A grading permit authorizes only the work described or illustrated on the application for the permit, or in the plans and specifications approved by the City Engineer. The authorized work must be done in accordance with all conditions imposed by the City Engineer and with the requirements of this chapter. Conditions imposed by the City Engineer must be shown on the grading plans under the heading "General Notes."
(Ord. 564 § 3, 2019)
The permittee must:
A. 
Know the conditions and restrictions placed on the grading permit, the requirements of this chapter, and the requirements in any approved report(s);
B. 
Insure that all contractors, subcontractors, employees, agents and consultants are knowledgeable of the same, and insure that they carry out the authorized work in accordance with the approved plans and specifications and with the requirements of the permit and this chapter;
C. 
Maintain in an obvious and accessible location on the site, a copy of the permit and grading plans bearing the approval of the City Engineer.
(Ord. 564 § 3, 2019)
Every person doing land development must meet such qualifications the City Engineer determines are necessary to protect the public interest. The City Engineer may require an application for qualification which must contain all information necessary to determine the person's qualifications to do the land development. At a minimum, all land development work must be performed by a contractor licensed by the State to perform the types of work required by the permit.
(Ord. 564 § 3, 2019)
The permittee must comply with the City's design and development standard regarding the conduct of grading operations. At a minimum, these standards include, but are not limited to the following:
A. 
All grading and paving operations, including the warming up, repair, arrival, departure or running of trucks, earthmoving equipment, construction equipment and any other associated grading equipment must occur only between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Earthmoving or grading operations must not be conducted on Saturdays, Sundays or holidays recognized by the City without the written permission of the City Engineer.
B. 
Grading and paving are not permitted between October 1st and the following April 1st on any site when the City Engineer determines that erosion, mudflow or sediment discharge from grading may adversely affect downstream properties, drainage courses, storm drains, streets, easements, or public or private facilities or improvements unless an erosion control system approved by the City Engineer has been implemented on the site to the satisfaction of the City Engineer.
(Ord. 564 § 3, 2019)
A. 
If the civil engineer, soil engineer, engineering geologist, landscape architect, testing agency, or grading contractor of record change during the course of work authorized by a grading permit, the work must stop until:
1. 
The owner submits a letter of notification verifying the change of the responsible professional; and
2. 
The new responsible professional certifies in writing that the professional has reviewed all prior reports and/or plans (specified by date and title) and work performed by the prior responsible professional, and that the new responsible professional concurs with the findings, conclusions and recommendations and is satisfied with the work performed. The responsible professional's certification include a statement assuming all responsibility for work in that professional's purview as of a specified date.
B. 
Except for subsection C, any exceptions to subdivisions 1 and 2 of subsection A of this section must be approved by the City Engineer.
C. 
Where clearly indicated that the firm, not the individual professional, is the contracting party, the designated engineer, architect or geologist may be reassigned and another individual of comparable professional accreditation within the firm may assume responsibility, without complying with the requirements of subdivisions 1 and 2 of subsection A of this section.
(Ord. 564 § 3, 2019)
A. 
Preparation of Ground. The ground surface of an area to be filled must be prepared to receive fill in accordance with the following:
1. 
Removing vegetation, noncomplying fill, topsoil and other unsuitable materials;
2. 
Scarifying to a depth of one foot to provide a bond with the new fill;
3. 
Where existing slopes exceed five feet in height and/or are steeper than 5:1, benching into sound bedrock or other competent material as determined by the soil engineer and approved by the City Engineer. The lowermost bench beneath the toe of a fill slope on natural ground must be a minimum 10 feet wide and at least three feet into dense formational materials. The ground surface below the toe of the fill must be prepared for sheet flow runoff, or a paved drain must be provided.
4. 
Where fill is to be placed over an existing cut slope, the bench under the toe of the new fill must be at least 15 feet wide and must be approved by the soil engineer and/or engineering geologist as a suitable foundation for fill.
B. 
Expansive Soils. Whenever expansive soils are encountered within three feet of the finish grade of any area intended or designed as a location for a building, the permittee must ensure compliance with the following:
1. 
Remove expansive soil to a minimum depth of three feet below finish grade and replace the expansive soil with properly compacted, nonexpansive soil;
2. 
If sufficient nonexpansive material to replace expansive soil is not readily available on-site, the City Engineer may waive or reduce the requirement for removal and replacement of the expansive soils reported on the project, subject to the written recommendation from the soil engineer for the design of footings, foundations, slabs, and other load bearing features, or for other special procedures which will alleviate any problem created by the remaining expansive soils.
C. 
Fill Material. Fill material must comply with the following:
1. 
Organic material must not be included in fills.
2. 
Except as outlined in this subsection, rock and similar irreducible materials with a maximum dimension greater than eight inches must not be buried or placed in fills.
3. 
The City Engineer may permit placement of rock with a dimension greater than eight inches when the soil engineer properly devises a method of placement, continuously inspects placement, and approves the soil stability and competency, and the following conditions are also met:
a. 
Prior to issuance of the grading permit, potential rock disposal area(s) are delineated on the grading plan.
b. 
Rock sizes greater than eight inches in maximum dimension are at least six feet or more below grade, measured vertically, and 10 feet measured horizontally from slope faces, and must be two feet or more below the bottom of any utility pipeline.
i. 
When the design of the development or covenants and restrictions provide assurance that no structure or utilities will be placed on a precisely definable area, these dimensions may be reduced with the approval of the City Engineer;
c. 
Rocks greater than eight inches must be completely surrounded by soils. Nesting of rocks is prohibited.
4. 
