Grading and Drainage By-law

1 Short title

1.1 This By-Law shall be known as the  Norfolk County Lot Grading and Drainage By-Law .

2 Definitions

2.1 In this By-Law:

COUNTY shall mean the Corporation of Norfolk County.

COUNTY OFFICIAL shall mean the General Manager of Public Works and Environmental Services or designate.

DESIGNATED URBAN AREA shall mean any area designated as an urban, resort or hamlet area in the Norfolk County Official Plan.

INFILL LOT shall mean a parcel of land in a Designated Urban Area that is not a parcel of land within a Plan of Subdivision, except as provided in this By-Law.

LEGACY LOT shall mean any land within a Plan of Subdivision where all grading on adjacent developed lots within such Plan of Subdivision may not be consistent with the Master Grading Plan for the Plan of Subdivision as a result of lot grading alterations on any adjacent property or properties undertaken after the Final Grading Plan was submitted for that or those property or properties and such alterations make conformance with the Master Grading Plan impractical without altering grading on those adjacent property or properties.

LOT shall mean a parcel of land suitable for the construction of a building.

LOT WITHIN A PLAN OF SUBDIVISION shall mean a parcel of land defined as a lot within a registered Plan of Subdivision.

MASTER GRADING PLAN shall mean a grading plan which has been submitted to the county for a registered Plan of Subdivision, which illustrates the direction of flow of surface water for all lands within such Plan of Subdivision to approved outlet(s).

OFFICIAL PLAN shall mean the Official Plan of Norfolk County.

ONTARIO LAND SURVEYOR shall mean an individual who is entitled to survey lands and has the appropriate qualifications under the Surveyors Act in the Province of Ontario.

OWNER shall mean any Person who is registered under the applicable system of land registration as the owner of the fee simple estate in the land, his agent or any other person who is in lawful possession of such land, or any Person applying for and taking out the permit for work to be performed within the scope of this By-Law.

PERSON means an individual, partnership, corporation, business trust, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, joint stock company, trust, unincorporated association, joint venture, company or other entity or any governmental authority.

PLAN OF SUBDIVISION shall have the meaning as set out in the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990.

LICENSED ENGINEERING PRACTITIONER shall mean an individual who holds a licence under the Professional Engineers Act in the Province of Ontario.

QUALIFIED PERSON shall mean a Licensed Engineering Practitioner or Ontario Land Surveyor.

SEALED shall mean the attachment of the seal of a Qualified Person, which seal is signed and dated and affixed to a document attested to by such Qualified Person.

RURAL AREA shall mean any area outside the Designated Urban Area.

3 General

3.1 This By-Law shall apply to all properties in Norfolk County when the Owner is making any application for a building permit.

3.2 This By-Law shall supersede any previous by-law respecting lot grading and any properties for which a final grading certificate has not been issued on the date of passing of this By-Law, shall conform to this By-Law.

3.3 All properties being developed shall be designed to drain water away from structures on the property.

3.4 Except as provided in Subsection 3.4, surface waters shall not be directed onto or through any adjacent property.

3.5 Surface drainage may be directed through adjacent properties provided there is a written agreement among all Persons registered on title of all affected properties or it is shown on the Master Grading Plan.

3.6 Additional conditions respecting grading identified through any County municipal planning processes under the authority of the Planning Act shall apply in addition to the requirements of this By-Law.

3.7 The County Official is delegated the authority by Council under this By-Law to issue forms to be completed by the Owner when submission of forms are required under this By-Law.

3.8 Where this By-Law requires documentation from a specific Qualified Person, but that Qualified Person is not able to provide such documentation as a result of retirement, death, and/or failure to maintain the required license to practice, the County Official will designate a Qualified Person for that specific application and specific documentation.

4 Proposed grading plans

4.1 Proposed grading plans shall be submitted with all building permit applications.

4.2 Proposed grading plans shall identify

• all surface features;
• existing and proposed structures;
• changes in grade and slopes in percent between such changes; and
• include sufficient information regarding adjacent properties to confirm conformance with this By-Law with respect to drainage onto those properties.

