Ventura Municipal Code Ch. 12.210 General Provisions

A. Generally. The purpose of this Division 2 of this title (hereafter referred to as “this division” or “Division 2”) is to safeguard life, limb, health, property and safety or public welfare by establishing minimum requirements for regulating grading and procedures on private property by which these requirements may be enforced. This division may be referred to and cited as the “grading ordinance.”

B. Scope. All grading shall be performed in accordance with the provisions of this division and with rules and regulations as established by the city engineer, and shall be in accordance with city of San Buenaventura Municipal Code, and the requirements of the approved general or specific plan for the area in which the grading is to be done.

Exception: The provisions of this division shall not apply to the following:

1. Work accomplished under the auspices of land owned and controlled by the United States of America or by the state of California.

2. Work in a public way, dams and drainage structures constructed by or under contract with the city or Ventura County watershed protection district unless the structure forms a portion of the support for a building or a structure coming within the jurisdiction of the building and safety division; provided, that the provisions of this division shall apply to land owned or controlled by local agencies and special districts as defined by, and to the extent allowed by, state law.

C. Hillside Management Program (HMP). All grading on property within the boundaries of the hillside area described in the HMP shall conform to the grading requirements of the HMP. Lots within the boundaries of the area described in the HMP with a slope less than 20:1 may be exempted from the grading requirements of the HMP by the city engineer and community development director if they determine that such exceptions will not endanger life, limb, health, property, safety or public welfare.

All grading in areas within the city which include a gradient greater than 5:1 shall conform to the requirements of the city hillside management program (HMP) if the city engineer determines that conformance is required in order to avoid danger to life, limb, health, property, safety, or public welfare.

D. Permissive Provisions. The permissive provisions of this division do not waive, and shall not be presumed to waive, any limitations imposed by other statutes or ordinances of the state or city.

E. Limitations. If two or more pertinent limitations are not identical, those limitations shall prevail which provide the greater safety to life, limb, health, property and public welfare.

F. Appeals. In order to insure a reasonable application of the provisions of this division and an opportunity for aggrieved persons to be heard, any person dissatisfied with the city engineer’s application of this division may appeal in writing as provided for in this division.

G. Measurements. Measurements referred to in this division are shown as English units (foot/pound/second). Measurements used in a grading project shall also be in English units.

H. Designated Representatives. Whenever in this division the term “city manager,” “community development director,” “city engineer,” “building official,” or “parks manager” is used, the terms shall mean and include the designated representatives of the respective city officials referred to in this division.

I. Rules and Regulations. The city engineer may enact administrative rules and regulations not in conflict herewith to accomplish the purpose and intent of this division.

J. Delegation of Authority. All findings, approvals, determinations, rule-making, or other exercises of discretionary judgment or any other exercise of delegated authority pursuant to this division by the public works director, community development director, or the city engineer, or their successors or designees, or any other advisory agency or city official, shall be carried out in a manner consistent with the purposes of this grading ordinance, the Subdivision Map Act, the city’s general plan, the orderly development of the city, sound civil engineering practices, and the protection and advancement of the public welfare. (Ord. No. 2017-009, § 1, 5-22-17)

For the purpose of this division, the following terms shall be defined as follows:

“Agricultural grading” shall mean grading to enhance or conduct farming, including animal husbandry and the production and management of crops (including aquatic crops) for food, fiber, fuel, and ornament. Agricultural grading does not include grading for buildings, barns, equestrian facilities, permanent structures with a foundation, and parking lots.

“As-graded (aka as-built) plan” shall mean a record drawing of the completed work as to line and grade.

“Bedrock” shall mean the solid undisturbed rock in place either at the ground surface or beneath surficial deposits of gravel, sand or soil or as determined by the geotechnical engineer or engineering geologist.

“Bench” shall mean a relatively level step excavated into earth material on which fill is to be placed.

“Best management practice (BMP)” shall mean a stormwater pollution mitigation measure that is required to be employed in order to comply with the requirements of the Ventura Countywide stormwater quality management program, National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.

“Building official” shall mean that person charged with the responsibility of enforcing the California Building Code (CBC) and state statutes and ordinances pertaining to their office.

“City engineer” shall mean that person charged with the responsibility of coordinating all phases of engineering for the city government.

“City standard construction details” shall mean that publication of construction drawings developed by the city engineer and revised from time to time.

“Civil engineer” shall mean a professional engineer registered in the state of California to practice in the field of civil engineering works.

“Community development director” shall mean that person charged with the responsibility of coordinating all phases of city growth planning, development, and redevelopment for the city.

“Compaction” shall mean the densification of a fill by mechanical means.

“Continuous observation” shall mean nearly full-time visual observation of equipment, and materials used therein, sufficient to permit the engineer to render a professional opinion as to the contractor’s conformance with the engineer’s recommendations, plans or specifications.

“Design engineer” shall mean the civil engineer responsible for the preparation of the grading plans for the site grading work.

“Engineering geologist” shall mean a geologist licensed in the state of California and certified as an engineering geologist who is duly qualified and capable of applying the geological sciences to engineering practice for the purpose of developing and rendering professional opinions regarding how geologic features affect the location, design, construction, operation and maintenance of engineering works. Excavation, also referred to as “cut,” shall mean the mechanical or other artificial removal of earth material.

“Existing grade” shall mean the vertical location of the existing ground surface prior to excavating or filling.

“Export” shall mean the removal of excess graded material from the property.

“Fill” shall mean the placement of earth materials by artificial means to raise grades or backfill excavations.

