§ 9.7.4. Application/Permit Process

A.

General The property owner, developer and designated planners and engineers shall design and review before submittal the general development plans. The local issuing authority shall review the tract to be developed and the area surrounding it. They shall consult the zoning ordinance, stormwater management ordinance, subdivision ordinance, flood damage prevention ordinance, this Division, and any other ordinances, rules, regulations or permits, which regulate the development of land within the jurisdictional boundaries of the local issuing authority. However, the owner and/or operator are the only parties who may obtain a permit.

B.

Application Requirements  

1.

No person shall conduct any land-disturbing activity within the jurisdictional boundaries of Sandy Springs, Georgia, without first obtaining a permit from the Department to perform such activity and providing a copy of notice of intent submitted to EPD, if applicable.

2.

The application for a permit shall be submitted to the Department and must include the applicant's erosion, sedimentation and pollution control plan with supporting data, as necessary. Said plans shall include, as a minimum, the data specified in Sec. 9.7.4.C of this Division. Erosion, sedimentation and pollution control plans, together with supporting data, must demonstrate affirmatively that the land-disturbing activity proposed will be carried out in such a manner that the provisions of Sec. 9.7.3.B and Sec. 9.7.3.C of this Division will be met. Applications for a permit will not be accepted unless accompanied by three copies of the applicant's erosion, sedimentation and pollution control plans. All applications shall contain a certification stating that the plan preparer or the designee thereof visited the site prior to creation of the plan in accordance with EPD Rule 391-3-7-10.

3.

In addition to the local permitting fees, fees will also be assessed pursuant to paragraph O.C.G.A. § 12-5-23(5)(a), provided that such fees shall not exceed $80.00 per acre of land-disturbing activity, and these fees shall be calculated and paid by the primary permittee as defined in the state general permit for each acre of land-disturbing activity included in the planned development or each phase of development. All applicable fees shall be paid prior to issuance of the land disturbance permit. In a jurisdiction that is certified pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 12-7-8(a), half of such fees levied shall be submitted to the division; except that any and all fees due from an entity which is required to give notice pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 12-7-17(9) or (10) shall be submitted in full to the division, regardless of the existence of a local issuing authority in the jurisdiction.

4.

Upon receipt of an application and plan for a permit, the City shall review and approve or disapprove concerning the adequacy of the erosion, sedimentation and pollution control plan. The City shall approve or disapprove a plan within 35 days of receipt. Failure of the City to act within 35 days shall be considered an approval of the pending plan. No permit will be issued unless the plan has been approved by the City, and any variances required by Sec. 9.7.3.C have been obtained, all fees have been paid, and bonding, if required as per Sec. 9.7.4.B, has been obtained.

5.

If a permit applicant has had two or more violations of previous permits, this Division section, or the Erosion and Sedimentation Act, as amended, within three years prior to the date of filing the application under consideration, the local issuing authority may deny the permit application.

6.

The local issuing authority may require the permit applicant to post a bond in the form of government security, cash, irrevocable letter of credit, or any combination thereof up to, but not exceeding, $3,000.00 per acre or fraction thereof of the proposed land-disturbing activity, prior to issuing the permit. If the applicant does not comply with this section or with the conditions of the permit after issuance, the local issuing authority may call the bond or any part thereof to be forfeited and may use the proceeds to hire a contractor to stabilize the site of the land-disturbing activity and bring it into compliance. These provisions shall not apply unless there is in effect an ordinance or statute specifically providing for hearing and judicial review of any determination or order of the local issuing authority with respect to alleged permit violations.

C.

Plan Requirements  

1.

