Land disturbing activity regulated.
Oklahoma City Municipal Code § 57-158
in effect§ 57-158. - Land disturbing activity regulated.
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to conduct, or to permit another person to conduct any land disturbing activity upon land without a permit issued under this article. Upon request, any owner of the land and the operator of any land disturbing activity shall provide a copy of the permit and personal identification to the Manager or the Manager's representatives. For purposes of this article, the phrase "land disturbing activity" is defined as follows:
Land disturbing activity. Any land change which may result in soil erosion from water and wind and the movement of sediments into community waters or onto lands and roadways within the community, including, but not limited to, clearing, dredging, grading, excavating, transporting, stockpiling, mining, and filling of land, except that the term shall not include the following:
(1) such minor land disturbing activities as home gardens and individual home landscaping, home repairs, home maintenance work, and other related activities which result in minor soil erosion;
(2) the construction of single-family residences when built separately on lots less than one acre not within a subdivision or which have been recorded in the Office of Stormwater Quality Management, and have been issued building permits; provided that excavation is limited to trenches for the foundation, basements, service and sewer connections, and minor grading for driveways, yard areas and sidewalks, with no offsite discharge of pollutants;
(3) individual service and sewer connections for single-or two-family residences;
(4) agricultural practices involving the establishment, cultivation or harvesting of products of the field or orchard, preparing and planting of pasture land, forestry land management practices including harvesting, farm ponds, dairy operations, and livestock and poultry management practices, and the construction of farm buildings;
(5) any project carried out under the technical supervision of the Soil Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture;
(6) installation, maintenance and repair of any underground public utility lines when such activity occurs on an existing hard-surface road, street or sidewalk, provided the activity maintains pollution control and is confined to the area of the road, street or sidewalk which is hard-surfaced and a street, curb, gutter, or sidewalk permit has been obtained; and
(7) construction, repair or rebuilding of tracks of a railroad company;
These activities may be undertaken without a permit; however, the persons conducting these excluded activities shall remain responsible for otherwise conducting those activities in accordance with the provisions of this article and other applicable laws including responsibility for controlling sedimentation and runoff.
(b) Best Management Practices for Land Disturbing Activities. The minimum standards for controlling erosion and sedimentation from land disturbing activities shall be set forth in the "Best Management Practices Manual," as adopted and amended from time to time by resolution approved by the City Council. A copy of same shall be maintained on file in the offices of the Public Works Director, the City Engineer, and the Stormwater Quality Manager. A copy of same shall be maintained in the office of the City Clerk and may be viewed and copied in accordance with the provisions of this Code.
(Ord. No. 21321, § 1, 9-28-99; Ord. No. 22755, § 2, 7-5-05)
Source: City of Oklahoma City, Municipal Code and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/ok/oklahoma_city/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=OKMUCO2020_CH57WARE_ARTVISTMA_DIV3LADIACERSECO_S57-158LADIACREFetched: 10/28/2026