Village of Irvington, NY Chapter 175 Soil Removal, Excavations and Landfills

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Irvington 6-16-1953; amended in its entirety 3-18-1991 by L.L. No. 3-1991. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]

GENERAL REFERENCES

Fees and charges — See Ch. 114.

Flood damage prevention — See Ch. 124.

Solid waste — See Ch. 178.

Street openings — See Ch. 184, Art. II.

Tree preservation — See Ch. 202.

§ 175-1 Compliance required.

No excavation, site alteration, topsoil stripping or filling of land involving the deposit, removal or relocation of more than 15 cubic yards of soil for purposes other than the construction of a wall or building or part thereof for which a permit has been previously granted by the Building Inspector or site development plan approval previously granted by the Planning Board shall be commenced or continued in the Village of Irvington except in conformity with the provisions of this chapter.

§ 175-2 Permit procedure.

A. Permit procedure for excavation, site alteration, topsoil stripping or filling of land on sites on which building permits have not been issued and site development plan approval has not been given by the Planning Board. Before any excavation, site alteration, topsoil stripping or filling of land for purposes other than construction on sites for which building permits have been issued or site development plan approval has been given by the Planning Board, a permit issued by the Building Inspector in compliance with the conditions contained in this section must be obtained.

B. Application.

(1) The completion of forms furnished by the Building Department or the Department of Public Works.

(2) Furnish evidence of insurance in the form of and in the amount required by the above-mentioned departments.

(3) Furnish drawings and other technical information, including but not limited to an up-to-date survey showing existing topography and proposed topography, as well as any other physical features which may be affected by this site alteration.

(4) Pay a permit fee as set from time to time by the Board of Trustees.[1]

[Amended 8-18-2003 by L.L. No. 20-2003]

[1] Editor's Note: See Ch. 114, Fees and Charges.

C. Conditions of issuance. A permit may be issued to excavate, reshape, fill or otherwise alter a site when the requirements of § 175-2B have been fulfilled, all of which are subject to the following conditions:

(1) If in the course of the work any of the following conditions are violated or not complied with, then this permit shall immediately become null and void and all work shall cease immediately.

(2) Hours. No work shall be performed on a Saturday, Sunday or national holiday, nor any day before 7:30 a.m. or after 6:00 p.m., except with prior permission of the Department of Public Works or the Building Department.

(3) Material.

(a) Natural earth shall provide 60% or more of the fill volume; rock boulders, broken asphalt, concrete, brick and masonry rubble are acceptable materials, provided that their total aggregate volume does not exceed 40% of the total fill volume.

(b) Not acceptable materials shall include but not be limited to wood, metal, paper, putrescible, organic, liquid or soluble materials or any other material found objectionable by the Building Department or Department of Public Works.

(4) Maximum size. No acceptable material may have any dimension larger than the height of maximum fill or 24 inches.

(5) Erosion control. Methods and procedures for erosion control and siltation protection must be incorporated in the application and approved by the Building Department or Superintendent of Public Works. Measures must remain in place for the duration of time as determined necessary.

(6) Site restoration. The site shall be regraded and reforested with ground cover to the satisfaction of the Building Department or Superintendent of Public Works. If the Village revokes the permit, it shall require the permittee to regrade and restore the site even if the proposed filling has not been completed. "Reforestation" shall mean the planting of three-inch caliper native trees at the rate of 1.25 trees per 1,000 square feet (54 trees per acre).

(7) Trees. An attempt should be made to save all trees on the site. If, however, it becomes necessary to remove a tree over six inches diameter, then the necessary permit must be obtained from the Tree Commission.

(8) Access. All other locations on the property, such as access roads and temporary storage areas, shall be kept clean and maintained dust free at all times. The permittee shall provide access to the site as may be required by the Building Inspector.

(9) Watercourses. Existing watercourses shall be piped the full length of any filling, in pipe to be approved by the Superintendent of Public Works prior to the commencing of work.

(10) Compliance. All operations shall be in full compliance with all local laws, ordinances, rules and regulations, as well as those of the State of New York and the United States Government. This permit shall not supersede any such laws, ordinances or rules and regulations. The Village reserves the right to reevaluate the environmental, aesthetic or physical impact of this operation at any time as the work progresses, and the permit may be revoked or suspended if such reevaluation indicates that the environmental impact is detrimental to any adjacent property or the general character of the surrounding community and properties. It shall be clearly understood that the issuance of the permit does not confer any vested rights on the permittee.

