[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Hamilton 2-13-1990 by L.L. No. 1-1990. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
The Board of Trustees of the Village of Hamilton hereby
adopts this chapter to regulate and control modifications of the existing
topography of the land by either excavating, grading or filling.
B.
The Village adopts this chapter to protect public
health, safety and welfare in order to minimize such adverse effects
of excavating, grading or filling as water pollution by sedimentation
of streams and ponds; unnecessary destruction of vegetation; unnecessary
modification of natural topography or geological features; and failure
to restore construction sites to attractive natural conditions.
C.
In addition, this chapter provides protection to people
and property from such adverse effects of land disturbance as increased
slope instability and landslide and slumping hazards; and provides
protection to the Village from having to undertake, at public expense,
provisions for repairing roads and other public facilities, providing
flood protection facilities and compensating private property owners
from property destruction due to the adverse effects of land disturbance.
This chapter shall apply to all owners of real
property in the Village of Hamilton who propose to:
A.
Stockpile or allow the stockpiling by others of fill
on any parcel of land in excess of eight cubic yards;
B.
Permanently or temporarily modify the topography of
any parcel of land in excess of 1/4 of an acre; or
C.
Permanently or temporarily modify the topography of
any parcel of land by a change of more than three feet from existing
elevation; or by causing a slope greater than one vertical unit to
three horizontal units (33 1/3%); or
D.
Fill in or otherwise obstruct a drainageway for surface
water runoff.
For the purpose of this chapter, certain words
and terms used herein are defined as follows:
The increased loss of land surface that occurs as a result
of human activity.
The Code Enforcement Officer as designated pursuant to the
Village of Hamilton Zoning Law.
[1]Any act by which soil or rock is cut, dug, quarried, uncovered,
removed, displaced or relocated.
A deposit of soil or rock, excluding debris, placed or replaced
by a person or machine which raises an existing elevation.
Any stripping, excavation, filling, stockpiling or any combination
thereof, and shall include the land in its excavated or filled condition.
A permit issued to authorize work to be performed under this
chapter.
A site in which existing and proposed surface and subsurface
drainage is not directed onto adjacent public or private property.
A rate of overland flow of runoff water which is not conducive
to the creation of accelerated soil erosion.
Any lot or parcel of and/or combination of contiguous lots
of parcels of land where excavating, grading or filling is performed.
A facility or measure placed or constructed as necessary
for the successful control or abatement of accelerated soil erosion.
The proper placement, grading and/or covering of soil or
rock to ensure its resistance to soil erosion, sliding or other earth
movement.
A.
No excavating, grading or filling shall be undertaken unless a permit is issued therefor. Upon receipt of the application and payment of an application fee as adopted by resolution of the Board of Trustees from time to time, the Code Enforcement Officer of the Village of Hamilton is empowered to issue such permit upon determination that said application is in compliance with the provisions of this chapter. The permit shall be issued or denied within 30 days after filing of the application, complete with all required attachments as listed in § 63-5 of this chapter.
[Amended 1-14-1992 by L.L. No. 1-1992]
B.
If the proposed land disturbance meets any Type I
thresholds listed in Part 617.12 of the State Environmental Quality
Review regulations or any of the unlisted-action criteria listed in
Part 617.10 of the State Environmental Quality Review regulations,
a lead agency for the State Environmental Quality Review process shall
be determined according to State Environmental Quality Review regulations.
A determination of no significant environmental impact (negative declaration)
is required to be announced and filed with the Department of Environmental
Conservation; or, alternatively, a draft environmental impact statement
(EIS) is required to be accepted as satisfactory before the grading
permit application can be considered as complete for submission purposes.
C.
The Board of Trustees of the Village of Hamilton is
hereby authorized to modify the fee schedules set forth in this chapter
from time to time by resolution of the Board.
Application for a grading permit shall be made
to the Code Enforcement Officer, on such forms as he or she may require,
and shall be accompanied by the following.
A.
Name, address and telephone number of the owner, developer,
petitioner and local representative.
B.
A vicinity sketch at the scale of not more than one
inch equals 200 feet, indicating the site location as well as adjacent
properties within 500 feet of the site boundaries, showing relationship
to any watercourse or drainageway.
C.
Existing topography extending at least 50 feet beyond
site boundary, showing two-foot contours of the area to be modified.
D.
Proposed topography showing either new spot elevations
or new contours.
E.
Location and description of any proposed structures
or development on the site, including physical limits of each proposed
land disturbance and all proposed and permanent soil erosion control
measures.
F.
Direction of drainage flow and plans for siltation
control.
G.
Plans for dust control.
H.
