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HomeMy WebLinkAbout0908 ORDINANCE NO. 908 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ARCADIA, CALIFORNIA, REGULATING THE DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, MAINTENANCE OR ALTERATION OF GRADING, EXCAVATIONS AND FILLS THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ARCADIA, CALIFORNIA, DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. PURPOSE. The purpose of this Ordinance is to provide minimum standards, for the protection of life, limb, property , and public welfare by regulating and controlling the design, con- struction, quality of mat~rials, use, location and maintenance of grading, excavation and fill within the City of Arcadia. SECTION 2. ,SCOPE. The provisions of this Ordinance . , . 0- shall apply to all new grading, excavations and fills, or changes, additions, ~epairs or alterations, made to existing excavations or fills within the City of Arcadia, unless specifically exempted under the next section. SEOTION 3. EXCAVATIONS. The provisions of this Ordi- nance shall not apply to any of the following: a. Excavating or depositing of any material by the City of Arcadia, its departments or employees within the scope of their employment by the City. b. An excavation or fill in connection with the making of an earth fill dam regulated by the Division of Water Resources of the State Division of Public Works. SECTION 4. RULES OF INTERPRETATION. If two or more per- tinent limitations are not identical, those limitations shall pre- vail which provide the greater measure of safety to life, limb, " property or pUblic welfare,. The permissive provisions of this Ordi- nance shall not be presumed to waive any limitations imposed by other ordinances of the City of Arcadia or laws of the State of ,*,<l~<l - 1 - 908 \~ -.... Cali~ornia. Neither the issuance by the City of Arcadia of a permit und~r"theprovisi6ns of thi~ Ordinance, no~ the compliance with the , ' provisions hereof or with any conditions imposed in the permit issued .' - .,1.'. . hereunder, shall relieve any person from responsibility for damage to o other persons or property, nor impose any liability upon the City of Arcadia for damage to other persons or property. " SECTION 5. DEFINITIONS. Wherever usgd in this Ordinance the following words shall have the meaning indicated: BUILDING CODE shall mean the Building Code of the City of Arcadia. , -i' BUILDING P~IT shall mean a permit issued by the Build- ing Department for the conS'truction, erection or alteration of a structure or building. CHIEF BUILDING I~SPECTOR shall mean the Chief Building Inspector of the City of Ar.cadia. CITY ENGINEER AND SUPERINTENDENT OF STREETS shall mean the City Engineer and Superintendent of Streets of the City of Arcadia. EXCAVATION shall.mean any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or any other similar ~terial is cut into, dug, quarried, un- covered, removed, displaced, relocated or bulldozed and shall include " the conditions resulting therefrom. FILL shall mean any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock and any other similar material is deposited, placed, pushed. dumped. pulled, transported or moved to a new location and shall include the " conditions resulting therefrom. GRADE shall mean' the elevation of the existing ground sur- face at the location of any proposed excavation or fill. GRADING shall mean excavation or fill or any combination thereof and shall include ~he conditions resulting from any excava- tion or fill. GRADING PERMIT shall mean any permit required by Section 7 of this Ordinance. - 2 - 908 : ):r.. mean any person to whom a grading permit is issued. PERSON shall mean a natural person,' his heirs, executors, administrator or assigns, and also includes a firm, partnership or corporation, its or their successors or assigns, or the agent of any of the aforesaid. SITE shall mean a lot or parcel of land, or a series of lots or parcels of land, joined together, where grading work is continuous . and performed at the same time. SECTION 6. MAINTENANCE. 'The owner of any property on which an excavation or fill has been made shall maintain in good condition " and repair all retaining walls, cribbing, drainage structures and other protective devices, together with all fills, excavations and 'operations and conditions resulting from either fills or excavations. " ,'.' .' SECTION 7. PERMITS. WHEN REQUIRED. No person shall com- mence or perform any grading, excavation or fill without there first having been obtained a grading permit so to do from the Chief Build- ing Inspector. A separate grading permit shall be required for each site. One permit may cover both an excavation and any fill made with the excavated materials on the same site. SECTION 8. PERMITS. EXCEPTIONS. A grading permit shall not be required in the following exceptions; but in all other respects the provisions of this ordinance shall apply. a. An excavation which does not exceed eighteen (18) inches in vertical depth at its, deepest point. This exception shall not af- fect the applicability of this Ordinance to, or the requirement of a grading permit for, any -fill made with tt).e material from-such excavatla1. , . . I _ . , , ',' ~ b. A fill which" does riot exce~deightee~ (18) inches in , . '. ., . vertical depth at its deepesF point ,measured from the natural ground ;. .r." - j surface, provided that the'surfaces of such fills do not have a slope at any point steeper than five horizontal to one vertical. c. An excavatiop below finished g~ade for basements and footings of a bUilding, swtmming pool, or underground structure - 3 - '" . ':'~~.