San Diego Site Development

Don’t Waste a Good Opportunity

2011-11-30T21:06:00.000-08:00

When your development project is nearing approval, the process to get a discretionary permit or action (Coastal Development Permit, Conditional Use Permit, Tentative Map, etc.) can be long, frustrating, and expensive. By the time the agency produces a ‘Draft Conditions of Approval’, the Developer or Homeowner is so thrilled to be near the finish line that they’ll sign almost anything to get on the next Hearing docket and close the deal. Having the stomach for just a little more effort in this last one or two weeks can make a huge difference in how the project progresses after it’s approved. Here are some of the most important actions you can take when your draft conditions are completed in preparation for your Final Conditions and your hearing date.

Distribute a Copy of the Draft Conditions to All Relevant Consultants

The project architect, construction consultant, attorney, civil engineer, private planner, landscape architect, biologist, etc. should all have a chance to review the draft conditions before they mature into a final document. Each discipline has their own unique perspective on how the rules will be applied (or misapplied), and can root out any infeasible or inappropriate constraints which would later burden the project. If there are conditions for a discipline where no consultant has yet been hired, seek the advice of a new consultant just for this purpose, if necessary. If they’re charging by the hour, having several pairs of eyes will add some expense to the budget, but the cost of missing something important will be far greater.

Don’t Over-Compartmentalize the Distribution List

Nowadays, conditions of approval are so complex that they contain overlapping constraints that may affect more than one discipline. If the ‘Biological Requirements’ section is not distributed to the civil engineer as well as the biologist, the fact that certain monitoring procedures are tied to the grading and building activities may be overlooked. Ask each consultant to review the document from beginning to end.

Don’t Be Afraid to Contest Unreasonable Demands with the Agency

Many conditions of approval are standard for the project type, or are based on irrefutable laws and regulations. But others may simply be on the Agency’s wish list and place an unacceptable burden on the project costs and timeline. City or County staff often have a specific interest in seeing the project flourish, and may not realize that a condition is likely a deal-breaker. A short delay may be the biggest risk of trying to contest an unreasonable condition.

The ‘WHEN’ can be just as important as the ‘WHAT’

We’re used to seeing a condition such as ‘prior to the issuance of a grading permit, an irrevocable offer of dedication (IOD) for a portion of Maple Street shall be recorded’. Is it reasonable to not even issue the grading permit until this is done? This IOD may require an extensive review and recordation process, holding up your entire project because you won’t even get your first permit without it. Is it possible to alter the condition to apply to something later in the project timeline (such as the building permit, the first inspection, or even the certificate of occupancy)?

City and County staff aren’t necessarily out to get the Developer or Homeowner. Their schedules can be very busy, and they copy conditions from similar past projects that may not be appropriate for yours. You may be doing everyone a favor, including the agency staff, by carefully reviewing and modifying the draft conditions before they become a reality. It is much harder for anyone to change the rules after the discretionary permit has been recorded, even if they are considered unreasonable by all parties. Take the one extra step of a thorough review before deciding to accept the document just because it has been a difficult journey to get this far.

John S. Coffey, PE, PLS, is founder and President of Coffey Engineering, Inc. in San Diego. He’s contributed to over a thousand civil engineering, surveying, and planning projects in San Diego and surrounding communities over the past 15 years. 858-831-0111 john@coffeyengineering.com http://www.coffeyengineering.com/

The Value of a Lot's Boundary History

2011-05-31T09:06:00.000-07:00

Imagine that you're considering buying 2 different vacant lots. Both appear the same in every way. They are both fronting the same street, a thousand feet apart from each other. Both have similar terrain, soil, and vegetation. Both have a neighbor on each side. Both are zoned the same way and in the same City. The tax map shows them both to be 100 feet wide and 200 feet deep and a little under half an acre, and neither one contains any easements according to the title report. They are the same, right? And the appraisals come in about the same as well. If they have everything that you need, you could flip a coin and either one would be a winner. You pick one and the deal is done.

The 'Bad' Lot

You plan to develop the property, so you hire a surveyor and say that you need a 'topographic survey', because that's what the City's development requirements demand. The surveyor discovers that the site was once part of a much larger parcel, deeded to the son of the large parcel's owner in 1970. No boundary survey was every filed, as it wasn't required in 1970. The surveyor informs you that in order to do any kind of survey, State law requires that a boundary survey is performed and a 'Record of Survey' be created and filed with the County surveyor's office. Upon the first field visit, it is determined that the two neighboring side line fences are only 96 feet apart, not the 100 expected. Furthermore, there is an incredible lack of monument evidence in the vicinity, either in the field or on paper, and what little is found is in significant discrepancy with the record. It turns out that your additional cost for buying this little mess will exceed $20,000, and you won't even own a lot that is the size you thought you purchased.

The 'Good' Lot

Soon after, your friend buys the other property you passed on for the same price you paid for yours. She also hires a surveyor to perform a topographic survey, and the surveyor determines that the parcel was part of a mapped subdivision in 1965. In addition, a boundary survey, with a Corner Record filed with the County Surveyor's office, was done in 1994 for a sale that didn't go through. At the same time he conducts the topo survey, the surveyor is able to research, relocate, verify, and flag all 4 corner monuments from the 1994 corner record, at an additional cost of $500.

The 'Problem'

You just learned the hard way that the condition of the boundary ‘history’ can have a significant effect on the value of a lot, and it’s often overlooked by other professionals in the real estate transaction process. It’s as if there was some contaminated soil on the site that no one knew about, waiting for an excavation to be discovered (and paid for) by the unsuspecting new buyer. This is a classic ‘buyer beware’ scenario, and most title policies do not cover these kinds of surprises.

