[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Plandome Manor 3-18-2008 by L.L. No. 2-2008 (Ch. 89 of the 2005 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Construction codes — See Ch. 88.
Erosion control — See Ch. 104.
Subdivision of land — See Ch. 192.
Zoning — See Ch. 225.
Fees — See Ch. A228.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Fill, Excavation and Grading Law" of the Village of Plandome Manor.
This chapter is enacted to protect the health, safety, welfare and property of the Village of Plandome Manor, its residents, and the health, safety, welfare and property of persons who may be affected by filling, excavating or grading of land within the Village.
A. 
No work shall be performed or commenced for the filling, excavating or grading of land within the Village, except preliminary surveying and engineering, unless a fill, excavation and grading permit therefor has been issued by the Village Building Inspector.
B. 
All applications for such permit shall require a complete plan of development for the affected land as described within this chapter.
C. 
The following work shall require only the approval of the Building Inspector prior to issuance of a permit:
(1) 
Excavation for a cellar, basement, swimming pool, drainage or sanitary facility or for the foundation of any structures to be built on the site where the excess excavated material from these excavations is to be removed from the site.
(2) 
Grading of land which does not change existing contours of the land by more than two feet within 20 feet of a property line or by more than six inches within five feet of a property line.
(3) 
The placement of not more than 50 cubic yards of fill material that, when placed, will not exceed the contour changes stated in Subsection C(2) above nor adversely impact trees having a trunk circumference greater than 10 inches, measured at a point of four feet six inches above ground level.
D. 
Work exceeding any of the above-cited thresholds shall require application to and approval by the Board of Zoning Appeals prior to the issuance of a fill, excavation, or grading permit by the Village Building Inspector.
E. 
Village work excepted. Filling, excavation and grading performed by or on behalf of the Village shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter.
F. 
Emergency. If the Building Inspector shall determine at any time that the threat to the health, safety or welfare of property or persons requires immediate action in order to abate an emergency situation, the Building Inspector shall have the authority to allow filling, excavating and/or grading work to be done as is necessary to abate such emergency prior to the issuance of a fill, excavation and grading permit. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an application for a permit shall be filed for in accordance with the requirements of this chapter.
A. 
The development plan shall be comprehensive and fully engineered and shall show:
(1) 
All the property owned or controlled by the applicant and all adjacent property within 200 feet of the applicant's property.
(2) 
Topography of the site drawn to a scale of not less than one inch equaling 30 feet with existing and proposed contour elevations using the National Geodetic Vertical Datum at an interval of not less than two feet prepared by a licensed land surveyor.
(3) 
All existing and proposed structures, drainage facilities, creeks, streams or waterways.
(4) 
Delineation of the limit of the area to be disturbed and the actual area to be disturbed, shown in acres.
(5) 
For areas of disturbance of 250 square feet or greater, a fully engineered stormwater pollution prevention plan in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 104, signed and sealed by a licensed professional.
(6) 
All existing trees having a circumference greater than 10 inches measured four feet six inches above the ground level, locale and the type of trees.
(7) 
Adequate provision to contain stormwater runoff from the area of disturbance on the subject property as required by the Village Engineer.
(8) 
Construction data showing in detail the method by which the applicant intends to comply with the requirements of this chapter and a time schedule therefor.
(9) 
Such additional data and information as may be required by the Board of Zoning Appeals or the Building Inspector of the Village.
B. 
Where fill is to be placed on soil suspected to consist of soft clay, silt, peat or bog, test borings shall be made through such soils, and the logs of such borings shall be provided along with an analysis by a professional soils engineer of the effect that the proposed fill will have on such soils and/or adjacent areas.
C. 
Every plan for grading, excavation or placement of fill must be submitted as part of a written application, signed by the owner of the property which is the subject of the application or the owner's duly authorized agent.
A. 
Each application filed with the Building Inspector shall be accompanied by the applicable application fees and deposits as provided in Chapter A228.
B. 
In any application requiring approval of the Board of Zoning Appeals, a separate application fee and deposit as provided in Chapter A228[1] to defray Village costs for legal, engineering, inspection, advertising and other services in connection with the application, shall be required. The applicant shall be chargeable with all such Village costs. If the estimate of such costs exceeds the amount of the deposit, such additional sum shall be deposited with the Village before any permit shall be issued. Any sums deposited in excess of actual costs shall be refunded to the applicant by the Village Clerk who shall accurately record all costs incurred by the Village in connection with such application, provided that demand is made within six months after a certification of completion of work shall have been issued; on default of such demand, said excess sum shall become the property of the Village and shall be paid into the general fund.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. A228, Fees, Charges and Deposits.
