HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd 2006-05 ORDINANCE NO. 06-05
(kirr AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF
FOUNTAIN HILLS, ARIZONA, AMENDING THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN
HILLS ZONING ORDINANCE, CHAPTER 5, GENERAL PROVISIONS, AND
AMENDING THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS SUBDIVISION
ORDINANCE, ARTICLE V, GRADING STANDARDS, RELATING TO
GRADING FOR PUBLIC UTILITIES.
WHEREAS, the Mayor and Town Council (the "Town Council") desires to amend the
Town of Fountain Hills Zoning Ordinance to revise Chapter 5- General Provisions, Section
511.B.8, to ensure that the grading standards therein are consistent with the grading standards
contained in the Town of Fountain Hills Subdivision Ordinance; and
WHEREAS, the Town Council desires to amend the Town of Fountain Hills Subdivision
Ordinance, Article V, Section 504.B.1.b, to provide for administrative guidelines for grading
necessary for utilities outside of the disturbance area for any building; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to ARiz. REV. STAT. § 9-462.04, public hearings were advertised in
the December 21, 2005 and December 28, 2005 editions of The Times of Fountain Hills and Rio
Verde; and
WHEREAS, public hearings were held by the Fountain Hills Planning and Zoning
Commission on January 12, 2006 and by the Town Council on February 2, 2006.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF
THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS as follows:
SECTION 1. That the Town of Fountain Hills Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 5, General
Provisions, Section 5.11, Land Disturbance Standards, subsection 5.11.B.8, Grading for Utility
Lines, is hereby amended to read as follows:
8. Grading for Utility Lines. With the exception of power lines capable of carrying
69kv or more of voltage, utility lines shall be located underground. Utilities
located in subdivisions platted after November 3, 1996, must be located within
allowed disturbance areas.- AS OUTLINED IN ARTICLE V, SECTION 504.B.1
OF THE SUBDIVISION ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN
HILLS.
SECTION 2. That the Town of Fountain Hills Subdivision Ordinance, Article V, Grading
Standards, Section 504, Hillside Disturbance, is hereby deleted in its entirety and replaced with
the following:
Section 5.04 Hillside Disturbance
A. The purpose of these land disturbance regulations is to limit the amount of hillside
disturbance within each subdivision. The amount of hillside area that may be
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disturbed shall be based on the severity of the slope. Hillside areas shall mean
any area having slopes equal to or greater than 10 percent, as measured from a
topographical contour map prepared and stamped by an Arizona-registered land
surveyor. The Town requires the submission of topographic contour maps having
contour intervals not greater than two feet and at a scale not smaller than 1" = 20'
for sites less than 10 acres. Sites 10 to 100 acres may utilize contour intervals not
greater than five feet at a scale not smaller than 1" = 50'. Sites over 100 acres
may utilize contour intervals not greater than five feet at a scale not smaller than
1"=100'. Individual non-contiguous areas of hillside or non-hillside that are less
than 500 square feet that are located within larger areas non-hillside or hillside,
respectively, may be included with the larger area of non-hillside or hillside that
surrounds it. Whether a subdivider chooses the Lot-by-Lot Hillside Protection
Option or the Hillside Transfer and Protection Option, the actual square footage
of disturbance permitted within one slope interval may be transferred into areas
having lesser degree of slope. The percent of slope shall be determined by the
spacing between the contours lines as shown on the preliminary plat. Following
are the land disturbance allowance of slope interval areas of 500 square feet or
more:
Percent of Slope Preservation
Allowance Requirement Disturbance
(%)
<10 0 100
10 - <20 70 30
Lir 20 - <30 80 20
30 and more 90 10
B. There are no exempted disturbance activities, except as otherwise specifically
provided for in this ordinance. And exempted disturbance activities shall be
subtracted from the gross area of the subdivision, and the required "Preservation
Requirement" and "Disturbance Allowance" areas, as noted above in Subsection
A, shall be calculated from the net (gross area of the subdivision minus exempted
disturbance activities) area of the subdivision, or that area remaining after the
area(s) of exempted disturbance have been subtracted from the gross area of the
subdivision.