~(~;'I' ,- g08 ~. ~.:::. . ", t permit. This exception shall not af- fect the applicability of this ordinance to, nor the requirement of a grading permit for, any fill made with the material from such excava- tion. A grading permit shall not be required for the temporary stock- piling on the same site of the material from such an excavation. " d. An excavation i~ a public street, sidewalk, alley or other public property after 'receipt of written permission so to do from the Chief Building Inspector, issued after a determination by the City Engineer that such work will not affect the support of structures or buildings regulated by the Building Code nor impair the lateral support of adjacent property. e. The mining, quarrying, excavating, processing or stock- piling of sand, aggregate or clay, after written permission so to do from the Chief Building Inspector, issued after a determination by the City Engineer that such work will not affect the ,support of structures or buildings regulat~d by the Building Code and will not impair the lateral support of adjacent property. " SECTION 9. APPLICATION FOR PERMIT. An applicant for a grading permit shall first file an application therefor in writing with the Chief Building Inspector. Every such application shall: a. Describe the land on which the prop.sed work is to be done, by lot, block, tract 'and street address,. 'or similar description that will readily identify and definitely locate the proposed work. b. Be accompanied by plans and specifications, including: a map showing the present elevation of the land and the proposed eleva- tion of the land after completion of the proposed grading; a plot plan showing the location of th~ grading, boundaries, lot lines, neighboring " public ways and sufficient dimensions and other data to drainage , structures and piping, walls and cri?bing; and such, other information , , that the Chief Building Inspector may require to carry 9ut the purpose of this Ordinance. All plans shall bear the name of the person re- , " spons1ble, therefor and shall be submitted to the Chief 'Building Inspector in duplicate. - 4 - 908 , ' , .:~iili~~iiI' , f~ ."",._. >.:!~ ___ MIliU,'~ ----- _ _ _....... vu,,", ,;;) vc;I..L"v.LIIg ana. comp.le- tion of the grading work. ' d. Show the name of the permittee, who shall be responsi- bl~ for the correctness of the work and for requesting the inspec- tions, required herein. e. Contain a stc;tement by the applicant that he assumes and will be responsible for all damage to person or property result- ing from any excavation, fill or work done under the permit requested. SECTION 10. APPLICATION FOR PERMIT. WAIVER OF DETAILS. The Chief Building Inspector may waive the requirement for any or all plans and specifications specified above if he finds that the information on the application is sufficient to show that the work will conform to the provisions of this Ordinance. SECTION 11. PERMIT FEES. Before issuing any grading per- mit, the Chief Building Inspector shall collect a permit fee in the amount of four dollars ($4.00). SECTION 12. EXPIRATION OF PERMIT. Every grading permit shall expire and become null and void if the work authorized by such permit has not been commenced within sixty (60) days or is not com- pleted within one (1) year from date of issuej e~cept that the Chief Building Inspector may, if the permit holder presents satisfactory evidence that unusual difficulties have prevented work being started or completed Within the specified time limits, grant a reasonable ex- tension of time on said p;rmit, provided that the application for the extension of time is made before the date of expiration of the permit. SECTION 13. DENIAL OF PERMIT. Where, in the opinion of the Chief Building Inspector, the work as proposed by the applicant is likely to endanger any:: property or public way, he shall deny the grading permit. Factors to be considered in determining probability of hazardous conditions shall include, but not be limited to, pos- I! " sible ,saturation by rains~ earth movements, run-off of surface " ,I I, II - 5 - 908 , '~J '\.., such as the stratification and faulting of rock, nature and type of soil or rock. Failure of the Chief Building Inspector ~~ observe or recognize hazardous condi- tions or to, fail to deny the grading permit shall not relieve the owner or his agent from responsibility for the condition or damages ;i resulting therefrom, and shall not result in the City of Arcadia, its officers or agent:?', be'in'g ,r~spbnsible for the conditions or damages resulting therefrom. SECTION 14. BOA,RD OF APPEALS. There 1's hereby created a Board of Appeals consisting of the City Engineer, City Manager and Chief Building Inspector. Any person aggrieved by any decision of the City Engineer or Chief Building Inspector may, within fifteen (15) days after such decisIon, appeal in writing to the Board of Ap- peals. Such appeal shall state precisely the ground upon which such appeal is taken and a sufficient statement of fact concerning the grievance to enable the Board of Appeals to understand the situation. The City Manager shall cause to be given to the appellant at least " , f.ive days written notice of the hearing, at which his appeal is to be considered, which meeting shall ocuur within fifteen (15) days after receipt of appeal. Appellant shall be entitled to appear at such hearing, and to present all relevant evidence thereat. The City Manager shall cause a: concise written statement of the Board1s decision to be mailed to the appellant at the address shown on his appeal. SECTION 15. INSPECTIONS. a. Inspection by Department. The Chief Building Inspec- tor shall, when requested, make the inspections hereinafter required and shall either approve that portion of the work completed or shall notify the permit holder wherein the same fails to comply with this Ordinance. Where it is found by inspection that the soil or other conditions are not as stated or shown in the application for a grad- ing permit, the Chief Building Inspector may refuse to approve - 6 - 9G8 '. ''-__''':..i~hi~:.~' \- , ~,i:4i. - further work until approval is obtained, for a revised grading plan conforming to the existing conditions. Plans for grading work, bearing the stamp of approval of the Chief Building In~pector, shall be maintained at the site dur- ing the progress of the grading work and until the work has been approved. The permittee shall notify the Chief Building Inspector in 'order to obtain inspections in accordance with the following schedule and at least twenty-four (24) hours before ,said inspection is to be made. 1. Initial Inspection. When the permittee or his agent " , is ready to begin work on an excavation or fill before any work is started. 2. Rough~'Grading. When all rough grading has been com- pleted. 3. Special Structures. When excavations are complete for retaining and crib walls and when reinforcing steel is in place and before concrete is poured. 4. Final Inspection. When all work, including installa- tion of all drainage' and other structures, has been completed. : b. Re~nspection. Any reinspection of any face of exca- vation or filling operations, caused either by faulty workmanship, failure to comply with this or other ordinances of the City of Arcadia or other applicable provisions of law, or because the work is not ready for inspection, shall be paid for by the permittee at the rate of $4.00 per hour or fraction thereof. c. Special Supervision. When required by the Chief Building Inspector" in, ac~ordance with S~ction20, of th,is "prdilfance, inspection of compaction",of ,Ulls shall be done by a Civil En- gineer, licensed by the State' of California, or ,other approved testing agency. A report, prepared and signed by said engineer or , testing agency shall be submitted to said Chief Building Inspector upon completion of the work, and shall show the following: - 7 - 908 , , ,,~~~~~:,-~~~:~ -- 1. A contour map showing the original and finished sur- , faces of the areas filled. 2. The unit foundation bearing value recommended on the compacted fill. 3. A description of the materials used in the fill and , the procedure of depo~it and compaction, including the prepara- tion of original ground surface before making the fill. 4. A plan showing the location of tests made in the fill, together with a tabulation of the per cent compaction obtained in the various tests. 5. A statement ~hat all work was done in conformity with the provisions of this Ordinance. SECTION 16. SPECIAL PRECAUTIONS. If, at any stage of the work on an excavation or fill, the Chief, Building Inspector de- , . . ;, '. . ~ termines by inspection that the nature of the formation is such that further work as authorized by an, existing permit is likely to , , endanger any 'property ,or public way,' the'Chlef Building Inspector . , may require as a condition!1 to allowing the work to be done, that such reasonable safety precautions ~e taken as the Chief Building Inspector considers advisable to avoid such likelihood of danger. "Special Precautions" may include, but shall not be limited to, specifying a flatter exposed slope, construction of