16.10.010 Applicability and Exemptions.
A. Applicability. This chapter applies to all construction activity and all land disturbing activity, directly or indirectly associated with construction projects, and all persons engaged in construction activity and land disturbing activity, directly or indirectly associated with construction projects, within the City.
1. Erosion and sediment pollution must be prevented on all construction sites, regardless of whether a clearing, grading and erosion control permit (permit) is required, to prevent migration of sediment and construction related pollutants off site. Erosion must be controlled to keep sediment and debris from streets, storm drainage facilities, and surface water bodies. All construction sites must be cleaned up and stabilized to avoid erosion and sedimentation.
2. Unless exempt, no clearing and grading shall occur without a valid permit.
3. Unless exempt, the applicant for a permit must submit a written commitment to comply with this title to the maximum extent practicable.
4. If a permit has been suspended, revoked or has expired, all work covered by the permit shall cease until the suspension or revocation is lifted by the City or a new permit is issued.
B. Exemptions. Projects in the following categories do not need to apply for, and are exempt from the permit requirements, but not from the performance standards (described in BC 16.10.070 through 16.10.100 and 16.15.040), provided the project does not include an existing or proposed UIC facility:
1. Commercial agriculture practices involving working the land for production are generally exempt, except land disturbance related to the construction of new, permanent impervious surfaces as related to commercial agriculture or the construction of agricultural drains that are designed to act as UICs.
2. Forest practices regulated under the Oregon Forest Practices Act (ORS 527.610 through 527.770, 527.990(1) and 527.992), except conversions from forest lands or timberlands to other land uses.
3. Actions by a public utility or any other governmental agency to remove or alleviate an emergency condition, restore utility service, or reopen a public thoroughfare to traffic.
4. Remodeling permits or tenant improvements that do not add 5,000 or more square feet of impervious surface.
5. Change of use permits.
6. Records of survey, boundary (i.e., minor lot line) adjustments, and property aggregations, unless the action affects drainage tracts or easements.
7. Permits or applications for projects not physically disturbing the land; issuance of permits and/or approvals for land divisions; interior improvements to an existing structure; or other approvals for which there is no physical disturbance to the surface of the land.
8. Public or private road and parking area preservation/maintenance projects such as:
a. Pothole and square cut patching;
b. Crack sealing;
c. Resurfacing with in-kind material without expanding the area of coverage;
d. Overlaying existing asphalt or concrete pavement with bituminous surface treatment (or chip seal), asphalt or concrete without expanding the area of coverage;
e. Shoulder grading;
f. Maintaining existing drainage systems including reshaping or regrading drainage systems to original design; and
g. Vegetation maintenance.
9. Operation and maintenance or repair of existing facilities.
10. Landscaping and maintenance on residential lots, including gardening, noncommercial agricultural activity, and limited clearing and grading. (Note: this exemption does not apply to landscaping modifications to stormwater drainage or treatment swales.)
11. Cemetery graves.
12. Landfill operations by a governmental entity consistent with an Oregon Department of Environmental Quality permit for the operation of post-closure activities at a landfill.
13. Archaeological exploration conducted under State permit.
14. Removal of selected individual plants for storage or replanting.
15. Removal of trees on single-family residential lots on one acre or less.
16. Removal of trees less than eight inches dbh.
17. Removal of flammable vegetation and combustible growth within 30 feet of a structure for fire safety.
18. Normal maintenance, pruning or limbing of trees.
19. Removal of noxious weeds.
20. Removal of trees within an area approved by Deschutes County for a sanitary septic system.
21. Normal and customary excavation and fill associated with the ongoing maintenance activities on golf courses such as reconstruction of tee boxes, re-sculpturing of fairway bunkers and greens, etc.
22. Normal pruning, limbing and removal of trees and vegetation in routine landscaping maintenance of public school grounds, parks and trails, golf courses and cemeteries that is not associated with preliminary grading or clearing of a development project.
23. An emergency that immediately affects life or property.
Any of the exemptions from treatment requirements are superseded by requirements set forth in a total maximum daily load (TMDL), water cleanup plan, groundwater cleanup plan, surface water management plan (SWMP), Safe Drinking Water Act, Oregon Administrative Rules specifically OAR 340-040-0030, and UIC permit requirements. [Ord. NS-2176, 2012]