The 'Solution'

Before buying, talk to a surveyor about the property and if necessary have them perform records research and possibly field monument location for the property. You can also purchase a special type of title insurance policy called an American Land Title Association (ALTA) policy, which will require a proper survey to disclose any problems with boundaries, evidence of possession, potential encroachments, and the like. Some lenders require them for certain transactions because they can’t afford to have their client inherit a site that will create a lot of unforeseen costs and problems. When you’re looking at property, don’t overlook the effect of boundary information on the cost and impact to you and your development plans.

John S. Coffey, PE, PLS, is founder and President of Coffey Engineering, Inc. in San Diego. He’s contributed to over a thousand civil engineering, surveying, and planning projects in San Diego and surrounding communities over the past 15 years. 858-831-0111 john@coffeyengineering.com http://www.coffeyengineering.com/

The Dreaded Construction Change Process for Engineering Permits

2011-02-02T22:14:00.001-08:00

As tough as the process is to secure a grading, public right-of-way, or public utility permit in the first place, processing a construction change or as-built can often be just as painful, or even more so. And the need to change the plans after construction begins has become more common lately in these tough economic times.

Preparation, Submittal, and Review

Because final engineering plans are still generated on mylar (a thin polyester film) in most municipalities, changes usually cannot be made by simply modifying and reprinting the electronic CAD drawing sheets. Instead, a process has been set up that requires the Engineer of Record to neatly redline a copy of the original plans and submit them to the City (or County or Utility Agency) for review, and potential modification. The redlines are then returned to the Engineer of Record, along with an authorization to proceed to make the noted changes on the original mylars. Many times, the City will ask for the redlines themselves to be revised and resubmitted, or what we like to call "revisions to the revisions". And don’t forget about the potential delays to your project that may ensue if the inspector will not authorize the field modification until the process is complete.

Triggers

Sometimes the redlined plans must be submitted before any of the proposed changes are made in the field. Or, the contractor will make enough small changes over time to prompt the City inspector to demand that a construction change be processed to account for the field modifications already made. Every municipality has a different threshold for what changes are significant enough to warrant a construction change.

Replacement Sheets Often Not the Answer

Many municipalities allow the Engineer of Record to create a replacement sheet if the number of changes on the original sheet is too great. In such cases, the original sheet is voided, but still remains part of the original mylar set. Sheets are never discarded altogether. This would seem to be a good solution in most cases of a construction change, except that when a brand new sheet is created and inserted into a set, it often must be checked by several departments to ensure that something is not slipped past the eyes of the plan checkers. Basically, the cities may treat such a submittal as if they were looking at it for the first time (along with the typical number of plan check hours for looking at it for the first time).

Use of Antiquated Technology

So with replacement sheets frequently ruled out due to plan check complexity, we are often faced with the task of erasing information (with a high-speed electric eraser), and drafting by hand with special pens designed for use on polyester film. It often feels like our office has gone back in time to 1981.

Consider More Than Just Field Costs

Make sure that before you or your contractor make certain field changes, you consult with your Engineer of Record to see if the changes will create an expensive plan revision process. There may be an unapparent motive for the original design, or an unforeseen problem created due to the change. A decision to save $2,000 on drainage facilities in the rear yard, for example, may end up creating $4,000 in costs to make hand revisions to the plans, and revise a drainage report to prove the new system works or solve new problems it creates. After the permit is issued, you can significantly limit any additional fees incurred by us, other consultants, and the City, if you follow the plans as closely as possible. So we usually recommend settling on a plan design as early in the process as possible.

What is an 'As-Built'?

In the context of a municipal engineering permit, an ‘as-built’ (or more aptly referred to as ‘Record Plan’ or 'Record Drawing’) is like the final version of the construction change. Don’t be fooled by the term ‘as-built’. In almost all cases, a detailed survey is not conducted at the conclusion of the project to locate every installed and constructed feature. Instead, this plan usually reflects the ‘general condition’ of the project once completed, although a survey may still need to be conducted just to represent the necessary elements. The process is still similar. And sometimes, even if contractor considers the project complete, the inspector may require the project to go through the ‘construction change’ process anyway, so the appropriate staff can review the field changes that were made.

Any Changes on the Horizon?

If this whole process is sounding rather antiquated to you, that’s because it is. In our technological world, there are few processes and procedures that still depend solely on the document that you can hold in your hand. This is one of them. So long as the system is reliant on the original stamps and signatures that were on the plans when they were first approved, these types of procedures will remain prevalent. But we are starting to see some glimmers of hope. Some plan check departments are realizing the great burden that this can put on projects, and are receptive to some informal reviews of e-mailed changes. Some accept replacement sheets as long as the specific revisions are noted adequately on the new sheet. But this still has a long way to go. When we see some meaningful progress, we’ll be sure to let you know.

John S. Coffey, PE, PLS, is founder and President of Coffey Engineering, Inc. in San Diego. He’s contributed to over a thousand civil engineering, surveying, and planning projects in San Diego and surrounding communities over the past 15 years. 858-831-0111 john@coffeyengineering.com http://www.coffeyengineering.com/

Permeable Pavement Systems – Worthless Without Proper Maintenance

2010-11-03T21:22:00.000-07:00

The concept is simple enough; create a pavement surface that will allow rainwater to simply pass downward through it and into a gravel reservoir where it has a chance to percolate back into the soil. Not only will these systems greatly reduce or eliminate storm water runoff volume from a paved area, but also greatly improve the quality of the water that enters the groundwater or storm drain system. With the inception of storm water quality design constraints for many sites, more projects are deploying permeable pavement systems, in the form of pervious concrete, pervious asphalt, gravel-filled plastic reinforcing grid systems, and the ever-popular permeable interlocking concrete pavers (PICPs).

