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Division 70

SEC. 91.7010. EXCAVATIONS.

Los Angeles Building Code — LAMC Chapter IX · 2026-08 edition · updated 2026-09-09 · Los Angeles

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

91.7010.1. Height. (Amended by Ord. No. 179,324, Eff. 12/10/07, Oper. 1/1/08.) No cut slope shall exceed a vertical height of 100 feet (30 480 mm) unless horizontal benches with a minimum width of 20 feet (6096 mm), as shown in Figure D are installed at each 100 feet (30 480 mm) of vertical height.

91.7010.2. Slope. (Amended by Ord. No. 186,488, Eff. 12/27/19.) No excavation shall be made with a cut face steeper than one unit vertical in two units horizontal (50% slope).

EXCEPTION: The Department or the Board of Building and Safety Commissioners (Board), in case an appeal is made to it under LAMC Section 91.105, may permit the excavation to be made with a cut face steeper in slope than 1 unit vertical in 2 units horizontal (50% slope) if the applicant shows through investigation, subsurface exploration, analysis and report by both a soils engineer and an engineering geologist, to the Department's satisfaction, that the underlying bedrock and the materials to be exposed on the slope have strength characteristics sufficient to produce a stable slope with a factor of safety of not less than 1.5 for static loads.

Existing or proposed slopes shall be regraded or cut so as to be not steeper than the bedding planes in formation where the cut slope will lie on the dip side of the strike line or the bedding planes or other adversely oriented geologic structures shall be supported by retaining walls or buttress fills designed pursuant to the provisions of CBC Section 1807.2 or LAMC Section 91.7015.

EXCEPTION: Where special conditions warrant, the Department may approve slopes steeper than the bedding planes, or other adversely oriented geologic structures if the applicant shows through investigation, subsurface exploration, analysis and report by both a soils engineer and an engineering geologist, to the Department's satisfaction, that the slopes will have a factor of safety against sliding of not less than 1.5 for static loads.

Whenever grading at the top of any natural or manufactured slope exposes soil or bedrock material that will allow the infiltration of water in a manner that would adversely affect the stability of the slope, the exposed area shall be capped with a relatively impervious compacted soil blanket seal having a minimum thickness of two feet (610 mm). The soils engineer shall certify in writing that the blanket seal is adequate to reduce water infiltration to permissible levels.

91.7010.3. Top of Cut Slope. (Amended by Ord. No. 185,587, Eff. 7/16/18.) The top of cut slopes shall not be made nearer to a site boundary line than 1/5 of the vertical height of cut with a minimum of 2 feet (609.8 mm) and a maximum horizontal distance of 10 feet (3048 mm). The setback may need to be increased for any required interceptor drains. Setback dimensions shall be horizontal distances measured perpendicular to the site boundary. Setback dimensions shall be as shown in Figure E of this division.

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▸Contents — Los Angeles Building Code — LAMC Chapter IX
Los Angeles Building Code — LAMC Chapter IX
  1. Chapter IX
  2. Chapter IX — BUILDING REGULATIONS
  3. Division 1
  4. Division 2
  5. Division 3
  6. Division 4
  7. Division 5
  8. Division 6
  9. Division 7
  10. Division 8
  11. Division 9
  12. Division 10
  13. Division 11
  14. Division 12
  15. Division 13
  16. Division 14
  17. Division 15
  18. Division 16
  19. Division 17
  20. Division 18
  21. Division 19
  22. Division 20
  23. Division 21
  24. Division 22
  25. Division 23
  26. Division 24
  27. Division 25
  28. Division 26
  29. Division 27
  30. Division 28
  31. Division 29
  32. Division 30
  33. Division 31
  34. Division 32
  35. Division 33
  36. Division 34
  37. Division 35
  38. Division 61
  39. Division 62
  40. Division 63
  41. Division 67
  42. ▸Division 70
    Overview
    1. SEC. 91.7001. PURPOSE.
    2. SEC. 91.7002. SCOPE.
    3. SEC. 91.7003. DEFINITIONS.
    4. SEC. 91.7004. GRADING DESIGNATION.
    5. SEC. 91.7005. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.
    6. SEC. 91.7006. CONDITIONS PRECEDENT TO ISSUING A GRADING PERMIT.
    7. SEC. 91.7007. SAFETY PRECAUTIONS DURING GRADING.
    8. SEC. 91.7008. PROFESSIONAL INSPECTION AND CERTIFICATION FOR EN…
    9. SEC. 91.7009. PROFESSIONAL INSPECTION FOR REGULAR GRADING.
    10. SEC. 91.7010. EXCAVATIONS.
    11. SEC. 91.7011. FILLS.
    12. SEC. 91.7012. PLANTING AND IRRIGATION OF CUT AND FILL SLOPES I…
    13. SEC. 91.7013. EROSION CONTROL AND DRAINAGE DEVICES.
    14. SEC. 91.7014. CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITATIONS.
    15. SEC. 91.7015. BUTTRESS FILLS.
    16. SEC. 91.7016. AREAS SUBJECTED TO SLIDES AND UNSTABLE SOIL.
  43. Division 71
  44. Division 72
  45. Division 82
  46. Division 83
  47. Division 85
  48. Division 88
  49. Division 89
  50. Division 90
  51. Division 91
  52. Division 92
  53. Division 93
  54. Division 94
  55. Division 95
  56. Division 96
  57. Division 5 — REGISTRATION
  58. Division 16A
  59. Division 17
  60. Division 18
  61. Division 19
  62. Division 20
  63. Division 21
  64. Division 17
  65. Division 18
  66. Division C
  67. Division D

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