[Adopted 12-20-60 by Ord. No. 3319 as Article 2 of Chapter 29 of the Revised Ordinances of the City of Clifton, New Jersey, 1960]
[Amended 1-18-72 by Ord. No. 4083-72]
The following-described excavations or other types of soil removal and filling are hereby determined to be dangerous to the health, safety and welfare of the City and its inhabitants and are hereby declared to be a public nuisance, namely:
A. 
Any excavation proposed to or reaching a depth below the grade of any street, road, highway or lane upon which any lands abut.
B. 
Any filling proposed to or reaching a height above the grade of any street, road, highway or lane upon which any lands abut.
C. 
Any excavation which may or shall be conducted on a large scale and subsequently abandoned.
D. 
Any excavation which has or may be carried on in such a manner as to cause the surrounding or abutting lands to cave in or collapse.
E. 
Any excavation which has or may be carried on in such a manner as to create loud noises or excessive dust.
F. 
Any excavation or filling of lands which may substantially affect or change the quantity or direction of the flow of surface waters.
G. 
Any excavation or filling of lands which shall create a slope having a greater ratio than two horizontal to one vertical.
[Amended 8-16-68 by Ord. No. 3862; 1-18-72 by Ord. No. 4083-72; 4-19-88 by Ord. No. 5256-88; 8-15-89 by Ord. No. 5365-89]
No owner, occupant or person, or agent of such owner, occupant or person, shall dig or excavate, or cause to have dug or excavated, any sand, clay, humus, gravel, rock or earth of any kind from or on any lot, piece or parcel of land, nor fill or cause to be filled any such lot, piece or parcel of land with any of such materials, nor trees, tree stumps, vegetation, concrete, construction spoils, debris, metals or other foreign or organic materials when digging or excavating is or may reasonably be deemed to become an excavation of the nature declared as a public nuisance in § 395-10 above or when such digging, excavating or filling is or may reasonably be deemed to become prejudicial or injurious to the public health, safety or welfare by the creation of unsafe or hazardous conditions, drainage problems, depression of property values, conditions inimical to health, conditions conducive to soil erosion, dust and/or other annoying and unsightly conditions, without first having obtained a permit for such digging or excavating from the Municipal Council of the City of Clifton as provided in this article. Nothing in this article shall apply to digging, excavating or filling of earth which may be necessary in connection with the erection or alteration of any building or structure pursuant to a validly issued building permit or in connection with other work to be performed under the authority of any validly issued permit under any other ordinance of the City of Clifton. Nothing in this article shall apply or be interpreted to preclude or prohibit the deposit, storage and subsequent removal of topsoil, soil or other types of fill on property when such deposit, storage and subsequent removal are performed in the nature of soil-banking operations conducted as authorized uses or nonconforming uses at various locations within the City.
[Amended 11-14-66 by Ord. No. 3732; 1-18-72 by Ord. No. 4083-72]
A. 
Any person desiring a license under this article shall file with the City Clerk an original and two copies of an application, under oath, in writing, on a form furnished by the City Clerk.
B. 
The application shall set forth the following information:
(1) 
The applicant's name, business name and business address.
(2) 
Whether the applicant is an individual, a partnership, a corporation or another entity, and, if another entity, a full explanation and description thereof.
(3) 
If the applicant is an individual, the applicant's residence address and date and place of birth.
(4) 
If the applicant is a partnership, the full names, residence addresses, dates and places of birth of each partner.
(5) 
If the applicant is a corporation or other entity, in the case of a corporation, the full names, residence addresses, dates and places of birth of each major officer and each stockholder, the name and address of the registered agent and the address of the principal office (The term "stockholder," as used herein, means and includes any person owning or having an interest, either legal or equitable, in 10% or more of the stock issued and outstanding of the applicant corporation.); in the case of another entity, the full names, residence addresses, dates and places of birth of each person owning or having any interest, either legal or equitable, aggregating in value 10% or more of the total capital of said entity, the name and address of the registered agent, if any, and the address of the principal office.
(6) 
Whether the applicant or any partners, officers or stockholders thereof have ever been arrested or convicted of a crime, and, if so, the name of the person arrested or convicted, the date of arrest, the crime or charge involved and the disposition thereof. The term "officers," as used herein, means and includes the president, vice presidents, secretary and treasurer of a corporate applicant.
(7) 
A metes and bounds description of the lands for which the permit is sought.
(8) 
A scale drawing showing the exact location and dimensions of the premises so described.
(9) 
The lots and block numbers of said property.
(10) 
The names of all streets upon which said lands, or portions thereof, abut.
(11) 
The depth or height of the proposed excavations or filling below or above the grade of the street, road, highway or lane upon which any portion of said lands abut.
(12) 
An estimate of the amount of sand, clay, humus, gravel, rock or earth of any kind to be excavated or filled.
