AN ORDINANCE OF THE SOLEBURY TOWNSHIP CONTROLLING SOIL EROSION, SEDIMENATION, AND GRADING; DETERMINING THE SCOPE, PURPOSE, AND DEFINITIONS THEREOF; ESTABLISHING GENERAL AND SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS THEREFORE; ESTABLISHING REQUIREMENTS FOR EROSION AND SEDIMENT CONTROL PLANS, GRADING PLANS, PLAN REVIEW, FIRST FLOOR CERTIFICATION, AND GENERAL GRADING REQUIREMENTS; PROVIDING FOR PERMIT REQUIREMENTS AND EXEMPTIONS THEREFROM; MANDATING APPLICATION PROCEDURES AND PLAN SUBMISSIONS; ESTABLISHING STANDARDS FOR APPROVAL AND ISSUANCE OF PERMITS; REQUIRING INSPECTIONS AND ALLOCATING THE COST THEREOF; AUTHORIZING PERMIT FEES, AND RESCRIBING PENALTIES AND REMEDIES FOR VIOLATION
IT IS HERBY ORDAINED AND ENACTED by the Board of Supervisors of Solebury Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, as follows:
This Ordinance shall be known and may be cited as the "Grading Control Ordinance", implanting Title 25, Rules and Regulations, Pt. I, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Resources, Sub-part C, Protection of Natural Resources, Article II, Water Resources, Chapter 102 Erosion Control as well as provisions of Act 167 Stormwater Management Act, Article 5 of the MPC and the Second Class Township Code.
The purposes of this Ordinance are to regulate the modification of the natural terrain, the alteration of drainage, and to provide for certain erosion and sediment control measures within Solebury Township to assure and safeguard health, safety, ecology, and the general welfare in the Township.
From and after the effective date of this Ordinance, any subdivision and/or land development approved under the Township's Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance and/or Zoning Ordinance, any activity regulated by the Solebury Township Stormwater Management Ordinance, or any activity requiring a permit under Section V.A, herein, shall be in conformity with this Ordinance. In the event of a conflict between this Ordinance and any other statute, ordinance or regulation, the strictest statute, ordinance, or regulation shall take precedence.
Unless specifically defined below, words and phrases used in this Ordinance shall be interpreted to have common English usage, to give effect to the purposes set forth in Section 2 above, and to provide reasonable application of this Ordinance. As used in this Ordinance, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context.
BMP (BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE) Activities, facilities, measures or procedures used to manage stormwater impacts from land development, to protect and maintain water quality and groundwater recharge and to otherwise meet the purposes of this Ordinance, to including, but not limited to, infiltration, filter strips, low impact design, bioretention, wet ponds, permeable paving, grassed swales, forested buffers, sand filters, and detention basins.
DEVELOPMENT Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate including, but not limited to, the construction or placement of buildings or other structures, mobile homes, streets and other paving utilities, mining, dredging, filling, grading, excavation, or drilling operations, and the subdivision of land.
EARTH DISTURBANCE A construction or other human activity which disturbs and destabilizes the surface of the land including, but not limited to, clearing and grubbing, grading, excavations, embankments, land development, road maintenance, and the moving, depositing, stockpiling or storing of soil, rock or earth materials.
EROSION Process by which the surface of land, including channels, is worn away by water, wind or chemical action.
EROSION AND SEDIMENT POLLUTION CONTROL (E&S) PLAN A site-specific plan identifying the BMPs to minimize accelerated erosion and sedimentation, pursuant to 25 Pa Code Chapter 102.
EXISTING GRADE Vertical elevation of the ground surface prior to earthmoving. Finished Grade Final vertical elevation of the ground after development.
GRADE Slope of a street, other public way, land area, drainage facility, or pipe specified in percent.
GRADING PERMIT The permit required to be obtained prior to earth disturbance in connection with the conduct of activities regulated by this Ordinance.
LIMIT OF DISTURBANCE The perimeter of earth disturbance on site.
NATURAL GROUND SURFACE Ground surface in its original state before any earth disturbance.
PARCEL All contiguous land under single and separate ownership.
PERMANENT VEGETATION Ground cover establishing a 75% vegetated cover to control soil erosion and to survive severe weather conditions.
PERMIT A Grading Permit.
PERSON Any individual, association, trust, partnership or corporation, including any members, directors, officers, employees, partners or principals thereof. Whenever used in any clause prescribing and imposing a penalty, person includes the members, trustees, partners, directors, officers, managers and supervisors, or any of them, of partnerships, associations, corporations or other form of entity.
