for the excavation resulting from the construction of said building
and development of the land.
[New]
An application shall be filed for the issuance of a soil removal
permit.
A.
On a form supplied by the Borough Clerk, the application shall set
forth, in duplicate:
(1)
Name and address of applicant.
(2)
Description of land in question.
(3)
Name and address of owner of land.
(4)
Purpose or reason for moving or removing the soil off the lands.
(5)
Kind and quantity, in cubic yards, of soil to be moved or removed.
(6)
In case of removal, the place to which the soil is to be removed,
and the kind and quantity of soil to be removed.
(7)
Proposed dates of commencement and completion of work.
(8)
Type and number of machines or other equipment to be used in said
operation, and the daily starting and finishing time during which
machines are to be operated.
(9)
Describe safety fences, barriers or other structures to be provided
for health and safety and to keep out children and other persons.
B.
Accompanying the application, there shall be filed a topographical
map prepared and certified by a licensed civil engineer and land surveyor,
in duplicate, showing:
C.
In addition to the above requirements of Subsections A and B of this section, applicant shall furnish such other pertinent data as the Planning Board may require, after it has had an opportunity to examine the proposed project, including the extent (in cubic yards) of topsoil to be removed, and whether such topsoil is to be replaced on the site in question.
D.
Application shall be submitted with a permit fee to the order of
the borough in the sum of $100. In the event of a refusal of such
soil removal permit as hereinafter provided, 1/2 of said permit fee
shall be returned to the applicant and the other 1/2 retained to partially
cover the expense of the investigation of the project by the Planning
Board prior to its refusal to issue the permit.
E.
The Planning Board shall grant or refuse to grant the permit hereinabove
provided for within 30 days from the date of the filing of the application
with it, and in case of refusal the applicant may, within five days
thereafter, appeal said refusal to the Mayor and Council which, after
investigation and study of the project, shall afford the applicant
a public hearing at a regular meeting of the Mayor and Council to
be held not less than three weeks after the appeal of the applicant
is filed with the Borough Clerk. The decision of the Mayor and Council
on whether to affirm or reverse the action of the Planning Board in
refusing to grant said permit shall be by a two-thirds vote of the
Council, and shall be communicated to the applicant, by letter addressed
to him at the address shown upon the application, and to the Planning
Board. In the event that said decision is to reverse the Planning
Board, the latter shall forthwith issue the permit applied for.
In the event that the application for soil removal involves
the cutting down or removal of a bank extending above the elevation
of the surrounding lands or the elevation of a public street contiguous
to the land upon which said removal is to occur, no such soil removal
shall be conducted in such manner as to leave the ultimate grade of
the land from which the bank is to be removed lower than the grade
of the surrounding lands or of the grade of a public street contiguous
to the land upon which said removal is to take place. If the soil
removal project contemplates the leaving of any part of the bank,
then and in such event the removal shall be conducted in such a manner
as to leave all sides of the bank upon which soil removal has taken
place at a slope of at least one and one-half (1 1/2) feet horizontal
to one foot vertical.
Should the soil removal project involve the removal of topsoil,
then and in such event such topsoil shall be replaced when the earth
removal shall have been completed to grade, or, if such topsoil is
removed from the land and taken elsewhere, then other topsoil to a
depth equivalent to that of the depth of topsoil removed shall be
provided to the end that the grade, when completed, shall be covered
with topsoil to at least the same depth as it was before the grading
or excavation commenced. This provision shall not apply to such portions
of the land as are to be permanently covered by a building or other
similar structure, a street, a street pavement, curb, sidewalk, driveway
or other paved area, or by any body of water or waterway.
For the purpose of administering and enforcing this article,
any duly authorized officer, agent or employee of the Borough of North
Caldwell shall have the right to enter into and upon any lands in
or upon which soil-moving operations are being conducted, to examine
and inspect such lands.
[New]
Permittees shall pay to the Borough of North Caldwell a charge
of ten cents ($0.10) for each cubic yard of soil removed. Calculations
shall be made by the permittee and approved by the Borough Engineer.
Failure to pay such charge within 30 days after the submission of
invoice for soil removed shall constitute a violation of this article.
[New]
Any person, firm or corporation or copartnership who shall violate this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be liable for the penalties stated in Chapter 1, Article II General Penalty, Section 1-5 et seq. for each offence, in the discretion of the Municipal Court Judge. Each day that a violation shall continue shall constitute a separate offense.
No person shall import fill material in quantities of 50 cubic
yards or more (determined by overall project scope) to any site within
the Borough of North Caldwell without first having filed a registration
and disclosure statement with the Borough Engineer, which shall contain
the following information:
A.
Identity of the source property of the fill material to be imported.
B.
Full name and address of the owner of the source property of the
fill material to be imported.
C.
Basis and/or reasons the fill material became available (i.e., pipeline
excavation or tank removal excavation) and whether the source property
is contaminated or suspected of being contaminated with hazardous
substances or hazardous wastes.
D.
Nature, kind and composition of the fill material to be imported,
including any reports or sampling results conducted on the fill material
or material located in the area from which the fill material is to
be obtained.
E.
Quantity of fill material to be imported.
F.
Full name and address of the contract hauler of the fill material.
G.
Location of the property within the Borough of North Caldwell on
which the fill material is to be deposited, and the full name and
address of the owner of said property.
H.
Such further information and data deemed necessary by the Borough
Engineer.
The Borough Engineer shall review all registration and disclosure
statements. If in the opinion of the Borough Engineer a physical examination
and/or sampling and analysis of the fill material is required for
the protection of public health and safety, he shall so notify the
owner of the property where the fill material is to be deposited.
The number and type of samples required to be collected and analyzed
in order to assess the fill material shall be at the sole discretion
of the Borough Engineer based upon a review of all information provided
in the registration and disclosure statement. Upon such notification,
it shall be the obligation of said owner to establish an escrow deposit
with the borough in an amount deemed sufficient by the Borough Engineer
to cover the estimated costs of the physical examination and/or sampling
and analysis.
If the results of an examination and/or sampling and analysis
conducted pursuant to this article indicate the presence of material
which is harmful, dangerous, toxic or hazardous to the public, all
fill material importation activities shall cease immediately and any
fill material already imported shall be removed in accordance with
the directions of the Borough Engineer. In determining whether material
is harmful, dangerous, toxic or hazardous to the public, the Borough
Engineer shall rely upon the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection cleanup standard N.J.A.C. 7:26D, Remediation Standards.
Failure of the property owner to establish the escrow deposit
required by this article within two weeks of the date notice is given
by the Borough Engineer to said owner requiring the same shall give
rise to a presumption that the owner shall remove the subject fill
material. In such event, the fill material shall be removed within
one week of the expiration of the two-week period for establishing
the escrow deposit. Any failure to remove such fill material shall
be considered a violation of this article and shall subject the property
owner to the penalties provided herein.
[New]
Any person who shall violate any provision of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be liable to the penalties as stated in Chapter 1, Article II General Penalty, Section 1-5 et seq. for each offense, and each and every day that such violation continues shall constitute a separate and distinct offense.
