Land Contour Work.
34 RCNY § 2-06
in effect§ 2-06 Land Contour Work.
(a) Permit required.
(1) A permit shall be obtained from the Commissioner to perform land contour work which includes the clearing, grubbing, grading, filling or excavation of vacant lots and other specified land parcels.
(2) The provisions of these rules are also applicable to the disposal site for excavated materials.
(3) All permits are subject to applicable provisions contained in 34 RCNY § 2-02.
(b) Conditions.
(1) No condition shall be created or maintained that interferes with or obstructs existing drainage, unless an alternate drainage plan is provided for in the above plans, subject to approval by the Department of Environmental Protection. The applicant shall provide for conduction of surface waters as required by the Commissioner to the nearest approved Department of Environmental Protection collection point.
(2) Watercourses, drainage ditches, conduits and other like or unlike means of carrying off water or disposing of surface water shall not be obstructed by refuse, waste, construction materials, earth, stones, tree stumps, branches, or by any other means that may interfere with surface drainage or cause the impoundment of surface waters either within or beyond the area where land contour work is performed.
(3) All excavations shall be drained. The drainage shall be maintained until the completion of the excavation and pumping shall be used where necessary.
(4) Fill material shall consist of inert, inorganic matter, suitably compacted. No materials shall be used other than clean earth, ashes, dirt, concrete, rock, gravel, stone, slag, or sand. Rocks and masonry shall not be larger than one-quarter of a cubic yard. No material larger than three inches in dimension may be placed within two feet of the surface. For public safety and health, the Commissioner may require a smooth graded surface treated according to the Standard Specifications with asphalt paving mixture, compacted cinders, stone screening, soil cement mixtures, or seeded or sodded lawn treatment, or other material as required by the Commissioner.
(5) Sodding or planting, where required, shall be completed within thirty days of work completion or as may be permitted by the Commissioner. Safeguards shall be provided to prevent soil erosion in the interval preceding sodding or planting.
(6) Work beyond lot lines shall be subject to the requirements of these rules.
(7) A minimum safety factor of two shall be used against earth slides within the property and the adjacent property. Where two parallel streets are at unequal elevations, the land grading between these two streets generally should be at a constant slope. Where possible the ground should be graded back from the front property line at a grade level with the street for a distance equal to the normal zoning set-back requirement but not less than twenty-five feet before commencing a slope.
(c) Exceptions. A permit is not required for grading work to be performed pursuant to a Department of Buildings permit for the erection of one or more structures, provided that the permit authorizes the grading, and that the work is performed entirely within the building site area.
(d) Application.
(1) The application shall state the following:
(i) name of the land surveyor or New York State licensed professional engineer;
(ii) description of the land contour work;
(iii) work limits and number of linear feet in the work area;
(iv) cubic yards of fill to be placed;
(v) that work areas exceeding ten thousand square feet shall be supervised by a New York State licensed professional engineer. The application shall note the name, address, and telephone number of the New York State licensed professional engineer;
(vi) whether streets adjacent to the land are finally mapped and with whom title of the streets is vested. Prescriptive streets as determined by the corporation counsel shall be deemed as finally mapped.
(2) Applicants for a Land Contour permit shall be the property owner or the owner's authorized representative. The permit application shall be accompanied by:
(i) a statement of property ownership or of authorization by the property owner if work is to be performed by a contractor;
(ii) a statement from the surveyor or New York State licensed professional engineer which states that the work will not cause adverse drainage conditions to the property and adjacent land;
(iii) a plan prepared by a land surveyor or New York State licensed professional engineer.
(3) Applicants shall submit a plan at a minimum scale of 1 in.= 50 ft. or the scale required by the Commissioner. The original mylar plus one paper print filed at the time of permit application shall be drawn according to the Standard Specifications. The plans shall show the following:
(i) name of the land surveyor or New York State licensed professional engineer;
(ii) existing watercourses, drainage ditches, conduits and other drainage facilities, or like or unlike means of carrying off water, or disposing of property surface water, and the area three hundred feet beyond the property and any additional information as required by the Commissioner;
(iii) existing and proposed grades of the area to be filled or excavated, plotted in contours spaced at five feet intervals or at other intervals as required by the Commissioner;
(iv) direction of all surface water flow before and after completion of land contour work;
(v) statement of the slopes to be maintained and a cross section of the slopes;
(vi) soil investigation, including, but not limited to, locating the elevation of the ground water table, whenever required by the Commissioner;
(vii) lines and grades of abutting streets which are legally mapped;
(viii) profile of the existing grade, legal grade and final grade of the abutting street;
(ix) substitute for existing drainage as noted below, subject to approval of the Department of Environmental Protection:
(A) interference with or obstruction of surface course causing drainage to flow in a direction other than a general direction and drainage pattern existing prior to the land contour work tending to cause impoundment or flooding either within or beyond the area on which contour work is performed;
(B) increase of surface course drainage in the direction and drainage pattern existing prior to the land contour work tending to cause impoundment or flooding either within or beyond the area in which contour work is performed; and
(C) interference or obstruction of existing watercourses, drainage ditches, conduits and other like or unlike means of carrying off water or disposing of surface water;
(x) proposed provisions for maintenance of existing drainage or for any substitute that shall drain the property adequately and shall provide safeguards against health hazards according to criteria established in consultation with the Department of Health as noted below:
(A) flooding: proposed provisions to eliminate existing conditions of surface water impoundment. The entire area under examination shall be provided within the property. The plans shall indicate the provisions taken to avoid direct flooding of adjacent properties or intrusion of surface water to existing or planned individual sewage disposal systems; and
(B) small water impoundment: proposed provisions to avoid small water impoundment which may become the breeding area or harborage of insects and other pests. Pests are defined as members of the class insecta and members of the Phylum Arthropoda including spiders, mites, ticks, mosquitoes, centipedes and wood lice.
(xi) provisions for disposal of excavation material.
(4) Certification shall be required from a New York State licensed professional engineer that drainage for a three hundred foot radius around the site will not be adversely affected by grading, and that existing watercourses, if any, will not be disturbed.
(e) Approval required.
(1) Sites designated as Wetlands shall have prior approval from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
(2) Sites in designated Natural Areas or in South Richmond shall require prior approval from the City Planning Commission.
(3) The Commissioner may require that land contour plans be reviewed and approved by the Department of Environmental Protection.
(Amended City Record 7/8/2016, eff. 8/7/2016)
Source: City of New York, Charter, Administrative Code and Rules (American Legal Publishing XML export, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/newyorkcity/latest/NYCrules/0-0-0-61584Fetched: 10/24/2026