Oakley Municipal Code Art. 1 General Provisions

No person, firm, corporation, municipality, or public district shall commit or cause to be committed any of the acts hereinafter described, unless a written permit has first been obtained from the City Engineer or his/her duly appointed representative:

a. Impair or impede the natural flow of storm waters, or other water running in a detained channel, natural or manmade, or cause or permit the obstruction of such channel;

b. Deposit any material in such channel;

c. Alter the surface of land so as to reduce the capacity of such channel;

d. Construct, alter, or repair any storm water drainage structure, facility, or channel without first obtaining a permit therefor, as herein provided;

e. Commit any act, within any easement dedicated for drainage purposes that will impair the use of such easement for such purposes.

a. Notice of Violation. In the event of a violation of this article, and in addition to other penalties provided in this Code, the City Engineer may send a written notice to the owner of the property on which the violation occurred at the address of the owner as it appears on the assessment roll of the City. The notice shall state the nature of the violation, that the owner is required to abate the condition constituting the violation within 10 days after the notice is received, and that if the owner fails to abate the condition within that period, the condition may be abated by the City Engineer and the owner shall be liable to the City for the cost thereof.

b. Abatement by City. If the condition is not abated by the owner in accordance with the notice, the City Engineer may abate the condition and shall charge the owner for the cost thereof. If this charge is not paid within 60 days, the amount of the charge, plus accrued interest at the rate of 6% per year from the date of the charge, shall be added to the next regular tax bill sent to the owner by the City and shall be collected in the manner fixed by law for the collection of taxes, or in the alternative, recovery therefor may be had through civil action.

c. Emergency Abatement. If the City Engineer finds that a violation has created an emergency condition endangering the public health or safety, he/she may abate the condition in accordance with subsection (b) of this section without giving the notice required by subsection (a) of this section.

This article shall not prevent any person from performing emergency maintenance, work within, on, over, under, or through any watercourse, channel, ditch, conduit, or natural drainageway, as necessary and proper for the preservation of life or property when an urgent necessity arises. The person performing the emergency work shall apply for a written permit within 10 calendar days of the beginning of work.

Any person aggrieved by the refusal or the terms of a permit required by this article may appeal to the Planning Commission. Administration of this section is referred to the Planning Commission under Title 2 of the Oakley Municipal Code.

If, in addition to the requirements of Title 6, Chapter 2 Article 4 of this Code, the Planning Commission finds all of the following to be true, the permit shall be granted:

a. That the applicant will be substantially damaged by the refusal to grant the permit;

b. That no other reasonable method of obtaining the desired results is available except as proposed by the applicant;

c. That the granting of the permit will not be materially detrimental to the public interest, safety, health, and welfare, or injurious to other property.