[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Greenburgh as
indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 10-9-1956]
This article shall be known as the "Excavation Ordinance of the Town
of Greenburgh" and regulates the manner of excavation, stripping and removal
of topsoil, earth, sand, gravel, humus, rock and other mineral deposits from
land in that portion of the Town of Greenburgh outside of any incorporated
village therein.
A.
EXCAVATED PREMISES
EXCAVATION WORK
IMPROVEMENT
LEGAL IMPROVEMENT
MATERIALS
Definitions. The following terms, as used in this article,
shall have the meanings as indicated below for the purposes of this article:
The whole of any premises or property from which topsoil, earth,
sand, gravel, humus, rock or other mineral deposit is excavated and/or removed
or from which it is proposed that such materials be excavated and/or removed.
The whole of an operation for the excavation and/or removal of any
materials from any excavated premises, and shall include the grading and seeding
of said excavated premises and the construction of a legal improvement or
legal improvements on said excavated premises.
A building, wall, structure, parking area, playground, walk, driveway,
street, highway or road.
An improvement that complies or would, if constructed, comply wholly
with the provisions of all pertinent zoning, building, fire prevention and
other ordinances, rules, regulations, laws and statutes affecting such improvement,
including pertinent ordinances, rules, regulations, laws and statutes of the
Town of Greenburgh.
Topsoil, earth, sand, gravel, humus, rock or other mineral deposit.
B.
Usage. Words of the masculine gender as used in this
article shall include the feminine and the neuter genders and may refer to
a firm, company or corporation.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, company or
corporation to excavate, strip or remove any topsoil, earth, sand, gravel,
humus, rock or other mineral deposit, from any land in that portion of the
Town of Greenburgh outside of any incorporated village therein, unless:
(1)
An excavation permit for such excavation work shall have
been duly issued by the Building Inspector of the Town of Greenburgh pursuant
to the provisions of this article; and
(2)
Such excavation work, in its entirety, shall be undertaken,
performed and completed in accordance with all provisions of this article.
B.
No excavation permit shall be required where:
(1)
Said materials are excavated or removed from one location
on the excavated premises for usage on another location on the same excavated
premises; or
(2)
Said materials must necessarily be excavated or removed from the excavated premises for the purpose of constructing a legal improvement thereon and the aggregate amount of said materials excavated or removed from the excavated premises is less than 300 cubic yards; provided, however, that in either of the aforementioned cases, the owner of the excavated premises shall have filed with the Building Inspector a written agreement, in duplicate, duly executed and acknowledged by said owner and in a form required in accordance with the provisions of § 210-16B of this article.
The application for an excavation permit required under the provisions of § 210-15A of this article shall be on a form approved by the Town Board of the Town of Greenburgh, shall be duly executed and verified by the owner of the excavated premises, and shall be filed, in duplicate, in the office of the Building Inspector of the Town. Such application shall furnish all data and information as shall be required by the Building Inspector respecting the proposed excavation work, including the location and purpose of the proposed excavation work, the nature of the proposed legal improvement to be constructed on the excavated premises, the time required to complete the proposed excavation work, and the approximate aggregate number of cubic yards of materials to be excavated or removed from the excavated premises. Such application so filed shall be accompanied by the following:
A.
A topographical map prepared by an engineer duly licensed in the State of New York, drawn to scale, showing the location and dimensions of the excavated premises, the existing grades thereof and the proposed finished grades thereof after completion of the proposed excavation work, the size and use of any existing buildings thereon, cross sections and elevations to indicate the effect of the proposed excavation work upon the existing grades of the excavated premises, and the relationship in grade, after completion of the proposed excavation work, between the excavated premises and any abutting land and highways lying within at least 50 feet of the excavated premises, such map showing how such abutting land and highways would be protected with slopes not to exceed an angle of 35º or with suitable masonry retaining walls or other suitable walls or terraces in accordance with the provisions of § 210-23 of this article;
B.
A written agreement, in duplicate, duly executed and
acknowledged by the owner of the excavated premises, and in a form approved
by the Town Attorney of the Town of Greenburgh, covenanting and agreeing,
on the part of such owner, to perform the proposed excavation work, in its
entirety, in strict accordance with all ordinances, rules, regulations, laws
and statutes, including those of the Town of Greenburgh and including this
article, and all amendments thereto, and consenting for himself, his heirs
and successors, that in the event of any failure of such performance at any
time, any officers, employees and duly authorized agents of the Town may,
upon direction of the Town Board, enter upon the excavated premises and take
all action thereon as is deemed necessary and appropriate to the Town Board
to restore said premises to a safe, clean and properly appearing condition,
and further that in the event of failure of such performance at any time,
the Town Board may declare any performance bond filed by the owner, pursuant
to this article, to be in default, collect the sum payable thereunder and
use such bond proceeds to defray the expense of the aforementioned restoration
of the excavated premises;
C.
