[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of
New Britain 2-9-2016 by Ord. No. 370. Amendments noted where applicable.]
An ordinance of the Borough of New Britain, Bucks County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, providing for amendments to the Code of the Borough of New Britain; specifically adding Chapter 220 providing for grading, drainage, and erosion control regulations; repealing inconsistent ordinances or parts of ordinances; containing a savings clause, and providing for an effective date.
This chapter shall be known as "The New Britain Borough Grading
Ordinance."
For the purposes of this chapter, the following words shall
have the meanings indicated:
Any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or any other similar
material is cut into, dug, quarried, uncovered, removed, displaced,
relocated or bulldozed and shall include the conditions resulting
therefrom.
Any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or any other material
is deposited, placed, pushed, dumped, pulled, transported or moved
to a new location and shall include the conditions resulting therefrom.
The elevation of the existing ground surface at the location
of any proposed excavation or fill.
Excavation or fill or any combination thereof and shall include
the conditions resulting from any excavation or fill.
Any permit required under § 220-5 hereof.
A natural person, but shall also include a partnership or
corporation, or other corporate or business entity.
A lot, tract or parcel of ground or a series of lots, tracts
or parcels of land, joined together, where grading work is continuous
and performed at the same time.
New grading, excavations, removal of soil and fills or changes,
additions, repairs, or alterations made to existing excavations and
fills shall conform to the provisions of this chapter, except that
this chapter shall not apply to work in a public street or alley or
in a Borough park, playground or recreation area or on other public
property.
No person shall commence or perform any grading, excavation,
removal of soil or fill without first having obtained a grading permit
from the Borough. A separate grading permit shall be required for
each site. One permit may cover both the excavation and any fill made
on the same site.
Every applicant for a grading permit shall complete the New
Britain Borough Grading Permit Application Form.
Before a grading permit may be issued, the applicant shall pay
a fee as set by resolution of Borough Council.
Every grading permit shall expire and become null and void if
the work authorized by such permit has not been commenced within six
months or is not completed within one year from the date of issue,
provided that the Borough Engineer may, if the permit holder presents
satisfactory evidence that unusual difficulties have prevented work
from being started or completed within the specified time limits,
grant a reasonable extension of time; and provided, further, that
the application for the extension of time is made before the date
of expiration of the permit.
A.
Where, in the opinion of the Borough, the work as proposed by the
applicant is likely to endanger any property or any street or alley,
or otherwise does not comply with the requirements of this chapter,
the grading permit shall be denied. In determining whether the proposed
work is likely to endanger property or streets or alleys or create
hazardous conditions, the Borough shall give due consideration to
possible saturation by rains, earth movements, runoff of surface waters
and subsurface conditions, such as the stratification and faulting
of rock and the nature and type of the soil or rock.
B.
Borough Council shall consider promptly appeals from the provisions
of this chapter, and the Council shall make determinations of alternate
methods, standards or materials when in its opinion strict compliance
with the provisions of this chapter is unnecessary. Any applicant
or permit holder shall have the right to appeal to any court of competent
jurisdiction from any decision or determination of Borough Council.
The Borough Engineer may, when required, make inspections to
confirm that the, work performed complies with the standards of this
chapter and is occurring as stated or shown in the application. If
the Borough Engineer shall determine by inspection that the nature
of the work is likely to endanger person, property, or streets or
alleys, or otherwise create a hazardous condition, the Borough Engineer
may require as a condition to allowing the work to be done that such
reasonable safety precautions be taken as to the Borough Engineer
considers advisable to avoid such likelihood of danger.
A.
Blocks and lots shall be graded to secure proper drainage away from
buildings and to prevent the collection of stormwater in pools.
B.
All drainage provisions shall be of such design as to carry surface
water to the nearest practical and adequate street, storm drain or
natural watercourse. Surface waters must be carried to the nearest
practical storm drain or natural watercourse.
C.
Drainage structures and/or pipes shall be constructed and/or installed
as are necessary to prevent erosion damage and to satisfactorily carry
off surface waters.
D.
No excavation shall be made with a cut face steeper than 4:1 except
where a concrete or stone masonry wall, constructed in accordance
with approved standards, is provided to support the face of the excavation.
E.
No fill shall be made which creates any exposed surface steeper in
slope than four horizontal to one vertical except when a concrete
or stone masonry wall, constructed in accordance with approved standards,
is provided to support the face of the embankment.
F.
The top or bottom edge of the slopes shall be a minimum of five feet
from property or right-of-way lines of streets or alleys in order
to permit the normal rounding of the edge without encroaching on the
abutting property.
G.
In the design of storm sewerage systems, the future use of undeveloped
areas upstream shall be taken into account in calculating pipe size.
A.
The landowner or applicant shall not modify, fill, excavate or regrade
land in any manner so close to a property line as to endanger or damage
any adjoining public street, sidewalk, alley or any other public or
private property without supporting and protecting such property from
settling, cracking, erosion, sediment or other physical damage, or
personal injury might result.
B.
No material shall be placed in any drainage structure in such a manner
as to obstruct free flow.
C.
All plans and specifications accompanying applications shall include
provisions for both interim (temporary) and ultimate (permanent) erosion
and sediment control. No subdivision or land development plan which
involves earthmoving shall be approved unless there has been an erosion
and sedimentation plan approved by the Borough Engineer and the Bucks
County Conservation District that provides for minimizing erosion
and sedimentation and an improvement bond or other acceptable security
is deposited with the Borough in the form of an escrow guaranty which
will ensure installation and completion of the required improvements.
(1)
The design, installation and maintenance of erosion and sediment
controls shall be accomplished in accordance with the rules as contained
in the standards and specification of the Bucks County Conservation
District, the local designee for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection, Bureau of Soil and Water Conservation. No earthmoving
or other land-shaping operations shall commence prior to the construction
of erosion and sediment control protection in accordance with the
recommendations and approval of the Bucks County Conservation District
and the Borough.
(2)
All graded surfaces shall be seeded, sodded and/or planted or otherwise
protected from erosion within 20 days of breaking ground and shall
be watered, tended and maintained until growth is well established
at time of completion and final inspection.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall
be liable on conviction thereof to a penalty not exceeding $1,000,
plus court costs and reasonable attorney's fees for each and
every offense, and whenever such person shall have been notified by
the Borough by service of a notice of violation of this chapter, 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. Such fines or penalties shall be collected
as like fines or penalties are now by law collected. The Borough,
in addition to other remedies, may institute in the name of the Borough
any appropriate action or proceeding, whether by legal process or
otherwise, to prevent such unlawful work and to restrain or abate
such violation.
