The purpose of this chapter is to safeguard life, limb, property, and the public welfare by controlling activities that lead to soil erosion and sedimentation into watercourses, wetlands, riparian areas, public and private roadways caused by development activities, including clearing, grading, stripping, excavating, and filling of land.
This chapter sets forth rules and regulations to control excavation, grading, and earthwork construction, including fills and embankments; establishes the administrative procedure for issuance of permits; and provides for approval of plans and inspection of grading construction.
Except as provided in Section 16.152.040 of this chapter, no person shall do any grading work without first having attained a grading permit from the building official.
A grading permit is not required for the following:
A. 
When approved by the building official, grading in an isolated, self-contained area if there is no danger to private or public property.
B. 
An excavation below finished grade for basements and footings of a building, retaining wall, or other structure authorized by a valid building permit. This shall not exempt any fill made with the material from such excavation or exempt any structure having unsupported height greater than five feet after completion of such structure.
C. 
Cemetery graves.
D. 
Refuse disposal sites controlled by other regulations.
E. 
Excavations for wells, tunnels, or utilities.
F. 
Mining, quarrying, processing, stockpiling of rock, sand, gravel, aggregate, or clay where established and provided for by law, provided such operations do not affect the lateral support or increase the stresses in or pressure upon any adjacent or contiguous property.
G. 
Exploratory excavations under the direction of soil engineers or engineering geologists.
H. 
An excavation which: (1) is less than two feet in depth; or (2) which does not create a cut slope greater than five feet in height and steeper than one unit vertical in one and one-half units horizontal (66.7% slope).
I. 
A fill less than one foot in depth and placed on natural terrain with a slope flatter than one unit vertical in five units horizontal (20% slope), or less than three feet in depth, not intended to support structures, that does not exceed 50 cubic yards on any one lot and does not obstruct a drainage course.
Exemption from the permit requirements of this chapter shall not be deemed to grant authorization for any work to be done in any manner in violation of the provisions of this chapter or any other chapter of this Code, or other laws or ordinances of the City of Warrenton.
Whenever the building official determines that any existing excavation or embankment or fill on private property has become a hazard to life and limb, or endangers property, or adversely affects the safety, use, or stability of a public way or drainage channel, the owner of the property upon which the excavation or fill is located, or other person or agent in control of said property, upon receipt in writing from the building official, shall within the time period specified therein eliminate such excavation or embankment to eliminate the hazard and to be in conformance with the requirements of this Code.
A. 
Permits Required. Except as exempted in Section 16.152.040, no person shall do any grading without first obtaining a grading permit from the building official. A separate permit shall be obtained for each site, and may cover both excavations and fills.
B. 
Application. To obtain a grading permit, the applicant shall file an application in writing to the City of Warrenton on a form furnished by the building official. Every such application shall contain:
1. 
Identification and description of work to be covered by the permit for which the application is made, including estimated quantities of work involved.
2. 
Description of the land on which the proposed work is to be done by legal description, street address, assessor parcel number, or similar description that will readily identify and definitely locate the proposed building or work.
3. 
Indication of the use or occupancy for which the proposed work is intended.
4. 
Plans, diagrams, computations, and specifications, and other data as required by this chapter. Plans and specifications shall be drawn to scale and shall be of sufficient clarity to indicate the location, nature, and extent of the work proposed, and show in detail that it will conform to all provisions of this Code and relevant laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations of the City.
5. 
Applicant's signature.
6. 
Other data as required by the building official.
C. 
Grading Designation. Grading in excess of 5,000 cubic yards shall be permitted in accordance with the approved grading plan prepared by a civil engineer, and shall be designated as "engineered grading." Grading involving less than 5,000 cubic yards shall be designated as "regular grading" unless the permittee chooses to have the grading performed as engineered grading, or the building official determines that special conditions or unusual hazards exist, in which case grading shall conform to the requirements of engineered grading.
D. 