If Not Maintained, Permeable Pavement Becomes Impermeable

When pervious pavement is first installed, its top layers can infiltrate more water than would ever be experienced in any rainstorm anywhere on the face of the earth; up to 500 inches per hour! This is simply because clean gravel, or anything highly porous, will pass a great amount of water through it vertically. Over time, surface sediments, mud, silt, debris, and organic material lodge themselves in the porous spaces. Additionally, the fill gravel used in the grout spaces of PICPs can become displaced by differential settling and high-speed surface traffic. In 2 years or less, without proper maintenance, a fully-functioning system can become completely clogged, and will function just like conventional concrete. Storm water may pond and go places never intended in the original design.

What Doesn’t Work

The following methods should not be employed to maintain permeable pavement systems:

Power Washing – This method displaces necessary fill gravel (in PICPs), and can drive clogging particles deeper into the porous top layer
Infrequent Sweeping – Displaces fill gravel (in PICPs), and is simply not adequate at removing embedded materials. Some types of frequent sweeping can offer some benefit so long as surface is monitored and lost fill gravel is replaced.
Pulling Large Weeds – If large weeds are growing in your pavement, then the system is being poorly maintained by definition. But pulling large weeds after they’ve grown will also exacerbate the problem, because dead root material will remain behind.
Waiting Too Long and/or Doing Nothing – Whatever maintenance methods are utilized, waiting too long between maintenance actions is one of the biggest contributors to failure of permeable pavement systems.

Complicating and Contributing Factors

Some site conditions exacerbate pavement clogging, and should be avoided. Where they cannot be avoided, an accelerated maintenance schedule is needed.

Lots of tree canopy – Overhanging trees that shed debris can quickly clog a permeable pavement system.
Systems that ‘accept flow’ from a nearby source – Pervious pavements should not be located next to a watershed (on a downward slope from a nearby area), or at the end of a drainage channel that will dump runoff into the edge of the pavement.
Windblown soil and debris – These systems will clog faster when constructed near bare or denuded areas with frequent or steady winds.
Landscape stockpiling – Site maintenance personnel should be trained not to stockpile any materials on top of permeable pavements, where the soil or landscape debris can directly clog the top layers of the system.
Unsuitable Traffic Conditions – Permeable pavement systems are not appropriate for frequent heavy vehicle traffic or high-speed traffic.

The Standard for Proper Maintenance

The best maintenance program for these pavement systems includes

Regular vacuuming (approximately every 6 months) and/or frequent and well-monitored sweeping
Spray or Flame Weed Abatement (when weeds are still very small)
Replacement of Fill Gravel (for PICPs), restoration of gravel back to surface (performed immediately after vacuuming)

Time is the enemy of any permeable pavement system. If regular vacuuming is not performed or the pavement is abandoned for a long time, a high-powered vacuum system should be able to restore the system. But be careful; special high-powered truck vacuums cannot reach confined spaces, and even where such a vacuum can reach and extract the clogging debris, it will also extract a good deal of joint gravel as well in PICPs (which must be immediately replaced). In pervious concrete and asphalt applications, wait too long to vacuum and the porosity can never be restored – the only solution is a complete pavement replacement.

Don’t waste the expense and efficiency of an otherwise excellent storm water device by not properly planning for regular maintenance. And make sure that a new owner or site manager understands the system they are inheriting, before they find out the hard way.

John S. Coffey, PE, PLS, is founder and President of Coffey Engineering, Inc. in San Diego. He’s contributed to over a thousand civil engineering, surveying, and planning projects in San Diego and surrounding communities over the past 15 years. 858-831-0111 john@coffeyengineering.com http://www.coffeyengineering.com/

Who can do my Survey?

2010-08-08T17:00:00.000-07:00

One question I’m frequently asked is: Where is the line drawn between the responsibilities of the Civil Engineer and the Land Surveyor when it comes to the survey or development of land?

History

There is some confusion over the authority of engineers and surveyors. Who can do what? From 1941 to 1982, licensed Civil Engineers were authorized to perform all of the duties reserved for licensed Land Surveyors, in addition to all of the design decisions traditionally attributed to engineering. The California Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (BPELS) decided in ’82 (a culmination of 15 years of lobbying from surveying interests) that important matters of real property, including surveying and interpretation of parcels, subdivisions of land, rights-of-way, and easements, were too specialized for Civil Engineers, who in most cases are not educated or experienced in such matters. BPELS did however, allow Civil Engineers to retain the authority to perform topographic surveys and construction staking, and Civil Engineers licensed prior to 1982 were ‘grandfathered’ and can still perform all of the duties of a Land Surveyor until their retirement.

Frequently Asked Questions / Frequent Comments

"I thought that Civil Engineers could do everything a Land Surveyor can do, and more."

That was the case prior to 1982 (and is still the case for all Civil Engineers licensed prior to that date). But since then, only surveyors can prepare subdivision maps and condominium plans, perform boundary surveys, draft legal descriptions, and the like.

“Can a Civil Engineer perform my topographic survey?”

Maybe. The laws do allow for this authority. However, if the topographic survey must include references or dimensions to property or easement lines, then only a Land Surveyor (or pre-’82 Civil) can prepare such a survey.

