§ 35-349. "SGD" Sand and Gravel District.

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

A sand and gravel district "SGD" is a special zoning district permitting the operation of a sand or gravel extraction operation where soil, sand, gravel, and clay may be removed for commercial use on or off the property and those additional uses specifically noted in the following section, such as concrete and asphalt production (with city council approval required within the ERZD) and other uses. An "SGD" must have within its boundaries, as a primary use, a material extraction and materials processing operation that is designed to extract or process soil, sand, gravel or clay. This district is designed to protect the environmental character of a site and to promote compatible development with adjacent land uses and future redevelopment of the site. "SGD" is a zoning classification that is intended to create a controlled environment for materials extraction and processing related directly to sand or gravel pits.

(a)

Permitted Uses. Within an "SGD" only those uses directly related to the operation of the material extraction process shall be permitted. Such related uses are limited to the extraction, processing, storage, production of finished products, and shipment of such materials and products from within the property and are specifically limited to the following:

(1)

Testing for, or extraction of, raw materials such as sand, soil, clay, gravel, or other similar materials that are mined or removed without the use of blasting or explosives.

(2)

The processing and handling of extracted materials including, but not limited to, loading, screening, washing, sorting, stockpiling, and distribution by rolling equipment or conveyor systems.

(3)

Production of materials and finished products through processing plants, including, but not limited to, concrete, bulk or bagged sand, soil, clay and/or gravel.

(4)

Warehousing and storage of bulk or bagged sand, soil, clay, cement and/or gravel as well as exterior storage of sand, soil, clay and gravel in bulk form.

(5)

Laboratory, weighing, and testing facilities for conducting tests and chemical analysis of materials.

(6)

The administrative activities associated with such uses including, but not limited to, offices and associated uses.

(7)

Outdoor storage of materials, equipment, spare parts and supplies.

(8)

Aboveground fuel storage that meets all applicable government regulations.

(9)

Transportation related uses and facilities including, but not limited to the use of trucking and railroad vehicles for transporting materials and product, to and from the "SGD." This would include maintenance, repair, and storage of the equipment and vehicles utilized by the sand or gravel pit operator.

(10)

A preexisting sand or gravel pit in legal operation located in a temporary post-annexation zoning district, or an "RE" residential zoning district or in an "I-1" or "I-2" industrial zoning district, may continue after the adoption of these regulations or after the rezoning of the property on which the operation is located to "SGD."

(b)

Operating Standards. It is the intent of these regulations to allow the existence of sand, soil, clay and/or gravel extraction and processing in a manner which is sensitive to surrounding land uses and cognizant of the concerns of neighborhood and environmental interest with respect to protecting water quality, quality of life and ensuring protection of the environment. As such, the following operating standards are established to allow sand or gravel pit operations located within an "SGD" to be carried out in a manner that is compatible with surrounding land uses. All extraction, processing, and related operations performed in an "SGD" shall be done and shall operate in conformance with the standards set forth in each applicable subsection below.

(1)

Frontage Requirements. All property within an "SGD" shall have a minimum of sixty (60) feet of frontage on at least one (1) adjacent public right-of-way or recorded easement at least sixty (60) feet in width, which provides ingress or egress to public roads. Regardless of the frontage provided onto public roads an "SGD" shall comply with the provision of subsection (7), clear vision and queuing, below.

(2)

Natural Buffer. A natural area shall be maintained around the perimeter of the property within the district and no grading, removal, or disturbance of native plant material shall be allowed within fifty-five (55) feet of any perimeter property line of the property within the district or public right-of-way except as required for establishing fencing and berming as provided for herein and for permitting an eighteen-foot-wide access road for the purpose of establishing and maintaining fencing, landscaping, access and/or security patrol.

(3)

Screening Requirements. Notwithstanding subsection (2) above, greater visual screening shall be required at any point where the extraction is located within one hundred (100) feet of a public right-of-way carrying pedestrian or vehicular traffic. In such areas, the visual screen shall not be less than six (6) feet in height at or near the property line and shall be made up of any combination of the following materials: existing native plant materials, supplementary plant materials, existing grading, berming, and/or fencing.

(4)

Fencing Requirements. A fence shall be provided around the perimeter of the property or not less than twenty-five (25) feet from the outer edge of any excavation that is ten (10) feet or greater in depth.

(5)

Excavation Setbacks. No excavation or extraction of material (other than is required for the installation and maintenance of fences, landscape screen, access points, crossings, or clear vision zones at entry points) shall be permitted closer than fifty-five (55) feet from the property line of the "SGD" district or closer than fifty-five (55) feet from any public right-of-way, unless and except for any point at which the operations cross said public right-of-way. Due to the unique nature of sand and gravel operations and their related operations, article VI of this chapter shall not apply within an "SGD."

(6)

Facility Setbacks. For individual or grouped "SGD" districts greater than ten (10) acres in size, all facilities for the production of excavated and processed products shall be located at least one hundred (100) feet from the property line of any adjoining property that is developed and/or zoned for residential uses at the time the facilities are constructed or installed, and at least fifty-five (55) feet from any public right-of-way on which pedestrian or vehicular access is allowed except for at points of crossing said right-of-way. Such crossing shall not exceed the width limitations established by the governmental authority having jurisdiction over the applicable right-of-way.

