No owner, developer, excavator or other person shall dig, excavate,
scrape or otherwise disturb or move or cause, allow, permit or suffer to be
moved the soil or carry on filling operations on any premises in the city,
unless and until after an application for a temporary special exception from
the Commission is obtained. A temporary special exception may be granted by
the Commission, subject to the requirements of this article and subject to
conditions deemed necessary to prevent damage to other property and to protect
the health, safety and general welfare of the public.
A special exception is not required in connection with the following
excavation, grading, removal or filling operations:
A. Any subdivision, special exception use and/or site plan
approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
B. Any excavation, grading, removal or filling of an area 1/2
acre or less in size.
C. Necessary foundation and trench work on a lot for which
a zoning permit and a building permit have been issued and then not exceeding 1/2
acre.
D. Plowing, spading, cultivating, harrowing of soil or any
operation ordinarily associated with the tilling of the soil for agricultural
or horticultural purposes.
E. Any operations for the purposes of soil and conservation
as defined or prescribed by the Soil Conservation Service of the United States
Department of Agriculture.
F. Necessary filling, excavation, grading and/or removal
in connection with resurfacing of an existing roadway, sidewalk or parking
lot, the removal of excess soil resulting from the construction and/or alteration
of public streets and ways, including sidewalks.
G. Any building or improvement carried out by the City of
Derby.
H. Conduct of a sanitary landfill by the City of Derby.
I. Stock piling of street maintenance material required
by the City of Derby.
J. Regrading or filling as part of a landscaping project
on an individual residential lot of less than 1/2 acre and when such
operation is not for commercial purposes and then not exceeding 300 cubic
yards of material in any calendar year.
The owner shall clearly delineate the place or places from which the
earth material is sought to be removed or deposited. The application shall
also specify the number of cubic yards of soil to be removed or filled, the
length of time necessary to do so and a concise statement indicating why it
is essential and necessary to the development of the property to remove or
deposit and/or remove such amount of earth material and a narrative description
of measures to be taken to minimize the erosion of soil and the depositing
of sediments both during the activity and after completion. Erosion and sediment
control plans shall conform to standards prescribed in the Connecticut Guidelines
for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control (1985), as amended. Copies of the guidelines
are available from the office of the New Haven County Soil and Water Conservation
District. Alternate principles, methods and practices may be used subject
to review by the City Engineer and approval by the Commission. The Commission
shall schedule and conduct a public hearing on such application in accordance
with the applicable provisions of the General Statutes.
The Commission may, upon application, authorize the issuance of a temporary
special exception for earth material removal, filling or excavation. In authorizing
the issuance of a temporary special exception, the Commission shall take into
consideration the public health, safety and welfare and shall prescribe appropriate
conditions and safeguards to ensure the accomplishment of the following objectives:
A. All proposed structures, equipment or material shall
be readily accessible for fire, police and other emergency protection.
B. The proposal shall be of such location, size and character
that it will be in harmony with appropriate and orderly development of the
zone, the neighborhood and the city and will not be detrimental to established
properties in the area or conflict with the traffic characteristics of the
neighborhood.
C. The location and size of such proposal, the nature and
intensity of operations involved in or conducted in connection with such proposal,
its site layout and its relation to access streets shall be such that both
pedestrians and vehicular traffic to, from and in the vicinity of the use
will not be hazardous, inconvenient or detrimental to the character of the
zone or conflict with the traffic characteristics of the neighborhood.
D. The nature and extent of landscaping and excavation on
the site shall be such that the use will not hinder or discourage the appropriate
development and use of adjacent land or buildings or impair the value thereof.
Application for a special exception under this article shall be submitted,
in writing, with an application prescribed by the Commission. The Commission
may request the applicant to submit such additional information that it deems
necessary in order to decide on the application. In acting on any application,
the Commission shall hold a public hearing, shall decide thereon and shall
give notice of its decision as required by law. The application shall be signed
by the owner or his authorized agent, state where the excavation, grading,
removal or filling operation is proposed and shall be accompanied by maps
and plans, drawn to a scale of one inch equals 50 feet, with profiles on the
longitudinal axis 200 feet on center or closer if required by the Commission,
prepared by a licensed surveyor or engineer and showing the following:
A. Zoning district for the lot, the City Assessor's map
and lot number for the lot and the acreage of the lot.
B. The quantity in cubic yards of earth material involved
in project.
C. A small-scale map, drawn to the same scale as the City
Assessor's map of the area, showing the location of the lot, the names of
all owners within 500 feet and streets and the names of the applicant and
the owner of the lot.
D. In the area of the proposed operation and within 200
feet thereof, existing contours and the proposed contours for the completed
operation, which contours shall have a maximum interval of two feet.
E. The grades of all abutting streets and lands.
F. Location and size of any existing and proposed building
or structures on the lot.
G. Proposed slopes and lateral supports at limits of project
upon completion.
H. Proposed travel access to the area of the proposed operation.
I. Location of rivers, streams, brooks, waterways, lakes,
ponds, marshes, swamps, bogs, floodplains and wooded areas on and adjacent
to the lot.
J. Details of existing and proposed drainage systems and
proposed measures for erosion and sedimentation control and details of proposed
planting for the area of the proposed operation, both to prevent erosion during
the course of the operation and at the conclusion thereof.
