Lake Forest Municipal Code Art. III Permits Required

A. No person shall conduct any grading, clearing, brushing, grubbing, excavating or any other activity that results in a land disturbance of one acre or more or any other activity that results in a land disturbance of less than one acre but which may cause or contribute to an unauthorized discharge of pollutants or cause or contribute to a violation of any water quality requirement on natural or existing grade that is preparatory to grading, without first having obtained a grading permit from the City Engineer.

B. The following activities, and other similar activities, may be excepted from obtaining a grading permit if the City Engineer determines that the activity will not result in any unauthorized discharge of pollutants to the City's Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System and will not cause or contribute to a violation of any water quality requirement:

1. An excavation below finished grade for basements and footings of a building, mobilehome, retaining wall, or other structure authorized by a valid building permit or construction permit. This shall not exempt any fill made with the material from such excavation nor exempt any excavation having an unsupported height greater than five feet after the completion of such structure. This shall not prohibit a minimum-fee grading permit or soil or geologic report from being required for foundation design and inspection purposes when, in the opinion of the City Engineer, stability or flooding considerations warrant such inspection.

2. Cemetery graves.

3. Refuse disposal sites controlled by other regulations.

4. Earthwork construction regulated by the Federal, State, County, or City governments, or by any local agency as defined by Government Code Sections 53090 through 53095 (special districts). Pipeline or conduit excavation and backfill conducted by local agencies or public utilities. Earthwork construction performed by railway companies on their operating property. This exemption, however, shall apply only when the earthwork construction takes place on the property, or dedicated rights-of-way or easements of the above agencies.

5. Excavation and backfill for installation of underground utilities by public utilities or companies operating under the authority of a franchise or public property encroachment permit.

6. Mining, quarrying, excavating, processing, stockpiling of rock, sand, gravel, aggregate, or clay where established and provided for by law, provided such operations do not affect the lateral support or increase the stresses in or pressures upon any adjacent or contiguous property.

7. Exploratory excavations under the direction of soil engineers or engineering geologists, provided all excavations are properly backfilled. All such excavations and trenches are subject to the applicable sections of Title 8 of the State Orders, Division of Industrial Safety.

8. An excavation which does not exceed 50 cubic yards on any one site and which:

a. Is less than two feet in vertical depth; or

b. Does not create a cut slope greater than five feet in vertical height and steeper than two horizontal to one vertical (2:1).

9. A fill less than one foot in depth placed on natural grade with a slope flatter than five horizontal to one vertical (5:1), which does not exceed 50 cubic yards on any one lot and does not obstruct a drainage course.

10. A fill less than three feet in depth, not intended to support structures or mobile homes, which does not exceed 50 cubic yards on any one lot and does not obstruct a drainage course.

11. Grading in conjunction with work performed pursuant to the provisions of Title 7, Division 8, Article 1 of the Codified Ordinances of the County of Orange (The Orange County Oil Code) as adopted by the City, unless the City Engineer determines it is necessary to obtain a grading permit to assure proper construction of a building or other structure, or where it is necessary for the protection of adjacent properties not devoted to oil drilling or production.

(Ord. 107 § 1, 1999; Ord. 246 § 6, 2013)

No person shall construct pavement surfacing that causes or contributes to a violation of any water quality requirement or whose surface is in excess of 3,000 square feet, on natural or existing grade for the purpose of a private road or commercial, industrial, or multiresidential parking lot or travelway without a valid grading permit unless waived by the City Engineer or a separate improvement plan for such paving is approved and signed by an authorized City official. Resurfacing or maintenance of paved surfaces shall be exempt from this requirement.

(Ord. 107 § 1, 1999; Ord. 246 § 7, 2013)

No person shall alter an existing watercourse, channel, or revetment by excavating, or placing fill, rock protection, or structural improvements without a valid grading permit unless waived by the City Engineer or performed as interim protection under emergency flood-fighting conditions.

(Ord. 107 § 1, 1999; Ord. 246 § 8, 2013)

No person shall possess, store, sell, transport, or use explosives and blasting agents to do any excavation without a permit from the Orange County Fire Authority and appropriate permits from the City.

(Ord. 107 § 1, 1999)

A. Either a preliminary grading permit or a precise grading permit may be issued for grading work upon completion of an application in accordance with Article 5 of the grading manual and approval by the City Engineer. The preliminary or precise grading permit is the option of the permittee provided that the plans satisfy the requirements of Article 5 of the grading manual.

B. Building permits may be issued for a site graded under a valid precise grading permit upon completion and approval of rough grade inspection as specified in Section 8.30.168(E), Site Inspection, by the Building Official/City Engineer, of this Grading Code.

C. Building permits shall not be issued for a site graded under a preliminary grading permit until a new precise grading permit has been issued and the provisions of above have been satisfied.

D. The applicant who has obtained a preliminary or precise grading permit may seek approval to process sand as an adjunct to the primary activity of grading. If sand processing approval is sought, the processing will be reviewed for compliance with Chapter 9.30 of this Code. Should approval for sand processing be granted, in no event shall the sand processing continue beyond the date that the primary construction activities terminate, or have been indefinitely suspended, or are no longer being actively pursued.

(Ord. 107 § 1, 1999; Ord. 246 § 9, 2013)