1. The following disturbance activities are exempted only from the
horizontal Hillside Disturbance Regulations contained in this Section:
a. Disturbance within street rights-of-way, tracts of land for private
roads meeting public road standards, and any roadway grading
required by the Town Engineer outside of street rights-of-way or
tracts for private roads meeting public road standards.
b. Utility lines, or any other public improvement activities needed for
the development of utility lines and associated equipment, outside
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of any disturbance caused by other development activities, either
pre-existing or current, may be exempted from the requirements of
L. this section upon administrative review by the Community
Development Director and approval of a "Utility Disturbance
Permit" by the Town Council. Utility Disturbance Permits shall
only be issued in conformance with the following conditions:
1) The Community Development Director shall find that the
proposed disturbance is necessary.
2) The Community Development Director shall determine the
method of delineating the disturbance boundary. It shall be
at the Community Development Director's sole discretion
as to whether a chain link fence or ropes and flags are used.
3) The Community Development Director shall approve a re-
vegetation and landscaping plan which shall be completed
within a specified time frame and made a condition of the
Utility Disturbance Permit.
4) The Community Development Director shall determine the
method, if any, of covering open trenches during non-
working hours.
5) The Community Development Director shall specify the
expiration date of the Utility Disturbance Permit.
6) Utility Disturbance Permits are project and property
specific and are non-transferable.
7) The Community Development Director may, at his sole
discretion, include any other reasonable condition he feels
is necessary to ensure public safety and convenience.
8) Any violations of the conditions of a Utility Disturbance
Permit shall render the permit void.
2. The following disturbance activities are specifically not exempted from
the Hillside Disturbance Regulations contained in this Section:
a. Disturbance activities for the development of any effluent watering
field or any lake or pond intended for the storage of treated
effluent, or any service and/or access road or any above or below
ground pipeline or utility lines, whether or not the development of
such fields, ponds, lakes, service/access roads, pipelines or utility
lines have been mandated or suggested by another governmental
agency or Court.
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b. Any "utility" disturbance, other than for a utility line and
associated equipment as described above in subsection
504(B)(1)(b).
3. In addition to the detailed information that is required to be provided to
the Town to ensure compliance with this Article, as noted in Section
203(D)(9) of this Ordinance, the property owner may submit to the Town
an alternative method of calculating the "Preservation Requirement" and
the "Disturbance Allowance" as included in Section 5.04(A). The Town
Council may approve this alternative method of calculating the
"Preservation Requirement" and the "Disturbance Allowance" at the time
of preliminary plat consideration.
C. Any previously-disturbed hillside areas within a proposed subdivision, including
but not limited purposes as described in Section 606(C) of this Ordinance has
occurred, shall be counted toward the total amount of hillside within the
subdivision but shall not be accepted by the Town as undisturbed hillside areas.
If an applicant desires to salvage landscape materials for revegetation purposes
prior to Final Plat approval, the applicant to areas such as access roads, where the
salvaging of landscape materials for revegetation may do so at the risk of non-
compliance with this Ordinance and denial of the final plat.
D. All grading and/or disturbance performed subsequent to September 20, 1991, or
subdivision improvement grading (whichever date is most recent) is considered to
be cumulative under this ordinance. In other words, the topography of land
within the Town as of September 20, 1991 is considered to be natural grade by
this Ordinance. Grading and/or other disturbance activities conducted since
September 20, 1991 shall not be exempted from the hillside disturbance
regulations of this Ordinance and their cumulative hillside disturbance shall be
offset at the time of subdivision approval pursuant to the regulations of this
Section.
E. Disturbance Buffers and Fencing.
1. Fencing: After a disturbance area is defined, an area at least equal to the
hillside protection requirements of the lot, parcel or tract, may be
protected by a chain-linked fence six feet in height and affixed in the
ground to assure non-movement. The fenced-in area shall include all
previously disturbed areas and all areas intended to be disturbed. There
shall be no disturbance outside the fenced area. However, the Town Staff
may approve the revegetation of Hillside Protection Areas disturbed prior
to September 21, 1991 in accordance with a landscape plan approved by
the Staff. The fencing may be removed only after the completion of all
construction activity on the lot.
