Villa Park Municipal Code Art. 10-5 Grading Permit Requirements

Except as exempted in Section 10-3.1, Grading Permits, of this Chapter, no person shall conduct any grading or clearing, brushing, or grubbing on natural grade or existing grade that is preparatory to grading, without first obtaining a grading permit from the Building Official. A separate permit shall be required for each site and may cover both excavations and fills.

a. To obtain a grading permit, the applicant must first file an application in writing on a form furnished by the Building Official.

The permit application shall be accompanied by information required by the Building Official and as specified in Subarticle 5 of the Grading Manual.

b. Applications for which no permit is issued within one hundred eighty (180) days following the date of application shall expire by limitation and plans submitted for checking may thereafter be returned to the applicant or destroyed by the Building Official. The Building Official may extend the time for action by the applicant for a period not exceeding one hundred eighty (180) days upon written request by the applicant showing that circumstances beyond the control of the applicant have prevented action from being taken. In order to renew action for an application after expiration, the applicant shall resubmit plans and pay a new plan check fee.

a. Each application for a grading permit shall be accompanied by plans and specifications, and supporting data consisting of soil engineering and engineering geology reports when required by the Building Official, as specified in Section 10-5.5, Soil Engineering and Engineering Geology Reports, of this Chapter.

b. Plans and specifications for earthwork projects of five thousand (5,000) cubic yards or more, and/or subdivisions and hillside commercial, industrial and multi-residential project shall be prepared and signed by a civil engineer, unless otherwise approved by the Building Official. The requirement may be extended to any project when, in the opinion of the Building Official, critical drainage or geologic factors may be involved and there is need for civil engineering design and control.

Grading plans and specifications shall be prepared in accordance with the grading requirements of subsection 10-14.2, Grading Requirements, of this Chapter and Subarticle 5 of the Grading Manual.

A soil engineering geology report shall be required for grading projects, unless otherwise waived by the Building Official. The reports shall include information appropriate for the site including any information required by the Building Official. Recommendations included in the reports and approved by the Building Official shall be incorporated in the grading plans or specifications.

a. Every permit issued shall be valid for a period of two (2) years from the date of issuance.

b. Every permit issued shall expire by limitation and become null and void if the work authorized by such permit is not commenced within one-hundred eighty (180) days from the date of such permit or if the work authorized by such permit is suspended or abandoned at any time after the work is commenced for a period of one-hundred eighty (180) days.

c. The time limitations and provisions of Section 303, Permits Issuance, of the Uniform Building Code as amended are applicable to grading permits, except as stated in (1) and (2) below:

(1) A permit issued hereunder shall expire upon a change of ownership if the grading work thereof, for which said permit was issued, has not been completed, and a new permit shall be required for the completion of the work. If the time limitations of a. and b. of this section are not applicable and if no changes have been made to the plans and specifications last submitted to the Building Official, no charge shall be made for the issuance of the new permit under such circumstances. If, however, changes have been made to the plans and specifications last submitted to the Building Official, fees based on the valuation of the additional work, additional yardage and necessary plan checking as provided for in Subarticle 6 of the Grading Manual shall be charged to the permit applicant.

(2) The Building Official may extend the one-hundred eighty (180) day expiration time limit on permits not to extend two (2) successive periods of one-hundred eighty (180) days each upon written request by the applicant showing that circumstances beyond the control of the applicant have prevented action from being taken.

d. The Building Official may require that grading operations and project designs be modified if delays occur which incur weather-related problems not considered at the time the permit was issued, and further subject to the provisions of subsection 10-5.7, Denial of Permit, of this Chapter.

e. If the permittee presents satisfactory reasons for failure to continue or begin the work within the period specified in b. of this section, the Building Official, upon receiving a written request, may grant an extension of time as specified in c.(2) of this section without additional fees, provided that:

(1) No changes have been made in the original plans and specifications for such work.

(2) Suspension or abandonment has not exceeded one year.