(13) 
The name and post office address of each owner of said lands.
(14) 
The name and post office address of the person proposing to do the excavating or filling.
(15) 
A bond with surety, properly executed and in the form and manner required by § 395-18 of this article.
(16) 
The permit fee specified in § 395-14.
(17) 
Landscaping design and specifications setting forth the proposed landscaping and plantings to be performed and placed upon the lands for which the permit is sought upon completion of the digging, excavation or filling.
[Amended 11-14-66 by Ord. No. 3732]
A. 
The following reports shall be made:
(1) 
Engineering Department: a computation of the approximate number of cubic yards of earth, sand, rock, clay, humus or gravel proposed to be removed.
(2) 
Police Department: present traffic conditions and the anticipated effect upon the same and upon the public safety if the permit sought is granted.
B. 
Upon receipt of said applications and reports, the City Clerk shall submit the same to the Municipal Council for its consent and approval, which consent and approval shall not be granted if such digging or excavating may result in a public nuisance or shall or become detrimental to the public health, safety and welfare of the City and its inhabitants as set forth in § 395-10 hereof.
C. 
Upon the consent and approval of the Municipal Council, the City Clerk shall issue such permit.
[Amended 4-19-88 by Ord. No. 5256-88]
A permit fee of $200 shall be paid with the filing of the application. This fee shall be in addition to fees that may be required by any other ordinance.
The City Clerk shall issue the permit when authorized by the Council. Each permit shall remain effective until December 31 of the year of issuance unless sooner revoked. No permit issued under this article shall be transferred from person to person or place to place.
[Amended 1-18-72 by Ord. No. 4083-72]
A. 
No permit under this article shall be granted for lands within any residence zone or district as shown upon the Zoning Map of the City.
B. 
The applicant, upon completion of the excavation or filling of the lands, shall cause the same to be landscaped and plantings placed thereon in accordance with the landscaping design and specifications submitted with the application for the permit, which design and specifications shall be such as will protect the excavated or filled lands from being eroded or becoming dusty.
C. 
The applicant, upon completion of the excavation or filling of lands and the landscaping and plantings required by Subsection B above, shall file with the City Clerk a survey prepared by a licensed land surveyor or professional engineer showing the completed topography of the excavated or filled lands, together with all landscaping and plantings thereon.
D. 
The applicant shall comply with the provisions of all other applicable ordinances of the City of Clifton.
[Amended 1-18-1972 by Ord. No. 4083-72; 7-16-1991 by Ord. No. 5519-91]
The bond required by § 395-12B(15) of this article shall be in the amount of 100% of the actual cost of the work permitted under each individual application. This amount shall be determined by an estimate prepared, signed and sealed by a licensed professional engineer. In lieu of the receipt of such an estimate, the City Engineer shall determine the fair value of the work based on prevailing prices as determined from the average cost of municipal construction for similar type work. The bond shall be executed by each applicant and the owner of the lands affected by the application, as principals, and by a surety company satisfactory to the City. The bond shall be conditioned upon the applicants' and owners' of the land and any other persons who may acquire any right, title or interest in said lands from or under them, or any of them, fully and faithfully complying with the terms and provisions of this article and of the application, and refilling the excavation or excavating the filling, as the case may be, made pursuant to the permit issued under this article, when required to do so by the City when or if such excavation becomes dangerous to the health, safety and welfare of the City and its inhabitants, as set forth in § 395-10 hereof, and causing the lands to be landscaped and plantings placed thereon set forth in § 395-17B hereof. All such work shall be performed and material supplied by the applicants and owners without cost of expense to the City, and the City shall be reimbursed by the applicants and the owners for any cost of expense incurred in enforcing the terms of this article or of said bond.
A. 
Upon violation of any of the provisions of this article, the City Engineer shall notify each applicant, owner and surety company on the bond of such violation, by serving upon or mailing, by ordinary mail, a written notice to the applicant, owner and surety company, at their respective addresses as set forth in the permit application. The notice shall require said applicants, owners and surety company to show cause, before the City Council, upon five days' notice, why the permit should not be revoked for the reasons stated in said notice and why proceedings should not be instituted pursuant to the terms and conditions of the bond filed with the City.
B. 
Upon failure of the applicants, owners or surety company, or any of them, to comply with the terms of such notice, the permit may be revoked by the Council.
C. 
Following the revocation of the permit, the City Engineer shall cause to be completed all work required of the applicants, owners and surety company as recited in the above notice, at their expense. The right to pursue the remedy provided by this section shall be construed to be in addition to and not in derogation of any other remedy provided in this or any other ordinances of the City.
[Amended 5-9-69 by Ord. No. 3912; 3-17-70 by Ord. No. 3969]
Any person who violates any provision of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine not exceeding $500 or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days, or both. A separate offense shall be deemed committed on each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues.