San Ramon Municipal Code Ch. II Regulation of Grading and Hazardous Conditions

Contents: C7-12. - Permit required. C7-13. - Time of approval. C7-14—C7-18. - Reserved. C7-19. - Excavation blasting permit. C7-20. - Reserved. C7-21. - Stop work orders. C7-22—C7-27. - Reserved. C7-28. - Hazardous conditions. C7-29. - Appeals. C7-30—C7-33. - Reserved. C7-34. - Form and content of submittals. C7-35. - Information on plans and specifications. C7-36. - Soil engineering and engineering geology reports. C7-37. - Asphalt concrete pavement. C7-38. - Water well abandonments. C7-39—C7-40. - Reserved. C7-41. - Issuance, expiration and renewal. C7-42. - Denial of permit. C7-43. - Time of grading operations. C7-44. - Responsibility of permittee. C7-45. - Protection of adjoining property. C7-46. - Cuts. C7-47. - Fills. C7-48. - Setbacks. C7-49. - Drainage and terracing. C7-50. - Site dust control.

City of San Ramon, CA | Municipal Code 556

It shall be unlawful for any person to commence or perform any of the following grading, paving, or clearing activities without first obtaining a permit from the director. A. Grading Activities. 1. The grading of an area where the average slope of the area to be excavated or filled exceeds five to one. 2. The excavation, fill, or rearrangement of fifty or more cubic yards of earth material on any site. This volume shall be the aggregate of all grading or clearing operations over a twelve- month period. 3. The excavation or fill of any portion of a site that increases or decreases its elevation following the completion of grading by a height of two feet or more at any point. 4. The diversion of rainwater runoff from an area that is greater than the impervious area threshold for new development established by the Regional Water Quality Control Board for the San Francisco Bay Area, or two thousand square feet, whichever is smaller. 5. The blockage or alteration of a waterway or drainageway. 6. The excavation for the installation, removal, or repair of any underground storage tank. B. Clearing Activities. 1. The clearing of an area one acre in size or larger. 2. The clearing of an area greater than two thousand square feet with an average slope exceeding five to one. C. Paving Activities. 1. Construction of pavement surfacing on natural or existing grade of an area that is greater than the impervious area threshold for new development established by the Regional Water Quality Control Board for the San Francisco Bay Area, or two thousand square feet, whichever is smaller. The director may waive the requirement for a grading permit under this subsection when a separate improvement plan for such paving has been approved and signed by an authorized city official. D. Exceptions to the permit requirements. No grading or clearing permit shall be required for: 1. An excavation below finished grade for basements and footings of a building, mobile home, retaining wall, or other structure authorized by a valid building permit or construction permit. This shall not exempt any fill made with the material from such excavation or exempt any excavation having an unsupported height greater than five feet after the completion of such structure. This shall not prohibit a minimum fee grading permit or soil or geologic report from being required for foundation design and inspection purposes when, in the opinion of the director, stability or flooding considerations warrant such inspection; 2. Cemetery graves; 3. Refuse disposal sites controlled by other regulations; 4. Earthwork construction regulated by the federal, state, county, or city governments, or by any local agency as defined by Government Code Sections 53090 through 53095 (Special Districts). Pipeline or conduit excavation and backfill conducted by local agencies or public utilities. Earthwork construction performed by railway companies on their operating property. This exemption, however, shall apply only when the earthwork construction takes place on the property, or dedicated rights-of-way or easements of the above agencies; 5. Excavation and backfill for installation of underground utilities by public utilities or companies operating under the authority of a franchise or public property encroachment permit; City of San Ramon, CA | Municipal Code 557

6. Mining, quarrying, excavating, processing, stockpiling of rock, sand, gravel, aggregate or clay where established and provided for by law, provided such operations do not affect the lateral support or increase the stresses in or pressures upon any adjacent or contiguous property;
   7. Exploratory excavations under the direction of soil engineers or engineering geologist, provided all excavations are properly backfilled. All such excavations and trenches are subject to the applicable sections of Title 8 of the State Orders, Division of Industrial Safety;
   8. The stockpiling of earth materials on a site, for temporary storage, in an amount as determined by the director, which does not exceed thirty days in duration and does not obstruct a drainage course;
   9. Work performed as interim protection under flood fighting or other emergency conditions. (Ord. No. 409, § 2, 12-9-2008)

No grading/clearing/paving permit application shall be approved or issued without compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and until all other permits or approvals required to undertake the activity or use proposed on the site to be graded, cleared or paved have been granted or completed. (Ord. No. 409, § 2, 12-9-2008)

C7-14—C7-18. - Reserved.

No person shall possess, store, sell, transport or use explosives and blasting agents to do any excavation without a permit from the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District. (Ord. No. 409, § 2, 12-9-2008)

Whenever any building or grading work is being done contrary to the provisions of this division, the Grading Manual, or the conditions of a permit issued under this division, the director may order the work stopped by notice in writing served on any persons engaged in the doing or causing such work to be done, and any such persons shall forthwith stop such work until authorized by the director to proceed with the work. (Ord. No. 409, § 2, 12-9-2008)

C7-22—C7-27. - Reserved.

A. Hazardous Conditions. Hazardous conditions exist when the state of any natural ground, natural slopes, excavation, fill or drainage device, all of which exist on private property, is a menace to life or limb, or a danger to public safety, usability or stability of adjacent property, structures or public facilities. B. Examinations by Director. The director may examine or cause to be examined every condition reported as hazardous as set forth in subsection A of this section.

City of San Ramon, CA | Municipal Code 558

C. Notice of Hazardous Condition. In any case where a hazardous condition is found, the director shall give notice, setting forth the finding to all owners of the property affected by the hazardous condition, authorized representative of the owners or a permittee under any active permit which gives permittee control of the property issued pursuant to this division hereinafter referred to as "owner," of such required corrective work. The notice may state the time and place of a hearing to be held if the owner fails to comply with any demand for corrective work or reports. The purpose of the hearing would be for the presentation of evidence concerning the hazardous conditions and demand for corrective work or submission of reports. The notice shall set forth the right of the owner to be present and to submit relevant evidence at the hearing. If the time and place of any hearing scheduled for the presentation of evidence is not included in the initial notice(s), it shall be included in a subsequent notice. The notice shall be mailed by certified mail and posted in a prominent location on the property. D. Evidence. At the time and place so specified for the hearing, evidence shall be submitted as to the facts of any condition as to reasonably establish its existence, and the director or the director's designee, as hearing officer, shall determine whether the facts presented reasonably establish the existence of a hazardous condition to the satisfaction of the hearing officer. Evidence may further be submitted as to the work or reports considered necessary to correct or determine work to correct such hazard. Exception. Where city property or facilities are endangered by the hazardous condition found by the director, at the request of the owner, the hearing shall be held before a hearing officer appointed by the city council. The owner or director may appeal such hearing officer's order as set forth in this section. E. Order, Finality and Appeal. Upon determining the existence of a hazardous condition, the hearing officer shall determine whether such hazards are subject to corrective work and/or the need for more analysis through the preparation of reports and shall order such work or reports and specify a completion time. 1. Finality of Order. The determination and order may be made orally at the hearing and shall be written and transmitted to the owner within a reasonable time. The determination and order shall become final within ten days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, from the time it is first rendered; in the event that the owner was not present at the hearing, within ten days of the mailing of the order to the last known address of said owner. 2. Appeal. The owner or the director may, at any time prior to the determination and order becoming final, appeal in writing the decision of the director or hearing officer to the city council. The city council shall fix a time and place and hold a hearing, consider the evidence and make a determination as set forth in Section C7-29. The order of the city council shall be immediately final. F. Completion of Work. The owner shall, following the finality of the determination and order of the hearing officer, or if appealed, the determination and order of the city council, commence the corrective action ordered or preparation of reports and such work or submissions shall be completed within the specified time. G. Failure to Complete Work. If the owner neglects or fails to complete the corrective work or submit the reports ordered by the hearing officer within the specified time, the director may: (1) cause the work to be performed or reports to be prepared, or (2) advise the owner of the need for corrective work and warn him/her that in the absence of such corrective work, subsequent future hazards may occur which could result in an order to vacate the premises. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit the type of remedy or relief which the director may have under any provision of law. H. Costs. Costs incurred by the city to perform any corrective work or prepare reports under subsection G of this section shall be charged to the owner. The director may apply to the city City of San Ramon, CA | Municipal Code 559