Hours of operation and duration of proposed work,
including a specific completion date.
I.
Plans for suitable replacement of ground cover, including
a specific completion date.
J.
An agreement executed by all owners of record, in
recordable form, giving right of entry to agents or employees of the
Village or others acting on the Village's behalf to enter upon the
property upon failure of performance and permitting the Village to
complete the work as needed.
K.
If the proposed land disturbance meets any State Environmental
Quality Review Act Type-1 Action thresholds or unlisted-action criteria,
a completed Part I of the long or short State Environmental Quality
Review Act environmental assessment form, as applicable.
L.
If required by the Code Enforcement Officer, storm
drainage plans.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following
activities are exempt from the permit requirement herein. Permit exceptions
shall not be construed as exemptions from any other provisions of
this chapter and shall not be construed as exemptions from enforcement
procedures, if excepted activities cause or result in a violation
of this chapter.
A.
Excavating, grading or filling that is incidental
to construction and repair carried out pursuant to the issuance of
a building permit issued by the Code Enforcement Office of the Village
of Hamilton.
B.
Excavating, grading or filling which comes under the
regulations of the New York State Mined Lands Reclamation Act,[1] where a reclamation plan has been approved by the New
York State Department of Environmental Conservation or other regulatory
agency. The requirements of other Village laws will still apply.
[1]
Editor's Note: See § 23-2701 et
seq. of the Environmental Conservation Law.
C.
Customary agricultural activities such as plowing,
earth removal for trench silos and land improvement activities carried
out in conformance with a farm plan approved by the Madison County
Soil and Water Conservation District. This exemption shall not extend
to surface or subsurface materials removed from agricultural lands
for sale in a commercial operation.
D.
Excavating, grading or filling of an isolated self-contained
area.
Grading permits shall not be issued where, in
the opinion of the Code Enforcement Officer:
A.
The proposed land disturbance would cause hazards
to the public safety or welfare; or
B.
The work as proposed by the applicant will damage
any public or other private property or interfere with any existing
drainage course in such a manner as to cause damage to any adjacent
property or result in the deposition of debris or sediment on any
public way or into any watercourse or create unreasonable hazard to
persons or property; or
C.
The land area for which the land disturbance is proposed
is subject to geological hazard to the extent that no reasonable amount
of corrective work can eliminate or sufficiently reduce settlement,
slope instability or any other hazard to persons or property.
A.
The owner or applicant may appeal a denial of permit
to the Zoning Board of Appeals, which shall hear and decide on whether
or not the permit has been denied in accordance with the conditions
set forth in this chapter. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall uphold
the decision of the Enforcement Officer if it finds that the denial
is rationally related to the standards set forth in this chapter.
B.
Any appeal of a decision of the Enforcement Officer
shall be taken within 30 days of said decision by filing with the
Village Clerk a notice of appeal specifying the grounds thereof.
C.
All appeals shall be made in writing on forms provided
by the Board. The Enforcement Officer shall then transmit to the Board
of Appeals all papers constituting the record upon which the action
appealed from was taken.
D.
The Board shall, in all incidents, hold a hearing
within 45 days of filing and shall give public notice, as well as
due notice to the applicants and to the owners of contiguous properties,
not less than 10 days in advance of the hearing.
E.
The minutes of the Board meetings and hearings shall
be a public record.
F.
The concurring vote of a majority of the Board shall
be necessary to reverse any order or decision or to decide in favor
of any applicant.
G.
All decisions of the Board shall be in writing, and
a copy of each decision shall be sent to the applicant and the Enforcement
Officer. The Board shall also retain in its files a copy of each decision,
which file shall be available for inspection by the public.
H.
Each decision shall set forth fully the reasons for
the decision of the Board and the findings of fact on which the decision
was based.
I.
The board shall give its decision within 30 days of
the date of the hearing.
J.
Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Board of
Appeals may have the decision reviewed by the State Supreme Court
in the manner provided by law.
A.
All excavating, filling and grading shall not adversely
affect drainage or structural safety of adjacent lots and buildings.
No person shall grade or fill so close to the property line as to
endanger any adjoining public street, sidewalk, alley, utility or
any public or private property without supporting and protecting such
property from settling, cracking, runoff (including its residue) or
other damage which might result.
B.
All excavating, filling and grading shall be carried
out in compliance with all the requirements of the grading permit
and the requirements of this chapter.
C.
Open excavations deeper than five feet or having a
slope greater than 50% (one vertical to two horizontal) shall be surrounded
by a fence at least six feet high and no closer than 50 feet, or as
determined by the Code Enforcement Officer, to the edge of the excavation
or other hazardous condition.