(3) A re-endorsement of the compliance of the plans with the applicable regulations by the City of Villa Park obtained.

Such request for extensions must be submitted no later than the sixtieth (60th) day following the date on which said permit would otherwise expire. If the permittee fails to request an extension within the time provided, the Building Official may renew the grading permit for a fee of one-half the amount required for the original permit provided no changes have been made in the original plans and specifications for such work.

f. If the permittee is unable to complete the work by the end of a two-year period, the Building Official may renew the grading permit on an annual basis for a fee of one-half the amount required for the original permit for such work, provided no changes have been made in the original plans and specifications for such work.

a. The Building Official shall not issue a permit in any case where he finds 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 Building Official that the hazard can be essentially eliminated by the construction of retaining structures, buttress fills, drainage devices or by other means the Building Official may issue the permit with the condition that such work be performed.

b. If, in the opinion of the Building Official, 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 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 Building Official may require plans and specifications to be modified in order to mitigate anticipated adverse environmental effects of proposed grading projects. He may, under circumstances where the significant adverse environmental effects of a proposed grading project cannot be mitigated, deny the issuance of a grading permit.

d. The Building Official may require plans and specifications to be modified in order to make them consistent with the Villa Park General Plan. Specific Plans, Zoning Code or other rules, regulations, or conditions applicable to the project. He may deny the grading permit if the proposed project cannot be designed in accordance with these rules, regulations or conditions.

Grading and equipment operations within one-half mile of a structure for human occupancy shall not be conducted between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. nor on Sundays and federal holidays. The Building Official may, however, permit grading or equipment operations during specific hours after 8:00 p.m. or before 7:00 a.m. or on Sundays and federal holidays if he determines that such operations are not detrimental to the health, safety, or welfare of the inhabitants of such structure. Permitted hours of operation may be shortened by the Building Official's finding of a previously unforeseen effect on the health, safety, or welfare of the surrounding community. However, no permit that has been issued, nor any provision of this section shall be construed to be a waiver of the applicability of the provisions set forth in Article 6-6 of the Villa Park Municipal Code, relating to noise control.

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 Chapter, the Grading Manual, and as contained on 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 Building Official.

Each adjacent owner is entitled to the lateral and subjacent support which his 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 purposes of construction or improvement as provided by law. Section 832 of the California Civil Code is contained in appendix G of the Grading Manual.

Where an excess of fifty (50) cubic yards of earth per project site is moved on public roadways from or to the site of an earth-grading operation, all the following requirements shall apply:

a. Either water or dust palliative or both 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 handling 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 10-5.8, Time of Grading Operations, of this grading Chapter.

c. Access roads to the premises shall be only at points designated on the approved grading plan.

d. The last fifty (50) feet of the access road, as it approaches the intersection with the public roadway, shall have a grade not to exceed three (3) percent. There must be three hundred (300) feet clear, unobstructed sign distance to the intersection from both the public roadway and the access road. If the three hundred (300) feet 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. An advance warning sign must be posted on the public roadway four hundred (400) feet on either side of the access intersection, carrying the words "truck crossing." The sign shall be diamond shape, each side bearing thirty (30) inches in length, shall have a yellow background, and the letters thereon shall be five (5) inches in height. The sign shall be placed six (6) feet from the edge of the pavement, and the base of the sign shall be five (5) feet above the pavement level. The advance warning sign shall be covered or removed when the access intersection is not in use.

g. An application for a haul route shall show the name and license of the contractor who will be in charge or control of the trucks or equipment to be used in hauling, the number, type and capacity of trucks to perform the hauling, the proposed route from grading site to dump site or borrow area and the quantity of materials to be hauled.

(Ord. #88-371)

No grading shall be permitted on naturally occurring hillside slopes greater than three (3) horizontal to one (1) vertical, (3:1), unless approved by the City Council. This provision may be waived for minor grading of vertical cuts and fills of less than ten (10) feet and which are not intended to support structures.

(Ord. #88-369)