Legal Documents of Maryville

Code of Maryville

Table of Contents » Title 19 Stormwater » Chapter 5 Vegetated Buffer Zone And Stormwater Quality Management » § 19-503 Definitions.
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Title 19
19-1
Title 19, Chapter 1
19-101
§ 19-101
Maryville
Title 19 : Stormwater
Chapter 5 : Vegetated Buffer Zone And Stormwater Quality Management

19-503 : Definitions.

  1. "Applicant." Person submitting the application for a grading permit. Typically, this is the owner or operator of the land-disturbing activity.
  2. "As-built drawings." As-built, field verified plans signed and sealed by a registered professional engineer and/or a registered land surveyor, both licensed to practice in the State of Tennessee, showing contours, elevations, grades, and location of drainage and hydraulic structures and permanent best management practices.
  3. "Best Management Practices (BMP or BMPs)." Schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, water quality management facilities, structural controls and other management practices designed to prevent or reduce the pollution of waters of the United States and to provide water quality treatment and channel protection in accordance with this chapter. Water quality BMPs may include structural devices, such as stormwater ponds, extended detention ponds or bioretention areas, or non-structural practices such as vegetated buffers, water quality buffers or natural open spaces.
  4. "Buffer enhancement plan." A plan required by the City of Maryville for any alteration to a water quality buffer.
  5. "City manager." The City Manager for the City of Maryville, Tennessee.
  6. "Construction." Any placement, assembly, or installation of facilities or equipment (including contractual obligations to purchase such facilities or equipment) at the premises where such equipment will be used, including preparation work at such premises.
  7. "Construction related waste." Waste that is generated through construction, land development and land-disturbing activities that may cause adverse impacts to water quality. "Construction related waste" includes, but is not limited to, discarded building materials, concrete truck washout, chemicals, litter, hazardous materials, oil and sanitary waste at the construction site.
  8. "Covenants for permanent maintenance of water quality best management practices." A legal document executed by the property owner, or a homeowners' association as an owner of record, and recorded with the Blount County Register of Deeds which guarantees perpetual and proper maintenance of BMPs.
  9. "Detailed plans." Plans required by the City of Maryville Land Development and Public Works Standards that present detailed information on the stormwater drainage structures and control measures that will be constructed for a proposed development or redevelopment.
  10. "Developer." The person, firm or corporation, either public or private, engaged in the development of land, as defined below.
  11. "Development." A "development" includes any of the following activities:
    1. The improvement of one (1) lot or two (2) or more contiguous lots, tracts or parcels of land for any purpose involving:
      1. One (1) or more residential or non-residential buildings, or a single non-residential building on a lot or lots regardless of the number of occupants or tenure; or
      2. The division or allocation of land or space, between or among two (2) or more existing or prospective occupants by means of, or for the purposes of, streets, common areas, leaseholds, condominiums, building groups or other features.
    2. A subdivision of land.
  12. "Development standards board of appeals." The body that has been delegated the authority by the Council of the City of Maryville to hear appeals concerning decisions made by the city manager, or his designee, regarding the interpretation of the meaning of this code.
  13. "Easement." A legally-dedicated right-of-way on property for the purposes of allowing the city to manage and maintain infrastructure, site access or stormwater flow within specified boundaries.
  14. "Grading permit." A permit issued to authorize excavation and/or fill to be performed under the guidelines of this chapter.
  15. "Hotspot." An area where the land use or activities generate, or have the potential to generate, highly contaminated runoff, with concentrations in excess of those typically found in stormwater.
  16. "Impervious surfaces." Areas that prevent or impede the infiltration of stormwater into the soil as it infiltrated in natural conditions prior to development. Common impervious areas include, but are not limited to, rooftops, sidewalks, walkways, patio areas, driveways, parking lots, storage areas, compacted gravel and soil surfaces, awnings and other fabric or plastic coverings.
  17. "Lake." See "pond."
  18. "Land-disturbing activity." Any activity on private or public land that may result in soil erosion and the movement of sediments. "Land-disturbing activities" include, but are not limited to, development, redevelopment, demolition, construction, reconstruction, clearing, grading, filling, logging and/or tree chipping operations, haul roads associated with the development, and excavation.
  19. "Native vegetation." Plants indigenous to east Tennessee.
  20. "NPDES." National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.
  21. "Operator." In the context of construction activity stormwater, "operator" means any person associated with a construction project that meets either of the following two (2) criteria:
    1. This person has operational control over construction plans and specifications, including the ability to authorize modifications to those plans and specifications. This person is typically the owner or developer of the project or a portion of the project; or
    2. This person has day-to-day operational control of those activities at a project site which are necessary to ensure compliance with a site plan, EPSC plan, WQMP, or sketch plan for the site or other permit conditions. This person is typically a contractor or commercial builder and is often authorized to direct workers at a site to carry out activities required by approved plans or comply with other permit conditions.
  22. "Owner or property owner." The legal owner of the property as recorded in the Blount County Register of Deeds office at the time of application of the grading permit.
