The purpose of this chapter is to control erosion and the production
of sediment and related environmental damage by establishing minimum
standards and providing regulations for the construction and maintenance
of land fills, excavations, cutting and clearing of vegetation, revegetation
of cleared areas, and drainage control, as well as for the protection
of exposed soil surfaces, in order to promote the safety, public health,
convenience, and general welfare of the City. The intent of this chapter
is to ensure that there is no increase in runoff or sediment as a
result of hillside improvements.
(§ 1, Ord. 601, eff. May 13, 1982)
This chapter shall provide for the approval of grading and related
erosion and sediment control on parcels of land in the foothill or
hillside areas of the City. In general, such hillside areas are located
adjacent to the Los Padres National Forest on the north and Black
Mountain on the south. In addition, this chapter shall provide for
particular grading, erosion, and sediment control of parcels which
require extensive grading, cut, and fill in order to facilitate development
or use.
(§ 1, Ord. 601, eff. May 13, 1982, as amended by § 2, Ord.
624, eff. August 9, 1984)
For the purposes of this chapter, unless otherwise apparent
from the context, certain words and phrases used in this chapter are
defined as follows:
shall mean the City of Ojai.
shall mean the removal of plants, shrubs, and trees, and
the roots thereof, and structures or other objects from the surface
of the land.
shall mean loose material arising from the disintegration
of rocks and vegetative material and any man-made material transportable
by storm water runoff, streams, or floods.
shall mean the removal of surface water or groundwater from
land by means of surface or subsurface drains.
shall mean a device for controlling drainage; or a structure
designed to regulate the flow rate or course of runoff water.
shall mean a natural depression in the earth's surface or
a man-made channel or depression in which surface waters collect as
a result of rain or melting snow but at other times is destitute of
water.
shall mean the wearing away of the land surface by running
water, wind, ice, or other climatic and geological agents, including
such processes as gravitational creep or mass wasting.
shall mean a plan which fully indicates the necessary land
treatment and structural measures, installations, and treatments which
effectively minimize soil erosion and sediment and debris yield.
shall mean a requirement which will be executed in accordance
with the plan.
shall mean any activity by which earth, sand, gravel, rock,
or any other similar material is dug into, cut, quarried, uncovered,
removed, displaced, relocated, or bulldozed and shall include the
conditions resulting therefrom.
shall mean a deposit of earth material placed by artificial
means; or any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock, or any other
material is placed, pushed, dumped, pulled, transported, or moved
to a new location above the natural surface of the ground or on top
of the stripped surface and shall include the conditions resulting
therefrom.
shall mean a permit issued by the City in conformance with
Chapter 70 of the Uniform Building Code as amended by the City.
shall mean the upper surface of the groundwater or that level
below which the soil is saturated with water.
shall mean an area where the average slope before grading
is 10% or more or where a cut and fill slope after proposed grading
will exceed three feet in vertical height.
shall mean of or dealing with water on the land, including
its properties, laws, geographical distribution, and the like.
shall mean any activity involving clearing, grading, or filling
and any other activity which causes land to be exposed to the danger
of erosion.
shall mean the conditioning of land, including clearing,
land leveling for related gradient control, and soil preparation for
seeding, planting, or replanting crop land or soil protection developments.
shall mean earth materials which are moving or have moved
downward on a hillside slope as a result of the action of external
forces, such as gravity, seeping water, or earthquakes, or a combination
thereof.
shall mean the plants, shrubs, and trees, and the roots thereof,
which grow naturally or have become adapted to a local environment
without being planted or cultivated by man.
shall mean the surface of the ground at the time of the initial
investigation of a proposed project prior to any proposed land modification.
shall mean a parcel of real property as defined by the County
Assessor.
shall mean any individual, firm, copartnership, joint venture,
association, social club, fraternal organization, corporation, trust,
business trust, receiver, syndicate, or any other group or combination
acting as a unit.
shall mean a written summary containing data describing physical
conditions, including land use, topographic relationships, critical
site limitations, land treatment measures, and any other significant
data relating to the land.
shall mean any condition which threatens the health, safety,
property, or general welfare of the public.
shall mean a facility which retains flow sufficiently to
cause the deposition of transported sediment.
shall mean the process by which mineral or organic matter
is removed from its site of origin, transported, and deposited by
water, wind, or gravity.
shall mean a plan delineating the limits of work to be done
on a particular lot or parcel of land where grading is permitted.
shall mean a classification adopted by the United States
Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service defining the ability
of the land to produce under specified uses and conservation treatments
with due regard to the inherent limitations and hazards of the land.
shall mean a category of soil classification in which soils
with similar sequences of natural layers are grouped together and
named; or soils which are essentially alike in all major profile characteristics,
with the exception of surface texture.
shall mean a subdivision of soil series consisting of or
describing soils which are alike in all characteristics, including
soil texture.
shall mean drainage resulting from any rainfall.
shall mean a low lying stretch of land which gathers or carries
surface water runoff.
shall mean a rainstorm of such intensity that, on the average,
could be expected to be equaled or exceeded once every 10 years in
a 24 hour period; or a rainstorm of such intensity which has a 10%
chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
shall mean a relatively level step constructed in the face
of a graded slope for drainage and maintenance purposes.
shall mean the plant life (flora) which covers the ground
surface of an area.
shall mean a permanent stream, intermittent stream, river,
brook, creek, channel, or ditch for water, whether natural or man-made.
shall mean all the land and water within the confines of
a drainage divide.
(§ 1, Ord. 601, eff. May 13, 1982, as amended by § 3, Ord.
624, eff. August 9, 1984)
