El Dorado County Municipal Code Art. I General Provisions

This chapter shall be known as the Grading Ordinance of the County of El Dorado.

(Ord. No. 4949, § 2(15.14.100), 8-10-2010)

A. The ordinance from which this chapter is derived is enacted for the purpose of regulating grading within the unincorporated area of the County to safeguard life, limb, health, property and public welfare; to avoid pollution of watercourses; and to ensure that the intended use of a graded site is consistent with the County general plan, any specific plans adopted thereto, the adopted stormwater management plan, State fire safe standards and applicable County ordinances including the zoning regulations set forth in Title 130 and the California Building Code.

B. This chapter establishes the administrative procedures for issuance of permits; and provides for approval of plans and inspection of grading construction. This chapter is not intended to supersede or otherwise preempt any applicable local, State, or Federal law or regulation. Where conflicts may occur between this chapter and such laws or regulations, the most restrictive shall apply.

(Ord. No. 4949, § 2(15.14.110), 8-10-2010)

This chapter shall be implemented and enforced by the County agency granted administrative and enforcement authority by the Board of Supervisors. For purposes of this chapter, the term "Director" refers to a chief administrative officer (i.e., department head) of an agency identified as having administrative and enforcement authority. The term "Director" also refers to those persons authorized by a chief administrative officer to implement and enforce the provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. No. 4949, § 2(15.14.120), 8-10-2010)

A grading permit issued by the Director is required for all grading activities in the unincorporated area of the County, including underground excavations associated with human occupancy, and agricultural grading activities that convert undisturbed vegetation to agricultural cropland, unless the proposed activities are exempt from this requirement pursuant to Section 110.14.140.

(Ord. No. 4949, § 2(15.14.130), 8-10-2010)

The following categories of grading projects are exempt from the requirement of obtaining a grading permit except where such grading would create a cut or fill that could potentially endanger any structure intended for human or animal occupancy, threaten the stability of any public road, or obstruct any watercourse or drainage conduit. Projects located in the Tahoe Basin are not eligible for the exemptions listed in this section pursuant to Section 110.14.150. Exempt projects shall comply with all other requirements of this chapter, CEQA, the County stormwater management plan (SWMP) and all other relevant codes and ordinances.

A. Single-family dwellings and accessory structures that conform to all of the following design parameters:

1. The volume of graded material is less than 250 cubic yards.

2. All cuts are less than five feet in height.

3. All fills are less than three feet in height.

4. The area of soil disturbance is less than 10,000 square feet.

5. No potentially unstable slopes or areas subject to erosion are created, as determined by the Director.

6. Grading activities do not encroach into septic effluent disposal areas.

7. Drainage is not directed into a septic effluent disposal area.

8. Fills are not intended for support of structural improvements, including flatwork concrete, driveways, roads, and buildings.

9. The grading activities would not alter previously placed erosion control materials or drainage facilities.

B. Multifamily residential or commercial/industrial projects that conform to all of the design parameters in Subsection A of this section and for which a waiver of the requirement for a grading permit has been authorized by the Director.

C. Grading that conforms to all of the design parameters in Subsection A of this section necessary to conduct soil, geotechnical, geological, or environmental studies by engineers, geologists, environmental health specialists or soil scientists in which the disturbed areas are subsequently restored to substantially the preexisting condition.

D. Grading done under the supervision of a County agency for which the Board of Supervisors is the controlling body, or a public agency governed by an elected board of directors.

E. Excavation and placement of fill associated with the installation, maintenance, repair or replacement of facilities for the production, generation, storage, treatment, or transmission of water, wastewater (including recycled water), or electrical energy by a utility company regulated by the State Public Utilities Commission, a public agency governed by an elected board of directors, an agency of the State or an agency of the United States of America.

F. Excavations for the foundation of a building or structure where the construction of such building or structure has been authorized by a building permit issued by the County.

G. Trenching and grading incidental to the construction or installation of County-approved underground pipelines, septic tank disposal fields, conduits, electrical or communication facilities, and drilling or excavation for approved wells or post holes.

H. Grading in accordance with plans and specifications incorporated into an approved surface mining permit, reclamation plan, or solid waste facilities permit.

I. Grading involving the ongoing operations of a vested mining facility that is conducted in conformance with an approved reclamation plan.

J. Maintenance of existing firebreaks and roads to keep the firebreak or road substantially in its original condition.

K. Routine cemetery excavations and fills.

L. Excavation within the public right-of-way under the authority of an encroachment permit issued by the County.

M. Installation of miscellaneous fills, such as landscape fills, that contain less than 250 cubic yards of material and conform to the design parameters listed in Subsection A of this section.

N. Construction of miscellaneous cuts that involve less than 250 cubic yards of excavation and conform to the design parameters listed in Subsection A of this section.

O. Agricultural grading activities that convert less than one acre of undisturbed vegetation to agricultural cropland.

P. Agricultural grading or other practices, including fuel reduction and fire protection, that do not substantially change the natural contour of the land and that use best management practices as recommended by the County Agricultural Commission and adopted by the Board of Supervisors.

(Ord. No. 4949, § 2(15.14.140), 8-10-2010)

A. The exemptions listed in Section 110.14.140 are not applicable in the Tahoe Basin.

B. All other applicable provisions of this chapter shall apply to grading activities in the Tahoe Basin.

C. Refer to Section E.6 of Volume III of the County Design and Improvement Standards Manual for conditions of approval applicable to the Tahoe Basin.

(Ord. No. 4949, § 2(15.14.150), 8-10-2010)