“Can a Civil Engineer perform construction staking for my project?”

Probably. But again, if there are critical dimensions to property lines or easements that are part of the construction staking/survey, then doing so may be overstepping the bounds of the engineering license.

“Should I hire a Land Surveyor or Civil Engineer to perform my construction staking?”

That depends. The Civil Engineer may say that they should handle the construction staking because they designed and laid out the grading or improvement plan, and therefore they know the project more intimately. The Land Surveyor may say that surveying is their customary profession, something they do all the time, and therefore it’s best to employ the best professional; or a boundary issue may come up as part of the survey, and they are the only ones able to handle the issues that arise out of such work. Both arguments have good merit and should be considered at the client’s discretion.

“My Civil Engineer performs boundary surveys for me all the time.”

If he/she does, then they were probably licensed prior to 1982 (license number is less than 33966), or they employ (or subcontract) a licensed Land Surveyor to perform these tasks on their projects. Otherwise, they could be violating the law to perform such work under their own license.

“So can my Land Surveyor prepare grading plans, improvement plans, retaining wall plans, water and sewer design, etc?”

No, an LS does not have the authority to design such features for construction. However, an LS may practice ‘land planning’, and if they are presenting these features in concept as part of a planning document, then they may have such authority.

“Who can prepare Tentative Maps?”

Good question. Tentative Maps often contain boundary information and proposed lines of subdivision, together with proposed roadways, storm drainage features, water and sewer facilities, etc. Some purists believe that such maps must be dually stamped (a Land Surveyor and a Civil Engineer), because they contain elements of both professions. Most agencies, however, interpret this as a planning document and therefore allow either a Surveyor or Engineer prepare Tentative Maps.

When in doubt, just think 'Boundary’

Ask yourself “does what I’m trying to do directly involve the boundary of ownership or other legal interest in real property?” If the answer is ‘yes’, then you probably need the services of a Professional Land Surveyor (or a Civil engineer licensed prior to 1982). Subdivision of land? PLS. Lot line adjustment? PLS. Legal description for a new easement? PLS. Survey my property boundary? PLS. You get the idea.

A Primer on Post-Construction Storm Water Regulations

2010-03-29T23:07:00.000-07:00

The Clean Water Act, passed in 1972, and amended in 1977 and 1987, is a Federal law regulating the discharge of pollutants into receiving waters of the US. Its enforcement is broadly overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), but more directly controlled and interpreted by the Regional Storm Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB). The San Diego RWQCB is the 9th (out of 9) boards in California. The regulations require that local municipalities oversee, mitigate, or control storm water exiting from a site when reviewing or approving local development projects.

The Board regulates the water runoff from sites both (1) during construction and (2) post-construction. Although the ‘during construction’ requirements can be onerous and difficult in themselves, this discussion covers only the post-construction or permanent conditions.

Controlling Factors

The level of detail for water quality design solutions varies depending on a number of factors, but the 3 main controlling features are:

Location of the site: The proximity of your project to a sensitive water body (i.e. a major river, stream, or the Pacific Ocean) may affect what category of design solutions you need to have studied and mitigated.
Type of project proposed: A single-family residence will be much less likely to trigger a full water quality report than say, a manufacturing operation, large restaurant, or a 50-lot subdivision.
Existing terrain of project: Most municipalities have a special category for sites that lie on or adjacent to a steep natural slope.

Different Requirement Categories

Depending on the factors listed above, your site generally falls into 3 different categories of study and enforcement:

Basic: If you’re fortunate, your site will trigger only an elementary level of study. May times, this consists only of a signed statement from the owner or developer and simple information on the site or drainage plan which demonstrates an effort to reduce storm water pollutants as much as practicable. In addition, the municipality may require that a standard checklist-based form be filled out describing the water quality-based design implementations for the project. More recently, the City of San Diego has been mandating a Water Quality Study (WQS) for this level, which requires a basic analysis of polluted waters downstream, a summary of potential pollutants to be generated from the site, and a description of mitigating design solutions (including scheduling and costs to maintain).
Intermediate: If your project triggers one of the pollutant risks described in the ‘controlling factors’ above, a more advanced analysis will be required. This takes the form of a Water Quality Technical Report (WQTR), or a Storm Water Mitigation [Management] Plan (SWMP). This is a more advanced study that requires a more detailed analysis of downstream impacts. It requires that list of possible pollutants be matched to the found pollutants in a downstream water body, and a solution be specifically designed for any correlations. For example, if a downstream river has tested positive for bacteria, and your site use has been known to generate bacteria and send it downstream in storm water, then a specific solution must be designed to limit or eliminate bacteria from heading downstream.
Advanced: This category is reserved for sites that are expected to generate specific levels of harmful pollutants. A WQTR or SWMP is needed, but in addition, a specific monitoring and testing program must be outlined to assure the municipality that the implemented solution is adequate to limit the pollutant. Monitoring is generally conducted at certain intervals, and the results of such testing are submitted to the municipality for their review over time, or in perpetuity.

Types of Solutions

Since the onset of more rigorous enforcement of the regulations, literally hundreds of methods, solutions, and products have been implemented to mitigate the effects of storm water pollutants from leaving the project site. But a few of the most popular solutions for the majority of projects include the use of one or more of the following:

Flow over planted surfaces (vegetated swales, strips, buffers)

Pervious Paving (open aggregate surfaces, ‘turf block’, ‘grasscrete’, open pavers)

Reinfiltration Pits or Trenches

Sediment or Retention Basins

No ‘directly-connected’ systems (downspouts dump to surface, paved surfaces lead first to vegetated areas before employing catch basins)

Filter systems (Manufactured, pre-fabricated systems designed to treat different pollutants).