K. The location and limits of the area of the proposed operation.
L. The proposed details of entry and egress for surface
water drainage and of any streams, bodies of water and watercourses, natural
or artificial. Filling operations must be conducted in such a manner as not
to alter the course of rivers, streams or other water bodies unless approved
by the Inland Wetlands Commission or, in the case of water bodies, with encroachment
lines by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection.
M. Clearing, grading and vegetative stabilization.
(1) Areas to be cleared, staging and sequence of clearing.
(2) Disposal of cleared material.
(3) Areas to be graded, staging and sequence of grading.
(4) Areas and acreage to be vegetatively stabilized.
(5) Planned vegetation with details of plants, seed, mulch,
fertilizer planting dates, etc.
(6) Temporary erosion protection of disturbed areas.
(7) Temporary erosion protection when time of year or weather
prohibit establishment of permanent vegetative cover.
N. Typed narrative addressing the following (written provisions
for soil erosion contingency plans):
(1) Nature, purpose and description of project.
(2) Potentially serious erosion or sediment problems.
(3) The stages of development if more than one stage is planned.
(4) The sequence of major operations on the land, such as
installation of erosion control measures, clearing, grading, temporary stabilization,
road base, road paving, building construction, permanent stabilization, removal
of temporary erosion control measures.
(5) The time required for the major operations identified
in the sequence.
(6) Maintenance requirements or measures during construction
of project.
(7) Person responsible for maintenance during construction
of project.
(8) Maintenance requirements of permanent measures when project
is complete.
(9) Organization or person responsible for maintenance of
permanent measures when project is complete.
(10) Certification that neither proposed work nor progress
of work will have any impact on an inland wetland or that of a previously
obtained inland wetland permit.
The Commission may grant a special exception for a maximum period of
two years, when it is satisfied that the following requirements will be met:
A. The applicant shall be required to section the entire
property which is the subject of his permit into areas of not more than five
acres and he shall so schedule the work of soil removal or filling so that
the operation conducted in one section shall be complete and the section shall
be at final grade before work shall commence in any other section of the premises.
B. When the operation of each section is completed, or work
has progressed sufficiently to where reclamation is practicable, the area
affected by the operation shall then be graded so that slopes in disturbed
areas shall be no steeper than 1 to 2 (vertical-horizontal). A layer of topsoil
shall be spread over the compaction in accordance with the approved final
grading plan. The area shall then be seeded with a suitable grass mixture
at the minimum rate of five pounds per 1,000 square feet, containing at least
75% permanent grasses and maintained by mulching, repairing and reseeding
until the area is stabilized and approved by the Commission. Any permitted
operation that remains inactive for 30 days or more shall be graded to no
steeper than a one-to-two (vertical-horizontal) slope.
C. The operation will be carried out in conformity with
the maps and plans as approved.
D. Screening, sifting, washing or crushing of material native
to the site and used for site purposes only may be permitted by special permit.
All other processing shall be restricted to the I-Zone only.
E. No machinery, such as a screener, sifter or crusher,
shall be erected or maintained within 100 feet of any property line or street
line.
F. The existing grade shall be maintained for a distance
of 25 feet parallel to the property line from top (cut) or toe (fill) of slope.
Excavation occurring from 25 feet to 50 feet of a property or street line
shall maintain a slope of 1 to 3 (vertical-horizontal). When deemed appropriate
by the Commission and where a joint agreement between property owners has
been filed with the Commission, an excavation may be allowed to adjoin adjacent
property when such adjointment will not create a hazard and will provide a
more harmonious blend.
G. No building or other structures shall be erected on the
lot during the operation except temporary shelter for machinery and portable
sanitary facilities, subject to approval by the Commission.
H. At all stages of the operation, and upon completion,
proper drainage shall be provided to prevent collection and stagnation of
water and the prevention of harmful effects upon surrounding properties through
soil erosion or interference with natural watercourses, as specified in Article
XIV of these regulations.
I. The plans shall provide that all access roads from the
project to public highways or streets or to adjoining properties within 500
feet of such highways, residences or streets maintain a combined 50 feet travel
and 50 feet paved entrance/egress to minimize the tracking of soil onto city
and state roads.
J. Proper measures shall be taken to minimize the impact
on adjacent properties for noise, flying dust or rock and unsightly or dangerous
conditions. Such measures may include, when considered necessary, screening,
fencing, limitations upon the practice of stockpiling excavated materials
upon the site and shall include covering truck loads.
K. Whenever any owner, developer or excavator shall remove
topsoil in or upon any land in the city, and is to store said topsoil, provisions
shall be made for the storage of said topsoil within the boundary of said
property. Disturbance within the preservable section of the area shall be
minimized to avoid erosion, loss of vegetation and windblown material products
by means of a seeded covercrop or other organic mesh covering or seeding process.
L. Except as hereinafter provided, when topsoil is stored,
it shall be uniformly replaced over the entire area or surface of the land
on or before the completion date set forth in the soil removal special exception
so that the final grades of said replaced topsoil shall conform to the proposed
final grades shown on the topographical map. In the case of a filling operation,
a layer of topsoil shall be uniformly placed over the area to conform to proposed
final grades.
M. There shall be no removal, filling, grading or hauling
from any approved project between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., nor
on Saturdays, Sundays or legal holidays.
N. In land excavation operations, the location of tree stumps
and other debris shall be delineated on the site plan.