Engineered Grading Requirements. As required by the currently adopted Oregon Structural Specialty Code Appendix J, as may be amended.
E. 
Regular Grading Requirements. Each application for a grading permit shall be accompanied by a plan in sufficient clarity to indicate the nature and extent of the work. The plans shall give the location of the work, the name of the owner, and the name of the person who prepared the plan. The plan shall include the following information:
1. 
General vicinity of the proposed site.
2. 
Limiting dimensions and depth of cut and fill.
3. 
Location of any buildings or structures where work is to be performed, and the location of any buildings or structures within 15 feet of the proposed grading.
F. 
Issuance.
1. 
The application, plans, specifications, computations, and other data filed by an applicant for a grading permit shall be reviewed by the building official. Such plans may be reviewed by other City departments to verify compliance with any applicable laws of the City. The building official may require that grading operations and project designs be modified if delays occur which incur weather generated problems not considered at the time the permit was issued. The provisions of UBC Section 106.4 are applicable to grading permits.
2. 
The building official may require professional inspection and testing by the soils engineer. When the building official has cause to believe that geologic factors may be involved, the grading will be required to conform to engineered grading.
(Ord. 1175-A § 14, 2013; Ord. 1238 § 1, 2020)
A. 
General. Grading operations for which a permit is required shall be subject to inspection by the building official. Professional inspection of grading operations shall be provided by the civil engineer, soils engineer, and the engineering geologist retained to provide such services in accordance with this section for engineered grading and as required by the building official for regular grading.
B. 
Civil Engineer. The civil engineer shall provide professional inspection within such engineer's area of technical specialty, which shall consist of observation and review as to the establishment of line, grade, and surface drainage of the development area. If revised plans are required during the course of the work they shall be prepared by the civil engineer.
C. 
Soils Engineer. The soils engineer shall provide professional inspection within such engineer's area of technical specialty, which shall include observation during grading and testing for required compaction. The soils engineer shall provide sufficient observation during preparation of the natural ground and placement and compaction of the fill to verify that such work is being performed in accordance with the conditions of the approved plan and the appropriate requirements of this chapter. Revised recommendations relating to conditions differing from the approved soils engineering and engineering geology reports shall be submitted to the permittee, building official, and the civil engineer.
D. 
Engineering Geologist. The engineering geologist shall provide professional inspection within such engineer's area of technical specialty, which shall include professional inspection of the bedrock excavation to determine if conditions encountered are in conformance with the approved report. Revised recommendations relating to conditions differing from the approved engineering geology report shall be submitted to the soils engineer.
E. 
Permittee. The permittee shall be responsible for the work to be performed in accordance with the approved plans and specifications and in conformance with the provisions of this Code, and the permittee shall engage consultants, if required, to provide professional inspections on a timely basis. The permittee shall act as a coordinator between the consultants, the contractor, and the building official. In the event of changed conditions, the permittee shall be responsible for informing the building official of such change and shall provide revised plans for approval.
F. 
Building Official. The building official shall inspect the project at the various stages of work requiring approval to determine that adequate control is being exercised by the professional consultants.
G. 
Notification of Noncompliance. If, in the course of fulfilling their respective duties under this chapter, the civil engineer, the soils engineer, or the engineering geologist finds that the work is not being done in conformance with this chapter or the approved grading plans, the discrepancies shall be reported immediately in writing to the permittee and the building official.
H. 
Transfer of Responsibility. If the civil engineer, the soils engineer, or the engineering geologist of record is changed during grading, the work shall be stopped until the replacement has agreed in writing to accept their responsibility within the area of technical competence for approval upon completion of the work. It shall be the duty of the permittee to notify the building official in writing of such change prior to the recommencement of such grading.
Grading fees shall be set by resolution of the Warrenton City Commission.
