17.55.130 Permit review criteria.
A. Any permit application under this section shall be reviewed to determine compliance with the following criteria:
1. Compliance with setback, lot area, density, and height limitations contained in this chapter;
2. Compliance with comprehensive plan goals for the area including the development site, including all other Municipal Code provisions;
3. The compatibility of the proposed development with existing land uses in the immediate vicinity of the project site, including aesthetic concerns and visual impacts;
4. Adequacy of the vegetation and landscaping plans, including restoration, vegetative screening, regrading and irrigation;
5. Geotechnical suitability of the development and the potential for geologic hazards to persons or property, whether natural or man-made, including erosion, rockfall, stormwater runoff, or similar concerns;
6. The availability of adequate municipal services, including police and fire protection, schools, culinary water, sanitary sewer service, or the like;
7. Suitability of the proposed drainage and reclamation plans, including the extent to which the design meets the following specific engineering standards:
a. The height of any cut or fill shall not exceed ten feet when measured vertically from the finished grade to the intersection of the slope with the natural undisturbed ground. The combined height of cuts and fill shall not exceed twenty feet unless otherwise approved by the Planning Commission and the City Council. Approval is subject to incorporating, retaining, terracing, and landscaping or other approved techniques for stabilizing cuts and fills. All excavation and fills shall conform to Appendix Chapter 33 of the Uniform Building Code.
b. All drainage systems shall be separate and independent from the sanitary sewer system.
c. Drainage and flood control shall be designed in conformance with the City flood control master plan where applicable.
d. Property development shall not cause a natural drainage channel to be filled in, obstructed, or diverted. When modification to a natural drainage channel is proposed within the development, such changes will be addressed in the drainage study and shown on the improvement plans, and the developer may be required to dedicate right-of-way or record drainage easements for structures and/or improvements needed to carry storm runoff in the event approval is given for the proposed modifications.
e. The point of location where the natural drainage channel enters and leaves the property may not be changed without the approval of the City Engineer.
f. All of the drainage basin upstream of the development shall be considered to be fully developed in conformance with the City’s current land use master plan. Effects on the downstream property owners relative to increased flood potential and nuisance water shall also be considered in the design, including acquisition of easements or agreements where necessary, or construction or modification of improvements where needed.
g. The applicant shall provide the necessary means to assure drainage within the property being developed by making use of existing facilities or natural washes and constructing master planned improvements.
h. It shall be required that each new development handle its stormwater runoff in such a manner that no net increase in storm runoff above the natural state will occur on the downstream properties. Pre-project flows must not be exceeded by the post-project flows.
i. Projects shall be designed to provide that stormwater from a one hundred year frequency storm shall be adequately conveyed either within the limits of the street right-of-way or in storm drain easement without creating flood hazards to dwellings.
j. When an underground pipe system is required, it shall be designed to carry a ten year storm. Major hydraulic structures shall be designed to carry a twenty-five year storm. The minimum storm drain size shall be ten inches.
k. Unless specifically permitted, retention basins on hillsides shall not be allowed.
l. Detention shall be allowed where it is compatible with all required reports. Detention basins shall be used for the purpose of eliminating the effects of the peak runoff of storms and releasing water flow at the pre-project, or approved rate.
m. Cross-gutter drains on streets shall be avoided whenever possible. They shall not be allowed on collector and higher order streets.
n. Drainage design must be constructed in accordance with accepted engineering standards and must be consistent with data in other reports such as soils, landscaping, and the like.
o. All buildings shall be constructed outside the limits of and eighteen inches above the two hundred year flood stage except on drainages subject to FEMA flood control regulations, in which case construction shall be no less than two feet from any such flood line.
p. Necessary measures shall be taken to prevent erosion and scour at all points throughout the development. Erosion shall be mitigated at all points of discharge and at the face of any cut or fill slope throughout the development.
q. During grading or construction on any property (including off-site construction) the developer shall control both water used for construction and storm runoff in such a manner as to not affect any adjoining properties, nor add silt or debris to any existing storm drain, wash, channel or roadway.
r. Applications shall be evaluated for compliance with applicable state and federal environmental statutes and regulations promulgated thereunder, including, but not limited to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. (Ord. 97-12 (part), 1997: Ord. 96-18 § 2 (part), 1996)