ORDINANCE NO. 120933

Amending Chapter 63, Erosion and Sediment Control, Code of Ordinances, by repealing Sections 63-21, 63-22, 63-24, 63-33, 63-42 and 63-43 and enacting in lieu thereof new sections of like number and subject matter modifying the purpose of the article, adding terms to the definitions section, and modifying the enforcement provisions.

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:

Section 1. That Chapter 63 of the Code of Ordinances of Kansas City, Missouri, entitled Erosion and Sediment Control is hereby amended by repealing Sections 63-21, 63-22, 63-24, 63-33, 63-42 and 63-43 and enacting in lieu thereof new sections of like subject matter, to read as follows:

Sec. 63-21.  Title and authority.

This Article shall be known as the Kansas City, Missouri Erosion and Sediment Control Regulations and may be cited as “Erosion and Sediment Control Regulations” or “Regulations”. The director of city planning and development shall be responsible for the administration and enforcement of this Article.

Sec. 63-22.  Purpose of Article.

(a) Purpose. The purpose of this Article is to promote and protect the public interest by regulating land disturbance, land fill, and soil storage in connection with the clearing, grading and condition of land for construction related or other purposes. It is also the purpose of this Article to encourage responsible development and minimize the cost to the development community as a result of the regulations in this Article. This Article establishes administrative, implementation, and enforcement procedures for the protection and enhancement of the water quality of watercourses, water bodies, and wetlands by controlling erosion, sedimentation, and related environmental damage caused by construction-related or other activities.

(b) Violation.

(1)               Prohibited Conditions. Any condition on private property which, in the event of precipitation and natural drainage, causes or permits soil, sediment, silt, dirt or mud from such private property to wash upon the private property of another without its owner’s consent or upon a sidewalk, street or other public property is prohibited.

(2)               Responsible Person. It is a violation of subsection (b) of this section for any owner, occupant, land disturbance permit holder or agent thereof of any land, building or structure to cause, permit or allow to remain the conditions described in subsection (b)(1) of this section.

(3)               Penalty. Any person convicted of a violation of subsection (b) of this section shall be sentenced to a fine of not less than $50.00 and not more than $500.00, or imprisonment in the municipal correction institution for a period not to exceed 180 days, or both such fine and such imprisonment.

(4)               Each Day is a Separate Violation. Each day that a violation of subsection (b) of this section continues shall be a separate offense for which the person in violation may be charged, arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced.

Sec. 63-24.  Definitions.

For the purposes of this Article, the following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the following meanings. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense include the future, words in the plural number include the singular number and words in the singular number include the plural number.

The words “shall” and “will” are mandatory and “may” is permissive. Words not defined shall be given their common and ordinary meaning.

Adopted Standards means any design or construction specification, including the erosion and sediment control design criteria and specifications, adopted in writing by the director of public works or director of water services. 

Agricultural Crop Management Practices means all land farming operations including plowing or tilling of land for the purpose of crop production or the harvesting of crops. 

Applicant means the person who owns the affected property or the person’s authorized agent who submits or is required to submit an application to the director of city planning and development for a site disturbance permit. 

Best management practices (BMPs) means schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, general good housekeeping practices, pollution prevention and educational practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to prevent or reduce the discharge of pollutants directly or indirectly to stormwater, receiving waters, or stormwater conveyance systems. BMPs also include treatment practices, operating procedures, and practices to control site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or water disposal, or drainage from raw materials storage.

Building Permit means any permit issued by the director of codes administration. 

Clearing means any activity which removes the vegetative ground cover including, but not limited to, root removal or top soil removal. 

Code means the code of ordinances for the city. 

Construction activity means activities subject to national pollutant discharge elimination system permits issued by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources or EPA (“NPDES construction permits”) or city land-disturbance permits. Such activities include but are not limited to clearing and grubbing, grading, excavating, and demolition. 

Director means the director of city planning and development of the city or the director’s authorized representative. 

Earth Materials means any rock, natural soil or combination thereof. 

Erosion means the wearing away of land by the action of wind, water, gravity, or a combination thereof. 

Erosion and Sediment Control Plan means a set of measures designed to control runoff and erosion, and to retain sediment on a particular site during pre-construction, construction, and after all permanent improvements have been erected or installed. 

Erosion and Sediment Control Regulations means this Article in its entirety. 

Erosion and Sediment Control Specifications means the erosion and sediment control design criteria and specifications adopted in writing by the director of public works. 

Engineer means a Civil Engineer that is registered as a Professional Engineer with the Missouri Board of Architects, Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. 

Excavate  means the mechanical removal of earth materials. 

Fill  means the deposit or stockpiling of earth materials. 

Grading  means any excavating or filling of earth materials or any combination thereof. 

Inspection  means the periodic field review of erosion and sediment control measures as defined in the erosion and sediment control plan for the purposes of determining compliance. 

