Chapter 11 — HILLSIDE EROSION CONTROL

The purpose of this chapter is to control erosion and the production of sediment and related environmental damage by establishing minimum standards and providing regulations for the construction and maintenance of land fills, excavations, cutting and clearing of vegetation, revegetation of cleared areas, and drainage control, as well as for the protection of exposed soil surfaces, in order to promote the safety, public health, convenience, and general welfare of the City. The intent of this chapter is to ensure that there is no increase in runoff or sediment as a result of hillside improvements.

(§ 1, Ord. 601, eff. May 13, 1982)

This chapter shall provide for the approval of grading and related erosion and sediment control on parcels of land in the foothill or hillside areas of the City. In general, such hillside areas are located adjacent to the Los Padres National Forest on the north and Black Mountain on the south. In addition, this chapter shall provide for particular grading, erosion, and sediment control of parcels which require extensive grading, cut, and fill in order to facilitate development or use. (§ 1, Ord. 601, eff. May 13, 1982, as amended by § 2, Ord. 624, eff. August 9, 1984)

For the purposes of this chapter, unless otherwise apparent from the context, certain words and phrases used in this chapter are defined as follows:

"City" shall mean the City of Ojai.

"Clearing" (land preparation) shall mean the removal of plants, shrubs, and trees, and the roots thereof, and structures or other objects from the surface of the land.

"Debris" shall mean loose material arising from the disintegration of rocks and vegetative material and any man-made material transportable by storm water runoff, streams, or floods.

"Drainage" shall mean the removal of surface water or groundwater from land by means of surface or subsurface drains.

"Drainage control facility" shall mean a device for controlling drainage; or a structure designed to regulate the flow rate or course of runoff water.

"Drainageway" shall mean a natural depression in the earth's surface or a man-made channel or depression in which surface waters collect as a result of rain or melting snow but at other times is destitute of water.

"Erosion" shall mean the wearing away of the land surface by running water, wind, ice, or other climatic and geological agents, including such processes as gravitational creep or mass wasting.

"Erosion control plan" or "plan" shall mean a plan which fully indicates the necessary land treatment and structural measures, installations, and treatments which effectively minimize soil erosion and sediment and debris yield.

"Erosion control plan condition" or "condition" shall mean a requirement which will be executed in accordance with the plan.

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City of Ojai, CA

OJAI CODE

§ 9-11.103

§ 9-11.103

"Excavation" shall mean any activity by which earth, sand, gravel, rock, or any other similar material is dug into, cut, quarried, uncovered, removed, displaced, relocated, or bulldozed and shall include the conditions resulting therefrom.

"Fill" shall mean a deposit of earth material placed by artificial means; or any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock, or any other material is placed, pushed, dumped, pulled, transported, or moved to a new location above the natural surface of the ground or on top of the stripped surface and shall include the conditions resulting therefrom.

"Grading permit" shall mean a permit issued by the City in conformance with Chapter 70 of the Uniform Building Code as amended by the City.

"Groundwater table" shall mean the upper surface of the groundwater or that level below which the soil is saturated with water.

"Hillside area" shall mean an area where the average slope before grading is 10% or more or where a cut and fill slope after proposed grading will exceed three feet in vertical height.

"Hydrologic" shall mean of or dealing with water on the land, including its properties, laws, geographical distribution, and the like.

"Land disturbance" shall mean any activity involving clearing, grading, or filling and any other activity which causes land to be exposed to the danger of erosion.

"Land preparation" shall mean the conditioning of land, including clearing, land leveling for related gradient control, and soil preparation for seeding, planting, or replanting crop land or soil protection developments.

"Landslide" shall mean earth materials which are moving or have moved downward on a hillside slope as a result of the action of external forces, such as gravity, seeping water, or earthquakes, or a combination thereof.

"Native vegetation" shall mean the plants, shrubs, and trees, and the roots thereof, which grow naturally or have become adapted to a local environment without being planted or cultivated by man.

"Original surface" shall mean the surface of the ground at the time of the initial investigation of a proposed project prior to any proposed land modification.

"Parcel" shall mean a parcel of real property as defined by the County Assessor.

"Person" shall mean any individual, firm, copartnership, joint venture, association, social club, fraternal organization, corporation, trust, business trust, receiver, syndicate, or any other group or combination acting as a unit.

"Physical land condition report" shall mean a written summary containing data describing physical conditions, including land use, topographic relationships, critical site limitations, land treatment measures, and any other significant data relating to the land.

"Public nuisance" shall mean any condition which threatens the health, safety, property, or general welfare of the public.

"Sediment detention measure" shall mean a facility which retains flow sufficiently to cause the deposition of transported sediment.

"Sedimentation" shall mean the process by which mineral or organic matter is removed from its site of origin, transported, and deposited by water, wind, or gravity.

"Site work plan" shall mean a plan delineating the limits of work to be done on a particular lot

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City of Ojai, CA

BUILDING REGULATIONS

§ 9-11.103

§ 9-11.103

or parcel of land where grading is permitted.

"Soil Conservation Service Land Capability Classification" shall mean a classification adopted by the United States Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service defining the ability of the land to produce under specified uses and conservation treatments with due regard to the inherent limitations and hazards of the land.

"Soil series" shall mean a category of soil classification in which soils with similar sequences of natural layers are grouped together and named; or soils which are essentially alike in all major profile characteristics, with the exception of surface texture.

"Soil type" shall mean a subdivision of soil series consisting of or describing soils which are alike in all characteristics, including soil texture.

"Storm water drainage" shall mean drainage resulting from any rainfall.

"Swale" shall mean a low lying stretch of land which gathers or carries surface water runoff.

"Ten-year frequency rainstorm" shall mean a rainstorm of such intensity that, on the average, could be expected to be equaled or exceeded once every 10 years in a 24 hour period; or a rainstorm of such intensity which has a 10% chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.

"Terrace" shall mean a relatively level step constructed in the face of a graded slope for drainage and maintenance purposes.

"Vegetation" shall mean the plant life (flora) which covers the ground surface of an area.

"Watercourse" shall mean a permanent stream, intermittent stream, river, brook, creek, channel, or ditch for water, whether natural or man-made.

"Watershed" shall mean all the land and water within the confines of a drainage divide. (§ 1, Ord. 601, eff. May 13, 1982, as amended by § 3, Ord. 624, eff. August 9, 1984)

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City of Ojai, CA § 9-11.201

BUILDING REGULATIONS

§ 9-11.203