Monitoring Enforcement

Although the responsibility to maintain the implemented systems lies with the land owner, most municipalities have not yet installed a specific inspection and enforcement program to track completed projects. But in recent years they have been collecting detailed information about treatment implementations, and have required storm water maintenance agreements, recorded with the County Recorder’s office. Word has it that regular inspections, long after the project has been completed, are not far behind. Stay tuned.

John S. Coffey, PE, is founder and President of Coffey Engineering, Inc. in San Diego. He’s contributed to over a thousand civil engineering, surveying, and planning projects in San Diego and surrounding communities over the past 15 years. 858-831-0111 john@coffeyengineering.com http://www.coffeyengineering.com/

Plan for a Rainy Day

2010-01-17T20:28:00.000-08:00

Wondering what you can do when heavy rains are forecast to hit your construction site? There are numerous erosion and sediment control methods, practices, and materials available to the contractor, but there are a few usual suspects when things go wrong when it’s raining (yes, sometimes it actually rains in San Diego). Here are the five biggest oversights or mistakes that we’ve witnessed on sites when it comes to construction BMPs. Avoiding them may mean the difference between an uneventful rainfall and a costly cleanup later.

1.) Silt fences that don’t have a chance of containing any silt:
If you can see daylight at the bottom of your silt fence, then the only purpose it serves is that of a flimsy 2-foot high perimeter construction fence; alerting neighbors where the edge of your construction site is. A properly-installed silt fence should be embedded at least 4 inches (6 inches is standard) into the soil below, and the base of the fabric below the soil should be ‘keyed-in’. To achieve this, cut a 6” x 6” trench at the base of your future fence, run the fabric along the bottom of your trench and then up the side, so that at least 8-12 inches of the fabric lies below grade once you fill your trench back in.

2.) Limited or No Monitoring of the Site:
Even with the best-laid protection devices on a construction site, without monitoring by a person delegated with the responsibility, a small breach or channel created by a single rainstorm can render the performance of your materials worthless. You may have constructed a fine desilting basin at the outflow point, and then the water carves its way around or beneath the gravel bags or earth berm, sending a deluge of silt downstream over the course of hours (or days). The site should be inspected after each significant rainfall. When the storm is particularly heavy, lasts a long time, or storms follow one after the other, put on your best boots and check out the storm while it is raining to survey the installed devices in action, and take action on the spot if need be.

3.) The Right Materials Installed at the Wrong Location:
Silt fences and straw wattles are very effective sediment control devices, but they are nearly worthless at points of concentrated flows. Any low points or other places where you expect a stream of water during a storm need heavy devices such as gravel bags, rock check dams, or earthen berms to keep from tracking sediments off site. And putting something intended for flatter areas (like loose mulch or straw) on steep slopes just creates more debris to wash downstream when it does finally rain.

4.) No Backup Plan:
A well-protected job can fall apart quickly in a bad storm if there are no materials stockpiled on site. Unless you have a really good relationship with your erosion control supplier, you’re not going to get them to show up with an hour’s notice in the middle of a stormy week. The best single item to keep at hand? Gravel bags, or at least a pile of gravel, bags to put it in, and the manpower to assemble them. Gravel bags can be used to create a strong desilting basin or barrier, as small checkdams in a drainage swale, and can also be used in place of a breached section of silt fence or straw wattle. Once things dry out, the gravel can be re-used in numerous other capacities on site.

5.) Size Matters:
Installing a small check dam or desilting basin on a postage-stamp size lot isn’t the same as controlling the flows from a 10-acre construction site. Larger sites need special attention to the size of the installed features. Temporary dams and basins may need to be excavated out. Their size should be calculated from expected flow rates and types of soil on the site.

Thankfully in the dry climate of San Diego, attention to erosion and sediment control on the construction site is usually not a problem. Some projects can be started and finished over the summer, or during a particularly dry winter. But we can’t let that lull us into a false sense of security when we get a bad storm or series of storms. The risks of damage to downstream properties and facilities, not to mention the fines and claims that may come with them, are too great to just ignore.

John S. Coffey, PE, is founder and President of Coffey Engineering, Inc. in San Diego. He’s contributed to over a thousand civil engineering, surveying, and planning projects in San Diego and surrounding communities over the past 14 years. 858-831-0111 john@coffeyengineering.com http://www.coffeyengineering.com/

The 'Small Project' Burden

2009-10-18T21:41:00.000-07:00

A lot’s been made in the past 2 decades of ‘simplification’ of the permit process. Most cities in the County have either refined their list of submitted items and procedures of review, or created new items and procedures; all formed in the interest of ‘simplicity and efficiency’. This refinement is not without its benefits. Private parties (homeowners, designers, and other consultants) have the luxury of clear and concise checklists. With the right mix of knowledge and patience (and money), a person submitting a package for a building, discretionary, grading, administrative, or other permit can eventually create all the elements being called for. Coastal Development Permits can contain nearly all the same elements and requirements as Site Development Permits – right down to the same FAA clearance for your new one-story home 8 miles from any airport!

This is not to say that the process itself (once you’re a part of it) is in any way simple. We all have experience with different City staff giving different answers and different interpretations for the same issue. And don’t forget all of the ‘optional’, ‘recommended’, ‘case-by-case’ elements – “..if 50% of your site contains slopes greater than 25%, or 10% of slopes greater than 200% with native vegetation and adjoining a street starting with the letters A-F..”. OK, I’m exaggerating for effect, but you get the idea.

