Chapter 12.04 — GENERAL PROVISIONS

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the excavations and grading ordinance of the city of San Bruno.

(Prior code § 9-1.1; Ord. 1369 § 1, 1981)

• A. This chapter is enacted for the purpose of stringent control of all aspects of grading operations.

• B. It is the intent of the city council in enacting this chapter:

  1. To promote the conservation of natural resources, including hills and vegetation;

  2. To protect the public health and safety, by reduction or elimination of the hazards of earth slides, mud flows, rock fills, undue settlement, erosion, siltation, flooding, or other special conditions by minimizing the adverse effects of grading, cut and fill operations, water runoff, and soil erosion.

(Prior code § 9-1.2; Ord. 1369 § 1, 1981)

• A. For the purpose of this chapter, the words and phrases set forth in this section shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them herein, unless the context clearly indicates a contrary intention:

"Architect" means a professional architect registered in and by the state.

"As-graded" means the surface conditions extant on completion of grading.

"Bedrock" means in-place solid rock beneath soil and superficial rock.

"Bench" means a relatively level step excavated into earth material on which fill is to be placed, or within a cut or fill slope.

"Blending" means the intermixing and compaction of natural site soils (such as materials from two natural soil horizons), or for the intermixing and compaction of natural site soils with imported soil or other materials.

"Borrow" means earth material acquired from an off-site location for use in grading on a site.

"Buttress fill" means a compacted fill which is placed in an area where soft natural soils beneath a planned fill would be overstressed by the weight of the fill. The buttress fill is placed after the soft natural soils have been removed.

"Certification" means a written engineering or geological report concerning the progress and completion of the work.

"City engineer" means the city engineer of the city or the designated representative of the city engineer.

"Civil engineer" means a professional engineer registered in and by the state to practice in the field of civil engineering.

"Civil engineering" means 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.

"Clearing and grubbing" means cutting, chopping, bulldozing, or removing by any means the native growths of trees, bushes, grass, stumps, root masses, and all debris not native to the site.

"Compaction" means the densification of a fill by mechanical means.

"Competent material" means earth material capable of withstanding the loads which are to be imposed upon it without failure or detrimental settlement as certified by the soils engineer.

"Contour rounding" means the rounding of cut and fill slopes in the horizontal plane to blend with existing contours or to horizontal variation, or to eliminate the artificial appearance of slopes.

"Depth of cut or fill" means the vertical distance between existing natural ground and the finish elevation at any location.

"Dust control plan" means a written procedure describing the method, equipment, and materials to be used in minimizing and controlling dust arising from the construction activities.

"Earth material" means any rock, natural soil, fill, or any combination thereof.

"Engineering geologist" means a professional engineering geologist registered in and by the state to practice in the field of engineering geology.

"Engineering geology" means the application of geologic knowledge and principles in the investigations and evaluation of naturally occurring rock and soil for use in the design of civil works.

"Erosion" means the wearing away of the ground surface as a result of the movement of wind, water and/or ice.

"Excavation" means the mechanical removal of earth material.

"Existing grade" means the grade prior to grading.

"Fill" means a deposit of earth material placed by artificial means.

"Finish grade" means the final grade of the site which conforms to the approved plan.

"Grade" means the vertical location of the ground surface.

"Grading" means any excavation or filling or combination thereof.

"Height of cut and fill slopes" means the finish vertical distances from the top to toe of slope.

"Key" means a designated compacted fill placed in a trench excavated in earth material beneath the toe of a proposed fill slope.

"Modification" means a term for any procedure that will reduce the Atterberg limits (liquid limit, plastic limit, and plasticity index) of a soil.

"Nesting" means the placement of large rocks so as to create voids in the fill and to make proper compaction difficult or impossible.

"Replacement" means a term for the removal and wasting of natural soil materials judged unsuitable for the support of site improvements, and their replacement with properly compacted soil materials as approved by the city engineer.

"Reworking" means the mechanical densification or consolidation of natural loose soil material or the removal, processing, and drying of Bay mud.

"Rough grade" means the stage at which the grade approximately conforms to the approved plan.

"Site" means any lot or parcel of land, or contiguous combination thereof, where grading is performed or permitted.

"Slope" means an inclined ground surface, the inclination of which is expressed as a ratio of horizontal distance to vertical distance.

"Soil" means the top layer of the earth, excluding rock.

"Soil engineer" means a civil engineer experienced and knowledgeable in the practice of soil engineering.

"Soil engineering" means the application of the principles of mechanics in the investigation, evaluation and design of civil works involving the use of earth materials and the inspection and testing of the construction thereof.

"Stabilization" means any procedure that will result in increased shear strength in a soil.

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

"Variable slope" means the variation of a cut and fill slope in the vertical plane to blend with existing contours and vertical undulation to eliminate the artificial appearance of slopes.

"Vertical slope rounding" means the rounding of the top and toe of cut and fill slopes.

• B. Whenever any words or phrases in this chapter are not defined herein but are defined in the subdivision ordinances, in the zoning ordinance, or elsewhere in this code, such definitions are incorporated herein, unless the context clearly indicates a contrary intention.

• (Prior code § 9-1.3; Ord. 1369 § 1, 1981)

Whenever the city engineer determines that any existing excavation or embankment or fill on private property has become a hazard to life and limb, endangers property or adversely affects the safety, use or stability of a public way or drainage channel, the owner of the property on which such condition is located, or other person or agent in control of such property, upon receipt of written notice from the city engineer shall within the period specified in the notice repair or eliminate such condition so as to eliminate the hazard and be in conformance with the requirements of this chapter. (Prior code § 9-1.12; Ord. 1369 § 1, 1981)

The provisions of this chapter shall not be construed to authorize any person to maintain a public or private nuisance upon any property, and compliance with the terms of this chapter shall not be a defense in any action to abate such nuisance. (Prior code § 9-1.13; Ord. 1369 § 1, 1981)