A duly acknowledged written consent of all mortgagees
holding mortgages, if any, on the excavated premises, consenting to the proposed
excavation work;
D.
A certificate of the Receiver of Taxes of the Town of
Greenburgh certifying that all taxes and assessments levied against the excavated
premises have been paid as of the date of the application;
E.
A certificate of the Town Engineer of the Town of Greenburgh
certifying that the proposed excavation work and the proposed finished grades
of the excavated premises after completion thereof will not interfere with
or overload any existing or planned drainage facilities of the Town of Greenburgh
and will not endanger any street, highway or road within the limits of said
Town; and
F.
The amount of fee required for the issuance of the excavation
permit applied for, which fee shall be $50 for an excavation and/or removal
of materials of 5,000 cubic yards or less, plus $0.01 for each cubic yard
of materials to be excavated and/or removed in excess of the first 5,000 cubic
yards.
Before the issuance of any excavation permit under this article, the
Building Inspector of the Town of Greenburgh shall make a careful examination
of the application therefor and all accompanying documents required to be
filed, the excavated premises and all premises abutting thereof, and shall
make such further investigation and study as shall be required under the circumstances.
In making such investigation and study, the Building Inspector shall have
the right to require from the applicant such additional maps, plans and data
as shall be necessary to him for the purpose of reviewing the application.
No excavation permit shall be issued by the Building Inspector until all of
the following requirements shall have been complied with:
A.
The pertinent application and accompanying documents, along with all additional data required by the Building Inspector, shall have been filed with him in proper form, and the appropriate amount of fee for the excavation permit applied for shall have been paid to him, pursuant to all of the provisions of § 210-16 of this article.
B.
The Building Inspector shall have determined that the proposed excavation work, in its entirety, is necessitated for the purpose of constructing a legal improvement or legal improvements on the excavated premises, unless the Town Board shall have waived this requirement pursuant to § 210-18 of this article.
C.
The owner of the excavated premises shall have filed with the Town Clerk of the Town of Greenburgh a suitable performance bond, in an amount as determined below, issued by a bonding or surety company approved by the Town Board of said Town, and also approved by the Town Board and the Town Attorney of said Town as to its form, sufficiency and manner of execution, conditioned for the faithful performance by said owner of the proposed excavation work, in its entirety, in accordance with all terms, conditions and provisions of this article and of the agreement executed by said owner pursuant to § 210-16B of this article.
|
Total Number of Cubic Yards
to be Excavated or Removed
|
Amount of Bond Required
| |
|---|---|---|
|
50,000 or less
|
$5,000
| |
|
Between 50,001 and 100,000, inclusive
|
$10,000
| |
|
Between 100,001 and 200,000, inclusive
|
$15,000
| |
|
Between 200,001 and 500,000, inclusive
|
$20,000
| |
|
In excess of 500,000
|
$25,000
|
In the event that the Building Inspector shall in any instance determine that the proposed excavation work or any part thereof is not necessitated for the purpose of constructing a legal improvement or legal improvements on the excavated premises, the owner of such excavated premises may apply to the Town Board for a waiver of the requirement set forth in § 210-17B of this article. Upon the receipt of such application and after due consideration of all pertinent documents filed with the Building Inspector and of the report of the Building Inspector relating to the application, the Town Board shall have the right to waive the requirement set forth in § 210-17B of this article upon such terms and conditions as may be deemed appropriate to the Town Board, including the right to increase the amount of performance bond required under § 210-17C of this article.
If an application for an excavation permit shall be finally rejected
or denied by the Building Inspector, he may, upon the request of the applicant,
refund to such applicant the portion of the fee paid by him which shall be
in excess of $10.
Upon the issuance of an excavation permit pursuant to this article,
the excavation work permitted thereby, in its entirety, shall be undertaken,
performed and completed in accordance with all the provisions of this article.
The excavation permit so issued shall expire six months from the date of its
issuance and shall be nontransferable.
