HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD NO 2456 ORDINANCE NO. 2456 NEW SERIES
AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
BAKERSFIELD ADDING CHAPTER 17.75 TO THE
MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO THE CALIFORNIA
SURFACE MINING AND RECLAMATION ACT OF 1975,
FOR USE IN MEETING MINIMUM STANDARDS IN
COMPLIANCE WITH SAID ACT.
BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the City of Bakersfield
as follows:
SECTION 1.
That Chapter 17.75 is hereby added to Title 17 of the
Municipal Code of the City of Bakersfield as follows:
Chapter 17.75
SURFACE MINING AND RECL~4ATION
17.75.010 Purpose and Intent
17.75.020 Definitions; Construction
17.75.030 Scope
17.75.040 Permit and Reclamation Plan Requirement
17.75.050 Review Procedure
17.75.060 Performance Bond
17.75.070 Periodic Review
17.75.080 Variance
17.75.090 Minor Amendments to Approved Plans
17.75.100 Enforcement
17.75.110 Appeal
17.75.120 Severability
17.75.010 Purpose and Intent.
(a) This Chapter is adopted pursuant to the California
Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975, Chapter 9, Public
Resources Code.
(b) The Council hereby finds and declares that the extrac-
tion of minerals is important for the continued economic well-
being of the City and to the needs of society, and that the reclama-
tion of mined lands is necessary to prevent or minimize adverse
effects on the environment and to protect the public health,
safety and welfare.
(c) The Council further finds that the reclamation of mined
lands as provided in this chapter will permit the continued mining
of minerals and will provide for the protection and subsequent
beneficial use of the mined and reclaimed land.
Sections:
(d) The Council further finds that surface mining takes
place in certain areas where the geologic, topographic, climatic,
biological, and social conditions are significantly different and
that reclamation operations and the specifications therefor may
vary accordingly.
17.52.020 Definitions; Construction. This chapter is also
enacted pursuant to State Policy for Surface Mining and Reclama-
tion Practice (California Administrative Code, Title 14, Division
6, Chapter 8, Subchapter 1, commencing with Section 3500). The
provisions, phrases and words of this chapter and those of any
standards or procedures adopted pursuant thereto shall be con-
strued and applied consistently with the provisions and defini-
tions contained in the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975
and in the State Policy, as the same have been enacted or may be
amended from time to time.
17.75.030 Scope.
(a) The provisions of this chapter shall apply to areas within
the City of Bakersfield.
(b) The provisions of this chapter are not applicable to:
(1) Excavations or grading conducted for farming or
onsite construction or for the purpose of restoring land following
a flood or natural disaster.
(2) Prospecting and exploration for minerals of com-
mercial value where less than 1000 cubic yards of overburden is
removed in any one location of one acre or less.
(3) Any surface mining operation that does not involve
either the removal of a total of more than 1000 cubic yards of
minerals, ores, and overburden, or involve more than one acre in
any one location.
(4) Surface mining operations that are required by
federal law in order to protect a mining claim, if such operations
are conducted solely for that purpose.
(5) Operations involving the extraction of geothermal
resources, natural gas, petroleum and water.
(6) Such other mining operations that the City deter-
mines to be of an infrequent nature, and which involve only minor
surface disturbances and are categorically identified by the State
Board of Mining and Geology pursuant to Sections 2714(d) and
2758(c) of the Public Resources Code.
17.75.040 Permit and Reclamation Plan Requirement.
(a) Any person, except as provided in Section 2776 of the
Public Resources Code, who proposes to engage in surface mining
operations as defined by reference in Section 17.52.020 shall,
prior to the commencement of such operations, obtain (1) a permit
to mine, and (2) approval of a reclamation plan, in accordance
with the provisions set forth in this chapter and as further pro-
vided in Article 5, California Surface Mining and Reclamation Act
of 1975. A fee as prescribed by resolution of the City Council
shall be paid to the City at the time of filing. All applications
for a Reclamation Plan for surface mining operations shall be made
on forms provided by the Development Services Department, and as
called for by Section 2772 of the Public Resources Code.
(b) A person who has obtained a vested right prior to
January 1, 1976, pursuant to Section 2776 of the Public Resources
Code shall submit to the City, and receive, within a period of one
year, approval of a Reclamation Plan for operations to be conducted
after January 1, 1976, unless a Reclamation Plan was approved by
the City prior to January 1, 1976, and the person submitting that
plan has accepted responsibility for reclaiming the mined lands
in accordance with that plan.
(c) The State Geologist shall be notified of the filing of
all permit applications.
