Chapter 17.29
GRADING DESIGNATION AND LOCATION
Sections:
17.29.010 Grading Designation and Inspection.
17.29.020 Reports and Statements, Engineered Grading.
17.29.030 Appropriate Certifications.
17.29.010 Grading Designation and Inspection.
A. General. Grading involving a fill intended to support structures, or the development of more than one lot or parcel of land, or in excess of five thousand (5,000) cubic yards of material, or grading where the City Engineer determines special conditions or unusual hazards exist shall conform with subsection (D) of this section, Engineered Grading Requirements. Grading other than “engineered grading” shall be designated “regular grading.”
B. Regular Grading Requirements. The grading shall be inspected by the City Engineer as set forth in subsection (C) of this section, Inspection of Excavation and Fills.
The City Engineer may require inspection and testing by a soil testing agency. If required, the soil testing agency’s responsibility shall include, but need not be limited to, approval concerning the inspection of cleared areas and benches to receive fill, and the compaction of fills.
C. Inspection of Excavation and Fills. The City Engineer, upon notification from the permittee or his agent, shall inspect the grading at the following stages of the work and shall either approve the portion then completed or shall notify the permittee or his agent wherein it fails to comply with the requirements of this code.
1. Initial. When the site has been cleared of vegetation and unapproved fill and it has been scarified, benched or otherwise prepared for fill. No fill shall have been placed prior to this inspection.
2. Rough. When approximate final elevations have been established; drainage terraces, swales and other drainage devices graded ready for paving; berms installed at the top of the slopes; and the statements required have been received.
3. Final. When grading has been completed, all drainage devices installed, slope planting established, irrigation systems installed, and the as-graded plans and required statements and reports have been submitted.
In addition to the called inspections specified above, the City Engineer may make such other inspections as he may deem necessary to determine that the work is being performed in conformance with the requirements of this code. Investigation and reports by an approved soil testing agency, soils engineer and/or engineering geologist may be required.
D. Engineered Grading Requirements. For engineered grading, it shall be the responsibility of the persons listed below to perform the designated functions and provide reports as set forth in Section 17.29.020. These responsibilities and functions are in addition to those of the City Engineer as set forth in subsection (C) of this section:
1. Design Engineer. The design engineer shall prepare the grading plans and shall incorporate recommendations from the soil engineering geology reports on such plans.
2. Field Engineer. The responsibilities of the field engineer shall include the establishment and approval of line, grade and surface drainage. The design engineer and field engineer need not be the same person. At the completion of the rough grading and final grading, the field engineer shall submit the statements and reports required by Section 17.29.020.
3. Soil Engineer. The soil engineer shall provide professional inspection within such engineer’s area of technical specialty, which shall include observation during grading and testing for required compaction. The soil engineer shall provide sufficient observation during the preparation of the natural ground and placement and compaction of the fill to verify that such work is being performed in accordance with the conditions of the approved plan and the appropriate requirements of this code. Revised recommendations relating to conditions noted during grading and differing from the approved soils engineering and engineering geologic reports shall be coordinated with the engineering geologist and submitted to the permittee, the Building Official.
4. Engineering Geologist. The engineering geologist shall provide professional inspection within such geologist’s area of technical specialty, which shall include professional inspection of bedrock excavation or excavations of subdrains, buttress fills and shear keys to determine that conditions encountered are in conformance with the approved report. Revised recommendations relating to conditions differing from the approved geology reports shall be submitted to the soils engineer.
5. Grading Contractor. The grading contractor shall submit the statement required at the completion of rough grading.
6. Planting and Irrigation. When planting and irrigation is required by Section 17.28.020, the statement required by Section 17.29.020 shall be submitted prior to the final approval of the grading by the City Engineer.
Reports that reflect conditions which are not in agreement with the approved grading plans shall be submitted to the field engineer and the City Engineer by the appropriate consultants.
E. Noninspected Grading. No person shall use or maintain any noninspected graded property. For the purposes of this code, “noninspected grading” shall be defined as any grading for which a grading permit was first obtained, but which has progressed beyond any point requiring inspection and approval by the City Engineer without such inspection and approval having been obtained.
F. Notification of Nonconformance. If, in the course of fulfilling their responsibility under this chapter, the field engineer, soil engineer or geologist finds that the work is not being done in conformance with this chapter or the plans approved by the City Engineer, or in accordance with good accepted practices, the person in charge of the grading work and the City Engineer shall be immediately notified in writing of the nonconformity and of the corrective measures to be taken.
G. Termination of Services. The termination of the services of the field engineer, soil engineer or geologist prior to the completion of the work shown on the approved grading plan shall be reported to the City Engineer in writing within forty-eight (48) hours. The report shall be by the person terminated and shall include the status of the work at the last inspection. The work shall be stopped until the replacement has agreed to accept the responsibility within the area of his technical competence for verification upon completion of the work.
H. Violation. It is a violation of this code for any person to verify to the satisfactory completion of work as required by this chapter if such work is subsequently found by the City Engineer to have been in substantial noncompliance with the approved design or code requirement at the time of verification. (Ord. 08-13 § 2, 8/26/08)
17.29.020 Reports and Statements, Engineered Grading.
A. General. The reports and statements set forth in this section are those required for engineered grading. The City Engineer may waive the requirement for a report or statement when such report or statement is found to be unnecessary for the approval of the graded site. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to waive the requirement for reports or statements by other provisions of this code.
The statement required by this section supplement the records of the City Engineer. These forms may be duplicated and the letterhead of the responsible person may be utilized. Final approval of grading by the City Engineer shall not be given until all required maps, statements and reports have been submitted.
Where reference is made to initial, rough or final grading, it shall mean those stages of construction set forth in Section 17.29.010(C), Inspection of Excavation and Fills.
B. Field Engineer. At the completion of rough grading and final grading, the field engineer shall submit a statement that work is in conformance with the approved plans. A final contour map (as-built plan) shall be submitted unless the work has been completed in close agreement with the approved plan.
C. Soil Engineer. At the completion of rough grading, the soil engineer shall submit a statement that the portion of the work concerning the preparation of the existing ground surface and the placing and compaction of fill is in conformance with the approved plans and the appropriate provisions of the section entitled “Fills.” The soil engineer shall submit a report which shall include the recommended soil-bearing capacity, a finding as to the expansive qualities of the soil, the location of subdrains and a summary of tests. The location of such tests and the limits of the compacted fill shall be shown on a final plan which shall also show by plan and cross section the location of any rock disposal areas and/or buttress fills, if such were involved in the grading.
D. Geologist. When a site inspection by the geologist was required under Section 17.29.010, a report based on an “as-built” geologic map shall be submitted by the geologist. The report shall be submitted at the completion of rough grading and shall include specific approval of the grading as affected by geological factors. Where necessary, such report shall include geologic cross sections and recommendations regarding the location of buildings or sewage disposal systems.
E. Planting and Irrigation. At completion of final grading, a landscape architect or a field engineer shall submit a statement that the slope planting has been established and the irrigation system has been installed in conformance with the approved plans.
F. Grading Contractor. At the completion of rough grading, the grading contractor shall submit a statement that the work under the direction of the grading contractor was performed in accordance with the approved plans and the appropriate requirements of this chapter or that such work was not in accordance with such plans and chapter.
17.29.030 Appropriate Certifications.
Any project subject to the Hillside Development Ordinance and involving less than five thousand (5,000) cubic yards of earth may also require the reports, statements, or certifications set forth by this code.