Excavation Contractor in Cornelius, NC

Land clearing in Cornelius: tree permits and stream buffers

The Town of Cornelius issues its own Tree Removal Permit, listed next to its zoning use permit. Near the lake or a perennial stream, the buffer rule decides which trees stay. Smaller trees and undergrowth may come out there if a stabilizing ground cover replaces them. Confirm with the Town of Cornelius Planning Department before the first tree comes down.

The Town's SWIM stream buffers protect the Lake Norman and Mountain Island Lake watersheds, a drinking water supply. A stream draining 50 to 300 acres keeps an undisturbed buffer at least 35 feet wide on each side. From 300 to 640 acres it keeps 50 feet, and past 640 acres the whole floodplain, never under 100 feet. At a minimum, the code allows no land disturbance in the regulatory floodplain beyond its listed exceptions.

With the permits in hand, we clear what the approved plan allows. We take down trees and brush, pull stumps and haul the debris off. The cleared ground is then ready for site prep and a first grade that moves water away from the house.

Grading and site prep for a new home in Cornelius

Building permits for Cornelius properties are filed online with Mecklenburg County, and county staff perform all inspections. The county automatically notifies the Cornelius Planning Department to do a zoning review. On a development with a site plan or plat, grading waits until the construction documents are approved. The owner or the builder holds the permits, and we work under them.

Cornelius sits inside Mecklenburg County's erosion and sedimentation control program. The county requires an erosion and sediment control plan once a project disturbs 1 acre or more. Every project gets a preconstruction meeting, and perimeter measures go in and get approved before mass grading. The county can even hold a certificate of occupancy while erosion problems are open.

In critical and protected watershed districts, enhanced county rules call for wire-backed silt fence with stone along the water. We set the silt fence, the stone entrance and the other erosion control measures the plan shows. Then we cut and fill the pad, compacted to the spec the builder or geotechnical engineer sets. State law calls for NC811 notice no less than three full working days before an excavation starts.

Why does a Cornelius yard hold water, and who fixes it?

Lake Norman is the largest man-made body of freshwater located entirely within North Carolina. Duke Energy created it when it built Cowans Ford Dam. The west side of Cornelius drains straight to the lake, and the east side drains toward the Rocky River. On a lot that falls toward the house or the lake, rain moves fast and carries loose dirt with it.

Mecklenburg County Storm Water Services maintains public drainage in Cornelius: storm drains, pipes, culverts and creeks. A county repair has to carry stormwater from a public street and serve the public good. Yard flooding, problems caused by landscaping and sheet flow from a neighboring lot are on its non-eligible list. That leaves the yard fix to the owner.

We fix yard drainage with regrading, swales, French drains and buried pipe. Where a lot steps down toward the water, a segmental block retaining wall can hold a cut bank. Taller walls need an engineered design under the state residential code, so confirm the rule with Mecklenburg County first.

Teardowns, additions and the permits behind them in Cornelius

Cornelius grew from 24,866 people in 2010 to 31,412 at the 2020 census. Its permit page says new construction, additions, demolitions and accessory structures may need a building permit. The owner or the general contractor holds the permit, and the Town and county confirm what a project needs.

When an old house, garage or slab has to go, our demolition work clears it and hauls the debris off. For a new inground pool, our pool excavation follows the pool builder's plan and depth. Spoils and debris leave the site, or stay on the lot where the grade can use them.