Oak Hill City Zoning Code

(a)

Applicability.

(1)

Permit Required. No person shall commence or perform land disturbance activity as specified below without first obtaining a Land Disturbance Permit from the City of Oak Hill.

(2)

Applicability. This chapter shall apply to any land disturbance activity that meets one (1) or more of the following criteria:

a.

Disturbs a surface area of five hundred (500) square feet or more. For the purposes of meeting the five hundred (500) square-foot threshold, all land disturbance activities conducted on the same parcel of record, or on contiguous parcels under common ownership or control, within a rolling three (3) year period shall be aggregated and considered as a single project.

b.

Disturbs less than five hundred (500) square feet if such activity is part of a larger development plan that disturbs five hundred (500) square feet of land or more.

c.

Involves the excavation or filling of more than fifty (50) cubic yards of material.

d.

Alters the general grading, drainage pattern or floodplain.

(3)

Exemptions. See definition of Land Disturbance provided in § 14-113 for a list of activities exempt from the requirements of this section.

(b)

Review and approval of application.

(1)

The City of Oak Hill shall review each application for a land disturbance permit to determine its conformance with the provisions of all relevant aspects of the City of Oak Hill Municipal Code, including but not limited to Chapter 14, Part 10 - Stormwater Management, and all associated technical standards.

(2)

Land disturbance permits shall not be issued for soil borrow or fill activities or for grading plans which propose to alter the existing topography as qualified below without prior approval by the Planning Commission. A determination of whether the proposed grading meets these criteria shall be made by the city manager or their designee. Qualifying conditions may include, but are not limited to, the following:

a.

Grading with abrupt angular changes that are not blended into the natural topography;

b.

Grading that proposes significant amounts of unbalanced cut or fill (i.e. significant amounts of material import or export);

c.

Grading of large flat areas which are not strictly required for the construction of structures or parking areas, are visible from public spaces, and represent a significant deviation from the natural or existing topography.

(3)

Within a reasonable time after receiving an application, the City of Oak Hill shall provide one (1) of the following responses in writing:

a.

Approval of the permit application;

b.

Approval of the permit application, subject to such reasonable conditions as may be necessary to secure substantially the objectives of this chapter, and issue the permit subject to these conditions; or

c.

Denial of the permit application, indicating the reason(s) for the denial.

(4)

If the City of Oak Hill has granted conditional approval of the permit, the applicant shall submit a revised plan that conforms to the conditions established by the City of Oak Hill within the timeframe designated in the conditional approval. However, the applicant shall be allowed to proceed with his land disturbing activity so long as it conforms to conditions established by the City of Oak Hill.

(5)

The city will not be obligated to issue any building permit, or approve any subdivision of land, unless and until it has first approved the land disturbance permit.

(c)

Permit duration. A land disturbance permit shall expire eighteen (18) months from date of issuance unless construction has commenced and is being diligently pursued. Extensions may be requested by the permit holder. The city manager or designee may grant extensions in writing at their sole discretion.

(d)

Notice of construction. The applicant must notify the City of Oak Hill ten (10) business days in advance of the commencement of construction.

(e)

Performance bonds.

(1)

The City of Oak Hill may, at its discretion, require the submittal of a performance security or performance bond prior to issuance of a permit in order to ensure that the storm water and permanent soil stabilization practices are installed by the permit holder as required by the approved storm water management plan. The amount of the installation performance security or performance bond shall be the total estimated construction cost of the stormwater management practices approved under the permit plus any reasonably foreseeable additional related costs, e.g., for damages or enforcement. The performance security shall contain forfeiture provisions for failure to complete work specified in the storm water management plan. The applicant shall provide an itemized construction cost estimate complete with unit prices which shall be subject to acceptance, amendment or rejection by the City of Oak Hill. Alternatively, the City of Oak Hill shall have the right to calculate the cost of construction cost estimates.

(2)

The performance security or performance bond shall be released in full only upon (1) submission of as-built plans, (2) written certification by a registered professional engineer licensed to practice in Tennessee that the stormwater management practices have been installed in accordance with the approved plan and other applicable provisions of this chapter, and (3) the stormwater management practice have been in place and operational for at least one (1) full calendar year. The City of Oak Hill will make a final inspection of the stormwater management practice to ensure that they are in compliance with the approved plan and the provisions of this chapter. Provisions for a partial pro-rata release of the performance security or performance bond based on the completion of various development stages can be made at the discretion of the City of Oak Hill.

(f)

Long term maintenance and restrictive covenants.

(1)

Long-term maintenance plan. For any site that includes the construction of permanent stormwater management practices requiring maintenance for sustained effectiveness, a long-term maintenance plan shall be submitted. The plan shall include.

a.

A description and detailed drawing showing the type and location of each permanent stormwater management practice.

b.

A schedule for regular inspection, monitoring, and routine maintenance activities.

c.

Identification of the party or entity responsible for future maintenance.

(2)

Maintenance agreement and restrictive covenants. The property owner shall execute a legally binding maintenance agreement, in a form acceptable to the city attorney, which constitutes a restrictive covenant and shall run with the land. This agreement shall.

a.

Grant the City of Oak Hill the right to inspect the stormwater management practice(s).

b.

Grant the City of Oak Hill the right to perform necessary maintenance and assess the costs to the property owner in the event of the owner's failure to maintain the facilities.

c.

Be recorded with the Davidson County Register of Deeds prior to the issuance of a final Certificate of Occupancy. If the project does not require a certificate of occupancy, then the agreement shall be recorded prior to issuance of the land disturbance permit. Copies of the recorded agreement shall be provided to the City of Oak Hill by the applicant or permit holder.

(g)

Inspections and enforcement.

(1)

The Oak Hill Codes Department shall have the right to enter the site to conduct inspections to ensure compliance with the approved plans and permit conditions.

(2)

If the work is not being performed in compliance with the permit, a written Notice of Violation shall be served upon the permittee, specifying the deficiencies and requiring their correction within a specified time.

(3)

The Oak Hill Code Official is authorized to issue a Stop-Work Order for any site in violation of this chapter. It shall be unlawful for any person to continue work after a Stop-Work Order has been posted.

(4)

Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall be subject to a civil penalty. Penalties shall be assessed as follows.

a.

First Offense. Up to five hundred dollars ($500.00) per day for each day the violation continues after the compliance deadline set in the Notice of Violation has expired.

b.

Repeat Offenses. For any subsequent violation by the same person or entity within a twenty-four (24) month period, the penalty shall be up to one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500.00) per day.

c.

Liability. The penalties herein are in addition to any other remedies available to the municipality. The violator shall be liable for all costs incurred by the municipality in responding to the violation, including but not limited to, the costs of restoration and legal action. Unpaid penalties and costs may be placed as a lien against the property.

(Ord. No. 2025-07, § 1 (Exh. A), 11-25-2025)