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2. No-Fencing: When there is no fencing, as described in paragraph 1. of
this subsection, the area to be disturbed shall include a perimeter area of
$ not less than 20 feet in width around all buildings in a condominium
development and ten feet in width around all other construction or grading
activities. The proposed disturbance perimeter, as shown on the approved
set of grading plans, shall be iron-staked by an Arizona-registered Land
Surveyor or Civil Engineer, roped, and warning signs posted prior to any
disturbance activity on the lot or parcel. This staking, roping and warning
signage shall be inspected by the Town Engineer prior to any disturbance
activity on the lot or parcel. The staking, roping and warning signage
shall be maintained in the same location during all subdivision
construction activities, and shall not be removed until a certificate of
occupancy (for a condominium subdivision) or until final approval has
been given by the Town.
F. Disturbance activities for utility line (including but not limited to water and sewer
mains and laterals) installation shall include an area on center with the utility line
at a width (may vary) calculated by the following formula: (20 feet + the trench
depth in feet x Three). No disturbance activities are permitted outside of the area
indicated to be disturbed.
G. In order to comply with the Land Disturbance Regulations of this Section, the
subdivider of a subdivision wherein future disturbance activities will take place
can choose either of the following two options:
11600 1. Lot-by-Lot Hillside Protection Option. If the subdivider does not desire
to utilize the Hillside Transfer and Protection Option to comply with the
regulations of this Section, and no hillside protection measures are
proposed (other than those measures required in subsection "C", above) in
the platting process for the undisturbed, yet developable lots or parcels
within the subdivision, each lot or parcel shall be required to individually-
meet the land disturbance requirements in Chapter 5, Section 5.11 Land
Disturbance Standards of The Zoning Ordinance for the Town of Fountain
Hills.
2. Hillside Transfer and Protection Option. If the subdivider chooses to
transfer allowable hillside disturbance from undisturbed hillside areas to
lots, parcels, tracts or rights-of-way in a subdivision, the subdivider may
do so by identifying an area acceptable to the Town of Fountain Hills and
granting to the Town a Hillside Protection Easement(s). If the Hillside
Transfer and Protection Option is utilized, all areas located outside of the
Hillside Protection Easements within the subdivision may be disturbed
through the subdivision improvement process and/or through future
development activity.
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H. If the Hillside Transfer and Protection Option is chosen by the subdivider to
preserve the required amount of hillside areas within the subdivision, the
following regulations shall apply:
1. If a subdivision is located in two or more zoning districts, the amount of
hillside slopes required to be preserved within each zoning district shall be
calculated separately. The total amount of required undisturbed hillside
areas for the subdivision can be preserved anywhere within the
subdivision.
2. Hillside Protection Easements can be placed on lots intended to be
developed, instead of or in addition to tracts of land within the subdivision
boundaries, and in some Town-approved instances, outside of the
subdivision boundaries.
3. The following Hillside Protection Easement text shall be used for
easements intended to meet the intent of this Section:
Owner hereby grants to the Town of Fountain Hills a perpetual
easement upon, across, over and under all those areas designated as
"Hillside Protection Easement" for the purpose of preserving the
natural topography and vegetation of land area within the Final
Plat of (Subdivision Name) in conformance with the Article V of
the Town of Fountain Hills Subdivision Regulations. The owner
or any of his heirs, successors, or assigns shall not perform nor
allow to be performed, any construction; or cutting, filling, grading
to the topography; nor any grubbing, brushing, removal, or
otherwise damage any vegetation, rock outcropping, or other
natural feature in the Hillside Protection Easement area without
prior Town Council approval. A trailway may be a permitted use
if approved by the Town Council.
Disturbance activities in violation of this ordinance could result in, but not limited
to, the immediate chain-link fencing of all disturbance perimeters, the immediate
revegetation of any illegally-disturbed areas and/or project wide stop work orders.
Furthermore, disturbance activities in violation of this ordinance are violations of
The Fountain Hills Town Code, and are subject to ARTICLE 1-8 PENALTY,
paragraph A., which states:
Any person found guilty of violating any provisions of this code,
except as otherwise provided in this code, shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a
fine of not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars or by
imprisonment for a period not to exceed six months, or by both
such fine and imprisonment. Each day that a violation continues
shall be a separate offense punishable as hereinabove described.
