Laguna Beach Municipal Code Ch. 22.02 Intent

The purpose of this title is to safeguard life, limb, property and public welfare; to aid in the implementation of the general plan and to avoid the creation of a monotonous and artificial hillside environment by establishing minimum requirements and procedures for regulating excavation, grading and filling on all private and public properties in the city, as well as water quality requirements relevant to construction project activities subject to this title.

(a) It is the declared intent of the city to promote the conservation of natural resources, including the natural beauty of the land, streams and watersheds, hills and vegetation and, as described in the safety element of the general plan and Government Code Section 65560(b)(1), to protect the health and safety, including the reduction or elimination of the hazards from earth slides, mud flows, rock falls, undue settlement, erosion, siltation and flooding, or other conditions as described in California Government Code Section 65560(b)(4) by minimizing the adverse effects of grading, cut and fill operations, water runoff and soil erosion.

(b) The following regulatory provisions of this chapter are hereby adopted for the purpose of rigorous control of all aspects of grading operations. This title sets forth rules and regulations to control excavations, grading, and earthwork construction, including fills or embankments, establishes the administrative procedures for the review and issuance of permits, and provides for approval of plans and inspection of grading construction. If two or more provisions of this title and any other applicable law or ordinance are in conflict, that which is more restrictive and provides the greater safety shall prevail.

(c) This title also regulates development within the coastal zone in accordance with the policies of the city's local coastal program and Sections 30230, 30231, 30232 and 30240 of the California Coastal Act.

(Ord. 1237 § 1, 1992; Ord. 1422 § 2, 2003; Ord. 1442 § 2, 2004)