No topsoil shall be excavated or removed from any excavated premises except within the construction lines of a legal improvement, the construction of which necessitates the removal of such topsoil. Before any earth, sand, gravel, humus, rock or other mineral deposit is excavated or removed from any part of the excavated premises lying outside the construction lines of a legal improvement, the topsoil thereon shall be separated, stripped and neatly piled on the excavated premises so that such topsoil may be restored to such part of the excavated premises upon completion of the grading thereof pursuant to § 210-26 of this article.
No materials shall be excavated or removed from any excavated premises
in excess of the maximum amount shown on the excavation permit issued for
such excavation work, or in excess of 300 cubic yards where no excavation
permit has been issued for such excavation work. If a topographical map shall
have been filed by the owner of the excavated premises pursuant to any provision
of this article, the excavation work on the excavated premises shall be performed
in strict accordance with such filed topographical map and in the following
manner:
A.
No materials shall be excavated or removed except from
those areas and portions of the excavated premises as are expressly indicated
for excavation or removal on said topographical map;
B.
No materials shall be excavated or removed from any area
or portion of the excavated premises at any depth below the proposed grade
shown for such area or portion on said topographical map; and
C.
The grades and slopes of the excavated premises shall
be finished in accordance with all details shown on said topographical map.
No excavation nor filling shall be made closer than 25 feet to any abutting
property line of the excavated premises with an angle of slope exceeding 35º,
unless a suitable masonry retaining wall or other suitable wall or terrace,
designed by an engineer duly licensed in the State of New York, and approved
by the Building Inspector, is constructed to protect such abutting property.
If such wall or terrace is over five feet in height, a suitable iron or pipe
guardrail, approved by the Building Inspector, shall be installed on top of
said wall or terrace.
Where the depth of an excavation is more than five feet in height, the
banks shall be broken down at the end of each working day so that the slope
shall not exceed 45º. The Building Inspector shall have the right and
authority to require adequate safeguards where an excavation is liable to
damage any existing building or wall, and to require suitable barricades around
any open excavation when necessary.
Any mud, dust or debris carried onto any public street, highway or road
as a result of any excavation work shall be scraped and swept broom clean
at the end of each working day.
After the grading of the excavated premises has been completed, topsoil
shall be replaced and spread evenly over the graded portion of the excavated
premises, lying outside the construction lines of a legal improvement. In
addition, a seed mixture containing 40 pounds of perennial rye grass, 25 pounds
of domestic rye grass, 25 pounds of chewing fescue and 10 pounds of mixed
clover per 100 pounds, or similar coverage, shall be sown on said portion
of the excavated premises, at the rate of 100 pounds per acre, and the seed
shall be brushed in lightly and rolled firm. All boulders and loose rock shall
be buried or removed from the excavated premises, and all tree stumps, brush
and other debris shall be removed from the excavated premises. If the excavation
work shall have been performed for the preparation and construction of a parking
area, such parking area shall be covered with at least two inches of blacktop
on a suitable base, or with such other paving as may be approved by the Building
Inspector, and shall be properly rolled.
In any case where excavation work will be, is being or has been performed
on excavated premises, whether or not an excavation permit has been or is
required to be issued therefor, the Town Board and/or the Building Inspector
shall have the right and authority to impose the following requirements on
the owner of the excavated premises:
A.
The Town Board and/or the Building Inspector shall have
the right to require from the owner of the excavated premises such data, information,
maps and plans as shall be necessary to determine whether excavation work
will be, is being or has been performed pursuant to the provisions of this
article.
B.
The Building Inspector shall have the right to require
the owner of the excavated premises to submit thenceforth to the Building
Inspector sworn periodical reports setting forth the amount of materials that
have been or shall have been excavated or removed from the excavated premises,
and to place such stakes and markings on the excavated premises as shall be
required by the Building Inspector for the purposes of inspection.
C.
The Town Board shall have the right to require the owner
of the excavated premises to employ such inspector as may be designated by
the Town Board, without any cost or expense to the Town of Greenburgh, to
supervise and inspect any excavation work thereon for purposes of determining
whether such work is being performed pursuant to the provisions of this article.
D.
The Town Board shall have the right to require the owner of the excavated premises to deposit with the Town of Greenburgh a fixed amount of cash security or to file an increased or decreased performance bond in the manner required under § 210-17C of this article, and to impose such other terms and conditions upon said owner as are deemed appropriate to the Town Board to guarantee the carrying out of the faithful performance of the excavation work in accordance with the provisions of this article.