(Ord. 1175-A § 15, 2013)
The building official may require bonds in such form and amounts as may be deemed necessary to assure that the work, if not completed in accordance with the approved plans and specifications, will be corrected to eliminate hazardous conditions. In lieu of a surety bond, the applicant may file a cash bond or instrument of credit with the building official in an amount equal to that which would be required in the surety bond.
A. 
General. Unless otherwise recommended in the approved soils engineering or engineering geology report, cuts shall conform to the provisions of this section. In the absence of an approved soils engineering report, these provisions may be waived for minor cuts not intended to support structures.
B. 
Slope. The slope of cut surfaces shall be no steeper than is safe for the intended use and shall be no steeper than one unit vertical in two units horizontal (50% slope) unless the permittee furnishes a soils engineering or engineering geology report, or both, stating that the site has been investigated and given an opinion that a cut at a steeper slope will be stable and not create a hazard to public or private property.
A. 
General. Unless otherwise recommended in the approved soils engineering report, fills shall conform to the provisions of this section. In the absence of an approved soils engineering report, these provisions may be waived for minor fills not intended to support structures.
B. 
Preparation of Ground. Fill slopes shall not be constructed on natural slopes steeper than one unit vertical in two units horizontal (50% slope). The ground surface shall be prepared to receive fill by removing vegetation, noncomplying fill, topsoil, and other unsuitable materials scarifying to provide a bond with the new fill and, where slopes are steeper than one unit vertical in five units horizontal (20% slope) and the height is greater than five feet, by benching into sound bedrock or other competent material as determined by the soils engineer. The bench under the toe of a fill on a slope steeper than one unit vertical in five units horizontal (20% slope) shall be at least 10 feet wide. The area beyond the toe of the fill shall be sloped for sheet overflow or a paved drain shall be provided. When fill is to be placed over a cut, the bench under the toe of the fill shall be at least 10 feet wide but the cut shall be made before placing the fill and acceptance by the soils engineer or engineering geologist or both as a suitable foundation for fill.
C. 
Fill Material. Detrimental amounts of organic material shall not be permitted in fills. Except as permitted by the building official, no rock or similar irreducible material with a maximum dimension of greater than 12 inches shall be buried or placed in fills. The building official may permit the placement of larger rock when the soils engineer properly devises a method of placement and continuously inspects its placement and approves the fill stability. The following conditions shall also apply: (1) prior to issuance of a grading permit, potential rock disposal areas shall be delineated on the grading plan; (2) rock sizes greater than 12 inches in maximum dimension shall be 10 feet or more below grade, measured vertically; and (3) rocks shall be placed so as to assure filling of all voids with well-graded soil.
D. 
Compaction. All fills shall be compacted to a minimum of 90% of maximum density.
E. 
Slope. The slope of fill surfaces shall be no steeper than is safe for the intended use. Fill slopes shall be no steeper than one unit vertical in two units horizontal.
A. 
General. Cut and fill slopes shall be set back from site boundaries in accordance with this section. Setback dimensions shall be horizontal distances measured perpendicular to the site boundary.
B. 
Top of Cut Slope. The top of cut slopes shall not be made nearer to a site boundary line than one-fifth the vertical height of cut with a minimum of two feet and a maximum of 10 feet. The setback may need to be increased for any required interceptor drains.
C. 
Toe of Fill Slope. The toe of fill slope shall be made not nearer to the site boundary line than one half the height of the slope with a minimum of two feet and a maximum of 20 feet. Where a fill slope is to be located near the site boundary and the adjacent off-site property is developed, special precautions shall be incorporated in the work as the building official deems necessary to protect adjoining property from damage as a result of such grading. These precautions may include, but are not limited, to (1) additional setbacks; (2) provisions for retaining or slough walls; (3) mechanical or chemical treatment of the fill slope surface to minimize erosion; and (4) provisions for the control of surface waters.
D. 
Modification of Slope Location. The building official may approve additional setbacks. The building official may require investigation and recommendation by a qualified engineer or engineering geologist to demonstrate that the intent of this section has been satisfied.
A. 