The Board of Zoning Appeals shall hold a public hearing with respect to any plan submitted for its approval, at which time the owner/applicant and all persons interested shall have an opportunity to be heard. The Board may waive the hearing requirement in the event of an emergency or other event in which the health, safety and welfare of property or persons may be imperiled.
The Board of Zoning Appeals or the Building Inspector, as applicable, may impose such reasonable conditions to the approval of any plan as it may deem necessary and adequate to assure that the work will be carried out in accordance with this chapter and Chapter 225 and all other statutes, laws, rules and regulations applicable generally throughout the Village. The Board of Zoning Appeals or Building Inspector may require the owner, developer and/or contractor to furnish a surety bond in form, amount and content satisfactory to the Board of Zoning Appeals or Building Inspector to assure completion of the work shown on the approved plan within specified time limits and the performance of any other conditions or requirements that may be imposed. In addition, the Board of Zoning Appeals or Building Inspector may require that a maintenance bond, up to five years in duration and satisfactory to the Board of Zoning Appeals or Building Inspector in form, amount and content, be furnished upon the completion and acceptance of the work, which bond shall assure the replacement or restoration of pavements, curbs, drainage systems, fill, bulkheads, dikes or other work or installations damaged or becoming defective because of settlement or because of workmanship or use of inferior materials or from any other cause.
All work and materials shall comply with the requirements of this chapter, including the following:
A. 
Filling.
(1) 
All fill, regardless of area to be filled, shall be clean fill consisting of sand or gravel or sandy or gravelly soils or material determined by the Village Engineer to be suitable for foundation purposes. Silts, sandy clays or silty clays, peat or other highly organic swamp soils, wood or wood products, tree stumps or branches, paper or paper products, metal cans or containers, construction debris, asphalt or other trash, rubbish or garbage shall not be permitted or used.
(2) 
Fill must be graded to a stable elevation to be determined by the Village Engineer or other person designated by the Board of Zoning Appeals to ensure proper drainage of the area involved and the surrounding area.
(3) 
Fill must be planted with grass or other vegetation sufficient to prevent erosion.
(4) 
The owner of the filled-in land, as well as the developer and contractor, shall be responsible for any damage to public or private property caused by grading, filling or excavating or other work undertaken in the development of said land.
B. 
Shorefront structures.
(1) 
Bulkheads may be comprised of steel or other metal of equivalent or greater durability, wood, poured concrete or stone. The materials used for and the design in general of such structures shall be subject to the approval of the Village Engineer or other persons designated by the Board of Zoning Appeals.
(2) 
No bulkhead, whether a part of a general development plan as provided in this chapter or a separate construction project, shall be constructed unless and until a building permit therefor has been issued by the Village.
(3) 
The provisions of Chapter 88 of the Village Code relating to applications for a building permit, the issuance of a building permit and the issuance of a certificate of occupancy shall apply to the construction of all shorefront structures, and all shorefront structures shall be considered to be a structure within the meaning and definitions of said laws.
C. 
Stormwater drains and appurtenances. Stormwater drains, diffusion wells, catch basins and appurtenant structures shall be constructed of a size and so located as to provide adequate drainage in conformity with the requirements of the Village Engineer and all other statutes, laws, rules and regulations applicable generally throughout the Village. All stormwater drains must be of reinforced concrete or cast iron and shall be constructed on a stabilized bed in conformance with the requirements of the Village Engineer.
The Board of Zoning Appeals or Building Inspector may impose such additional requirements as it finds necessary or proper to protect and preserve the safety, health, comfort and welfare of the Village and its residents or to carry out the intent and purposes of this chapter.
The Village Building Inspector, after approval pursuant to this chapter directing the issuance of a permit has become effective and after the receipt of such sum as may be required to reimburse the Village for costs over and above the sum deposited for such purpose and of performance bonds, if required, and the public liability insurance policy, shall issue such permit in accordance with the approval.
The Village Engineer, the Building Inspector and such other persons as may be designated by the Board of Zoning Appeals shall have full right of inspection during the progress of the work. The Village Engineer may cause tests to be made at the cost and expense of the owner, contractor or developer of the building or premises, or of any work or materials, or to determine the nature and bearing capacity of the soil and any physical condition or other condition as he may find necessary and adequate to ensure compliance with this chapter and the building regulations of this Code.