SITE A parcel or parcels of land intended to have one or more buildings or intended to be subdivided into two or more lots.
SLOPE The face of embankment or cut section; any ground whose surface makes an angle with the plane of the horizon. Slopes are expressed in a percentage based upon vertical distance in feet per 100 feet of horizontal distance.
STRIPPING Any activity which removes the vegetative surface cover, including tree removal; and the clearing and storage or removal of topsoil.
WATERCOURSE An ephemeral, intermittent or perennial stream of water, river, brook, creek, or swale identified on USGS or SCS mapping; and/or delineated Waters of the Commonwealth.
A. The following activities require a Grading Permit:
1. Modifying, disturbing, blocking, diverting or otherwise adversely affecting the natural flow of surface water within an ephemeral, intermittent, or perennial stream or, in a manner to impact an adjoining parcel.
2. Construction, erection, or installation of any drainage dam or obstruction affecting the drainage of any parcel.
3. Earth disturbance in excess of 2,000 square feet.
B. The following activities do not require a Grading Permit:
1. Use of land for gardening for home consumption.
2. Agriculture when operated in accordance with a conservation plan, nutrient management plan, or erosion and sedimentation control plan approved by the Bucks County Conservation District, including activities such as growing crops, rotating crops, tilling of soil, and grazing animals.
3. Forest Management operations following the Department of Environmental Protection's management practices contained in its publication Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control Guidelines for Forestry and operating under an E&S Plan approved by the Bucks County Conservation District which have a Zoning Permit approval by Solebury Township.
4. Public road replacement paving, repaving and/or maintenance.
5. Any emergency activity immediately necessary for the protection of life, property, or natural resources.
C. Application for Grading Permit.
1. Grading permits shall be issued in the name of the owner of the property who must apply for, and sign, the permit application.
2. No person, firm, or corporation shall engage in an activity requiring a Grading Permit unless a Grading Permit has been obtained by the owner of the property.
3. The Grading Permit Application shall be accompanied by a fee and review escrow established by Resolution of the Board of Supervisors and included in the Township's Schedule of Fees.
4. All applications must be accompanied by an Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plan in accordance with Section 6 of this Ordinance.
5. Not more than one Grading Permit will be issued for a site at any one time. Active Grading Permits may be amended by the Permitee (property owner) if additional earth disturbance is proposed.
6. Additional improvements or grading not shown on the approved Grading Permit Plan must be identified on a revised Grading Permit Plan approved by the Township prior to installation/construction.
D. Issuance of Permits.
Upon the approval of all required plans and/or applications by the appropriate Township official/employee, the Township shall issue the Grading Permit(s). No Grading Permit shall be issued until all the plans and applications required to be submitted by this Ordinance for all proposed earthmoving or stripping activities have been reviewed and found satisfactory by the appropriate Township official/employee as set forth in this Ordinance.
E. Standards for Issuance of Grading Permit.
1. Notwithstanding any provision of this Ordinance or any condition of the Grading Permit, the Permittee is responsible for the prevention of damage to other people or property that may be affected by the earthmoving or stripping activity.
2. No person, firm or corporation shall modify, cut, fill, excavate, pave, strip, grade, or regrade land in any manner that endangers or damages any adjoining street, alley, or any other public or private property. Any earth disturbance conducted adjacent to a property or street line shall support physical damage or personal injury that might result.
3. No person, firm, or corporation shall deposit, place, throw, or cause to be deposited, placed or thrown any debris or other material in any drainage structure or watercourse.
4. No person, firm, or corporation shall fail to maintain in adequate working order any drainage facility on the site. All drainage ditches, culverts, drain pipes, drainage structures, and watercourses shall be kept open and free-flowing at all times.
5. The owner of any property upon which any work is performed pursuant to a Grading Permit granted under this Ordinance shall continuously maintain and repair all graded surfaces, erosion and sediment control devices, retaining walls, drainage structures, and other protective devices, plantings and ground cover, installed or completed in accordance with the approved plan.
6. All trees in an area of extreme grade change, as determined by the Township, shall be protected with suitable tree wells, unless the necessity for removal is established. Precautions shall be taken to prevent the unnecessary removal of trees. Any grading around trees or any removal of trees must comply with the Township's Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.
