§ 151.40. Grading.

(A)

General.

(1)

All finished grading shall be blended with the existing grade to form a smooth transition where possible.

(2)

Cuts and fills pursuant to §§ 151.20(A)(1) through 151.20(A)(10) shall be balanced on site , unless an exception is granted by the Town Engineer and Planning Director . Basement grading is exempt from this requirement.

(B)

Excavations.

(1)

Steepness. No surface grading shall be made with a cut face steeper than two horizontal to one vertical unless allowed by the Town Engineer and Town Geologist in accordance with the approved grading specifications.

(2)

Setback from property lines. The tops and toes of all cuts and fills shall be at least ten feet from any property line and five feet from a proposed building.

(3)

Contour grading. Contour grading of all tops and toes shall be required for a minimum of ten feet horizontal distance.

(4)

Stricter standards. The Town Engineer may require an excavation to be made with a cut face flatter in slope than two horizontal to one vertical if he/she finds the material in which the excavation is to be made is subject to significant erosion or if other conditions make such flatter cut slope necessary for stability or safety to adjoining property.

(1975 Code, § 7-4.08(a), (b)) (Ord. 1984-317, effective 4-12-84)

(C)

Fills.

(1)

Steepness. No fill shall be made which creates any exposed surface steeper in slope than two horizontal to one vertical.

(2)

Stricter standards. The Town Engineer may require that the fill be constructed with an exposed surface flatter than two horizontal to one vertical if he/she finds that, under the particular conditions, such flatter surface is necessary for stability, safety, and planting.

(3)

Fill material. All fills shall be made of clean earth, sand, gravel, or rock.

(4)

Surface preparation. The ground surface shall be prepared to receive the fill by removing vegetation, topsoil, and other unsuitable materials and shall be scarified to provide a bond with new fill . Where slopes are steeper than five to one, and the height is greater than five feet, benching or keying into sound bedrock or other component material as determined by the Soils Engineer may be required.

(5)

Compaction of fills. All fills intended to support buildings or structures or where otherwise required to be compacted for stability of material shall be compacted, inspected, and tested in accordance with the approved geotechnical report. Where no geotechnical report exists, the following provisions shall apply:

(a)

Surface preparation. The natural ground surface shall be prepared by the removal of topsoil and vegetation and, if necessary, shall be graded to a series of terraces.

(b)

Moisture control. The moisture content of the fill material shall be controlled at the time of spreading and compaction to obtain the required maximum density.

(c)

Compaction density. The fill material shall be compacted to a relative compaction density of not less than 90 percent, determined by the current ASTM standard.

(1975 Code, § 7-4.08(c)—(e)) (Ord. 1984-317, effective 4-12-84; Am. Ord. 2016-575, effective 6-9-16)

Cross reference

Penalty, see § 10.99.