council to cause the costs to be paid and levied as a special assessment against the property and collected in a manner provided for special assessments. I. Vacation of Property. If necessary, the notice and order in subsection (C) or (E) of this section shall include the requirement that the property, a portion thereof or adjacent sites be vacated within a specified time, in the interest of public safety, pending the finality of any determination and order or completion of corrective work. (Ord. No. 409, § 2, 12-9-2008)

In acting on an appeal the city council may uphold, reverse, or modify the decision of the director or hearing officer. (Ord. No. 409, § 2, 12-9-2008)

C7-30—C7-33. - Reserved.

A. To obtain a permit the applicant shall first file a written application on an approved form containing the following minimum information. The detail of this information shall be as specified in the Grading Manual: 1. The site by lot, block and tract designation, and by a street address or similar description sufficient to readily identify the site; 2. The name and address of the owner of the site, the person who is to perform the work, and the soil and civil engineer if such work is to be performed as supervised grading. The permit shall be issued only to the owner or the owner's agent; 3. An estimate of the time schedule of work; 4. Signature and address of the applicant and owner of the real property if different from the applicant. B. The application shall be accompanied by the following material: 1. Inspection and Plan Checking Fees. Fees may be waived if the director finds that the scope of work does not require inspection or plan checking services; fees for utility company work may be deferred as determined by the director until after the work is completed; 2. An engineer's estimate of the quantity and cost of work to be done; 3. A Soils Engineering and Engineering Geology Report. All or portions of this requirement may be waived by the director for relatively small and/or flat sites or where the city can find that a conservative design will more than compensate for the lack of in-place soils data; 4. Erosion control plan. Three copies of an erosion control plan that defines measures that the applicant will implement to mitigate erosion and sedimentation impacts of the proposed grading activity. The plan contents and form shall be as stipulated by the Grading Manual; 5. Stormwater water pollution prevention plan. As required by the state water resources control board three copies of a plan must be submitted that identifies appropriate storm water pollution prevention measures, or best management practices, to eliminate or reduce pollutants in stormwater discharges from the construction site both during construction and after construction is complete. In addition, the applicant must obtain a general construction permit from the State Water Resources Control Board; 6. Three sets of plans shall be submitted. Plans shall be twenty-four inches by thirty-six inches and to a form as approved by the director. The plans shall be prepared and signed by a civil engineer and shall conform to the requirements of the Grading Manual, the San Ramon City of San Ramon, CA | Municipal Code 560

design and improvement standards, plus any additional material which the director deems necessary to show conformance of the proposed grading with the requirements of this section and other related ordinances; 7. The tree removal permit number indicating the trees which have been approved to be removed; 8. Performance surety required. As a condition of issuing a grading permit, applicant shall post a surety bond or cash deposit consistent with Section C7-55; 9. Copies of any permits that are required by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, California Department of Fish and Game, Regional Water Quality Control Board or any other agency having jurisdiction over the area subject to grading or the grading activity. C. Should the permittee fail to comply with the conditions of approval or repair damage upon request by the city, the city shall give written notice to the permittee and surety of the bond. The notice shall state: 1. The work to be completed and/or repairs to be made; 2. The approximate cost to perform the required work; 3. The time in which all work is to be completed. Should the required work not be completed within the time specified by the city, the city may cause such work to be done and deduct the cost thereof from any cash deposit or collect such amount from the surety. When the grading is not performed by the contractor within the time prescribed by the grading permit, a time extension may be granted upon a showing of just cause. Sureties or the remaining portion of any cash deposit will be released only upon satisfactory completion of the work and completion of any required warranty period. Warranty periods shall not exceed twelve months. Performance bonds for subdivisions shall be in accordance with the requirements of this division. (Ord. No. 409, § 2, 12-9-2008)

