Watsonville Municipal Code Art. 5 Inspections, Compliance, and Enforcement

All excavations, grading, filling, clearing, and work for which a permit is required under this chapter shall be subject to inspection by the City Engineer. The City Engineer may also require that supervision, regular inspections, and special testing be performed and certified by the licensed professional who prepared the approved plan, or the City Engineer may require that supervision, inspections, and testing be done by an independent approved testing agency to insure compliance with this chapter and the permittee’s permit conditions.

(a) Inspections. The following inspections shall be required but not limited to:

(1) Pre-site inspections to determine the suitability of the proposed project and the existing and potential erosion and sediment hazards;

(2) Periodic inspections during the project progress, including compaction and special testing, as may be required by the approved plan; and

(3) Final inspections determining compliance with the terms and conditions of this chapter and the permits.

(b) Notification. The permittee shall notify the City Engineer two (2) working days prior to the beginning of the operation authorized by the permit and one complete working day prior to any inspection or testing requested by the permittee.

(c) Right of entry. The filing of an application permit under this chapter shall constitute a grant of permission for the City Engineer or authorized testing agency to enter the permit area for the purpose of administering this chapter from the date of the application to the termination of the maintenance period. If necessary, the City Engineer shall be supplied with a key or lock combination or be permitted to install a City lock.

(§ 1, Ord. 538-81 C-M, eff. October 22, 1981)

Any person doing work in conformance with this chapter shall also abide by all other pertinent local, State, and Federal laws and regulations. Where there is a conflict with other City regulations, the more restrictive regulation shall take priority.

(§ 1, Ord. 538-81 C-M, eff. October 22, 1981)

(a) Work stoppage. Whenever the City Engineer determines that the work does not comply with the terms of the permit or of this chapter, the immediate cessation of all work thereunder may be ordered until such corrective measures have been completed. The site shall be posted with a “Stop Work” notice. No building, encroachment, or other permit shall be issued by the City until corrections have been made to the satisfaction of the City Engineer.

(b) Access upon violations. Whenever the City Engineer has reasonable cause to believe that there exists accelerated erosion which is in violation of this chapter, the City Engineer may enter such site at all reasonable times to inspect the same and to perform any duty imposed by this chapter; provided, however, if such premises are occupied, the City Engineer shall first present proper credentials and request entry, and if such premises are unoccupied, the City Engineer shall first make a reasonable effort to locate the owner or other persons having charge of the control of the premises and request entry. If such access is refused, the City Engineer shall have recourse to every remedy provided by law to secure entry.

(c) Notification of violations. Any person found to be in violation of the provisions of this chapter shall be required to correct the problem upon written notification from the City Engineer. Such written notification may require that certain conditions be adhered to in the correction of the problems, which conditions may include, but shall not be limited to, the following:

(1) The use of specific erosion control techniques;

(2) The submittal of plans and specifications to be approved by the City Engineer prior to the commencement of the corrective work; and

(3) The completion of the corrective work within a specific time period.

(d) Nuisance abatement of violations. If the owner of the property or permittee fails to act in response to the written notification from the City Engineer, the erosion problem may be declared a public nuisance and be abated according to the procedures set forth in this Code. Where there is an emergency condition of erosion or sediment damaging a waterway, marsh, or other body of water or private or public property, the City Engineer may have the necessary corrective work done and bill the property owner.

(§ 1, Ord. 538-81 C-M, eff. October 22, 1981)