(7)

Clear Vision and Queuing Requirements. For individual or grouped "SGD" districts greater than ten (10) acres in size, a triangular clear vision zone shall be provided on the subject property at the intersection of all access points with public roads to provide an area of clear vision of vehicles. The zone shall be defined by a triangle consisting of three hundred (300) feet parallel with the public road and fifty (50) feet along the access road or drive measured from the intersection point of the two (2) rights-of-way. A queuing area accommodating four (4) trucks of no less than two thousand four hundred (2,400) square feet shall be provided between the edge of the public right-of-way and the access point or gate station, whichever is nearest the public right-of-way.

(8)

Pit Walls and Slopes. All walls of the pit or excavated areas shall be maintained in compliance with applicable state and federal safety requirements.

(9)

Floodplain Protection. No building may be placed or excavation be conducted within one hundred fifty (150) feet from the outer limit of a 100-year floodplain. All NPDES and TEQC requirements must be met any time the sand or gravel pit operations come within one hundred fifty (150) feet of a 100-year floodplain to prohibit silt or sediment from entering the creek or stream. These restrictions will not apply in any case where the floodplain is located more than one hundred fifty (150) feet inside the property line of the "SGD." The buffer required by this provision shall in no case be wider than one hundred fifty (150) feet from the boundary line of the "SGD."

(10)

Water Quality Protection. Operations within an "SGD" shall comply with all applicable water quality standards set forth in chapter 34 of the City Code.

(11)

Industrial Waste Monitoring. Upon request of the city fire department and/or solid waste management department, any person operating an activity within an "SGD" shall provide, to the requesting agency's satisfaction, documentation evidencing the characterization, handling, and disposal of any industrial waste generated within the "SGD." Documentation which will satisfy the characterization inquiry includes process knowledge literature and/or waste analysis records.

(12)

Material Safety Data. Upon request of the city Fire department, independent of the Federal Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act, (EPCRA) any person operating an activity within an "SGD" shall provide copies of material safety data sheets (MSDS) for material maintained, stored, or used within the "SGD." The materials, subject of this section, are those materials whose properties for volatility, flammability, explosive potential, corrosiveness, radioactivity, or other toxic or hazardous property allow them to be listed in the North American Emergency Response Guidebook, current edition and as amended.

(c)

Identification of Boundaries and Surrounding Uses/ERZD Environmental Assessment Report.

(1)

Within twenty (20) days prior to the submission of a zoning case to the zoning commission for obtaining "SGD" zoning on a property, a boundary map and metes and bounds description shall be provided by the applicant showing the outer perimeter line of the property that is owned, leased, under contract, or optioned by the operator and which the operation is to utilize. This boundary description and drawing shall be submitted to the city department of planning and development services and shall be considered the official boundary description on which the "SGD" will be established and within which the permitted uses allowed in the district will be allowed. All setbacks and distance requirements shall be measured from the boundary lines identified on the boundary map provided under this section. If the applicant is not the owner of the property the applicant shall provide written authorization to act as agent on behalf of the owner in a form acceptable to the city attorney.

(2)

An application for rezoning to an "SGD" zoning designation shall include an environmental assessment report as required by section 35-471 when the subject property is within the Edwards Recharge overlay zoning district (ERZD). This requirement pertains to assessment of environmental impact by the city water system.

(d)

Site Plan Requirements. If an application for zoning as an "SGD" is submitted for a site greater than ten (10) acres in size a site plan shall be submitted at the time any property owner initiates a zoning case by filing a zoning application requesting the establishment of an "SGD." The site plan shall be submitted to the department of planning and development services and shall graphically depict, generally to scale, the location and size of all then existing permanent and affixed structures, buildings, and facilities, and the location of any proposed facilities or buildings (if known), in relation to the boundaries of the property. The site plan shall also illustrate the location of all then existing access points and their relationship to adjoining or crossing major thoroughfares. The information required by this section may be incorporated into the boundary map required by subsection (c) hereto and an aerial photo may be used as the base document for the site plan.

If requested by SAWS for consideration of an "SGD" zoning application within the ERZD, the applicant shall provide SAWS with a site plan, regardless of size of the area that has been requested to be zoned, if this information is necessary to perform the review required by section 35-471 of this chapter.

(e)

Signs. Signs surrounding or within an "SGD" may be used to provide the following:

(1)

To identify the extraction or manufacturing operation;

(2)

To inform customers of the facility with respect to access points and the existence of the facility;

(3)

To identify the occupants or operations within a specific building or area of the district; and

(4)

To provide directional, safety, and other information to the general public, occupants, employees, patrons, and visitors to the district.

(5)

Signs within an "SGD" shall be in conformity with chapter 28 of the City Code (Signs and Billboards) to the extent those regulations apply. Signs shall be posted at all exit points from a permitted district "QD" to a public road that reminds truckers that their loads must be covered in accordance with city and state regulations that impose fines if violated.

(f)

Blasting. No blasting or use of any explosive shall be permitted within an "SGD."

(g)

Asphaltic Concrete Production—Special Use. No asphaltic concrete production plants or storage of asphalt materials may be utilized within an "SGD" that is located in the ERZD, unless specific city council approval (CC) for such activity is granted for the "SGD." If such approval is granted, asphaltic concrete production may occur within the area(s) of an "SGD" located within the ERZD for which such city council approval is given provided such use complies with the applicable requirements of the TEQC, the EPA, and of this chapter.

(h)

Existing Uses Allowed. Any use such as, but not limited to, livestock grazing, ranching operations, residential structures, barns, offices, etc. that are in existence, allowed by lease, or that are otherwise nonconforming under article VII, division 1, of this chapter at the time the "SGD" is established on the sand or gravel pit(s) and reserve property may continue.

(Ord. No. 2010-11-18-0985, § 2, 11-18-10)