07-03-03 Fill Dirt Review Committee minutes

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e e OVERVIEW of CITY FILL DIRT REGULATION Prior to 1998, placement of fill dirt by private property owners was unrestricted and unregulated by the City. Ordinance 1444-A was approved in response to an increasing number of concerns from neighbors regarding fill dirt placement on adjacent properties. The ordinance provides a permitting mechanism which allows the City to oversee the placement of fill dirt and require drainage be provided to avoid adverse impact to neighboring properties. Upon passage and approval of Ordinance 1444-A, the City's Engineering Division implemented a policy and procedure for the placement of fill dirt on private property. A standard fill dirt permit allows for a maximum of forty (40) truckloads of fill. Applicants seeking greater than forty (40) truckloads receive an on-site visit from staff in addition to meeting standard permit requirements. Significantly greater volumes of fill dirt require the applicant to submit a plan illustrating topography of the subject tract along with a permit application for staff review. Since passage of Ordinance 1444-A, staff has processed a total of266 permits. Of these, two- thirds (176) have been processed since January of 2002. This is largely due to recent construction associated with H.C.F.C.D Unit No. B512-00-00; a regional detention facility located west of Underwood Road in the City of Deer Park. The construction contractor has recently solicited free and/or minimally priced fill dirt door-to-door to residents in the Lomax area. As a result, permit activity has increased substantially. The graph below illustrates fill dirt permit activity since the passage of the ordinance. 100 c:l 80 w ::J V) V) 60 ~ V) I- 40 ::;: 0:: W 20 0- 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 lI2003 YEAR liAs of 6/23/03 Moroi:oril.lM