Grading plans and specifications shall be prepared in accordance with the grading requirements of the Grading Manual and the San Ramon Design and Improvement Standards. (Ord. No. 409, § 2, 12-9-2008)

A soil engineering and engineering geology report shall be required for grading projects, unless otherwise waived by the director. The reports shall include information appropriate for the site including any information required by the director. Recommendations included in the reports and approved by the director shall be incorporated in the grading plans or specifications. Soil and engineering geology reports shall be subject to peer review at the discretion of the director. Costs of such peer review shall be the responsibility of the applicant. (Ord. No. 409, § 2, 12-9-2008)

Asphalt concrete pavement for surfacing of parking lots, private streets or other similar use shall conform to the provisions of the Grading Manual.

City of San Ramon, CA | Municipal Code 561

(Ord. No. 409, § 2, 12-9-2008)

Upon determination that a water well on the property, whether currently functional or not, is located on the property, is affected by proposed grading operations, measures shall be taken to formally abandon the well as part of grading operations. The abandonment procedures shall be in compliance with Contra Costa County Health Department requirements (and all standards of Bulletin 74 of State of California Department of Water Resources). The top of the well shall mean to be the existing grade if the site is to be filled and the proposed grade in the event of a cut. (Ord. No. 409, § 2, 12-9-2008)

C7-39—C7-40. - Reserved.

A. Except as provided below, every permit issued shall be valid for a period of two years from the date of issuance. If the permittee is unable to complete the work by the end of the two-year period plus any extensions granted under subsection B below, the director may renew the grading permit on an annual basis for a fee of one-half the amount paid for the original permit provided no changes have been made in the plans and specifications since the permit was issued or last renewed. However, the director may require at any time that grading operations and project designs be modified to address weather related problems not considered at the time the permit was issued or to eliminate a hazard. B. Every permit issued shall expire if the work authorized by such permit is not commenced within ninety days from the date of such permit issuance or if the work authorized by such permit is suspended or abandoned for a period of ninety days after the work is commenced. The director may extend or allow no more than two successive ninety day expiration periods upon written request from the applicant showing to the director's satisfaction that circumstances beyond the control of the applicant have caused the delay provided that: 1. No changes have been made in the original plans and specifications for the work; 2. The plans are in compliance with all applicable current city regulations; 3. The surety is in place for the extended period. (Ord. No. 409, § 2, 12-9-2008)

A. The director shall not issue a permit in any case upon finding that the work as proposed by the applicant is liable to constitute a hazard to property or result in the deposition of debris on any public way or interfere with any existing drainage course. If it can be shown to the satisfaction of the director that the hazard can be essentially eliminated by the construction of retaining structures, buttress fills, drainage devices or by other means, the director may issue the permit with the condition that such work be performed. B. If, in the opinion of the director, the land area for which grading is proposed is subject to geological or flood hazard to the extent that no reasonable amount of corrective work can eliminate or sufficiently reduce the hazard to human life or property, the grading permit and the building permits for habitable structures shall be denied. C. The director may require plans and specifications to be modified in order to mitigate anticipated adverse environmental effects of proposed grading projects. Under circumstances where the

City of San Ramon, CA | Municipal Code 562

significant adverse environmental effects of a proposed grading project cannot be mitigated, the director may deny the issuance of a grading permit. D. The director may require plans and specifications to be modified in order to make them consistent with the city's general plan, specific plans, zoning code or other rules, regulations or conditions applicable to the project. The director may deny the grading permit if the proposed project cannot be designed in accordance with these rules, regulations or conditions. (Ord. No. 409, § 2, 12-9-2008)

