Laguna Hills Municipal Code Art. XIV Grading Inspection

All grading operations for which a grading permit is required shall be subject to inspection by the Director.

(Ord. 03-1 § 1 (part))

A. It shall be the responsibility of the civil engineer or other qualified individual who prepares the grading plan approved by the Director to incorporate all recommendations from the soil engineering and engineering geology reports into the grading plan. He or she shall also be responsible for the professional inspection and approval of the grading within his or her area of technical specialty. This responsibility shall include, but need not be limited to, inspection and approval as to the establishment of line, grade, and drainage of the development area. The project civil engineer and/or general contractor shall act as the coordinating agent in the event the need arises for liaison between the project professional grading contractor, and the Director, the civil engineer or other qualified person who prepares and signs the grading plan shall also be responsible for the preparation of revised plans, erosion control plans, and the submission of as-graded grading plans when required by the Director upon completion of the work.

B. Soil engineering and engineering geology reports shall be required as specified in Section 10-16.200, Soil engineering and engineering geology reports, of this code. During grading, all necessary reports, compaction data, soil engineering, and engineering geology recommendations shall be submitted to the owner by the soil engineer and engineering geologist. The owner shall submit copies of the report to the civil engineer and two copies of all reports to the Director.

C. The soil engineer’s area of responsibility shall include, but need not be limited to, the professional inspection and approval concerning the preparation of ground to receive fills, testing for required compaction, stability of all finish slopes, design of buttress fills, subdrain installation, and incorporation of data supplied by the engineering geologist.

D. The engineering geologist’s area of responsibility shall include, but need not be limited to, professional inspection and written approval of the adequacy of natural ground for receiving fills, the stability of cut slopes with respect to geological matters, and the need for subdrains or other groundwater drainage devices. He or she shall report his or her finding to the soil engineer and the civil engineer for engineering analysis.

E. The Director may expeditiously inspect the project at the various stages of work requiring approval and at any more frequent intervals necessary to determine that adequate control is being exercised by the professional consultants.

F. When preliminary soil engineering reports are not required by the Director, he or she may require inspection and testing by an approved testing agency. The testing agency’s responsibility shall include, but need not be limited to, approval of cleared areas and benches to receive fill, and the compaction of fills.

G. The Director shall not issue any grading permit, waiver, or exemption pursuant to this chapter unless the Director finds that the work authorized by the grading permit, waiver, or exemption complies with applicable water quality requirements.

(Ord. 03-1 § 1 (part))

If, in the course of fulfilling their responsibility under this code, the civil engineer, the soil engineer, the engineering geologist, or the testing agency finds that the work is not being done in conformance with the provisions of the approved specifications and grading plans, the discrepancies shall be reported immediately in writing to the person in charge of the grading work and to the Director. Recommendations for corrective measures, if necessary, shall be submitted to the owner. The owner shall submit two copies of all recommendations and reports to the Director.

(Ord. 03-1 § 1 (part))

If the civil engineer, the soil engineer, the engineering geologist, the testing agency, or the grading contractor of record are changed during the course of the work, the work shall be stopped unless: (1) the owner submits a letter of notification verifying the change of the responsible professional, and (2) the new responsible professional submits in writing that he or she has reviewed all prior reports and/or plans (specified by date and title) and work performed by the prior responsible professional and that he or she concurs with the findings, conclusions, and recommendations, and is satisfied with the work performed. He or she may modify or revise recommendations, specifications, or work performed if accompanied by supporting data and approved by the Director. He or she must state that he or she assumes all responsibility within his or her purview as of a specified date. All exceptions must be justified to the satisfaction of the Director.

Exception: Where clearly indicated that the firm, not the individual engineer and/or geologist, is the contracting party, the designated engineer or geologist may be reassigned and another engineer and/or geologist within the firm may assume responsibility.

(Ord. 03-1 § 1 (part))

A. Prior to the approval of any building or grading plans and specifications, the Director may inspect the site to determine that the plans and specifications are current and reflect existing conditions.

B. The permittee or his or her agent shall notify the Director when the grading operations for which inspection is required are ready for inspection.

C. If the inspector finds the soil or other conditions not as stated in the approved plans and soil or geology reports or as in additional information which was required for issuance of the grading permit, he or she may, using reasonable judgment, refuse to allow further work until approval is obtained for a revised grading plan which will conform to the conditions.

D. The provisions of the 2001 California Building Code, section 104.2.4, Stop orders, and subsequent editions, shall apply to all grading work and whenever the Director determines that any work does not comply with the terms of a grading permit, or this code, or that the soil or other conditions are not as stated on the permit, he or she may order the work stopped by notice in writing served on any persons engaged in doing or causing of such work to be done and any such persons shall forthwith stop such work until authorized by the Director to proceed with the work.

E. Prior to the issuance of building permits for a graded site, the rough grading shall be completed in accordance with applicable requirements and to the satisfaction of the responsible civil engineer or architect, engineering geologist, soil engineer, and the Director.

F. Whenever any work on which inspections are required is covered or concealed by additional work without first having been inspected, the Director may require by written notice, that such work be exposed for examination. The work of exposing and recovering shall not entail or be subject to expense by the city.

(Ord. 03-1 § 1 (part))

The Director may establish special inspection requirements in accordance with the 2001 California Building Code, section 1701, Special inspections, and subsequent editions, for special cases involving grading or paving related operations. Special cases may apply to work where in the opinion of the Director it is necessary to supplement the resources or expertise available for inspection.

(Ord. 03-1 § 1 (part))