4.3 Proposed grading plans shall be prepared and sealed by a Qualified Person.

4.4 Grading plans for Lots within a Plan of Subdivision shall comply with the intent of the Master Grading Plan of the Plan of Subdivision and shall not limit or restrict the grading of adjacent properties.

4.5 Grading plans for any Lot within a Plan of Subdivision and submitted with the building permit application must be accompanied by written confirmation and be sealed by the Qualified Person that prepared the Grading Plan, that the Grading Plan being submitted conforms with the Master Grading Plan.

4.6 Grading plans for Legacy Lots within a Plan of Subdivision shall conform to the Master Grading Plan of the Plan of Subdivision; however, if the grading of adjacent lot(s) has (have) been significantly altered since approval of the final Master Grading Plan, a Legacy Lot shall be considered an Infill Lot.

5 Final grading plans

5.1 Final grading plans are to be completed by a Qualified Person and shall be submitted by the Owner to the Building Department of the County showing as- constructed (finished grade with final cover, topsoil and seeding or sod, in place) conditions.

5.2 Final grading plans, except for those in a Plan of Subdivision, shall show any deviations from the proposed grading plan that was first filed and shall include a statement from, and be sealed by, the Qualified Person stating, notwithstanding any deviations, that the final grading will meet the intent of this By-Law.

5.3 Final grading plans submitted for a Plan of Subdivision including Legacy Lots, where the final grades deviate from the Master Grading Plan by more than 50mm must be accompanied by a confirmation from the Licensed Engineering Practitioner that prepared the Master Grading Plan, that the grading plan conforms to the Master Grading Plan, noting the deviations from the Master

Grading Plan and, further that, notwithstanding the deviations, the final grading will meet the intent of this By-Law.

6 Proposed and final grading exemptions

6.1 An Owner may be considered by the County Official for an exemption from submitting proposed and final lot grading plans for a Lot in a Rural Area or additions not exceeding 15% of the existing structure (excluding above grade decks) provided:

• a Sealed letter from a Qualified Person is submitted stating grading modifications are not required to meet this By-Law, including the reasons for the determination; or,
• the Owner submits the completed form as prescribed by the County Official requesting that the County determine whether proposed and final lot grading plans are required to be submitted.

6.2 If the grading exemption is granted, the prescribed form required by Subsection 6.1 b) bearing the County Official s signature shall be submitted with the building permit application.

6.3 If the grading exemption is denied, the prescribed form required by section 6.1 b) bearing the County Official signature shall be returned to the Owner and the requirements of Section 4 and Section 5 of this By-Law shall apply.

6.4 The County Official may request the Owner to provide additional information prior to granting or denying an application for exemption under this Section.

6.5 The County Official may revoke an exemption granted under this section by issuing a Notice of Revocation if work proceeds in a manner not portrayed in the supporting documents for the exemption application, or documents submitted in support of the building permit application.

6.6 A Notice of Revocation described subsection 6.5 shall be given to the Owner in writing.

6.7 Revocation shall be deemed as a denial of the grading exemption and the requirements of Section 4 and Section 5 of this By-Law shall apply.

7 Fees and securities

7.1 The County may collect fees and securities relevant to this By-Law in accordance with the Norfolk County Fees By-Law.

7.2 Fees collected in accordance with subsection 7.1 are non-refundable.

8 Enforcement

8.1 This By-Law shall be enforced by the County Official or any person appointed to enforce municipal by-laws for Norfolk County.

9 Severability

9.1 In the event that any of the provisions of this By-Law are deemed ultra vires by any Court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining terms and provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

10 Repeal

10.1 That Norfolk County By-Law 2009-216 and any amendments thereto are hereby repealed in their entirety.

Enacted and passed this 17th day of January 2017.