17.75.050 Review Procedure.
(a) The Board of Zoning Adjustment shall hear and consider
at a public hearing:
(1) Applications for permits to conduct surface mining
operations;
o
(2) Reclamation plans for surface mining operations;
(3) Amendments to approved reclamation plans involving
substantial deviations therefrom;
(4) Amendments of any other term or condition of a
permit to conduct surface mining operations or of a reclamation
plan;
(5) Proceedings for revocation of permits.
(b) Following the filing in proper forms of any application
for permit, reclamation plan, or proposed amendment, and the pay-
ment of the prescribed fee therefor, the Planning Director shall
fix a time and date not less than thirty (30) days thereafter, or
such later date as may be agreed upon by the person making such
filing, and place for the conduct of a public hearing thereon.
(c) Not less than ten (10) days before the date of such
public hearing, notice of the date, time, place of hearing and
location of the property, and the nature of the request shall be
given in the following manner:
(1) By publishing once in a newspaper of general cir-
culation in the City.
(2) By mailing a notice, postage prepaid, to the appli-
cant, to each member of the Board of Zoning Adjustment, and to the
owners of all property within three hundred feet of the exterior
boundaries of the property involved, using for this purpose the
name and address of such owners as shown upon the latest county
assessment roll.
(d) At the public hearing the applicant or permittee and any
other interested person shall be entitled to be heard and present
evidence. Any continued hearing may be convened at any public
place as may appear convenient to the hearing body and those who
may wish to attend or be heard. The Board shall follow its cus-
tomary rules of procedure, except as may otherwise be required by
the provisions of the Act or the State Policy.
(e) After such matter has been heard and considered, the
Board of Zoning Adjustment shall:
(1) Approve, approve subject to conditions, or dis-
approve any application for permit which it has considered;
(2) Approve, approve subject to conditions, or dis-
approve any reclamation plan which it has considered;
(3) Approve, approve subject to conditions, or dis-
approve any proposed amendment to an approved reclamation plan, or
any proposed amendment of other terms and conditions of a permit
or reclamation plan;
(4) Fix the amount of the performance bond to guarantee
reclamation in accordance with the reclamation plan if found
necessary under Section 17.75.060.
(5) Make such other order as may be appropriate to the
disposition of the matter considered by the Board.
(f) In making a decision on a reclamation plan, conditions
of a reclamation plan or conditions of a permit, there may be
imposed, in addition to the requirements and conditions provided
in the Act and the State Policy, any and all requirements or con-
ditions as may appear necessary to foster or protect:
(1) The environmental objectives set forth in Sections
21000 and 21001 of the Public Resources Code;
(2) The health, safety and welfare of persons residing
near the site of the mining operation and the public;
(3) Reasonable preservation of the values and uses and
opportunity for potential uses of the adjacent and nearby areas
insofar as not inconsistent with the provisions of the Act, the
State Policy or this chapter.
(g) Any decision required to be made under this chapter and
any necessary findings shall be made within thirty (30) days after
completion of the hearing, or within such longer period agreed
upon by the applicant, or in the case of an appeal under Section
17.75.110, by the appellant. A copy of the decision and any
findings shall be mailed to the applicant, permittee, or appellant
at his address as shown in his application, permit or notice of
appeal. Notice of such decision and any findings shall be deemed
given to a person when a copy thereof has been placed in the
United States mail, first-class postage prepaid, addressed accord-
ing to this section.
5o
17.75.060 Performance Bond. Upon a finding by the Board of
Zoning Adjustment that security to guarantee reclamation in accord-
ance with the reclamation plan is necessary, and upon the deter-
mination by the Development Services Department of the cost of
the reclamation of the mined land according to the reclamation
plan, a surety bond or other security guarantee conditioned upon
the faithful performance of the reclamation plan shall be filed
with the Development Services Department. Such surety or other
guarantee shall be executed in favor of the City of Bakersfield
and reviewed and revised, as necessary, biannually. Such surety
shall be maintained in an amount equal to the cost of completing
the remaining reclamation of the site as prescribed in the approved
or amended reclamation plan during the succeeding two-year period,
or other reasonable term.
17.75.070 Periodic Review. As a condition of approval for
the permit or the reclamation plan, or both, a schedule for periodic
inspections of the site shall be established to evaluate continu-
ing compliance with the permit and the reclamation plan.
17.75.080 Variance. Variances from an approved reclamation
plan may be allowed upon request of the operator and applicant,
if they are not one and the same, and upon a finding by the Board
of Zoning Adjustment that each requested variance is necessary to
achieve the prescribed or higher post-mining use of the reclaimed
land.
17.75.090 Minor Amendments to Approved Plans.
(a) The Development Services Department's authorized
representatives are authorized to consider proposed minor amend-
ments to approved reclamation plans, which they shall approve,
approve subject to conditions, or disapprove.