7. In connection with site grading for roads, driveways, building areas or other site improvements, the lateral extent of cut or fill areas shall not be more than 30 feet beyond the top of slope in fills or the toe of slope in cuts or extend closer than 75 square feet to the bank of any watercourse, lake, pond, or wetland.
F. All permits shall require the permittee to:
1. Notify the Township Engineer a minimum of 48 hours prior to commencement of any earth disturbance;
2. Obtain permission from the Township Engineer and where applicable, Bucks County Conservation District, prior to modifying the Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plan;
3. Install and maintain all required erosion and sediment control measures identified on the approved Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plan.
4. Allow the Township official/employee and Township Engineer to enter the site for the purpose of inspecting compliance with the Grading Permit.
5. Provide, until the problem is corrected, additional stabilizing measures on sites that, in the judgment of the Township Engineer, are, found to be eroding excessively within one (1) year of completion of construction activity.
6. Be responsible to ensure all erosion and sedimentation control measures are maintained in accordance with the inspection schedule outlined on the approved Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plan. The Permitee shall determine the condition and need for replacement or repair of in-place control measures, the overall effectiveness of the plan, and the need for additional control measures.
A. An erosion and sedimentation (E&S) control plan prepared pursuant to requirements of the Clean Streams Law, P.L. 1987, Chapter 102 shall be submitted with all Grading Permit applications. The plan shall include a construction staging narrative indicating the sequence of earthmoving activities, and proposed erosion and sedimentation control procedures. Measures used to control erosion and reduce sedimentation during construction activities shall strictly conform to the standards and specifications of the Bucks County Conservation District (BCCD) and sequence of earthmoving activities. Verification of approval of the E&S plan must be received in writing from the BCCD.
B. It shall be the responsibility of the property owner and each person, corporation, or other entity performing grading and/or building activities to install and maintain erosion and sedimentation controls in accordance with the approved E&S plan until the site is stabilized. In the event any mud and/or debris is transported from the site onto a public roadway, the mud and/or debris shall be immediately removed and the roadway swept and/or washed as deemed necessary by the Township.
All applications for a Grading Permit shall be accompanied by a Grading Plan providing the following information.
A. A Site Plan (plot plan) drawn at a scale of not less than 1 inch equals 50 feet and contour intervals of no more than two (2) feet prepared by a Registered Professional Land Surveyor, Landscape Architect, or Engineer, licensed in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
1. The site plan shall include all of the following located within seventy-five (75) feet of the limits of disturbance:
b. Existing and proposed contours; existing vegetation; soil types and conditions, watercourses; affected watersheds; and other natural features.
c. Erosion and sedimentation control measures, high points, drainage arrows, drainage swales, and the limits of disturbance.
d. First floor and garage elevations.
e. Existing and proposed building/structure locations, building/structure horizontal dimensions, wells, wastewater treatment systems, sanitary laterals, water supply pipes, storm sewers, inlets, manholes, basement drains, sump pump drains, utility boxes, walls, fences, berms, underground utilities, and all other man-made structures/features.
f. Ground elevations at each corner of each building.
g. All earthmoving and stripping changes to the site, including cuts, fills, structures, paving, utilities, vegetation and topsoil proposed to be stripped, and cut/fill balance.
h. Street trees and existing trees to be removed including genus, species, and caliper.
i. Driveway openings and slopes, driveway turnarounds and parking areas, depressed curb length, and driveway configurations from garage or parking area to street.
j. Sidewalk and bikeway locations.
k. Easement, covenants, equitable servitudes, and deed restrictions.
2. The site plan shall also include the following:
a. Seal, signature and of name/address of responsible Engineer, Surveyor, or Landscape Architect.
b. Name and address of Permitee (property owner).
c. Tax map parcel number and acreage.
e. Subdivision name (where applicable)
f. North arrow.
g. Location map showing relationship of the site to adjoining properties. Scale of the location maps shall be 1" = 800'.
h. Date of preparation of the plan, a descriptive list of revisions to the plan, and the revision dates.
i. Deed restriction information (where applicable)
B. A Stormwater Management Plan where applicable pursuant to Section 104 of the Stormwater Management Ordinance.
C. A statement, signed and sealed by a Registered Professional Land Surveyor, Landscape Architect, or Engineer, licensed in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania indicating that, to the best of his/her knowledge and belief, the proposed grading activities shall not significantly increase stormwater runoff to, and/or otherwise adversely impact, downstream properties except as may be part of an approved stormwater runoff collection and management plan.