“Finished grade” shall mean the final grade or elevation of the building site, slope or terrace, which conforms to the approved plan.

“Geotechnical engineer” shall mean a civil engineer licensed in the state of California as a geotechnical engineer and duly qualified and capable of applying geological sciences, soil mechanics and slope stability analysis to engineering practice. A geotechnical engineer is also known as a soils engineer when licensed as such.

“Grade” shall mean the vertical location of the ground surface.

“Grading” shall mean the removal of soil or deposition of fill or combination thereof, including, but not limited to, overexcavation and recompaction.

“Hillside area” shall mean all of that area defined as hillside area by the city general plan as it may be amended from time to time.

“Hillside management program (HMP)” shall mean that document of policies, development criteria and submittal requirements established by Resolution No. 89-104 on August 28, 1989, by the city council, as it may be amended from time to time, to implement the general plan as it relates to hillside areas.

“Import” shall mean earth material from outside the property boundaries for use in grading on a site.

“Key” shall mean a nearly level excavation cut into firm earth materials at the toe of a slope upon which compacted fill may be placed to begin building a fill slope or buttress fill. Also known as a “keyway.”

“Landscape architect” shall mean a landscape architect duly registered as such by the state of California.

“Landslide” shall mean the falling, slipping or flowing of a mass of land from a higher to a lower level.

“Active landslide” shall mean a landslide that has been active at any time since January 1, 1952.

“Historical landslide” shall mean a landslide that was active in historical time prior to 1952 as determined from photographs, maps and written records.

“Prehistoric landslide” shall mean conditions where there is no record of historical landslide but where geological evidence or topographic expression indicates modification of the terrain by land movement.

“Possible prehistoric landslide” shall mean areas where there is no record of a historic landslide but where topographic expression or geological evidence suggests the possibility of past land movement.

“Over excavation” shall mean excavation below and/or beyond the limits of plan grades and recompaction of soil to improve low density soils per the soils engineer report.

“Parks manager” shall mean that person charged with the responsibility of coordinating all phases of parks maintenance for the city.

“Periodic observation” shall mean intermittent visual observation throughout the course of the project.

“Rainy season” shall mean that period of time when rainfall is likely to occur and is defined as being within the months and dates as shown in the current Ventura Countywide stormwater quality management program, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.

“Record drawing” shall mean the approved updated plan showing the as-graded surface condition upon completion of grading.

“Retaining wall” shall mean a wall type structure that is built to retain a vertical or near vertical face mass of earth. The earth behind the wall may be a natural embankment or backfill material placed adjacent to the retaining wall.

“Rough grade” shall mean the approximate elevation of the ground surface conforming to the approved plan.

“Site” shall mean any lot or parcel of land, or contiguous combination thereof, under the same ownership where grading is performed or permitted.

“Slope” shall mean an inclined ground surface, the inclination of which is expressed as a ratio (for example 2:1) of the horizontal distance to a vertical distance. Each number refers to a measurement that utilizes the same unit of measurement.

“Soil” shall mean all earth material, of whatever origin, overlying bedrock except for roots or other organic materials.

“Soils engineer” shall mean a civil engineer licensed by the state of California who is experienced in the application of the principles of soil mechanics in the investigation, evaluation, and design of civil works involving the use of earth materials.

“Supervisory control” shall mean the continuous monitoring of the contractor’s work by the permittee, with geotechnical observation and testing by a resident geotechnical engineer, soils engineer, civil engineer, or engineering geologist, based upon the engineer’s recommendations, plans, or specifications, and the reporting of their opinions of the contractor’s fulfillment of these recommendations or adherence to plans and specifications to the city.

“Surface drainage” shall mean flows over the ground surface.

“Temporary stockpile” shall mean the creation of a mound of earth with side slopes of three units horizontal to one unit vertical (33 percent slope) or flatter, and not to exceed eight feet in height, for a period of time not exceeding 180 calendar days, before being moved off site. (Ord. No. 2017-009, § 1, 5-22-17)

Appeals from permit conditions, or to allow alternate grading methods, or for other forms of relief from determinations or decisions by the city engineer, may be made to the public works director. The appeal shall be filed within 10 calendar days after the final action, determination, or decision by the city engineer. The appeal shall be on forms as provided by the public works director and shall specifically set forth the grounds for appeal and reason or basis for disagreement with the decision of the city engineer. The public works director shall have the authority to hear such appeals and grant exceptions to particular requirements of this division, or approve alternative grading methods or permit conditions, where the public works director finds such exceptions or alternates provide equivalent levels of protection of the public health and safety; provided, that the public works director may not waive the basic requirement of obtaining a grading permit. Specifically, the public works director shall determine one of the following:

A. The city engineer’s decision was a reasonable interpretation of this division and that determination shall stand; or

B. Based on findings supported by substantial evidence:

1. An exception to a particular permit condition or requirement of this division can be carried out with adequate protection of the public health and safety and is, therefore, warranted; or

2. There are alternate grading methods that will provide equivalent levels of protection of the public health and safety. Such alternates shall be specifically delineated in upholding the appeal.

The decision of the public works director shall be final and there shall be no further appeal to the city council or any city advisory body.

The filing fee for any such appeal shall be in the amount as provided for appeals of building or construction permits to the board of appeals until such time as the city council amends the city’s users fee schedule to provide a separate fee for appeals of decisions relating to grading permits. The fee shall be paid at the time of, and as a prerequisite for, filing the appeal. (Ord. No. 2017-009, § 1, 5-22-17)