In the name of efficiency

The City has decided that in order to create an ‘efficient’ permit process, two things need to happen:

The submittal checklist must contain as many items as plausible, to present every staff member the part of the project they need to review, and
Drawings and documents for different projects should have as many similar characteristics as possible to improve staff recognition and repetition.

But one person’s efficiency is another person’s nightmare.

The burden on small projects

It’s not surprising where this philosophy has led us. Each project that finds itself with certain ‘qualifiers’ will have to endure the same great deal of requirements. For a larger project with multiple lots or large commercial use, $200,000 in these ‘soft costs’ could be considered simply the cost of development. But for a single residence, $200,000 in soft costs is usually a deal breaker.

What we may need is a little MORE complication

As tempting as it would be to try, the Federal, State, and Local laws of development can’t be simply eliminated. So many rules are simply executions of regulations that cannot be easily changed. But what can be done to allow smaller projects to meet these compliance regulations efficiently and cheaply enough to make them a worthwhile pursuit? Here are a few worthy goals that both public and private industry professionals should pursue:

Create different ‘versions’ of the same kind of permit. Some cities have their versions of ‘simplified’ or ‘self-certified’ grading permits. These permits require fewer associated reports and/or fewer reviewing departments. But for some cities the qualifications are so specific that projects rarely qualify for one. Good idea, but it still needs improvement, and we need to see it in more instances.
Create abbreviated categories for report documents. OK, so the rules dictate that a biology study and drainage report be prepared for certain project types. Can the City come up with a checklist/questionnaire–style biology study or a short-form drainage report, to be deployed for qualifying single-lot projects?
Allow for up-front participation by decision makers. What if a higher-level manager could evaluate a project at submittal or pre-submittal and allow for efficient shortcuts for small, qualifying projects? Unnecessary or unreasonable submittal items could be waived, and abbreviated report categories could be selected.

These are just a few ideas of some shortcuts within the reach of public officials. How many potential small projects are sitting in the ‘soft cost graveyard’ because they have great promise, but red tape is keeping them from development? These ideas, and more like them, have a chance of making a sizable difference to the burden on smaller projects, and that helps everyone in the industry by bringing more projects back from the dead.

John S. Coffey, PE, is founder and President of Coffey Engineering, Inc. in San Diego. He’s contributed to over a thousand civil engineering, surveying, and planning projects in San Diego and surrounding communities over the past 14 years. 858-831-0111 john@coffeyengineering.com http://www.coffeyengineering.com/

All Topographic Surveys are not Created Equal

2009-09-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

Imagine that you have a nagging pain in your knee, and based on what you’ve heard and speaking with a few of your friends, you decide that you need an x-ray. So you go out and get an x-ray of your knee – you may even shop around first for the best price if you’re paying in cash. Then you show up at your doctor’s office with your films in hand, proudly proclaiming that you’ve already obtained a knee x-ray. But when the doctor starts asking you questions about your knee, he determines that it’s probably arthritis, and to get to the root of the problem he needs to order an MRI, and even a few more x-rays – this time from the correct angles and positions.

Most people wouldn’t handle their medical problems in this manner – not speaking to the doctor first would be like putting the cart before the horse – and a Radiologist who just did what you said and took an x-ray of your knee, without an order from your doctor first or without asking any questions, would be doing you a disservice. But that’s how many good, honest landowners, deciding to develop all or part of their property, start out by simply ordering a ‘topographic survey’ to get the ball rolling.

One of the most important parts of the site development process is getting a good survey. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the first things you do; so many people enter into the decision with very little knowledge of what the project will entail. Getting input and advice from your civil engineering or surveying professional with knowledge of the local codes and procedures is vital to getting your project started off on the right foot.

Why it matters

You may wonder why it matters so much – after all, you can always have your surveyor pick up ‘a little more information’ later if it’s needed, right? But at what cost to the project? Besides the actual costs to re-survey the new area, what if a major design decision is made based on the topography shown – and then you find out later that this portion of the site was obscured from view, or ‘approximated’, because at the time of the survey it was not considered part of the development area? It may cost a few thousand dollars or more to have several design consultants change their plans. Or even worse, what if it’s discovered at construction that what you thought was a 6 foot high retaining wall really needs to be 12 feet high because of inaccurate topo information? Besides the cost of several thousand dollars (and sometimes a lot more) to build the additional wall, and the delays that will ensue, will the local agency even let you build a wall over 6 feet high?

What to Do

For many types of development projects, you’ll need a solid, comprehensive topographic survey to cover all of your bases. This may include a combination of detailed aerial and ground-shot information, to limits well outside of your property boundaries, with a boundary survey if your parcel warrants it. But for many smaller projects, your budget may dictate that you do only what’s needed and not too much more. For these kinds of projects, before proceeding, ask yourself and your design professional some key questions about:

Important Design-Driven Elements – If it’s critical to know where and how high your neighbor’s house is because of a beautiful view, including it in your survey is a must. Are there a few trees that you simply must keep? Then their trunk and drip line locations should be included.

Location of Existing (potentially conflicting) Features – The location of existing utilities, such as water lines, utility boxes, power poles, etc. may be vital in driving your design decisions about driveway or structure placement, grading, and landscaping. And don't forget about existing septic systems, both on your site and on an adjacent site - such information could literraly make or break your project.