General. Unless otherwise indicated on the approved grading plan, drainage facilities and terracing shall conform to the provisions of this section for cut or fill slopes steeper than one unit vertical in three units horizontal (33.3% slope).
B. 
Terraces.
1. 
Terraces at least six feet in width shall be established at not more than 30-foot vertical intervals on all cut or fill slopes to control surface drainage and debris except that where only one terrace is required, it shall be a mid-height. For cut or fill slopes greater than 60 feet and up to 120 feet in vertical height, one terrace at approximately mid-height, shall be 12 feet in width. Terrace widths and spacing for cut and fill slopes greater than 120 feet in height shall be designed by a civil engineer and approved by the building official. Suitable access shall be provided to permit proper cleaning and maintenance.
2. 
Swales or ditches or terraces shall have a minimum gradient of five percent and must be paved with reinforced concrete not less than three inches in thickness or and approved equal paving. They shall have a minimum depth at the deepest point of one foot and a minimum paved width of five feet.
3. 
A single run of swale or ditch shall not collect runoff from a tributary exceeding 13,500 square feet (projected) without discharging into a down drain.
C. 
Subsurface Drainage. Cut and fill slopes shall be provided with subsurface drainage as necessary for stability.
D. 
Disposal.
1. 
All drainage facilities shall be designed to carry waters to the nearest practicable drainage way approved by the building official or other appropriate jurisdiction as a safe place to deposit such waters. Erosion of ground in the area of discharge shall be prevented by installation of non-erosive down-drains or other devices.
2. 
Building pads shall have a drainage gradient of two percent toward approved drainage facilities unless waived by the building official. The gradient from the building pad may be one percent if all of the following conditions exist throughout the permit area: (a) no proposed fills are greater than 10 feet in maximum depth; (b) no proposed finish cut or fill slope faces a vertical height in excess of 10 feet; and (c) no existing slope faces, which have a slope face steeper than one unit vertical in 10 units horizontal, have a vertical height in excess of 10 feet.
E. 
Interceptor Drains. Paved interceptor drains shall be installed along the top of all cut slopes where the tributary drainage area above slopes toward the cut and has a drainage path greater than 40 feet measure horizontally. Interceptor drains shall be paved with a minimum of three inches of concrete or gunite and reinforced. They shall have a minimum depth of 12 inches and a minimum paved width of 30 inches measured horizontally across the drain. The slope of the drain shall be approved by the building official.
A. 
Slopes. The faces of cut and fill slopes shall be prepared and maintained to control against erosion. This control may consist of effective planting. The protection of the slopes shall be installed as soon as practicable and prior to calling for final approval. Where cut slopes are not subject to erosion due to the erosion-resistant character of the material, such protection may be omitted.
B. 
Other Devices. Where necessary, check dams, cribbing, riprap, or other devices or methods shall be employed to control erosion and provide safety.
Upon completion of the rough grading work and at the completion of the work, the following reports and drawings and supplements thereto are required for engineered grading or when professional inspection is performed for regular grading, as applicable:
A. 
An as-built grading plan prepared by the civil engineer retained to provide such services in accordance with Section 16.152.070 showing original ground surface elevations, as-graded ground surface elevations, lot drainage patterns, and the locations and elevations of surface drainage facilities and of the outlets of subsurface drains. As-constructed locations, elevations, and details of subsurface drains shall be shown as reported by the soils engineer.
Civil engineers shall state that to the best of their knowledge the work within the specified area of responsibility was done in accordance with the final approved grading plan.
B. 
A report prepared by a soils engineer retained to provide such services in accordance with Section 16.152.070, including locations and elevations of field density tests, summaries of field and laboratory tests, other substantiating data, and comments on any changes made during grading and their effect on recommendations made in the approved soils engineering investigation report. Soils engineers shall submit a statement that, to the best of their knowledge, the work within their area of responsibilities is in accordance with the approved soils engineering report and applicable provisions of this chapter.