Plans must be prepared to meet the minimum requirements as contained in Sec. 9.7.3.B and Sec. 9.7.3.C of this Division, or through the use of more stringent, alternate design criteria which conform to sound conservation and engineering practices. The "Manual for Erosion and Sediment Control in Georgia" is hereby incorporated by reference into this Division. The plan for the land-disturbing activity shall consider the interrelationship of the soil types, geological and hydrological characteristics, topography, watershed, vegetation, proposed permanent structures, including roadways, constructed waterways, sediment control and stormwater management facilities, local ordinances and state laws. Maps, drawings and supportive computations shall bear the signature and seal of the certified design professional. Persons involved in land development design, review, permitting, construction, monitoring, or inspections or any land-disturbing activity shall meet the education and training certification requirements, dependent on his or her level of involvement with the process, as developed by the commission and in consultation with the division and the stakeholder advisory board created pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 12-7-20.

2.

Data required for site plan shall include all the information required from the appropriate erosion, sedimentation and pollution control plan review checklist established by the commission as of January 1 of the year in which the land-disturbing activity was permitted.

3.

Stand-alone residential development permit and procedures.

4.

All building permits for a stand alone residential development or redevelopment shall be submitted for review and approval that includes an erosion control plan and details.

5.

The building permit shall include a site erosion control plan, sealed by a Georgia registered Engineer, Landscape Architect, Certified Person in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC) or Land Surveyor, to accompany the building plans. No permit shall be issued by the local issuing authority unless the erosion, sedimentation and pollution control plan has been approved by the local issuing authority pursuant to Sec. 9.7.3.C. All proposed BMPs on the site erosion control plan shall be designed per requirements and specifications contained in the "Manual for Erosion and Sediment Control in Georgia."

6.

At the time of the preconstruction meeting the owner, operator or applicant shall sign the memorandum of understanding titled "Erosion Control Responsibilities." This document is on file with the Department.

7.

Self-inspections and rain event logs.

a.

The on-site operator, owner or applicant shall perform self-inspections of the erosion control BMPs daily when land disturbing is underway and at a minimum of once per week when the site is stabilized.

b.

An inspection be conducted after every rain event of 0.5 inches or more within a 24 hour period.

c.

Any problems noted during these inspections should be logged and corrected immediately.

d.

A log of the self-inspections and remedial measures undertaken must be available for review by the City of Sandy Springs at any time during the development and up to the final site stabilization.

8.

Permits

a.

Permits shall be issued or denied as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than 45 days after receipt by the local issuing authority of a completed application, providing variances and bonding are obtained, where necessary, and all applicable fees have been paid prior to permit issuance. The permit shall include conditions under which the activity may be undertaken.

b.

No permit shall be issued by the local issuing authority unless the erosion, sedimentation and pollution control plan has been approved by the district and the local issuing authority has affirmatively determined that the plan is in compliance with this Division, any variances required by Sec. 9.7.3.C.15 and Sec. 9.7.3.C.16 are obtained, bonding requirements, if necessary, as per Sec. 9.7.4.B.6 are met and all ordinances and rules and regulations in effect within the jurisdictional boundaries of the local issuing authority are met. If the permit is denied, the reason for denial shall be furnished to the applicant.

c.

Any land-disturbing activities by a local issuing authority shall be subject to the same requirements of this Division and any other ordinances relating to land development, as are applied to private persons, and this Division shall enforce such requirements upon the local issuing authority.

d.

If the tract is to be developed in phases, then a separate permit shall be required for each phase.

e.

The permit may be suspended, revoked, or modified by the local issuing authority, as to all or any portion of the land affected by the plan, upon finding that the holder or his successor in the title is not in compliance with the approved erosion and sedimentation control plan or that the holder or his successor in title is in violation of this Division. A holder of a permit shall notify any successor in title to him as to all or any portion of the land affected by the approved plan of the conditions contained in the permit.

f.

The local issuing authority may reject a permit application if the applicant has had two or more violations of previous permits or the Erosion and Sedimentation Act permit requirements within three years prior to the date of the application, in light of O.C.G.A. § 12-7-7(f)(1).

( Ord. of 4-17-2018(7) , §§ 9-90—9-95)