Land Disturbance/Land Disturbance Activity means any activity that changes the physical conditions of landform, vegetation, and hydrology. Such activities include, but not limited to, clearing, removal of vegetation, stripping, grading, grubbing, excavating, filling, logging, and storing of materials. 

Land Fill means any human activity depositing soil or other earth materials. 

Nuisance means any act or situation as defined in Section 48-3 of the Code of Ordinances for the City. 

Occupant means any person who has a legal or equitable interest in any land, building or structure other than a fee interest, including a life tenant, tenant, lessee, tenant at will, tenant at sufferance or adverse possessor, as well as a person in possession or a person who has charge, care or control of such land, building or structure as the agent or personal representative of the person holding legal title to a fee interest.

Owner means any person who, alone or jointly or severally with others:

(1)               Shall have legal title to any land, building or structure, or part thereof, with or without having actual possession thereof; or

(2)               Shall have charge, care or control of any land, building or structure, or part thereof; or

(3)               Shall have possession or right to possession of any land, building or structure under contract for deed.

Person  means any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, association, organization, or legal entity of any kind including governmental entities. 

QCR means Quality Control Review, a process of checking a Plan submittal application or resubmitted for completeness against a certified submittal checklist that the applicant has prepared and attached to the Plan prior to acceptance for technical review. 

RCR means Review Comment Resolution, a service provided to communicate and clarify review deficiencies. 

Regulations  means the Kansas City, Missouri Erosion and Sediment Control Regulations in its entirety. 

Sampling  means the procedures associated with the determination of settleable solids and may include suspended solids in a discharge sample of water. 

Sediment  means any solid material, mineral or organic that has been deposited in water, is in suspension in water, is being transported or has been removed from its site of origin by wind, water, or gravity as result of soil erosion. 

Site Disturbance Permit means authorization given by the director of city planning and development noted in Section 63-34, to perform land disturbance activities. 

Soil  means the unconsolidated mineral and organic material on the immediate surface of the earth that serves as a natural medium for the growth of land plants. 

Soil Storage means any human activity depositing soil or other earth materials for later use or disposal. 

Timbering means the act of cutting and removing trees without disturbing the root or adjacent vegetation. 

Vegetative Cover means any grasses, shrubs, trees and other vegetation which hold and stabilize soils. 

Water Bodies means surface waters including rivers, streams, lakes and wetlands. 

Wetlands means those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. This does not include the following surface waters of the state intentionally constructed from sites that are not wetlands: drainage ditches, grass-lined swales, and landscape amenities. 

Work means any activity that involves construction or preparation for construction of an Improvement. 

Sec. 63-33.  Security for performance of work.

The director shall require the applicant to provide security equal to the estimated cost to install and maintain the approved erosion and sediment control measures for the duration of the site disturbance permit as defined in Section 63-35 of this Article if the land disturbance is within the watershed of a public or private lake or pond. The applicant has two options to secure the performance of work:

(1)               Option 1: Performance Bond.  The applicant may furnish a performance bond, approved by the director of finance; or 

(2)               Option 2: Letter of Credit Agreement.  The applicant may enter into a letter of credit agreement with the city, whereby the applicant will submit a letter of credit from a bank approved by the director of finance. 

The director is authorized to apply the bonding requirements under Ch. 64-4 of the Code if authorization to perform land disturbance activities is included in the special permit under Ch. 64-4 of the Code.

Sec. 63-42.  Enforcement activities.

The director shall handle enforcement through the normal routine activities that include receiving inspection reports from the applicant, inspecting the site, communicating, issuing corrective orders, issuing notices of violation, and issuing citations to the applicant to resolve issues of noncompliance with this chapter. The director may also proceed with the additional enforcement actions outlined in Section 63-43 of this Article.

Sec. 63-43.  Enforcement actions.

In addition to the enforcement activities, as defined in Section 63-42, the director may take action against the security as provided under Section 63-33, and may take the following actions in order to correct deficiencies:

(1)    The director may suspend the site disturbance permit and other construction activity and issue a written stop work order, and the applicant shall cease all construction work on the site, except work necessary to remedy the cause of the suspension, upon notification of such suspension when:

a.    Applicant fails to submit reports timely and in accordance with Section 63-38; or

b.   Inspection by the director reveals the site is not in substantial compliance with the erosion and sediment control plan, site disturbance permit, adopted standards of this Code; or

c.    Applicant fails to comply with an order to bring the site into compliance with this Code within time limits imposed by the director.

(2)    The director may revoke the site disturbance permit, if a permit has been issued, and issue a stop work order if the applicant fails or refuses to cease work. A stop work order issued pursuant to this section does not affect building permits which are issued by the director. However, the director may issue a stop work orders affecting building permits in accordance with Chapter 18 of the Code of Ordinances.

(3) The director shall reinstate a suspended site disturbance permit upon the applicant’s correction of the cause of the suspension.

(4) The director may not reinstate a revoked site disturbance permit.

(5) The director may take other enforcement actions as necessary to enforce this Code.

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Approved as to form and legality

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Sarah Baxter

Assistant City Attorney