Upon completion of a fill, excavation or grading operation hereunder, the person to whom the permit therefor has been issued shall submit to the Village Engineer a certificate from a competent professional engineer, licensed by the State of New York, that the work has been completed in accordance with this chapter and the Building Inspector approval or the resolution of the Board of Zoning Appeals directing the issuance of such permit, together with a survey showing the final grades.
The applicant for a permit hereunder shall, before the issuance thereof by the Village Building Inspector, file with the Village Clerk, at his own expense and without any expense to the Village:
A. 
A bond with a surety licensed and authorized to do such business in the State of New York, in an amount fixed in either the Building Inspector approval or the Board of Zoning Appeals' resolution, and in such form approved by the Village Attorney, and with the conditions, if any, imposed directing the issuance of said permit, and a policy of public liability insurance with independent contractors and contingent liability coverage in the name of the Village of Plandome Manor, its trustees, officers and employees, both officially and personally, at the expense of the applicant and without cost to the Village, against any liability which may arise from the removal or deposit of material under such permit, whether or not the act or omission complained of is the applicant's or any individual employed by the applicant or by the Village, and covering any and all damage which may occur within two years after completion of the operation under such permit, in amounts, unless otherwise specifically required by the Village, of not less than:
(1) 
Bodily injury, each person: $250,000.
(2) 
Liability, each accident: $500,000.
(3) 
Property damage, each accident: $500,000.
(4) 
Liability, aggregate: $500,000.
B. 
A bond in an amount fixed in the Building Inspector approval or resolution of the Board of Zoning Appeals and in such form as approved by the Village Attorney, guaranteeing to the Village that any and all damage to Village roads or other Village property caused by the work performed under said permit shall be repaired to the satisfaction of the Village Engineer.
The applicant shall, by the acceptance of a permit hereunder, take and assume all responsibility for any and all operations thereunder and shall take all precautions necessary for the prevention of injuries to persons and property by reason of such operations and shall assume the defense and indemnity of and save harmless the Village, its officers and employees from any and all claims arising out of or connected with operations under such permit and any and all acts, omissions or negligence on the part of the applicant and his agents and employees.
All operations under any permit issued pursuant to this chapter shall be done in such a manner that the removal of material and the redepositing and storage thereof will neither undermine, weaken nor deprive of support other lands in the vicinity, nor otherwise adversely affect the waterways in the Village or adjacent to the Village land, the lands abutting thereon, nor, unless the permit issued pursuant hereto shall expressly provide otherwise, substantially change the course of any channel or the natural movement or flow of any waters or cause to accelerate the drift of underwater soil, sand, gravel, bog or mud.
A. 
If the Building Inspector shall determine that any work performed or intended to be performed or any materials used or intended to be used do not comply with the approved permit or the development plan, any permit conditions imposed or any relevant provision of this chapter, he may order the work affected by his determination to be stopped until he is satisfied that the violations have been remedied.
B. 
The applicant may appeal, in writing, to the Board of Zoning Appeals from such order of the Building Inspector and, upon such appeal, the Board of Zoning Appeals may affirm, modify or reverse the determination appealed from.
If any person to whom a permit shall have been issued hereunder shall fail at any time to comply with the provisions of this chapter or with the conditions imposed directing the issuance of such permit, he shall, upon the direction of the Building Inspector, immediately suspend all operations under such permit for such period as may be prescribed by the Building Inspector, not exceeding 30 days, and, upon the direction of the Building Inspector or Board of Zoning Appeals, shall cease all such operations and remove all equipment used in connection therewith and restore the area to its original condition or such other condition as deemed appropriate by the Building Inspector, and, upon direction of the Board of Zoning Appeals, such permit shall be void, but the suspension and revocation of such permit shall not relieve the permittee of any of his obligations thereunder.
For any and every violation of the provisions of this chapter, the owner, general agent or contractor of a building or premises where such violation has been committed or shall exist, and the lessee or tenant of premises where such violation has been committed or shall exist, and the general agent, architect, building contractor or any other person who knowingly commits, takes part or assists in any such violation or who maintains any building or premises in which such violation shall exist, shall be liable for a fine not exceeding $350 or imprisonment for a period not to exceed six months, or both, for conviction of a first offense; for conviction of a second offense, both of which were committed within a period of five years, shall be punishable by a fine of not less than $350 nor more than $700 or imprisonment for a period not to exceed six months, or both; and upon conviction for a third or subsequent offense, all of which were committed within a period of five years, shall be punishable by a fine of not less than $700 nor more than $1,000 or imprisonment for a period not to exceed six months, or both. Such penalties shall be collected as provided by law. Each week's continued violation shall constitute a separate additional violation.
This chapter is remedial and shall be construed liberally to carry out its stated purpose.