  23. "Person." Any individual, firm, corporation, partnership, association, organization or entity, including governmental entities, or any combination thereof.
  24. "Policy manual." The Policy Manual for Stormwater Quality Management prepared and maintained by the City of Maryville that contains policies, technical criteria, tools and guidelines and other supporting documentation for implementation of the provisions of this chapter.
  25. "Pond." For the specific purpose of water quality buffers, a "pond" or a "lake" is an inland body of standing water.
  26. "Project." The entire proposed development regardless of the size of the area of land to be disturbed.
  27. "Redevelopment." The improvement of a lot or lots that have been previously developed.
  28. "River." See "stream."
  29. "Sediment." Solid material, both inorganic (mineral) and organic, that is in suspension, is being transported, or has been moved from the site of origin by wind, water, gravity, or ice as a result of erosion.
  30. "Sedimentation." The action or process of forming or depositing sediment.
  31. "Slope." The degree of deviation of a surface from the horizontal, usually expressed in percent or degrees.
  32. "Stormwater." Also "stormwater runoff" or "runoff." Surface water resulting from rain, snow, or other form of precipitation, which is not absorbed into the soil and results in surface water flow and drainage.
  33. "Stream." For the specific purpose of water quality buffers, a "stream" is defined as a linear surface water conveyance that can be characterized with either perennial or ephemeral base flow and:
    1. Has published floodplain elevations that have been computed as part of an approved flood study;
    2. Are identified as a blue line on a seven and one-half (7-1/2) minute USGS quadrangle, unless otherwise designated by the Tennessee Department of Environmental Conservation (TDEC); or
    3. Are determined to be streams by the City of Maryville, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) or the Tennessee Department of Environmental Conservation (TDEC).
  34. "Structure." Anything constructed or erected such that the use of it requires a more or less permanent location on or in the ground. "Structures" include, but are not limited to, buildings, towers, smokestacks, overhead transmission lines, carports and walls.
  35. "Top of bank." The uppermost limit of an active stream channel, usually marked by a break in slope.
  36. "Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)." A calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a water body can receive and still meet water quality standards, and an allocation of that amount to the source(s) of the pollutant.
  37. "Variance." A grant of relief from the requirements of this chapter that permits construction or activities in a manner otherwise prohibited by this chapter, where specified enforcement would result in unnecessary hardship.
  38. "Water quality buffer." A use-restricted, vegetated area that borders waters of the state located within the City of Maryville, containing natural, enhanced or restored vegetation and grasses, and exists, or is established, to protect those waterbodies. The "water quality buffer" shall be located and platted per the requirements of this chapter.
  39. "Water Quality Management Plan (WQMP)." An engineering plan for the location and/or design of BMPs within a proposed development or redevelopment. A WQMP includes a map showing the extent of the land development activity and location of BMPs, design calculations for BMPs, and, when applicable, includes as-built plans and covenants for permanent maintenance of best management practices.
  40. "Water quality volume reduction." A decrease in the water quality volume for one (1) or more areas of a proposed development that may be obtained for qualified site development features or approaches that can reduce or eliminate the discharge of pollutants in stormwater runoff. "Water quality volume reductions" can only be obtained when technical criteria, as defined by the City of Maryville, are met.
  41. "Water quality volume reduction areas." Areas within the proposed development or redevelopment for which a water quality volume reduction can be obtained.
  42. "Watercourse." Any natural or artificial watercourse, stream, river, creek, channel, ditch, canal, conduit, culvert, drain, waterway, gully, ravine, or wash in which water flows either continuously or intermittently and that has a defined channel, bed and banks, and including any area adjacent thereto subject to inundation by reason of overflow or flood water.
  43. "Waters of the state." Any and all water, public or private, on or beneath the surface of the ground, which are contained within, flow through, or border upon Tennessee or any portion thereof except those bodies of water confined to, and retained within, the limits of private property in single ownership which do not combine or affect a junction with natural surface or underground waters.
  44. "Wetland." An area that is inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances does support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetland determination shall be made by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and/or the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, and/or the Natural Resources Conservation Service, or a qualified professional that has been trained in the identification and delineation of wetland areas. (1999 Code, § 19-703)
Date Last Updated: 12/22/2025
Codification Date: 06/01/2024

Officials at Date of Last Codification:

Mayor - Andy White
Vice-Mayor - Fred Metz
Council Member - Sarah Herron
Council Member - Tommy Hunt
Council Member - Drew Miles
City Manager - Greg McClain
Assistant City Manager - Kevin Stoltenberg
City Recorder/Financial Services Director - Sherri Phillips
City Attorney - Melanie Davis 

Date Last Updated: 12/22/2025
Codification Date: 06/01/2024

Officials at Date of Last Codification:

Mayor - Andy White
Vice-Mayor - Fred Metz
Council Member - Sarah Herron
Council Member - Tommy Hunt
Council Member - Drew Miles
City Manager - Greg McClain
Assistant City Manager - Kevin Stoltenberg
City Recorder/Financial Services Director - Sherri Phillips
City Attorney - Melanie Davis