(b) If such representative deems that a proposed amendment
constitutes a substantial deviation from the original plan, it
shall be considered by the Board of Zoning Adjustment.
(c) Any decision of the representative of the Development
Services Department shall be subject to appeal.
17.75.100 Enforcement. The provisions of this chapter shall
be enforced by any authorized member of the Development Services
Department of the City of Bakersfield or such other persons as may
be designated by the Council.
17.75.110 Appeal.
(a) Any person aggrieved by an act or determination of the
Development Services Department in the exercise of the authority
granted herein shall have the right to appeal.
(b) Any person seeking to appeal any decision made under
this chapter shall file a notice of appeal in writing at the
office of the Planning Director, and shall pay any fee required
for filing a notice of appeal, within ten (10) calendar days after
notice of decision has been given as required in Section 17.75.050(g).
shall be deemed final if no notice of
the period mentioned in subsection (b) of
(c) The decision
appeal is filed within
this section.
(d) The Board of
Zoning Adjustment shall hear and consider
appeals from decisions of any authorized representative of the
Development Services Department.
(e) The City Council shall hear and consider appeals from
decisions of the Board of Zoning Adjustment.
(f) In case of an appeal to the Board of Zoning Adjustment,
the time, date and place for a public hearing thereon shall be
fixed in the manner provided in Section 17.75.050(b), and notice
of such hearing shall be given in the manner provided in Section
17.75.050(c).
(g) In case of an appeal to the City Council, the time, date
and place for a public hearing thereon shall be fixed by the City
Clerk, to be held within the period mentioned in Section t7.75.050(b),
and notice of such hearing shall be given in the manner provided
in Section 17.75.050(c).
(h) Hearings on appeals shall be conducted, as nearly as
possible in accordance with the provisions of Section 17.75.050(d).
(i) The body hearing an appeal shall hear, and receive
evidence presented by the appellant, the applicant or permittee,
or any other interested person.
(j) In modifying a decision from which an appeal has been
taken, the body hearing such appeal may delete or modify any con-
dition imposed by the decision from which the appeal has been taken,
and may impose any new or additional condition which it may deem
germane to the matters considered in such appeal or its decision
thereon.
(k)
decisions
(1)
Decisions on appeals shall be made and notice of such
shall be given in accordance with Section 17.75.050(g).
Unless the body hearing an appeal from a decision shall
reverse or modify it by a vote of not less than a majority of all
its voting members, the decision from which the appeal is taken
shall be sustained by it.
(m) If no decision on the appeal is made within the period
and in the manner provided by Section 17.75.050(g), the decision
from which the appeal is taken shall be deemed sustained by the
body hearing the appeal, and the Planning Director shall mail
notice of such fact to the persons and in the manner provided in
Section 17.75.050(g) with reasonable promptness and in any case
not more than ten (10) days after expiration of such period.
17.75.120 Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence,
clause, or phrase of this chapter is for any reason held to be
invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of a court of competent
jurisdiction,
chapter.
and after
it shall not affect the remaining portions of this
SECTION 2.
This ordinance shall become effective thirty days from
the date of its passage.
.......... o0o ..........
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Ordinance was passed
and adopted by the Council of the City of Bakersfield at a regular
meeting thereof held on the 25th day of October , 1978, by the
following vote:
&SS~NT: COUNCILMEN:
CITY~ER an~icio Clerk of the
Council of th~t~City of Bakersfield
APPROVED this 25th/day of October
~ df 'th~ City of Bakersfield
, 1978
APPROVED as to form:
CITY ATTORNE~of t~z City of Bakersfield
AffiXal! of os tng ( r tnances
STATE OF CALIFORNIA, l
County of Kern ss.
H. E. BERGEN, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
That he is the duly appointed, acting and qualified City Clerk of the City of Bakersfield; and
that October 26
oa ..........................................................................................................................., 19_.?.~_. he posted on the Bulletin Board
at the City Hall, a full, true and correct copy of an ordinance passed by the Council of said City
at a meeting thereof duly held on .......................QG.~.pl~.e.~_ .2..~ ........................., 19...7..~..., which ordinance
was numbered. ..........~.~ .....................New Series, and entitled:
AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
BAKERSFIELD ADDING CHAPTER 17.75 TO THE
MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO THE CALIFORNIA
SURFACE MINING AND RECLAMATION ACT OF 1975,
FOR USE IN MEETING MINIMUM STANDARDS IN
COMPLIANCE WITH SAID ACT.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this
_3(~.~!~._ day of ..........9.9~.°-~'~;~ .....................,19...~{}.~