Los Angeles Municipal Code § 91.7003 Definitions

(Readopted by Ord. No. 188,797, Eff. 12/31/25.)

Section

• 91.7001 Purpose.

• 91.7002 Scope.

• 91.7003 Definitions.

• 91.7004 Grading Designation.

• 91.7005 General Requirements.

• 91.7006 Conditions Precedent to Issuing a Grading Permit.

• 91.7007 Safety Precautions During Grading.

• 91.7008 Professional Inspection and Certification for Engineered Grading.

• 91.7009 Professional Inspection for Regular Grading.

• 91.7010 Excavations.

• 91.7011 Fills.

• 91.7012 Planting and Irrigation of Cut and Fill Slopes in Hillside Areas.

• 91.7013 Erosion Control and Drainage Devices.

• 91.7014 Construction Requirements and Limitations.

• 91.7015 Buttress Fills.

• 91.7016 Areas Subjected to Slides and Unstable Soil.

(Title and Section Amended by Ord. No. 171,175, Eff. 7/25/96.)

The purpose of this division is to safeguard life, limb, property and the public welfare by regulating grading on private property.

(Title and Section Amended by Ord. No. 171,175, Eff. 7/25/96.)

All grading shall be performed in accordance with the provisions of this division and with rules and regulations as established by the Superintendent of Building, and shall be in accordance with the zoning, private street and division of land regulations contained in Chapter I of the Los Angeles Municipal Code, and the requirements of the approved General Plan for the area in which the grading is to be done.

(Amended by Ord. No. 171,939, Eff. 4/15/98.)

For the purposes of this division the definitions listed hereunder shall be construed as specified in this section.

APPROVAL shall mean the proposed work or completed work conforms to this division to the satisfaction of the Superintendent of Building. (Amended by Ord. No. 179,324, Eff. 12/10/07, Oper. 1/1/08.)

AS-GRADED is the extent of surface conditions on completion of grading.

BEDROCK is in-place solid rock.

BENCH is a relatively level step excavated into earth material on which fill is to be placed.

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

CIVIL ENGINEER is a professional engineer registered in the state to practice in the field of civil engineering works.

CIVIL ENGINEERING is the application of the knowledge of the forces of nature, principles of mechanics and the properties of materials to the evaluation, design and construction of civil works.

COMPACTION is the densification of a fill by mechanical means.

EARTH MATERIAL is any rock, natural soil, fill, or combination thereof.

ENGINEERING GEOLOGIST is a geologist duly licensed by the State of California and experienced and knowledgeable in engineering geology.

ENGINEERING GEOLOGY is 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 engineering works.

EROSION is the wearing away of the ground surface as a result of the movement of wind, water or ice.

EXCAVATION is the mechanical removal of earth material.

FILL is a deposit of earth material placed by artificial means.

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEER. See “soils engineer.”

GRADE is the vertical location of the ground surface.

Existing Grade is the grade prior to grading.

Finish Grade is the final grade of the site which conforms to the approved plan.

Rough Grade is the stage at which the grade approximately conforms to the approved plan.

GRADING is any excavating or filling or combination thereof.

HILLSIDE AREAS shall mean any land designated as a Hillside Area based on the latest Bureau of Engineering Basic Grid Map No. A-13372 and made part of this section.

BASIC GRID MAP

No. A-13372

(Added by Ord. No. 129,885, Eff. 4/19/65.)

Editor’s Note: The map referred to in this section is on file in the official City documents located in the Office of the City Clerk in Council File No. 121222 Sup. #1.

KEY is a designed compacted fill placed in a trench excavated in earth material beneath the toe of a proposed fill slope.

PROFESSIONAL INSPECTION is the inspection required by this Code to be performed by the civil engineer, soils engineer or engineering geologist. Such inspections include that performed by persons supervised by such engineers or geologists and shall be sufficient to form an opinion relating to the conduct of the work.

ROCK is any consolidated or coherent and relatively hard natural formed mass of mineral material.

SEEPAGE is the flow of water through earth material caused by gravitational forces. (Amended by Ord. No. 179,324, Eff. 12/10/07, Oper. 1/1/08.)

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

SLOPE is an inclined ground surface the inclination of which is expressed as a ratio of horizontal distance to vertical distance. Slope greater than 10% shall be considered as a sloping surface.

SLOPE FAILURE, Class I, shall involve bedrock, and a combined geologic and geotechnical report need to be submitted to address its cause and to provide recommended repair methods.

SLOPE FAILURE, Class II, shall involve soil, and a geotechnical report needs to be submitted to address its cause and to provide recommended repair methods.

SLOPE FAILURE, Class III, shall involve surficial problems, and unless determined as necessary by Inspection, neither a geologic nor a geotechnical report is required prior to the repair.

SOIL is naturally occurring superficial deposits overlying bedrock.

SOILS ENGINEER (GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEER) shall mean a civil engineer duly licensed by the State of California who is experienced in the application of the principles of soil mechanics in the investigation, evaluation and design of civil works involving the use of earth materials. (Amended by Ord. No. 181,758, Eff. 8/8/11.)

SOILS ENGINEERING (GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING) is the application of the principles of soils mechanics in the investigation, evaluation and design of civil engineering works involving the use of earth materials and the inspection or testing of the construction thereof.

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

(Amended by Ord. No. 171,939, Eff. 4/15/98.)

Grading in designated hillside areas or in excess of 5,000 cubic yards (3825 m 3 ) of either cut or fill, or a combination thereof, shall be performed in accordance with the approved grading plan prepared by a civil engineer, and shall be designated as “engineered grading”. Grading involving less than 5,000 cubic yards (3825 m3) in a non hillside area shall be designated “regular grading” unless the permittee chooses to have the grading performed as engineered grading, or the Superintendent of Building determines that special conditions or unusual hazards exist, in which case grading shall conform to the requirements for engineered grading.

(Amended by Ord. No. 185,587, Eff. 7/16/18.)

When soils and/or geological reports are submitted to the Department per LAMC Subsection 91.7006.2, professional inspection for regular grading work may be required by the Department and so stipulated on a Department letter approving such reports.