No lands or other premises within the Village of North Hills shall be operated or used for the excavation or removal of sand, gravel and stone, or other minerals or for other excavation purposes or for the stripping or removal of topsoil therefrom, without a currently effective permit issued by the Board of Trustees in compliance with the provisions of this chapter or unless listed as an exception in §
124-2 hereof.
The following operations and uses are hereby excepted from the application
of this chapter and may be performed in any district:
A. Excavation or removal of sand, gravel, stone or other
minerals or removal of topsoil on premises owned or leased by a water district,
public improvement district, municipal or other public or governmental subdivision,
authority or department.
B. Excavation or removal of sand, gravel, stone or other
minerals or removal of topsoil on premises incident to permitted highway,
sidewalk or driveway construction on the same premises, provided that all
other topsoil shall not be removed from the premises.
C. Excavation or removal of sand, gravel, stone or other
minerals or removal of topsoil on premises incident to the construction of
a stormwater basin, recharge basin or drainage sump on the same premises,
provided that all other topsoil shall not be removed from the premises, and
provided further that before commencement of any such operation a fence or
suitable barrier shall be erected around the area of excavation in accordance
with plans and specifications approved by the Village Code Enforcement Officer
as adequate to safeguard the public in the particular circumstances of the
terrain and location of the excavation.
D. The moving of topsoil or other earth from one part to
another of the same premises as an incident to building, farming or landscaping.
E. Removal of excess topsoil or other earth from the area
of a subdivision (as defined in the Site Development Code), when authorized by a special order in writing issued by authority
of the Board of Trustees.
F. Removal of topsoil or other earth incident to the business
of operating a nursery.
Compliance with the following regulations shall be a continuing condition
of the validity and existence of any permit granted or renewed hereunder:
A. When required by the Board of Trustees as necessary for the protection of the health, safety and general welfare of the public, for the preservation of property values in the neighborhood or to facilitate the proper drainage of surface water or appropriate use of land, in accordance with the standards prescribed in §
100-3 of this chapter, the premises on which operations regulated by this chapter are performed shall be rehabilitated in accordance with a plan of rehabilitation and schedule of progress therefor approved by the Board of Trustees, which plan and schedule is hereinafter referred to as the approved plan of rehabilitation. Such plan of rehabilitation may provide for a partial restoration of the property involved, pending the completion of operations regulated by this chapter, and need not include the delineation of streets.
B. When required by the Board of Trustees as necessary for
the protection of the public, barriers consisting of wire fencing of the type
known as chain link or cyclone fence, or its equivalent, of such height as
shall be specified by the Board of Trustees as necessary for the protection
of the public considering the particular circumstances of the terrain and
location, with no openings except necessary gates for ingress and egress,
shall be erected to prevent public access to the top of any pits or steeply
graded slopes.
C. Bank and pit excavations shall not extend nor shall topsoil
be stripped or removed within 150 feet of any property line and 200 feet from
the front line of any street, road, avenue or highway except when incident
to the construction of a cellar, except that in case of a bank excavation
the same may begin at a street or road line. The term "bank excavation" refers
to an excavation which is not carried below the grade of the street or road
mentioned in the preceding sentence.
D. All slopes shall be excavated and maintained during operations
at safe angles of repose to prevent erosion thereof and erosion or collapse
of upper grade surfaces above such slopes, and final slopes shall not be inclined
steeper than one foot vertical on 1 1/2 feet horizontal. All slopes shall
be protected against collapse or erosion by the construction of proper drainage
ditches back of the lip or edge thereof.
E. Dust down or a similar dust layer shall be spread on
access roads and other traveled areas to protect the public and the countryside
against windblown sand and dust.
F. Topsoil stripped in connection with operations regulated
by this chapter shall not be removed from the premises and shall be preserved
for use in connection with rehabilitation; provided, however, that any excess
topsoil may be removed after rehabilitation has been completed. Excess topsoil
in excess of that required to allow a cover of at least six inches over any
area on which topsoil is required to be respread by this chapter. This subsection
shall not apply to sod farming authorized by permit from the Board of Trustees
and performed in conformity with the conditions and safeguards prescribed
under this chapter.