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ILLUSTRATION OF PRESERVATION REQUIREMENT
446. The following is an illustration of the correct method to calculate the "Preservation
Requirement" and "Disturbance Allowance" for Happy Acres, a fictional, 100 acre subdivision,
having 25 acres in each percentage slope band, with 10 acres "exempted" for roadway
construction. The ten acres of"exempted" disturbance activities are allocated evenly across the
four percentage slope bands. The following table provides the only acceptable methodology to
calculate "Preservation Requirement" and "Disturbance Allowance" under the Hillside Transfer
and Protection Option, as described in Subsections A and G(2) above:
Happy Acres Subdivision
Slope Percentage 0-10% 10-20% 20-30% 30%+ Total
A Total Land Area(In Acres) 25.00 25.00 25.00 25.00 100.00
B Exempt Areas(In Acres) 2.50 2.50 2.50 2.50 10.00
C Residual (Net)Total 22.50 22.50 22.50 22.50 90.00
D Disturbance Allowance % 100% 30% 20% 10%
E Maximum Disturbance Allowance in Acres 22.50 6.75 4.50 2.25 36.00
F Preservation Requirement % 0% 70% 80% 90%
G Minimum Preservation Requirement in Acres 0 15.75 18.00 20.25 54.00
H Proposed Disturbance in Acres 15.00 7.00 4.00 4.00 30.00
I Excess(Short) N/A (0.25) 0.50 (1.75)
J Internal Hillside Transfers N/A 0.25 (0.25) 0
K Required Size of Outside Sending Area N/A 0 0 17.50
Notes
A. The total gross subdivision size for the Happy Acres Subdivision is 100 acres.
B. The total"exempt"areas for the subdivision total 10.0 acres.
C. Residual or"net" areas in the subdivision are derived by subtracting "Exempt Areas" from "Total
Land Area",in each slope category. These net totals, in each slope category, are used to calculate
Maximum Disturbance Allowance and Minimum Preservation Requirement in each slope
category.
D. The maximum disturbance percentage in each slope category.
E. Derived by multiplying"Residual(Net)Total"by"Disturbance Allowance %."
F. The minimum preservation requirement in each slope category.
F. Derived by multiplying"Residual(Net)Total"by"Preservation Requirement%.
G. The developer of the Happy Acres Subdivision proposes to disturb, through the development of
the subdivision, an amount of non-"exempted"land in each slope category, in an amount noted on
the table.
H. Derived by subtracting"Proposed Disturbance in Acres" from"Maximum Disturbance Allowance
in Acres." A(Short) in this row indicates that the proposed subdivision will disturb more land in
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that slope category than is permitted. In this case the subdivider can transfer an excess in the 20-
30% slope category to compensate for the shortage in the 10-20% slope category. In the case of
the "short" in the 30%+ slope category, the subdivider may either reduce the amount of disturbed
4111or land in that slope category or seek Town Council approval of a hillside transfer from outside the
subdivision.
I. If the subdivider chooses the Hillside Transfer and Protection Option, as has the subdivider for
Happy Acres, hillside transfers from a steeper slope category to a lessor slope category are
permitted within the subdivision. The subdivider has transferred .25 acres of the .5 acre excess in
the 20-30% slope category to compensate for the .25 acres of non-permitted disturbance in the 10-
20% slope category.
J. Derived by dividing any (short) acreage, after any internal hillside transfers, by the Disturbance
Allowance %. If the subdivider did not desire to preserve the required amount of land in that
slope category within the subdivision, and the Town Council approved of a hillside transfer from
outside of the subdivision, this is the amount of land within that slope category, or a steeper slope
category, that would need to be preserved within the "outside sending area" or the area outside of
the subdivision from which the hillside transfer was originating.
SECTION 3. That if any provision or any portion of any provision of this Ordinance is
for any reason held to be unconstitutional or otherwise unenforceable by a court of competent
jurisdiction, such provision or portion thereof shall be deemed separate, distinct and independent
of the remaining provisions of this Ordinance and shall be severed therefrom without affecting
the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Mayor and Council of the Town of Fountain Hills,
February 2, 2006.
FOR THE TOWN OF F UNTAIN HILLS: ATTESTED TO:
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• t,X1f2$ *4ldtt
W. J. Nichol Mayor Bevelyn J. B de Town Clerk
REVIEW Y: APP VED AS TO FORM:
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Jt.)( i4St
Timoth G. Pickering, Town nager Andrew J. McGuire, Town Attorney
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