Precision – If you’re going to make use of existing structure, hardscape, and landscape features on your site, then you may need precise spot elevations and positions for those features. If you’re just going to demolish existing features and start over, then this level of precision is usually unnecessary.

Conditions on Adjacent Properties – We’ve seen many well-drawn, detailed ground-shot topographic surveys of urban sites, only to find out later that the next door neighbor has a 5 foot retaining wall/drop off right along the property line which would severely inhibit what we can design on our side of the line. Or a brow ditch may be constructed just on the other side of a common property line – an important feature when considering the drainage design of the property.

Municipality Requirements – You may think that your remodel only requires you to collect topographic information within 30 feet of the existing house because that is the limit of your proposed work. But if you’ll later need a grading or discretionary permit, the agency may dictate that your entire site, plus an additional distance beyond your site, be included. Does the fire department require existing hydrants within 300 feet of the property be shown? Do you need to show existing street improvements to the opposite side of the street? Best to gather this information during the (first) survey.

Thick Brush and Vegetation – Aerial surveys rely on line of sight from a plane flying overhead, so features below heavy tree canopy will not be clearly defined by an aerial. If brush is thick even at ground level in an area of importance, consider partial clearing to allow for some shots to be picked up by your ground survey.

Vertical Benchmark – Not having to search for and tie in a recorded vertical benchmark is less time consuming for the surveyor, but for most projects, tying in an agency-recorded benchmark is required to demonstrate to the agency and the surrounding neighbors the actual elevation of the features of your property when presented for review. Be absolutely certain that it won’t affect your project before you allow an assumed benchmark be used for your survey.

Boundary Lines – For certain properties, generally those created by deed only and without a recorded map, a boundary survey, and the corresponding setting of field monuments/property corners, will be required in addition to your topo.

Below the Surface – Features of your property that can’t be seen in the field, such as easements, setbacks, and underground utilities, are critical features that should not be overlooked. Make sure your civil engineer or surveyor can research and plot these for you on your final survey drawing.

The Bottom Line

Being too hasty in ordering a ‘simple’ topographic survey can turn out to be quite costly later. Speaking or meeting with a knowledgeable design professional beforehand will go a long way toward avoiding unnecessary delays and expenses. And if you decide to competitively bid your survey, create a comprehensive list of requirements first so you can compare apples-to-apples from prospective companies. We like to say that when it comes to site development, if you do nothing else, get a good survey – it’s the best insurance you can buy for your project.

John S. Coffey, PE, is founder and President of Coffey Engineering, Inc. in San Diego. He’s contributed to over a thousand civil engineering, surveying, and planning projects in San Diego and surrounding communities over the past 14 years. 858-831-0111 john@coffeyengineering.com www.coffeyengineering.com

A Quick Guide to Grading Permits in Southern California

2009-07-11T12:00:00.000-07:00

Why is a grading permit such a big deal?

Congratulations. You’ve decided to develop your property in California. But you may be wondering why it seems like such a hassle just to move dirt around your site? One of the reasons is that grading is considered an environmental quality issue by the State of California, and therefore is considered the public’s business. The creation of slopes and the moving of earth, and their impact to public views, or to environmentally sensitive land, is considered an important issue. And public safety may be affected by the placement of fill dirt, the stability of a steep slope, or the impact of modification to natural drainage courses. The quality of storm water runoff leaving your site, both during and after construction, has been shown to have a particular downstream impact on streams, rivers, lakes, and the ocean, if not handled properly. It may be critically important to you or a future owner of your property, as well, to ensure that dirt is removed and placed safely around your property to ensure the integrity of future structures and to avoid drainage problems.

Other consultants will need to ‘weigh in’ on the grading plans

For most grading permit projects, you’ll need to hire a soils (geotechnical) engineer to assist in the process. After a general concept plan is created by us or your architect/designer, your soils engineer will need to perform tests on site to determine the stability and usefulness of the existing soil, and whether the work being proposed can be safely constructed. They will need to create a report, with recommendations for us and other consultants to perform calculations and design for your site and its structures. They will also need to provide direct supervision on site during the grading operations, to ensure that their recommendations and the City’s grading ordinance are being complied with. A compaction report will need to be created which describes the grading work performed.

Depending on the scale and complexity of your project, a landscape architect may need to be obtained to prepare planting and irrigation plans which will serve as part of our grading permit set. Their plans are considered an important aspect of the grading permit to ensure that your site is well-protected from the possibility of future erosion or slope failure due to inadequate plant life.

If you have or need an on-site septic system, a septic consultant or your soils engineer may need to perform testing and research to determine the feasibility and location of an existing or proposed system.

The Permit ‘Process’

It’s called a process, but in many ways it’s a struggle – a struggle to maximize the benefit to your property while still complying with the regulations in your particular jurisdiction. The process has been described as adversarial by people in the industry – We are focused on maximizing your site’s development potential at the best possible cost of construction, and the City is focused on protecting the interests of the public including aesthetics, safety, and following the guidelines set forth in the City’s grading ordinance. But it’s not that clear cut. We also have the responsibility to ensure that public safety is upheld, and that future owners of your property, or you, are not burdened with maintenance issues due to inadequate design. Conversely, the City has some interest in making sure that development can proceed successfully so that growth is not severely limited or stopped altogether. So, in many ways, we work with each other and against each other at the same time.

Plans go through a ‘review process’ at the City

The City requires that grading plans be prepared and formally submitted to them, along with all the necessary companion reports and documents. At the time of submittal, although the majority of the ‘design’ to the project has been completed, it is really just the beginning for the life of the grading permit. The City will review the submitted plans, and make comments, in the form of redlines or comment letter(s). Most of the time, several departments will review the plans, and each make comments based on their department’s primary concern. The comments may range from very technical, such as for code-specific requirements, to very general, such as a City Engineer’s recommendation to do things ‘in a different way’. They may ask us to ‘prove’ our conclusions, with additional reports or letters. If we feel that a comment is unreasonable, we may contest it to protect your best interests of costs and need, instead of just ‘doing it the way they asked’.

Even if every single concern from all departments is addressed in our responses and revisions, we receive additional comments from the City anyway. Most grading plan review processes go through 3 plan checks on average – the City checks and comments on them 3 times before asking for ‘final’ plans. It is sometimes in the City department’s best business interests to check the plans with great deal of effort, because they are compensated for their time with ‘paid-in-advance’ deposit accounts devoted to plan-checking.

Change is Inevitable

Unfortunately, no matter how many times we prepare and process grading plans, even through a particular City or City department, there is only one thing that we can be sure of – that things will always be changing. Cities may change their grading permit ‘checklists’, or their fee schedules, or their enforcement of certain engineering or environmental regulations, and they do this frequently. One plan checker in a department may be a stickler for details, asking for things that may never really be needed for successful construction, while another in the same department, checking for the same purposes, will be more understanding and allow many decisions to be made at our discretion. A new department head may come in and decide to do things differently. When things like this happen, the costs to you, in the City’s fees to review the plans and our fees to revise them, can be severely impacted.

City regulations may drive design decisions

Many times, after a project has been permitted, we’re asked questions by the contractor or client such as “why did you design the rear yard to have an (expensive) retaining wall along it, instead of just designing a (much cheaper) graded slope?”. In almost all cases, the design was driven by a City regulation or the client’s wishes, or a combination of both. Many cities have development regulations limiting the amount of developable area on a property, or a requirement that steep slopes be maintained in their natural condition as much as possible, or a restriction on how high, in elevation, a building site can be. Remind your contractors to contact us if they want to make decisions based on cost alone – they may be creating a great deal of expense and headache down the road, when the City discovers that their regulations for the site’s development were not followed.

Bonding – Your grading permit must come with an insurance policy

Unless your proposed grading is very minor in nature or City regulations exempt you, the City will require that you execute what’s called a ‘permit performance bond’ right before they issue you a permit. They will require you to secure this bond, or letter of credit, with a bank or lending institution, or you may simply write a check that the City will use to set up a temporary fund. A portion of this bond usually needs to be in the form of cash, so that the City can act in the case of minor site emergencies that are not responded to. The City expects you to maintain and continue to work toward the goal of successfully grading your site after you start. They will execute the bond or letter of credit in the event you ‘walk away’ from your project site for a long period of time, or fail to implement safety or erosion-control devices on your site in a timely manner, and inadequately respond to their requests for rectification. It’s uncommon, but when it does happen, the City generally does what it needs to with funds from your account or bank, to return the site to a safe condition, including hiring a private engineer to conduct a new topographic survey and design.

‘Cost estimates’ versus ‘contractor cost estimates’

The total amount of your bond is based on an engineering cost estimate, prepared by us and reviewed and/or modified by the City, and is created for bonding purposes only. The cost estimate is based on ‘per-unit’ prices established by the City, so contractor prices may vary significantly from those shown. Also, certain site work doesn’t need to be included on the estimate, so we won’t include it since doing so will inflate your bond amount and therefore your costs to insure your grading permit. Always obtain real contractor estimates to budget your actual construction costs.

Getting your money back or your bond cleared

The bond is usually ‘cleared’ only after the site has been completely graded and landscaped to the satisfaction of the City Inspector, and we have prepared, submitted, and had approved (by the City), adequate ‘as-builts’ of your site. Many times, the City requires certifications from your soils engineer or landscape consultant. In some municipalities, a portion of your bond may be held for up to a year after final approval just in case any problems arise for the City after construction is complete.

After construction has begun – Certifications, Plan Changes and As-Builts?

Once rough grading is complete, the City will probably require that your site be certified by us, either by a walked inspection or a survey of elevation and location, or both. Such certifications are typically required before a building permit will be issued or authorized.
Changes to the site that are proposed during or before construction may need to be presented to the City in the form of a ‘plan change’, or if the problem is minor enough to wait until the end of construction, an ‘as-built’. In such a process, we prepare redlines (mark on a copy of the originally-approved grading plans with red ink) of the proposed changes, or in the case of as-builts, the work already performed, submit them to the City, and the City responds with a request for us to revise our proposed changes, or to proceed to make such changes on the project mylars (the final plastic set of plans required at grading permit issuance) for City Engineer approval. If the number of changes is substantial, then significant hours (and costs) may be incurred by the work required. Unfortunately, most Cities’ processes require us to make revisions with liquid ink pen-on mylar drafting, because these agencies still don’t have a good, cost-effective way of handling revisions to plans in electronic (CAD) format.Please make your contractor aware that certain changes, though saving money in construction costs, may create more costs later when as-builts must be prepared. A decision to save $1,500 on drainage facilities in the rear yard, for example, may end up creating $3,500 in costs for us to re-draft a drainage report and make hand revisions to the plans to prove the new system works or solve problems it creates. We should be contacted by you or the contractor if a site change of any significance is proposed, to make sure there’s not another motive for the original design or an unforeseen problem created due to the change. After the permit is issued, you can significantly limit any additional fees incurred by us, other consultants, and the City, if you follow the plans as closely as possible.