Notwithstanding any other provisions of the Municipal Code, grading and equipment operations within one-half mile of a structure for human occupancy shall take place between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding state and federal holidays. The director may, however, permit grading or equipment operations during specific hours at other times upon determining that such operations are not detrimental to the health, safety or welfare of the inhabitants of such a structure. Permitted hours of operation may be shortened by the director's finding of a previously unforseen effect on the health, safety or welfare of the surrounding community. (Ord. No. 409, § 2, 12-9-2008)

It shall be the responsibility of the permittee to be knowledgeable of the conditions and/or restrictions of the grading permit as outlined in applicable sections of this division, the Grading Manual, and as contained in the approved grading plans and in the approved soil and geology reports. The permittee shall also be responsible to maintain in an obvious and accessible location on the site, a copy of the grading plans bearing the stamp of approval by the director. (Ord. No. 409, § 2, 12-9-2008)

Each adjacent owner is entitled to the lateral and subjacent support which his or her land receives from the adjoining land, subject to the right of the owner of the adjoining land to make proper and usual excavations on the same for the purposes of construction or improvement as provided by law. (Ord. No. 409, § 2, 12-9-2008)

Cut slopes shall be no steeper than is safe for the intended use and shall conform to the requirements of the Grading Manual. (Ord. No. 409, § 2, 12-9-2008)

Fill slopes shall be no steeper than is safe for the intended use, shall be prepared and maintained to control against erosion, and shall conform to the requirements of the Grading Manual. (Ord. No. 409, § 2, 12-9-2008)

City of San Ramon, CA | Municipal Code 563

The tops and toes of cut and fill slopes shall be set back from property lines and structures as far as necessary to provide for safety of adjacent property, safety of pedestrians and vehicular traffic, required slope rounding, adequate foundation support, required swales, berms and drainage facilities and applicable zoning requirements. Setbacks shall conform to the requirements of the Grading Manual. (Ord. No. 409, § 2, 12-9-2008)

Drainage facilities and terracing shall conform to the provisions of the Grading Manual. (Ord. No. 409, § 2, 12-9-2008)

The movement of earth materials in excess of fifty cubic yards either within, to, or from a site located within one-half mile of a structure for human occupancy shall require the periodic implementation of dust control measures. On projects as determined by the director, a water truck shall be continuously present on-site to assure maximum control. Dust control measures will comply with the requirements of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. (Ord. No. 409, § 2, 12-9-2008)

On project sites where earth materials are moved on public roadways from or to the site, all the following requirements shall apply: A. Either water, dust palliative or both, or other measures required by the Regional Water Quality Control Board must be applied for the alleviation or prevention of excessive dust resulting from the loading or transportation of earth from or to the project site on public roadways. The permittee shall be responsible for maintaining public rights-of-way used for hauling purposes in a condition free of dust, earth or debris attributed to the grading operation. B. Loading and transportation of earth from or to the site must be accomplished within the limitations established in section C7-43. C. Access roads to the premises shall be only at points designated on the approved grading plan. D. The last fifty feet of the access road, as it approaches the intersection with the public roadway, shall have a grade not to exceed three percent. There must be a three hundred foot clear, unobstructed sight distance to the intersection from both the public roadway and the access road. If the three hundred-foot sight distance cannot be obtained, flagmen shall be posted. E. A stop sign conforming to the requirements of the California Vehicle Code shall be posted at the entrance of the access road to the public roadway. F. Traffic control measures shall be implemented pursuant to a traffic control plan submitted and approved by the director prior to start of grading operations. The traffic control plan shall be consistent with the Work Area Traffic Control Handbook - WATCH Manual of the American Public Works Association and the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices. (Ord. No. 409, § 2, 12-9-2008)