HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980-07-15; City Council; 6197-2; Proposed Grading OrdinanceCITY OF CARLSBAD
AGENDA BILL NO. 6197 Supplement No. 2 _ __ Initial:
Dept.Hd.
_ - _ July 15, 1980 _ C. Atty.
DEPARTMENT City Attorney C. Mgr.•
Subject:PROPOSED GRADING ORDINANCE
Statement of the Matter
On June 17, 1980, the City Council directed the City Attorney
to prepare documents for a new grading ordinance. These documents
have been prepared and the ordinance is now ready for introduction.
Exhibit
Grading Ordinance, Ordinance No.
Recommendation
Introduce Ordinance No .
Council Action:
7-15-80 Council returned the matter to staff for review with regard to comments in letter
of the Construction Industry Federation, and in accordance with Council discussion,
and continued the matter to the meeting of August 5, 1980.
ASSOCIATED SAN DIEGO ENGINEERING
GENERAL CONTRACTORS BUILDING CONTRACTORS ANDGENERAL
OF AMERICA ASSOCIATION CONTRACTORS ASS'N
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY FEDERATION
438 CAMINO DEL RIO SOUTH, SUITE 206, SAN DIEGO, CA 92108 (714) 299-5363
July 14, 1980
Mayor Ronald Packard
City of Carlsbad
1200 Elm Avenue
Carlsbad, Ca 92008
Subject: Excavation and Grading Ordinance
Dear Mayor Packard:
As a follow up to our discussion last week, we have reviewed
the City's proposed Excavation and Grading ordinance and offer
the following comments for the City Council's consideration.
In doing so, we are aware that we are somewhat late in the
process but we feel the observations are worthy of submittal.
You will recall in our discussion wherein you indicated that
perhaps the ordinance should be reviewed to determine if it
might be too restrictive and thereby contribute to the inability
to provide low to moderate income housing. I could not find any
specific section that would lead to that result, however, taken
as a whole, there will be Increased costs to conform to the
ordinance. Perhaps your Council would like to reserve for itself
the ability to waive the ordinance Cor sections thereof) if it
can be demonstrated to your satisfaction that such waiver will
materially aid in the provision of low to moderate cost housing
(a socially overriding factor) and further, that such waiver
will not jeopardize the health- and safety of adjacent property
owners.
The balance of our comments are offered after a review by
members of an Industry engineering firm.
1. Page 4 Paragraph 11.06.030 (J). - should be rewritten
to expressly identify those clearing and grubbing
operations that may be exempt, le. clearing
vegetation for fire prevention purposes; for
agricultural pursuits; etc.
2. Page 5 Paragraph 11.060.040 - although this section
appears to address a legitimate concern, it seems too
broad and susceptible to misuse. For example, if the
City constructed a street with slopes on private
Mayor Ronald Packard
City of Carlsbad
July 14, 1980
Page Two
property and subsequent slope failure damaged the
right of way, should the property owner be held
liable? Secondly, is the City exposing itself to
liability by damage to personal property by an
unsafe excavation or embankment undetected by the
City Engineer?
3. Page 7 Paragraph 11.06.050CF)(1)(D) appears to
contain a typographical error - should read 10,001
to 100,000 cubic yards
4. Page 9 Paragraph 11.06.060(D) - We believe that
"any modifications" is too broad a statement.
Certainly there are many minor changes that may be
necessitated in the course of construction that
should be accommodated without submission of plan
change for approval of the City Engineer. Provision
should be made for approval of "as built" changes in
the field by the inspector.
5. Page 10 Paragraph 11.06.064C4) - We believe this to
be very restrictive to achieve the purpose for which
it is intended. There will often be physical circum-
stances which may make it virtually impossible to
comply with the 3% limitation of grade on the last
50 feet of access road.
6. Page 17 Paragraph 11.06.140, and subsequent paragraphs
pertaining to Storm Damage Precautions - It is suggested
that these regulations be applicable only in the Coastal
zone in-as-much-as they are already covered in Coastal
Commission regulations. It is our belief that these
regulations were promulgated to reduce lagoon siltation
and could prove to be very costly if applied citywide.
7. Page 23 Paragraph 11.06.200(3) - If a Civil engineer's
license allows for some landscaping design, is it
necessary to have a landscape architect involved in all
landscaping work?
Mayor Ronald Packard
City of Carlsbad
July 14, 1980
Page Three
We sincerely appreciate the opportunity to offer the foregoing
comments. We trust that you will find them helpful in your
deliberations on the proposed excavation and grading ordinance.
Very truly yours,
Robert C. cozens
Legislative/Director
RCC:gag
cc: Each Council Member
City Manager
City Attorney
City Engineer