additional drainage facilities, ~erms, terracing, compaction, or cribbing. SECTION 17. GRADING CERTIFICATE. If, upon final inspec- tion of any excavation or rill, it is found that the work authorized by the grading permit has heen satisfactorily completed in accord- ance with the requirements; of this Ordinance, and any other require- ments imposed, a grading c~rtificate covering such work, and stating that the work is approved, shall be issued to the owner by the Chief Building Inspector, upon request. The Chief Building Inspector shall have the power to re- voke any grading certificate whenever he finds that the work covered - 8 - 908 -~ has been materially extended or altered, without a permit so to do, or t~aF any retaining walls, cribbing, drainage I" structures, or ,other protective devices, as shown on the approved '" - - plans arid specification~ ~ubmitted with the ,application for a per- .... .' I.' .' . mit, have not been maintained in good' order and repair. Before such revocation, the Chief Building Inspector shall first give written notice to the owner of the property in- volved, specifying the defective condition and stating that unless such defective condition is remedied satisfactorily within the time 'specified in the notice, the grading certificate maybe revoked. If the defective conditio~ i? remedied within the time thus specified, the certificate shall not be revoked. SECTION 18. EXCAVATIONS. No excavation shall be made with a cut face steeper in slope than one horizontal to one verti- cal, except under one or more of the following conditions; a. The excavatfon is located so that a line having a " slope of one horizontal to one vertical and pasS!ng through any portion of the cut face w~ll lie entirely inside the property lines of the property on which said excavation is made. b. The material in which the excavation is made is suf- ficientl~ stable to sustain a slope of steeper than one horizontal to one vertical, and a written statement of a Civil Engineer, li- censed by the State of California and experienced in erosion con- trol, to that effect is submitted and approved by the City Engineer and Chief Building Inspector. The statement shall state that the site has been inspected and that the deviation from the slope specified above will not result in property damage. When a retaining wall or other approved support is pro- vided to support the face'i or a portion of the face, of the excavation, ,: the above limitations appiy only to the slope of the excavation or fill above the top of the: support. The Chief Building Inspector may require an excavation to be made with a cut face f~atter in slope than one horizontal to one -9 - 908 e finds the material in which the excavation is to be made unusually subject"to,erosion, or if other conditions make such flatter cut slope neyessary for stability and safety. Excavations shall not extend within one foot of the angle of repose or natura+ slope of the soil under the nearest point of any footing or foundation of any building or structure upless ,such footing or foundation is first properly underpinned or protected against settlement. ~he excavation shall also comply with the provisions of the applicable section of the Building Code. SECTION 19. FILLS. No fill shall be made which creates , , any exposed surface steeper in slope than one and on-half horizontal to one vertical, except under one or more of the following condi- tions: a. The fill, in the opinion of the Chief Building In- spector, is located so that settlement, sliding or erosion of the fill material will not result in property damage or a hazard to . ' adjoining property, streets or buildings. b. A written statement from a Civil Engineer, experienced in erosion control and licensed by the State of California, certi- fying that he has inspected the site and that the proposed deviation , from the slope specified above will not endanger any property, or result in property damage', is submitted to ,and approved by the Chief Building Inspector and City Engineer. c. All fills and slopes shall be entirely within the property owned by the applicant. , ii The Chief Building Inspector may require that the fill be constructed with an exposed surface flatter in slope than one and ,i one-half horizontal to one vertical, if he finds the material of which the fill is to be made unusually subject to erosion, or if other conditions make such flatter slope necessary for stability and safety. , SECTION 20. DRAIN~GE. Adequat~ provisions shall be made to prevent any surfaye,watersl from damaging the cut face of . " I " - 10 - 908 ~' ,of "', \..) ~ ~i.