§ 118-11. Environmental Restoration Standards.

(a)

In the event any land clearing is occurring on a site and such clearing is outside the scope of any permit issued or for which no permit was issued, the Building Official or other authorized County official shall issue a stop work order. If any land clearing has occurred for which no permit has been issued or which is beyond the scope of an issued permit, such activity shall be subject to code enforcement proceedings under Chapter 8. Except for issuance of an approved after-the-fact permit for restoration, the stop work order shall remain in effect and no application for a building permit shall be processed or issued for the site until the violation for unlawful land clearing is corrected pursuant to subsection (b) of this Section.

(b)

A land clearing violation is corrected if all of the following conditions are met in accordance with a restoration site plan approved by the County Biologist:

(1)

The site shall be restored to its pre-violation grade.

(2)

All native trees, shrubs, and groundcovers on the unlawfully cleared site shall be replaced with native plant species as appropriate to the site unlawfully cleared. The trees shall be of a size and maturity commensurate to the unlawful clearing as determined by the County Biologist. The native species mix shall consist of the approximate percentages of the predominant tree, shrub and groundcover species on the site unlawfully cleared prior to the violation, but if any endangered or threatened tree, shrub or groundcover species were unlawfully cleared, then those species shall be replaced with plants of a size and maturity commensurate to and related to the unlawful clearing as determined by the County Biologist regardless of predominance.

(3)

All replanted trees, shrubs, and groundcovers shall be located on site within the same areas that were unlawfully cleared.

(4)

A monetary guarantee for the restoration work, as stipulated in subsection (e) of this Section, shall be provided in the form of a surety bond, cash, or other financial guarantee in a form acceptable to the Planning Director and the County Attorney.

(5)

The restoration work to correct the land clearing violation in accordance with subsections (b)(1)—(3) of this Section shall be required to receive final inspection approval by the County Biologist.

(c)

Any violation for land clearing that has been corrected pursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall be subject to the following additional conditions to ensure the growth and viability of the restored habitat:

(1)

Except as expressively authorized by the County Biologist pursuant to an approved phased restoration site plan, all invasive exotic plant species shall be removed at least quarterly during the three-year period described in subsection (c)(2) of this section.

(2)

At least 80 percent of the trees replaced, as described in subsection (b)(2) of this Section, shall be viable at the end of a three-year period from the date of the final inspection of the restoration work. Dead or dying trees may be replaced, subject to prior approval by the County Biologist, during the three-year period in order to ensure the 80 percent minimum is met at the end of three years. The restoration work shall be inspected by the County Biologist on an annual basis during the three-year period and shall require a final inspection at the end of the three-year period. The County Biologist may direct that dead or dying trees be replaced as he or she deems necessary to ensure the 80 percent standard will be met at the end of the three years.

(d)

Failure to meet the conditions of subsection (c) of this Section shall be considered a violation of this Land Development Code and subject to code enforcement proceedings under chapter 8.

(e)

The permit holder shall be required through a financial guarantee approved by the Planning Director and the County Attorney, to guarantee the satisfactory completion of the restoration work in accordance with the approved restoration site plan and the survival of at least 80 percent of the replanted trees for a period of at least three years after the issuance of the after-the-fact permit for the restoration work.

(1)

Guarantee amount. The amount of the restoration guarantee shall cover the full costs of the restoration work described in subsections (b)(1)—(3) of this Section. The estimated costs of the restoration described in subsection (b) of this Section shall be the sum of subsections (e)(1)a. and (e)(1)b. of this Section:

a.

One-hundred percent of the estimated cost of the restoration described in subsection (b)(1) of this Section as estimated by the County Engineer; or alternatively, 150 percent of the price of a binding contract for the restoration work required by subsection (b)(1) of this Section, entered into with a contractor qualified to perform such work.

b.

One-hundred percent of the estimated cost, as estimated by the Building Official, of performing the restoration work described in subsections (b)(2) and (b)(3) of this Section; or, alternatively, 150 percent of the price of a binding contract for the restoration work described in subsections (b)(2) and (3) of this Section, entered into with a state licensed landscape architect.

(2)

F orm of Guarantee. The guarantee shall be in a form approved by the Planning Director and the County Attorney. The guarantee shall be payable to the county in the amount of the estimated total cost for restoration work as calculated in subsection (e)(1) of this Section, and enforceable, on or beyond a date 36 months from the date of the permit issued for the restoration work. Release of any guarantee shall be conditioned upon final approval by the County Biologist of the restoration work as stipulated in subsection (c)(2) of this Section.

(3)

Default. All guarantees shall provide that if the permit holder failed to complete required restoration work in accordance with the restoration site plan and failed to comply with the requirements of subsection (c)(2) of this Section, the Planning Director in consultation with the County Attorney, may take the following action: inform the guarantee company in writing of default by the permit holder and request that it take necessary actions to complete the required improvements.

( Ord. No. 006-2016 , § 1(Exh. 1), 4-13-2016)