(11) Placement of fill. All illegally placed material shall be removed, examined by the Village Inspector and, if acceptable, placed in conformity with the following requirements:

(a) Placed in lifts not to exceed two feet in height and mechanically compacted prior to placement of next lift.

(b) No individual pieces of material to exceed 24 inches in any direction.

(c) Maximum slope of fill: one on 12 or 8.33% on slope of filled areas.

(12) Notification. The Village of Irvington must be notified in writing of the location to which the objectionable material on the site is removed prior to its removal. Any change in disposal sites must be submitted to the Building Inspector or Superintendent of Public Works in writing 48 hours prior to change.

(13) Security. A returnable deposit shall be required to guarantee the performance of the above-mentioned conditions, in the amount of the approved estimate of cost. A performance bond acceptable to the Village Attorney may be substituted for the deposit.

(14) Inspections. An inspection fee (nonrefundable deposit) shall be required prior to the issuance of the permit. Each inspection will be billed at the rate as set from time to time by the Board of Trustees, per inspection.[2] Should inspection fees exceed the nonrefundable deposit, then the permittee shall be required to pay an additional fee to the Building Inspector within one week of the inspection. If said payment is not made, the Building Inspector shall be authorized to stop work. The Superintendent of Public Works and/or Building Department must be notified 48 hours prior to any filling or dumping on the site at [phone], Superintendent of Public Works, or [phone], Building Inspector.

[Amended 8-18-2003 by L.L. No. 20-2003]

[2] Editor's Note: See Ch. 114, Fees and Charges.

(15) Expiration. Such permit shall expire by limitation of six months from the date of its issue unless extended.

§ 175-3 Excavations above or below highway level; barricades; refilling.

No such excavation shall be made within 10 feet of any street line, unless adequate barricades are erected satisfactory to the Department of Public Works. Any excavation made upon property above the level of an abutting highway shall be so made that neither the excavation nor any deposit of topsoil, earth, sand, gravel or rock or other substances removed from the excavation shall interfere with any natural watercourses on or the natural drainage of the property, and at the termination of the permit, the premises shall be rough graded in such manner that the natural drainage shall be fully restored. Any excavation upon any property at or below the level of the abutting highway shall be refilled to the natural grade of the property with clean nonburnable fill containing no garbage, refuse, offal or any deleterious or unwholesome matter. Materials specified in § 175-2C(3)(a) shall be acceptable, and materials specified in § 175-2C(3)(b) shall be unacceptable. All materials must comply in all respects with the provisions of this chapter.

§ 175-4 Unused cellars and wells.

A. Any cellar, basement or other opening, the building theretofore erected over which shall have been demolished or razed by any means whatsoever, shall be promptly filled to the natural grade of the adjoining land with clean nonburnable fill containing no garbage, refuse, offal or any deleterious or unwholesome matter. Materials specified in § 175-2C(3)(a) shall be acceptable, and materials specified in § 175-2C(3)(b) shall be unacceptable. All materials must comply in all respects with the provisions of this chapter.

B. Every presently existing well, cistern or other hole or boring shall be covered with a metal or reinforced concrete cover of such reasonable thickness and strength as may be required by the Building Inspector, and any such well, cistern or boring which is unused and/or has not been covered in the manner prescribed herein shall be immediately filled to the level of the adjoining land with clean, nonburnable fill containing no garbage, refuse, offal or any deleterious or unwholesome matter. Materials specified in § 175-2C(3)(a) shall be acceptable, and materials specified in § 175-2C(3)(b) shall be unacceptable. All materials must comply in all respects with the provisions of this chapter.

§ 175-5 Penalties for offenses.

A. Whenever any person violating this chapter shall have been notified by the Building Inspector or by service upon him of a summons in a prosecution, or in any other way, that he is committing such violation of this chapter, each day that he shall continue such violation after such notification shall constitute a separate offense punishable by a like fine or penalty.

B. Every violation of the provisions of this chapter shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed $250 or by imprisonment for not more than three months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.