A. Any owner of land lying within the Township of Boonton shall, prior to movement of soil for sale or use other than on the premises from which the soil is to be removed within the Township of Boonton, apply to the Township Committee of the Township of Boonton for, and obtain, a permit therefor, except as herein otherwise provided.

B. A soil movement permit shall be obtained pursuant to the terms of this article in the case of any subdivision or site plan in connection with which the subdivider or developer proposed or is required by the Planning Board to remove soil from the premises in excess of 250 cubic yards. The soil movement application shall not be considered by the Township Committee unless and until the Planning Board has determined in connection with the subdivision or, in the case of a nonresidential development, site plan application, that the reasonable development of the particular tract requires soil movement in excess of 250 cubic yards and has determined the necessary extent thereof, which shall not be in excess of an amount to reasonably develop the property. The findings of the application for development and the Planning Board's action shall be conditioned upon the timely grant of the soil movement permit by the Township Committee.

C. The Township Committee may, in its discretion and consistent with the purposes herein stated, require the completion of all soil movement or sections thereof by the subdivider prior to the erection of any dwellings or structures on the premises.

No application need be made and no soil movement permit will be required where, prior to the commencement of soil removal from a proposed building site, a proper construction permit has been obtained from the Township Construction Official for the construction or alteration of one or more, not exceeding a total of three, buildings or structures on the premises or a property owner excavates or contracts for excavations incident to the preparation of a lawn, garden, sidewalk, driveway, septic system or any part thereof, drainage ditches not exceeding two feet in depth, filter beds or other similar improvements or corrective actions, and, in conjunction with the foregoing exceptions, sufficient topsoil is retained on the site to cover all areas requiring topsoil to a compacted depth of at least four inches.

A. Data required. An application for a soil movement permit shall be on an approved form obtainable from the Township Clerk and shall be accompanied by a tree protection and removal plan and a soil erosion and sediment control plan or such plans combined as and if required by and prepared in accordance with Part 5, together with the following:

(1) A map of the premises showing in relation to the topography of the entire premises the existing contour lines and proposed finished grade contour lines resulting from the intended removal of soil, herein sometimes called "grade map," which map shall be on a scale of one inch equals 50 feet if the premises be 10 acres or less and one inch equals 100 feet if the premises be more than (10) acres.

(2) Unless the same be waived by the Township Committee for soil movements totaling less than 100 cubic yards per premises, a written plan of procedure for movement of soil in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, which plan shall contain in detail:

(a) Designation of area in which soil movement is to begin, direction in which it is to proceed, estimated width of cut and estimated time of commencement of soil movement at one-hundred-yard intervals along length of cut and fill and estimated time of completion of project.

(b) Equipment to be used in soil movement.

(c) Proposed hours of operation of equipment.

(d) Proposed entrance and exit routes to premises for trucks used to haul soil and proposed street, road and highway routes through the Township of Boonton.

B. No cuts below final grades specified in the approved plan shall be made unless approved in advance, in writing, by the Township Committee based on a statement, in writing, by the applicant of the cuts proposed to be made below proposed final grades during the course of soil removal, the locations and dimensions thereof, the time period for which the below-grade condition is proposed to be maintained and the reasons therefor. The type of refill material to be used and the manner and specifications of compaction of refill shall be stated and shall be such as meet the approval of the Township Engineer. Below-grade cuts shall be considered to be mining operations unless an absolute necessity therefor as a temporary measure be demonstrated adequately.

A. Along with the application for a soil movement permit, there shall be deposited with the Township Committee a permit fee to cover administrative and inspection costs in accordance with the schedule set forth in Chapter 82, Fees.

B. Escrow deposit.

(1) The Township Committee shall, in conjunction with appropriate representatives of the staff of the Township of Boonton, review the application for a soil movement permit to determine whether the permit fee set forth hereinabove shall be sufficient to cover expenses for such professional services as may be required in order to review said application and for engineering and other inspections during the permit period. In conducting such review, the Township shall consider the following factors:

(a) The kind and quantity of soil to be moved and the proposed methods of movement.

(b) The length of time necessary to complete the soil movement operation.

(c) The extent to which the soil movement operation will impact on the community in general (i.e. traffic, noise, soil spillage) and the need to ensure compliance with the provisions of this chapter and the soil movement permit.

(d) The extent to which the soil movement operation will impact on the surrounding property and the need to ensure protection of same.

(2) If the Township Committee determines that the permit fee is insufficient to cover such expenses, it shall set an amount to be held in an interest-bearing escrow account, which the permit holder shall post in the form of cash or a certified check, against which such expense shall be charged when the cost of review and inspection, etc., exceed the original permit fee as set forth hereinabove, all in accordance with § 102-13.