All fill slopes must be overfilled to a distance from finished slope face that will allow compaction equipment to operate freely within the zone of the finished slope, and then cut back to the finish grade to expose the compacted core. Alternate methods may be recommended by the soil engineer and approved by the City Engineer. In such instances, the grading contractor must provide detailed specifications for the method of placement and compaction of the soil within a distance of an equipment width from the slope face.
D. 
Buttress/Stabilization Fills. Any recommendations for buttress fills or stabilization fills must be set forth in a report by the soils engineer or certified engineering geologist. The report must set forth the soil or geologic factors necessitating the buttress/stabilization fill, stability calculations based on both static and pseudostatic conditions (pseudostatic loads need not normally be analyzed when bedding planes are flatter than 12 degrees from the horizontal), laboratory test data on which the calculations are based, the buttress/stabilization fill, a scaled section of the buttress/stabilization fill, and recommendations with details of subdrain requirements.
E. 
Utility Line Backfill. Backfills for on-site utility line trenches, such as water, sewer, gas, and electrical services must be compacted and tested in accordance with Section 11.40.725. Alternate materials and methods may be used for utility line backfills if the material specification and method of placement are recommended by the soil engineer and approved by the City Engineer prior to backfilling. The final utility line backfill report must include a statement of compliance by the soil engineer that the tested backfill is suitable for the intended use.
(Ord. 564 § 3, 2019)
A. 
If, at any stage of work, the City Engineer determines that authorized grading is likely to endanger any public or private property, result in the deposition of debris on any public way, or interfere with any existing drainage course, the City Engineer may specify and require reasonable safety precautions to avoid the danger. Failure to comply with the City Engineer's direction is a violation of this section.
B. 
When directed by the City Engineer pursuant to this section, the permittee must remove any soil and debris deposited on adjacent and downstream public or private property, repair any damage resulting from that permittee's grading operations, and control erosion and siltation through the use of temporary or permanent siltation basins, energy dissipators, or other measures as field conditions warrant, whether or not such measures are a part of approved plans. Costs associated with any work outlined in this section are the permittee's responsibility.
(Ord. 564 § 3, 2019)
During grading operations, the permittee, contractor, and owner must take all necessary measures to eliminate any hazard resulting from the work to the public in its normal use of public property or right-of-way. Any fences or barricades installed must separate the public from the hazard as long as the hazard exists, must be approved by the City Engineer, and must be properly constructed and maintained.
(Ord. 564 § 3, 2019)
Except as otherwise provided in a secured agreement for land development pursuant to Section 12.32.030, the following provisions apply when a City facility within a public right-of-way has been damaged or has failed as a result of the construction or existence of the owner's land development work during the progress of such work:
A. 
The owner of property subject to this chapter must pay the City for all costs of placing, repairing, replacing or maintaining the City-owned facility;
B. 
The costs of placing, replacing or maintaining the City-owned facility includes the cost of obtaining an alternate easement if necessary;
C. 
The City Engineer must notify the property owner of such damage or failure in accordance with Section 1.08.030, after which, the City may withhold certification of the completion of a building or other permitted work until the damaged or failed facility is restored.
(Ord. 564 § 3, 2019)
A. 
Each property owner is entitled to the lateral and adjacent support of that property from the adjoining land.
B. 
It is unlawful to excavate on land so close to the property line as to endanger any adjoining public street, sidewalk, alley or other public or private property without supporting and protecting such property from settling, cracking and other damage which might result.
C. 
Notwithstanding the minimum standards set forth in this chapter, each property owner must prevent damage to adjacent property when making excavations by undertaking the following:
1. 
Before making an excavation greater than 10 feet wide within 10 feet of a property line, the property owner or lessee must give reasonable notice to the owner or owners of land abutting the property lines affected by the excavation. The notice must state the depth of the proposed excavation and when the excavation will begin;
2. 
In making any excavation, use reasonable care, skill and precautions to ensure that the soil of adjoining property will not cave in or settle to the detriment of any building or other structure which may be thereon;
3. 
Ensure that land development work does not physically prevent the use of existing legal or physical and usable access to any parcel (in the opinion of the City Engineer).
(Ord. 564 § 3, 2019)
The owner of any property on which a fill or excavation has been made pursuant to a grading permit granted under the provisions of this chapter, or any other person or agent in control of such property must maintain the following in good condition and repair: all retaining walls, cribbing, drainage structures, protective devices, and plantings shown in the approved plans and specifications or in the as-graded drawings or as required by the grading permit. Facilities dedicated for use by the public and accepted for such use by a public agency are excepted from this requirement.
(Ord. 564 § 3, 2019)
A. 
During grading operations the permittee must prevent damage to any public utilities or services within the limits of grading and along any routes of travel of equipment.
B. 
Before starting any excavation work, the permittee must contact Underground Service Alert, Incorporated and coordinate the proposed excavation with all interested utility companies, districts and agencies.
(Ord. 564 § 3, 2019)
The permittee must ensure that all grading operations comply with the Vehicle Code and that no soil or debris is deposited on the public streets by any means, including, but not limited to, spills from truck beds or tracking by haul vehicles. The permittee must remove any materials spilled, dumped, or deposited on a public street as a result of permittee's grading operations.
In addition to any other remedies available for noncompliance with this requirement, the City Engineer may require a cash deposit or security to insure the cleanup of public streets.
(Ord. 564 § 3, 2019)
The permittee must show all existing survey monuments on the grading plan and submit evidence indicating that arrangements have been made to preserve or relocate existing monuments to the City Engineer prior to issuance of a grading permit.
(Ord. 564 § 3, 2019)
If any archaeological or paleontological resources are discovered during grading operations, the permittee must immediately cease all grading operations and notify the City Engineer of the discovery. Grading operations must not recommence until the permittee has received written authority from the City Engineer to do so.
(Ord. 564 § 3, 2019)