Legal Documents of Gatlinburg

The following provisions shall apply to all developments and properties located within the City of Gatlinburg. These provisions shall be in addition to all other applicable ordinances and codes of the City of Gatlinburg:

1. Excavation, grading, and site clearing and other land disturbances shall be limited to the areas shown as such on the approved plans. All other areas including the essential root zone, shall remain as undisturbed areas unless otherwise permitted under these provisions. In the event areas outside the boundaries of identified development require disturbance, the applicant shall be required to show reason for the disturbance. The reason shall be submitted in writing to the building official and shall require the certification of the project architect and or engineer.
2. In the event no development is planned for a parcel of property, the applicant shall be permitted to clear no more than 25 percent of the property within a 5 year period. A site clearing plan shall be submitted to the building official which bears the certification of a registered engineer showing proposed clearing areas and all methods of erosion control and site drainage management in order to stabilize and protect the disturbed area from erosion.
3. In all instances, areas of disturbance shall be stabilized within seven (7) calendar days of the initial disturbance, by an approved method of erosion/sedimentation control, and/or ground cover. Grading commencement shall be limited to fifteen (15) days prior to the initiation of construction. In addition, areas of disturbance shall be included in a long range plan for permanent vegetation and shall have the approval of the building official and/or the planning commission through its site development review process.
4. A protection plan shall be required for all areas adjoining an area of disturbance including any existing areas proposed to be retained on the site as natural vegetated areas, which have been previously shown and approved on the site plan. The protection plan shall indicate the methods by which the natural vegetation will be protected from adjoining areas of disturbance. Prior to commencement, tree fencing shall be provided around areas to remain undisturbed and no filling or covering of tree root areas above the natural grade will be permitted.
5. Grading and benching shall be restricted so that no cut slopes be any steeper than two (2) horizontal to one (1) vertical, except as provided in subsection (6) below. There shall be a fifteen foot (15') maximum height for un-terraced slope. Intense landscaping will be required for all terraced slopes. The maximum height for terracing standards and engineered walls shall be fifteen feet (15'). The minimum horizontal distance between any two (2) terraced slope or wall sections shall be five feet (5'). Retaining walls shall be designed and constructed parallel to pre-disturbed slopes and/or with the property contour rather than across property contour.
6. Certification by an approved professional shall be required for all slope construction for slopes in excess of two (2) horizontal to one (1) vertical.
7. A twenty-five foot (25') buffer from all permanent and intermittent streams will be required with all fill and borrow.
8. Mass grading is prohibited prior to construction. In addition, a planting schedule for replanting of all artificial slopes is required with a cashier's check for one hundred percent (100%) of all materials and labor costs associated with the replanting activities. Any such amounts shall be deposited into an escrow account. Interest earned, if any, on said account shall accrue to the city to cover its cost of administration.
9. Roadway (public or private) grades, including common driveways and all other roadways that are components of any development vehicular circulation system, shall not exceed a fifteen percent (15%) maximum grade, unless a variance is granted by the Gatlinburg Municipal Planning Commission in accordance with adopted variance procedures. All roadway and street construction shall be done with the natural contour of the property and not across the contour. All grading of roadways shall be done in a manner to limit the area of disturbance to the minimum extent practical.
10. The grading and clearing for pioneer roads shall be limited to no more than ten feet (10') in width. Grading and clearing for property surveys shall be limited to areas needed to conduct the survey. Grading and clearing for soils testing shall be limited to selective patches with a minimum separation of one hundred feet (100') between testing areas. All areas of grading and clearing shall be limited to areas designated by a licensed civil engineer. (As added by Ord. #2209, June 2000, and amended by Ord. #2407, April 2009)