D.
The final slope of any excavated or stockpiled material
shall not exceed its normal angle of repose.
E.
Any soil, miscellaneous debris or other material applied,
dumped or otherwise deposited on public streets, highways, sidewalks
or other public thoroughfares during transit to and from the site
of excavating, filling or grading shall be promptly removed.
F.
Any temporary or permanent facility designed and constructed
for the conveyance of water around, through or from the site of excavating,
filling or grading shall be designed to limit the water flow to nonerosive
velocities (less than two feet per second).
G.
All temporary soil erosion control facilities shall
be removed upon completion of the work and all disturbed areas shall
be graded and stabilized with permanent soil erosion control measures.
All temporary soil erosion control measures shall be maintained until
permanent soil erosion controls are implemented.
H.
The approved permit shall be available for inspection
at all times at the site of the excavating, filling or grading, and
approved plans shall be available at the Village Clerk's office.
A.
A grading permit shall not be issued unless the permittee
shall first post with the Village Treasurer an amount equal to at
least $1,000 per acre or such additional amounts as are reasonably
determined by the Code Enforcement Officer to provide reasonable security
for proper completion of the proposed work, unless such amount is
modified by the Village Board for a particular project or except in
a subdivision or lot development which disturbs less than one acre
of land. For sites less than one acre the Code Enforcement Officer,
upon determination that the land disturbance will accelerate soil
erosion, can require the permittee to post security of $1,000.
B.
Upon failure of the permittee to perform the work
in compliance with all the requirements, conditions and terms of the
permit, the Code Enforcement Officer may cause such work to be completed
as is necessary to eliminate any dangerous conditions and to leave
the site in a safe condition, and the expense of work performed shall
be charged to the funds on deposit with the Village Treasurer. Any
charges in excess of funds on deposit with the Village shall be paid
and are otherwise due to the Village from the landowner.
The Code Enforcement Officer may make periodic
inspections of the work. If the Code Enforcement Officer finds any
existing conditions of the natural ground surface not as stated in
the application for grading permit as approved, the Code Enforcement
Officer may refuse to approve further work until a revised permit
application has been made and approved. The Code Enforcement Officer
may issue a stop-work order on the remaining portion of construction.
A.
Any person or corporation, whether as owner, lessee,
architect or builder or the agent or employee of any of them, who
violates or is accessory to the violation of any provision of this
chapter or who shall engage in any excavation, filling, grading or
alteration of an existing soil topography without a grading permit,
when required, or in violation of any statement or plan submitted
and approved under the provisions of this chapter shall be liable
to a penalty not exceeding the following:
(1)
For conviction of a first offense, a fine not exceeding
$350 or imprisonment for a period not to exceed six months, or both;
(2)
For conviction of a second offense, both of which
were committed within a period of five years, a fine not exceeding
$700 or imprisonment for a period not to exceed six months, or both;
and
(3)
For a third or subsequent offense, all of which were
committed within a period of five years, a fine not exceeding $1,000
or imprisonment for a period not to exceed six months, or both.
B.
Each week's continued violation shall constitute a
separate additional violation.
C.
An action or proceeding in the name of the Village
of Hamilton, New York, may be commenced in any court of competent
jurisdiction to compel compliance with or restrain by injunction the
violation of any provision of this chapter or any rule or regulation
adopted pursuant to this chapter or any order issued pursuant to this
chapter. Such remedy shall be in addition to penalties otherwise prescribed
by law.
A.
Whenever the Code Enforcement Officer has reasonable
grounds to believe that work on any property is proceeding without
a required permit or is otherwise in violation of the provisions of
this chapter or is not in conformity with any of the provisions of
the grading application, plans or specifications on the basis of which
a grading permit was issued, he shall notify either the owner of the
property or the owner's agent or the person, firm or corporation performing
the work to immediately suspend all work. In such instance, any and
all persons shall immediately suspend all related activities until
the stop-work order has been duly rescinded.
B.
Such stop-work order shall be in writing on a form
prescribed by the Code Enforcement Officer and shall state the reasons
for the stop-work order, together with a date of issuance. The stop-work
order shall bear the signature of the Code Enforcement Officer or
that of a duly authorized designee and shall be prominently posted
at the work site.
If the permittee is unable to complete the work
within the time specified on the permit, the permittee may, prior
to the expiration of the permit, present in writing to the Code Enforcement
Officer a request for an extension of time setting forth the reasons
for the requested extension. If, in the opinion of the Code Enforcement
Officer, such an extension is reasonably warranted, the Code Enforcement
Officer may grant additional time for the completion of the work.
