Lake Forest Municipal Code Art. II Definitions

The following words and phrases shall, for purposes of this chapter, have the meaning ascribed below:

"Approval"

means a written engineering or geological opinion by the responsible engineer, geologist of record or responsible principal of the engineering company concerning the progress and completion of the work unless it specifically refers to another City official.

"Approved plans"

means the current grading plans which bear the stamp of approval of the City Engineer.

"Approved testing agency"

means a facility whose testing operations are controlled and monitored by a registered civil engineer and which is equipped to perform and certify the tests required by this Grading Code, or the grading manual, as determined by the City Engineer. This determination may be appealed to the City Council.

"Best Management Practices (BMPs)"

means schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, general good housekeeping practices, pollution prevention and educational practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to prevent or reduce the discharge of pollutants directly or indirectly to stormwater, receiving waters, or stormwater conveyance systems. BMPs also include treatment practices, operating procedures, erosion and sediment control systems, and practices to control site runoff, spills or leaks, and drainage from raw materials storage.

"Board of grading appeals"

means that board created pursuant to Section 8.30.046 of this chapter. Also referred to as "Grading Appeals Board."

"Borrow"

means earth material acquired from an off-site location for use in grading on a site.

"Building Official"

means the City designated Building Official who reports to the Director of Community Development or his/her delegated representative.

"City Engineer"

means the City Engineer of the City of Lake Forest or his/her duly delegated representative.

"Civil engineer"

means a professional engineer registered in the State of California to practice in the field of civil engineering.

"Civil engineering"

means the application of the knowledge of the forces of nature, principles of mechanics and the properties of materials for the evaluation, design, and construction of civil works for the beneficial uses of mankind.

"Clearing, brushing, and grubbing"

means the removal of vegetation (grass, brush, trees, and similar plant types) by mechanical means.

"Commercial coach"

means a vehicle with or without motive power, designed and equipped for human occupancy for industrial, professional or commercial purposes, and shall include a trailer coach.

"Compaction"

means the densification of a fill by mechanical means.

"Director"

means the Public Works Director or his/her duly delegated representative.

"Earth material"

means any rock, natural soil or fill and/or any combination thereof.

"Engineering geologist"

means a geologist certified in the State of California to practice engineering geology.

"Engineering geology"

means the application of geologic knowledge and principles in the investigation and evaluation of naturally occurring rock and soil for use in the design of civil works.

"Erosion"

means the wearing away of the ground surface as a result of the movement of wind, water, and/or ice.

"Erosion and sediment control plan"

means a plan prepared, stamped and signed by a civil engineer in accordance with the Grading Manual and the City's Local Implementation Plan, as defined in Chapter 15.14 of the Lake Forest Municipal Code, which shows and incorporates appropriate Best Management Practices.

"Erosion and sediment control system"

means an effective combination of source control practices that protect the soil surface and prevent soil particles from being detached by rainfall, flowing water or wind, and sediment control practices that trap soil particles after they have been detached and moved by rain, flowing water or wind, to protect adjacent private property, watercourses, public facilities and receiving waters from an abnormal deposition of sediment or dust.

"Erosion control system"

means a combination of desilting facilities, and erosion protection, including effective planting, to protect adjacent private property, watercourses, public facilities and receiving waters from an abnormal deposition of sediment or dust.

"Excavation"

means the mechanical removal of earth material.

"Existing grade"

means the ground surface prior to grading.

"Fill"

means a deposit of earth material placed by artificial means.

"Finished grade"

means the final grade of the site which conforms to the approved plan.

"Grade"

means the vertical location of the ground surface.

"Grading"

means any excavating or filling or combination thereof.

"Grading contractor"

means a contractor licensed and regulated by the State of California who specializes in grading work or is otherwise licensed to do grading work.

"Grading Manual"

means the Lake Forest Grading Manual authorized pursuant to Section 8.30.012.

"Grading permit"

means an official document or certificate issued by the City Engineer authorizing grading activity as specified by approved plans and specifications.

"Hillside site"

means a site which entails cut and/or fill grading of three feet or more in vertical height below or above natural ground; or a combination fill-over-cut slope equal to or greater than five feet in vertical height; or where the existing grade is 20% or greater; and which may be adversely affected by drainage and/or stability conditions within or from outside the site, or which may cause an adverse effect on adjacent property.

"Mobilehome"

means a structure, transportable in one or more sections, designed and equipped to contain not more than two dwelling units to be used with or without a foundation system. Mobilehome does not include recreational vehicle, commercial coach, or factory-built housing.