No soil shall be removed from any premises in the Township of Boonton, except as herein specifically exempted, and no permit for the movement of soil shall be issued and no issued permit shall remain in effect until and unless:

A. Owners and lessees of property within 200 feet of any boundary of the premises from which soil is proposed to be moved have been notified, by registered or certified mail, that an application for a soil removal permit has been filed with the Township Committee, on which they may request a hearing by giving notice to the applicant and the Township Clerk at any time either before or during soil movement operations.

B. The Township Engineer, after site inspection, has reviewed and the Township Committee has finally approved the proposed final grade contour lines as shown on the grade map and the written plan of procedure as filed with the application or as said map and plan may be amended from time to time before final approval for issuance of a permit or thereafter with the approval of the Township Committee and the tree protection and movement and soil erosion and sediment control plans, if any be required.

C. The application has complied with, and continues throughout soil movement operations to comply with, the terms and provisions of this chapter and the currently approved written plan of procedure for soil movement operations.

In considering an application and any objections thereto under this chapter, including any hearing on such application before the grant or denial of a soil movement permit, or thereafter during the conduct of permitted soil movement operation, the Township Committee shall be guided in arriving at its decision and shall take into consideration therewith the public health, safety and general welfare, as well as the rights and reasonable needs of the applicant with respect to the use of his property, in order that the applicant shall be required so to use his property as not to harm others, particularly with respect to:

A. Creation of precipitous grades or deep holes or pits.

B. Drainage control.

C. Dust control.

D. Lateral support of slopes and grades of abutting streets and lands.

E. Soil fertility of the premises and neighboring properties after soil removal operations.

F. Soil erosion due to improper grades, temporary or finished, by action of water, wind or gravity.

G. Such other factors as affect the safety, use and value of the premises and neighboring properties and as relate to the safe, coordinated, harmonious development of the Township.

A. Hearings. Upon written request to the Township Committee made by the application of any owner or lessee of land within 200 feet of any boundary of the premises from which soil is proposed to be moved for a hearing, notice, served by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, on all persons to whom notice of application was required to be given, shall be given, and a hearing on the application and supporting documents shall be held within 30 days after the last date of mailing such notice.

B. Scope of hearing. The scope of the hearing shall be limited to compliance by the applicant with the purpose, intent, requirements and standards of this chapter with respect to the maps and plans submitted with such application and the effect of the proposed soil movement in accordance with such maps and plans on the health, welfare and safety and property of the residents of the Township of Boonton, or any one or more of them affected by, or likely to be affected by, the soil movement operations.

A. If the Township Committee, after examining the application and the maps and plan submitted therewith and after a hearing, if a hearing is requested, shall be of the opinion that the proposed soil movement will not create conditions inimical to the public health, welfare and safety and the property of the residents of the Township of Boonton during and after such soil movement operation, a soil movement permit shall be granted.

B. The duration of such permit shall be determined on a case-by-case basis by the Township Committee after reviewing the recommendation of the Township Engineer, with such term not to exceed two years.

C. Application for the renewal of the permit shall be made upon submission of the data required in § 102-74. Such renewal shall be for a period of time to be determined at the time of renewal.

A.soil movement permit, when granted, shall at all times be subject to revocation for violation of this chapter and may be made subject to such other terms and conditions as to progress of work, time of completion of phases of work, duration of permit, extension of time for completion of work, safety provisions and such other and further matters as are within the scope of the purpose and intent of this chapter but not specifically mentioned herein. Apparent violation of the provisions of this chapter or of the terms and conditions of a permit granted hereunder shall be grounds for immediate suspension of work by stop order and, after commencement of soil movement operations, grounds for revocation of the soil movement permit after notice and hearing before the Township Committee, except that revocation for expiration of a fixed time limit shall not require notice and hearing but shall take effect forthwith unless waived by the Township Committee for good cause shown. The permit shall require the permit holder to contract with the engineer retained by him for such engineer:

A. To inform the Township Engineer promptly as to any and all deviations from the approved plan.

B. To certify to the Township Engineer, in writing, that the terms, specifications and requirements of the permit, grade maps and any supplemental documents are being followed as specified, with certifications to be made upon completion of 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of the project, but not less frequently than every 180 days and upon expiration or cancellation of the permit, whichever occurs first.

All soil movement permits shall be given upon the condition that the permit holder be required to fully and properly repair all roadway and other public and private properties which are damaged as a result of the soil movement operation. The permit holder shall have the burden of demonstrating that any damage which occurs, during the permit period, to roadways which are on the approved transportation route has not been caused by the permit holder, his officers, agents or employees as a result of the soil movement operation.

Before a soil movement permit may be issued to an applicant, the applicant shall deposit with the Township of Boonton a performance guaranty, at least 10% of which shall be in cash, the balance to be in such form and with such surety as may be acceptable to the Township of Boonton on such conditions and in such amount as, in the opinion of the Township Engineer, shall be sufficient to ensure the faithful performance of the soil movement operation in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and any permit issued hereunder and the correction of any off-site problems caused by the soil movement operation.