The Building Inspector may renew an excavation permit for an additional
six months' period, provided:
A.
The owner of the excavated premises shall have diligently
and lawfully proceeded with the excavation work permitted under the original
excavation permit, and with all work in connection therewith, during the period
of the original excavation permit; and
B.
The owner of the excavated premises shall have filed with the Building Inspector an application for renewal of such excavation permit, stating the reasons for such application, and all the requirements set forth in §§ 210-16 and 210-17 of this article shall have been complied with in respect to the renewal application. If the original excavation permit had been issued after action of the Town Board, pursuant to § 210-18 of this article, in waiving the requirement set forth in § 210-17B of this article, the Building Inspector shall not renew such original excavation permit until the Town Board shall have approved such renewal, and all additional terms and conditions, which the Town Board shall hereby have the right to impose in connection with such renewal, shall have been complied with.
No excavation made for the purpose of constructing an improvement on the excavated premises shall remain open for more than 90 days from the date of the beginning of such excavation, unless the foundation of a building constituting a legal improvement, or the construction of a legal improvement other than a building, shall have been commenced; any such excavation which shall remain open for more than 90 days shall be deemed abandoned and, within 30 days after written notice by the Building Inspector, any materials which have been excavated or removed from the excavated premises shall be replaced on the excavated premises by the owner thereof and said excavated premises shall be graded to the original grades and seeded in accordance with the specifications set forth in § 210-26 of this article. No building foundation constructed or in the process of construction shall remain open for more than six months from the date of the beginning of the excavation therefor, unless that portion of the building above the foundation shall be in progress of construction. All improvements constructed shall be completed within one year from the date of the issuance of the excavation permit relating to such improvement, whichever date is the earlier. In the case of undue hardship, the Town Board shall have the right to vary the provisions of this section without a public hearing.
Upon the completion of any excavation work permitted under this article, the owner of the excavated premises may apply to the Building Inspector for the cancellation of any performance bond filed by him, forwarding with such application a topographical map prepared by an engineer duly licensed in the State of New York, showing all conditions existing on the excavated premises after the completion of the excavation work, and a certificate of such owner certifying that all the provisions of this article have been fully complied with. Such topographical map shall be drawn to the same scale and based on the same datum plan as the topographical map filed with the application for the excavation permit pursuant to § 210-16A of this article. The Building Inspector shall thereupon inspect the excavated premises and complete a report thereon, certifying as to whether all the provisions of this article have been fully complied with. The Building Inspector shall then forward to the Town Board such report, along with his recommendation as to whether said performance bond should be canceled, whereupon the Town Board may, if satisfied with the performance and completion of the excavation work, cancel the performance bond filed.
A.
Pursuant to the provisions of § 130, Paragraph
15-a, of the Town Law, upon the direction of the Town Board, the Superintendent
of Highways of the Town of Greenburgh shall have the right and power to fill
in any excavated premises, provided that:
(1)
The Town Board shall have deemed, after a hearing thereon,
that the existence of such excavated premises constitutes a hazard to public
safety; and
(2)
After 30 days' notice given by the Superintendent of
Highways by registered mail addressed to the owner of record of such excavated
premises at the address shown on the last preceding assessment roll of the
Town, such excavated premises shall not have been filled in by or on behalf
of such owner.
B.
The Superintendent of Highways shall fill in such excavated
premises with the assistance of such employees or agents of the Town or independent
contractors as shall be set forth in the direction of the Town Board. The
cost of such filling shall be assessed against the excavated premises in accordance
with the provisions of § 157 of the Highway Law.
Any violation of this article shall be deemed a misdemeanor of the owner
of the excavated premises concerned and/or of the person, firm, company or
corporation committing such violation, and shall be punishable by imprisonment
for 30 days or by payment of a fine of $100 for each offense. Every violation
of any provision of this article shall be a separate and distinct offense,
and in case of a continuing violation, each day's continuance thereof shall
be deemed to be a separate and distinct offense. Nothing in this article shall
be construed as depriving the Town of Greenburgh or the Town Board or any
officer thereof of the right to maintain an action or proceeding to compel
compliance with, or to restrain by injunction any violation of, this article,
or the right to employ any other legal remedy.
All other ordinances or parts of ordinances heretofore enacted by the
Town Board of the Town of Greenburgh relative to the regulation or restriction
of excavation or removal of topsoil and/or other materials from land in the
Town of Greenburgh, except the Street Excavation Ordinance of the Town of
Greenburgh, are hereby repealed.