"Natural grade"

means the ground surface unaltered by artificial means.

"NPDES Permit"

means National Pollution Discharge Elimination System Permit and includes any permit, authorization, license, order, or equivalent control document issued by any local, regional, State or Federal agency having jurisdiction over the City or over a person in the City for purposes of implementing the Federal Clean Water Act, Public Law 92-500, as amended by Public Law 95-217, Public Law 95-576, Public Law 96-483 and Public Law 97-117, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq., the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, California Water Code Section 13000 et seq.

"Owner"

means any person, agency, firm, or corporation having a legal or equitable interest in a given real property.

"Permanent erosion control devices"

means improvements which remain throughout the life of the development. They include terrace drains, downdrains, slope landscaping, channels, storm drains, etc.

"Person"

means any individual, partnership, firm, association, corporation or public agency, including the State of California and the United States of America.

"Precise grading permit"

means a permit that is issued on the basis of approved plans which show the precise structure location, finish elevations, and all on-site improvements.

"Preliminary grading permit"

means a permit that is issued on the basis of approved plans which need not show a structure location but must show interim building pad drainage to the degree required by the City Engineer.

References.

Unless indicated otherwise, or as reasonably appears from the context, references in this Grading Code to the civil engineer, the soil engineer, the geologist, and the engineering geologist refer to the professional person(s) preparing, signing, or approving the project plans and specifications which comprise the approved grading plan, and which professional person appears of record pursuant to Sections 8.30.050 through 8.30.060 or his/her successor appearing pursuant to Section 8.30.066, transfer of responsibility for approval.

"Rough grade"

means the stage at which the grade approximately conforms to the approved plans.

"Sediment control"

means the measures that prevent eroded sediment from leaving the site.

"Semi-permanent erosion control devices"

means devices which are used primarily during construction and are not relocatable. They include earthen berms, concrete spillways, desilting basins, riser/outlet pipes, etc.

"Site"

means any lot or parcel of land or contiguous combination thereof, under the same ownership, where grading is performed or permitted.

"Slope"

means an included ground surface, the inclination of which is expressed as a ratio of horizontal distance to vertical distance.

"Soil"

means naturally occurring surficial deposits overlying bedrock.

"Soil engineer"

means a civil engineer duly registered in the State of California whose field of expertise is soil mechanics.

"Soil engineering"

means the application of the principles of soil mechanics in the investigation, evaluation and design of civil works involving the use of earth materials and the inspection and testing of the construction thereof.

"Special inspector"

means an inspector duly authorized by the City Engineer to perform inspection of asphalt concrete placement and related construction work or other grading related work approved by the City Engineer.

"Stockpiling"

means the temporary placement of imported and/or excavated compactable earth for future fill on-or off-site.

"Stormwater permits"

means any permits issued by a local, State or Federal regulatory agency regulating stormwater flow over and from any project subject to this chapter including but not limited to NPDES permits and State general permits as defined in Chapter 15.14 of the Lake Forest Municipal Code.

"Stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP)"

means a document that includes all necessary pollution prevention measures to prevent pollutants from being discharged into waterways and to comply with State and Federal requirements to implement BMPs to achieve compliance with discharge prohibitions and stormwater effluent limits as required by water quality requirements, including the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) General Permit for Stormwater Discharges Associated With Construction and Land Disturbance Activities (the State Construction General Permit) issued by the California State Water Resources Control Board.

"Temporary erosion control devices"

means devices which are removable and can rarely be salvaged for subsequent reuse. In most cases they will last no longer than one rainy season. They include sandbags, gravel bags, plastic sheeting (visqueen), silt fencing, straw bales, and similar items.

"Terrace"

means a relatively level step constructed in the face of a graded slope surface for drainage and maintenance purposes.

"Water quality requirements"

means all requirements imposed by any Federal, State or local law or regulation, any NPDES Permit, and all programs and plans adopted pursuant to any of the above, including, but not limited to, the Drainage Area Management Plan, the Jurisdictional Runoff Management Plan, the Erosion and Sediment Control Plan, the Watershed Action Plan, the Local Implementation Plan, the Basin Plan, the Water Quality Management Plan, the Model Construction Program, BMPs, Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan, the City's Grading Code in Chapter 8.30, the City's Stormwater Management Code in Chapter 15.14, and the Grading Manual.

(Ord. 107 § 1, 1999; Ord. 140 § 2(3), 2003; Ord. 246 §§ 4, 5, 2013)