G. Topsoil set aside and preserved for use in accordance with Subsection
F of this section shall be respread upon the surface of the land from which topsoil or sand and gravel have been stripped or removed, excepting areas which are laid out as streets, parking lots or areas to be occupied by buildings on a subdivision or site plan approved by the Village Planning Board.
H. Upon completion of any operation regulated by this chapter,
the excavation area shall be refilled and graded to such reasonable level
as may be specified in the approved plan of rehabilitation.
I. All material used as fill shall be free from garbage,
refuse, offal, combustible or any deleterious or unwholesome matter.
J. All areas on which topsoil has been respread as required
hereinafter shall be prepared for and seeded with grass unless other vegetation
or planting with vines or other covering is specified in an approved plan
of rehabilitation.
Permits may be issued or renewed by the Board of Trustees upon compliance by the application with §§
124-7 and
124-8 of this chapter. Permits may be issued for a period not to exceed one year and may be renewed by the Board of Trustees for successive periods of one year, provided that the regulations prescribed herein have been complied with and upon the furnishing of the information required by §
124-4 of this chapter, insofar as applicable to the renewal period, upon payment of any additional fee required by law based on material to be removed during the renewal period and upon furnishing such additional bond or security in an amount approved by the Board of Trustees as sufficient to ensure compliance with these regulations during the renewal period, including performance of the approved plan of rehabilitation on the areas covered by the renewed permit.
If the Board of Trustees shall determine upon the request of an applicant for a permit that no substantial rehabilitation of the premises will become necessary as a result of the proposed operations, the Board of Trustees may waive the filing of the engineer's estimate, plan of rehabilitation and topographic survey on the application for permit as required by §
124-4A(6) and
(7) of this chapter, and the bond or cash deposit under §
124-7 of this chapter. Any request for such waiver shall be filed with the Village Clerk, who shall notify the Code Enforcement Officer of such request. The Code Enforcement Officer shall thereafter submit a written report and recommendation to the Village Clerk, who shall submit the request with the report and recommendation to the Board of Trustees.
Before a permit shall be issued or renewed for the following, the applicant shall pay to the Village Clerk a fee as set forth in Chapter
130, Fees.
A. Sand bank and pit excavations. Excavated quantities shall
be verified at the end of each permit year by actual field survey cross sections
furnished by the applicant in accordance with this chapter and the requirements
of the Code Enforcement Officer.
B. Topsoil removal. Such topsoil removal permit fee shall
be for a period of one year and a similar fee shall be paid upon the renewal
of said permit upon the basis of the charge herein set forth.
C. All fees payable hereunder shall be paid with the filing of the bond or cash deposit provided for by §
124-7 of this chapter.
No permit authorizing operations regulated by this chapter shall be
issued for the first time under this chapter until after a public hearing
held by the Board of Trustees in relation thereto, at which parties in interest
and citizens shall have an opportunity to be heard. Public hearings need not
be held on renewals of permits previously issued under this chapter, provided
that the area covered by the renewal does not extend beyond the area of operations
previously authorized. Notice of the time and place of such hearing shall
be published in the official newspaper at least two weeks before any such
hearing, and a written notice of any application for a permit shall be mailed
by the applicant to the owners of record of properties within 200 feet of
the outside boundaries of the premises within which operations regulated by
this law are proposed to be performed. The applicant shall furnish to the
Village Clerk due proofs of such record ownership and service of notice at
least 24 hours prior to such public hearing.
Any person committing an offense against any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a violation, punishable as provided in §
1-12 of this Code. The continuance of an offense for each day (24 hours) shall be deemed a distinct and separate violation. In addition, the Village shall have any other civil remedy provided by law, including the right to civil injunctive relief.