Grading, Drainage and Vineyard and Orchard Site Development Ordinance

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The County of Sonoma is pleased to announce the adoption of a county wide grading ordinance. The new ordinance was adopted on December 9, 2008, and goes into effect on January 8, 2009. The new ordinance regulates grading, drainage, and vineyard and orchard site development.

The development of a county wide grading ordinance started in 2001 when the Board of Supervisor’s held several workshops regarding the Endangered Species Act 4(d) rule for steelhead trout. In 2002, the Grading Ordinance Working Group was formed which assisted in guiding the development of the ordinance. The Board of Supervisor’s provided direction at a public hearing in 2004 for staff to draft countywide grading regulations. The goal was to create a comprehensive, user-friendly approach to grading, erosion and sediment control, and drainage regulations.

A public review draft of a proposed ordinance was released in August 2008. A public hearing was held on October 21, 2008, during which the Board took public testimony and directed staff to make specific changes to the ordinance and to provide further information. After two subsequent meetings, the Board adopted the comprehensive grading ordinance on December 9, 2008.

Prior to this ordinance, code that regulated grading, drainage and vineyards existed, but was in various, unrelated sections of code. The grading ordinance brings all things grading into one comprehensive chapter. This will make it easier to find all the relevant code sections related to grading.

The ordinance is a ministerial ordinance. Under the ministerial permit process, each permit application is evaluated to determine compliance with the standards contained in the ordinance. If the permit application meets the new requirements, the County is obligated to issue a permit. If the application does not meet the new requirements, the County will not issue a permit; however, the applicant has the option of applying for a discretionary review.

The new ordinance relies on existing code as much as possible and new language where needed. In some cases, the language was cut and pasted verbatim, in other cases the language was updated while maintaining the intent. Additionally, there are new areas of regulation where new language was created. Some of the new areas of regulation include new thresholds for engineered grading and engineered drainage, storm water runoff (both quantity and quality), no net fill in designated floodplains, creek and wetland setbacks for grading and the regulation of orchard developments.

The new ordinance relies on best management practices to meet many of the new standards. As such, a BMP Guide was produced to assist applicants. The BMP Guide is a listing of BMP manuals that have been published or approved by federal, state and/or local governments. Most of the manuals are publicly available and are posted below as is the adopted ordinance. Any questions should be directed to Nathan Quarles at (707) 565-3507 or by Email.

Adopted Grading Ordinance December 2008

Best Management Practices Guide