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A. Drainage. No person shall obtain a building permit, required by the Phoenix Building Construction Code, for work in or over any natural watercourse, drainageway, canyon, ravine, arroyo or other potential flood hazard area without first having obtained a grading permit from the Planning and Development Director. All such work and activities authorized by the grading permit shall comply with this chapter and the City of Phoenix Stormwater Policies and Standards Manual.

B. Flood hazard area. No person shall obtain a building permit, required by the Phoenix Building Construction Code, in an area of special flood hazard without first obtaining a grading permit from the Planning and Development Director and its approval of by the Street Transportation Director. All such work and activities authorized by the grading permit shall comply with this chapter and the City of Phoenix Stormwater Policies and Standards Manual.

C. Filling and excavating. No person shall do any grading, filling or excavating without first having obtained a grading permit from the Planning and Development Director except for the following, only to the extent such grading, filling or excavating does not result in land disturbance over one acre:

1. An excavation which (a) is less than two feet in depth, or (b) which does not create a cut slope greater than five feet in height and steeper than one vertical to one and one-half horizontal.

2. A fill less than one foot in depth and placed on natural terrain with a slope flatter than one vertical to five horizontal and which does not exceed 100 cubic yards on any one site and does not obstruct a drainage course.

3. An excavation of 10,000 cubic yards or less or eight feet or less below finished grade for basements and footings of a building, retaining wall, or other structure authorized by a valid building permit. This shall not exempt any fill made with the material from such excavation nor exempt any excavation having an unsupported height greater than five feet after the completion of such structure.

4. Excavation or deposition of earth materials within a property which is dedicated or used, or to be used for cemetery purposes not obstructing a watercourse, except where such grading is within 100 feet of the property line or intended to support structures.

5. Mining, quarrying, excavating, processing, or stockpiling of rock, sand, gravel, aggregate, or clay where established and provided for by law; provided, that such operations do not affect the lateral support or unduly increase the stresses in or pressure upon any adjacent or contiguous property.

6. Grading in an isolated, self-contained area if the Planning and Development Director finds that no apparent danger to private or public property can now or thereafter result from the grading operations.

7. Grading in public rights-of-way and easements done under a permit issued by the Planning and Development Director.

8. Grading by a public utility company in private easements that does not obstruct a natural watercourse.

9. New sanitary landfills and refuse disposal areas that are regulated by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and the Maricopa County Air Quality Department.

D. Notwithstanding subsections C.1 and 2 of this section, no person shall commence or conduct any clearing, grubbing, and/or grading of land which is designated as hillside under the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Phoenix, or which land has specific zoning or development stipulations attached to it which prohibit or control grading, clearing or grubbing on said land, or which land is in a zoning district which prohibits or controls clearing, grubbing and/or grading of said land, without first having obtained a permit from the Planning and Development Director.

E. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection C of this section, the NPDES/AZPDES program may require a construction stormwater management plan and impose additional requirements and prohibitions. (Ord. No. G-1177, § 1; Ord. No. G-1192, § 1; Ord. No. G-1203, §§ 1, 3; Ord. No. G-2786, § 1; Ord. No. G-3313, § 1; Ord. No. G-3887, § 1; Ord. No. G-5590, § 1, 2011; Ord. No. G-5707, 2012; Ord. No. G-7116, § 1, 2023)