§ 6.1100. Maintenance and Violations.

A.

Maintenance—Improved areas. The property owner of private property on which grading or other work has been performed pursuant to a grading plan approved under the ESL regulations, shall maintain in perpetuity and repair all graded surfaces and erosion control devices, retaining walls, drainage structures or devices, and planting and ground covers according to specifications established by the City.

B.

Maintenance—Natural Area Open Space (NAOS).

1.

NAOS shall be permanently preserved in its natural condition to be self-sustaining.

2.

The removal of small amounts of man-made trash and debris that may accumulate within NAOS is permitted.

3.

Clearing, pruning, raking, and landscaping within NAOS areas is prohibited except as provided in Subsections 4., 5., and 6. below.

4.

Maintenance of public non-paved trails within NAOS shall be subject to specific approval by the City.

5.

The removal of man-made dumping piles, and specified invasive, non-indigenous plants and weeds within NAOS shall be subject to specific approval by the City.

6.

A defensible space will be permitted to be established and maintained around homes in Wildland/Urban Interface and Intermix areas as defined in Section 3.100. The removal of flash fuels, which include invasive annual grasses, for an area of thirty (30) feet from a habitable structure, to provide for fire safety around dwellings, is permitted, but shall not result in the destruction of native plants* within NAOS.

7.

Dead or dying native plants within NAOS shall be left in place to provide wildlife habitat.

8.

NAOS easements may be released by the Zoning Administrator only to the extent such releases conform to the standards set forth in Section 6.1060.F.

*Native plants include the specific species defined in Article V, Protection of Native Plants, Section 46-105 through 46-120 of the Scottsdale Revised Code.

C.

Violations.

1.

A violation of any provision of the Environmentally Sensitive Lands Ordinance shall be subject to the violation and penalty provisions in Article I of the Zoning Ordinance.

2.

Upon conviction for a violation of any provision of Section 6.1100 or the conditions of a permit issued hereunder, the court shall impose a fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) for a preservation fund, in addition to any other fines or penalties.

3.

Funds obtained from this fee shall be used to supplement the City's preservation efforts through deposit into the Trust for McDowell Mountain Land Acquisition.

4.

In addition to the penalties in Section 1.1402, a property owner or owner's agent who is found in violation of Section 6.1035 shall fully restore the property to its natural topographic and vegetative condition, to the satisfaction of the City. The restoration shall be complete within one hundred twenty (120) days after the finding of violation. Failure to complete restoration within one hundred twenty (120) days is deemed authorization for the City to complete restoration at the expense of the property owner. The cost of the City's restoration shall become a lien against the property. All fees to apply for development approval on the property shall be twice the usual fees for such applications.

(Ord. No. 3395, § 1, 12-11-01; Ord. No. 3702, § 1, 2-20-07; Ord. No. 3920, § 1(Exh. § 88), 11-9-10; Ord. No. 4143, § 1(Res. No. 9678, Exh. A, §§ 182, 183), 5-6-14)