~'~;-;. ~n or the sloping surface of a fill: All drainage pro- visions shall be of such design as to carry surface waters to the nearest practical street,: storm drain or natural water course ap., il proved by the City Engineer and Chief Building Inspector as a safe " place to deposit and receive such waters, or to permit the flow of , , . surface water onto adjoining prop~rty in its no~l manner, direc- tion, location and volume: The Chief Building Inspector may require such drainage structures or P~ping to be con~tructed or installed which, in his opinion, are necessary to prevent erosion damage and to satisfactorily carry off surface waters. SECT[ON 21. COMPACTION OF FILLS. All fills intended to support buildings, structures, or where otherwise 'required to be compacted for stability of material, shall be compacted, inspected and tested in accordance with the following provisions: a. The natural 'ground surface shall be prepared by re- moval of top soil and vegetation, and, if necessary, shall be graded to a series of terraces. b. The fill shall be spread in a series of layers, each not exceeding six (6) inches in thickness, and shall be compacted by sheepsfoot roller or other approved method after each layer is spread. c. The moisture content of the fill material shall be controlled at the time of i:spreading and compaction to obtain maxi- mum density. d. The fill material after compaction shall have minimum relative density of not less than ninety per cent (90%) of maximum density, as determined bY,the Modified AASHO Soil Compaction Test, or other approved testing method giving equivalent test results, in all portions of the fill requiring compaction. ~. ,I A written report of the compaction, showing location , and depth of test holes, materials used, moisture conditions, re- commended soil bearing pressures, and relative density obtained - 11 - 908 .",. ~ ,.-l.~~llk~' ," es s, prepared by a Civil Engineer licensed by the State of California or other approved testing agency shall be submitted to the Chief Building, Inspector for approval. The Chief Building Inspector may require additional tests or information if, in his opinion, the conditions or materials are such that additional ~nformation is, necessary, and may modify I' or d~lete any of the above-listed requirements that, in his opinion, are unnecessary. SECTION 22. RF.TF.NTION OF PLANS. Plans and Specifica- tions for grading which, in the opinion of the Chief Building In- spector, are of sufficient size or importance, and all plans, specifications and test reports of compacted fill designed to :: , ' support a building or other structure, shall be permanently re- tained. Plans and specifications for other work may be destroyed by the Chief Building Inspector ninety (90) days after the comple- tion of the grading work.' SECTION 23. . . SEVERABILITY.' If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this Ordinance is for any I' , I ., , '. ~ , ' . , ' . ' invalid'or unconstitutional by the decision of reason held to be any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted this Ordinance, and,each section, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that anyone or more sections, subsections, clauses, phrases or portions be declared invalid or unconsitutional. SECTION 24. VIOLATIONS. No person, firm or corporation " , . shall construct, enlarge, alter, repair or maintain any grading, excavation or fill, or cause the same to be done, contrary to or ;, in violation of any provision of this Ordinance. SECTION 25. PENALTY. Any person violating or permitting .-- or responsible for the violating of any of the provisions of this - 12 - 908 a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) or by imprisonment in the City Jail of the City of Arcadia, or in the County Jail of the County of Los Angeles, Cali- fornia, as the committing magistrate may direct, for a period of not more than six (6) months,.: or by both s'uch fine and imprisonmen~. Every such person continuing, committing or permitting the viola- " tion of any provisions of, this Ordinance shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each and every day or portion of any day during which any violation of any provision of this Ordinance is committed or permitted. SECTION 26. , The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Ordinance and pri,or to the expiration of fifteen (15) days from the passage thereof ,', shall cause the same to be published once in the Arcadia Bull~tin, a newspaper of general circulation, published and circulated In the City of Arcadia, and thirty (30) days from and after the final passage thereof said Ordinance shall take effect and be in force. I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Ordinance was adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Arcadia, held on the l'i'th day of May , 1955, by the affirmative vote of at least three Councilmen, to-wit: AYE8: Councilmen Camp~ouse, Dennis, Dow, Hulse and Phillips, h NOER: None ABSENT: None " ).~ . ~~ ,~uL4 Deputy City Clerk 0 e City of Arcadia SIGNED AND APPROVED t~~;:5' Mayor 0 t e City 0 Arcadia ~, 'I"';/"ATTEST: . ,,~ - ~ 'C'h'~'- - , -d" ...., . ('- /..., 'j De"~~";~ City Clerk, -. ""'%. ,~~- - ..." ,- -., . , , '. - ,. x " .' - 13 n 908