Building Site Stability
How Slope of your land effects your mountain cabin
Part Two
In many cases, some amount of leveling is necessary to
prepare the house site for construction and to build an access road.
On steep
slopes, leveling involves a process called "cut and Fill" whereby rock
and soil are "cut" from higher slopes and used to "fill" in the land
below. It is important to stabilize both the cut and the fill banks in
order to control erosion and slippage of the site. Slopes of cuts and
fills should ideally not exceed 30 percent, depending on the type of
rock and soil that is present. In other words, the cut bank and fill
bank should rise or fall no more than 30 vertical feet for every 100
feet
of horizontal length.
The local Soil
and Water Conservation District can assist
you in evaluating your land for site stability and in developing plans
to protect it. With regard to graded slopes and vegetation, the North
Carolina Sedimentation Pollution Control Act of 1973 states the following:
"The angle for graded slopes and fills shall be no greater than the
angle which can be retained by vegetative cover or other adequate erosion-control
devices or structures. In any event, slopes left exposed will within
15 working days or 30 calendar days of completion of any phase of grading,
whichever period is shorter, be planted or otherwise provided with
ground cover, devices, or structures sufficient to restrain erosion."
Therefore, vegetation should be established on exposed land as soon
as possible.
Another important aspect of the NC Sedimentation Pollution
Control Act is that the person "financially responsible" for clearing
the land is the person responsible for complying with the law. This means
that if you are the homeowner paying a developer to clear your land,
you, the homeowner, are responsible for complying with the law. this
law pertains to any size development - even less than one acre. For
more information on this law, contact the NC Division of Land resources
at 828-251-6208. If possible please use a variety of native vegetation
in landscaping your property.
back to Part One Building Site Stability
I would like to thank Phillip Gibson
Director of Research and Community Outreach Warren Wilson College
for allowing me to
reproduce this booklet. Some information on this page may be
outdated as
new ordnances have been past in many municipalities. Please
contact your local agencies for updated ordnances. a new information
Cd is being produced at this time. Check back here for an announcement
on when and how to receive one once available. Or contact: Phillip Gibson
Director of Research and Community Outreach
Warren Wilson College
PO Box 9000
Asheville, NC 28815-9000
828-771-3781
pgibson@warren-wilson.edu
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