Forsyth County › Unified Development Code

Chapter 7 — Permits, Certificates, Fees and Finances, Article 1 — - LAND DISTURBANCE PERMITS

current as of 2026-04-02currency checked manuallyOfficialofficial source ↗6 sections · full chapter

§ 7-1.1

Land Disturbance Permit Required.

No person shall commence excavation, grading, filling, cutting, stripping, clearing or grubbing unless and until he has a valid land disturbance permit issued pursuant to the soil erosion and sediment control ordinance (Ordinance 73), by the Planning and Community Development Department, unless expressly excepted therefrom. The Planning and Community Development Department shall ensure that any of the above actions shall not render the lot or parcel of land incompatible with the applicable zoning district or use of adjoining properties, and that adjoining property shall have adequate lateral support or protection from run-off, as the case may be.

§ 7-1.2

Land Disturbance Permit Plan Review Procedures.

(A)Each land disturbance permit (LDP) application must be approved and a LDP issued within 12 months of the initial plan submittal date. The Director may grant an extension of the plan review period for a reasonable length of time based on, and consistent with, documented justification of the need for the extension beyond the control of the applicant. Failure to obtain a permit within the allotted plan review period will require the submittal of a new land disturbance permit application. Any associated plan review fees must be repaid with the submittal of the new LDP application.

(B)All plans and supporting documents are to be submitted to the Department of Planning and Community Development by 5:00 p.m. each Monday, provided Monday is not a holiday for which the department offices are closed in observance. In such event, the plans and supporting documents must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. the Friday before the Monday holiday. The Planning and Community Development Department will distribute the plans and supporting documents to the appropriate departments for their review. The Department of Planning and Community Development will not accept LDP permit applications without the appropriate fee being submitted with the application and without all other requirements for submittal.

(C)During the time the land disturbance permit is under review, any change to the boundary of the subject property that is necessitated by the need to satisfy minimum development regulations of this Code shall result in the pending review of the land disturbance permit application being terminated and shall require the submittal of a new application for land disturbance permit, which shall be subject to all current requirements at the time of the new submittal.

(D)The zoning district of the subject property shall be identified on the land disturbance permit. During the time the land disturbance permit is under review, any change to the zoning district classification of the subject property, including approval of a conditional use permit or zoning condition amendment, shall result in the pending review of the land disturbance permit application being terminated and shall require the submittal of a new application for land disturbance permit, which shall be subject to all current requirements at the time of the new submittal.

(E)Nine business days after the plan submittal deadline, a plan review meeting will be held by the Department of Planning and Community Development at which one member of each reviewing department will be present to distribute comments, if necessary. The comments will be returned to the developer and/or their agent for corrections by their engineer and/or surveyor.

(F)After the departmental comments have been addressed, and corrections to the plans are made, the developer and/or their agent will return to each reviewing department to provide evidence that such changes have been made. If the changes are satisfactory to the reviewing department's discretion, then said department shall approve the application for plan approval and affix their departmental stamp indicating approval on the plans.

(G)The developer and/or their agent will deliver to the Department of Planning and Community Development, the approved plans, with the appropriate stamps affixed, as well as a completed application for plan approval. A completed application will contain the signature of each respective departmental plan review personnel.

(H)The Department of Planning and Community Development will verify that the reviewing departments have signed the application for plan approval and have stamped the plans. If any department has given conditional approval, said department must list under what conditions their approval is granted. Said conditions must be in letter form on department letterhead, indicating the project and date of conditional approval, and delivered to the Department of Planning and Community Development prior to, or concurrent with, the sign-off of the plans granted conditional approval. With any conditional approval, the person so conditioning the plans must sign the letter of conditions and print their name for further clarification.

(I)After the Department of Planning and Community Development has verified that all plans and supporting documents are true and correct, the director, or his designee, will approve and sign the plans and supporting documents. Construction plans for major subdivisions must be consistent with sketch plats approved by the Forsyth County Planning Commission, and the director shall not give final approval without ensuring consistency with sketch plat approval.

(J)Land disturbance permits will be issued after approvals have been granted by the appropriate reviewing departments. The permit will be issued at a pre-construction conference with the department responsible for inspection of the site.

§ 7-1.3

Clearing and Grubbing and/or Grading Permits.

Clearing and grubbing is the removal of trees, shrubs, and vegetation from a piece of property, whether by cutting or other means, insuring not to place, remove or move earth or, in any way, alter the grade of the land. Grading includes stripping, cutting, filling, stockpiling, or any combination thereof, and shall include the land itself in its cut or filled condition, to create new grades. All clearing and grubbing and/or grading plans must be prepared by a licensed land surveyor, landscape architect, or engineer. The submittal and review procedures for obtaining a clearing and grubbing permit will be according to the Forsyth County Plan Review Procedure Policy.

Clearing and grubbing plans will be submitted and reviewed according to the Forsyth County Plan Review Procedure Policy, as administratively prepared and adopted by the director.

7-1.4. Road Construction Permits.

A road construction permit allows only for the grading for roads and the installation of utilities and drainage structures necessary for developing a new community.

§ 7-1.5

Site Development Permits.

A site development permit allows for the grading and development of a site, including the installation of utilities and drainage structures.

§ 7-1.6

Erosion Control.

A stop work order shall be issued if it is determined by the department of planning and community development and/or the department of engineering that the provisions of the soil erosion and sedimentation ordinance (Ordinance 73) are not being followed.

§ 7-1.7

Expiration.

Land disturbance permits shall expire twelve (12) months from the date of issuance for projects within A1 and Ag-Res zoning districts, residential zoning districts, and specialty zoning districts. Land disturbance permits for projects within all other zoning districts shall expire eighteen (18) months from the date of issuance. Renewal must be made by application within three months of the expiration date. Any work performed after the expiration date, but prior to renewal, shall be considered work without a permit and will be in violation of this Code. Renewals shall be limited to one renewal per permit. Should the permit expire after the issuance of a renewal, a new permit must be required, and all associated application fees must be paid prior to its issuance.

ARTICLE II, BUILDING PERMITS: