Growth Management
Excavation/Earthmoving
The Excavations Section of the Growth Management Division of the Community Development Department oversees all excavations in the County through administration of the Excavation and Earthmoving Code of the Charlotte County Code of Laws and Ordinances. This code is located in Chapter 3-5, Article XXIII, starting with Section 3-5-470, of the Code of Laws and Ordinances (Code).
The Excavations Section is headed by Dan Quick, Director of Community Development. Excavation Administrator Joanne Vernon handles excavation matters on a daily basis and Jay Drew is the Excavation Inspector.
Excavation Hearing Meeting Agendas, Staff Reports & Applications, Minutes, and other related items
Summary of Information on Excavations
For more detailed information please review the Excavations Code or contact Jay (941.743.1316).
Excavation means the removing of material below the seasonal high groundwater table.
Earthmoving means any and all activities resulting in the repositioning of terrain including the excavation of lakes, pits, and depressions; mounding, stockpiling, the creation of berms; and the transporting and installing of fill.
County property owners are required to submit an application to the Community Development Department whenever they want to dig a hole or remove dirt, rocks, or shell from a site for any reason. This is as applicable to a small property owner wanting to dig a fish pond as to a large property owner wanting to do a commercial operation. There are five tiers of application:
- Exempted Activities: These are small scale activities that are not considered excavations because the impacts of the activity are considered minimal such as the installation of utilities, placing septic tanks, digging for swimming pools, small agricultural ponds and stormwater detention ponds. Section 3-5-475 of the Code describes these in detail. A person contemplating such an activity must still submit an application, called the Excavation Exemption Request, and be approved by the Excavation Administrator before being officially exempted.
- Group I: These are noncommercial excavations which can be in operation for a two year term. Up to ten thousand cubic yards of material can be moved off the site but the remaining material must be used on-site. The depth of such excavations cannot exceed 20 feet. The standards can be found in Section 3-5-477 of the Code.
- Group II: These are excavations in furtherance of a development that has gone through Site Plan Review. These are most likely to be used for stormwater retention/detention sites or as lakes that will be an amenity to a residential development. The material in a Group II excavation can be hauled off-site and sold. These can only be in operation for three years and there are size limitations on this type of excavation. These are detailed in Section 3-5-47 of the Code.
- Group III: These are considered the commercial excavations where the only purpose of the excavation is to remove material and sell it. The location and operation standards are located in Section 3-5-479 of the Code.
- Group IV: These are considered excavations wherein the end use of the excavation is a surface water storage pond to be used for irrigation for an agricultural use. Location and operation standards are found in Section 3-5-479 of the Code.
Application forms for Exemptions, Group I, II, III, and IV excavations
The following shows the latest information on existing Group III excavation in the County:
Current Locations (Data) - PDF Format
Current Locations (Map) - PDF Format
Additional Resources:
Department of Environmental Protection
Army Corps of Engineers
Southwest Florida Water Management District (Regulates most of Northern portion of Charlotte County)
South Florida Water Management District (Regulates a portion of Southern Charlotte County)
Growth Management
Charlotte County Administrative Complex
Excavation/Earthmoving
18500 Murdock Circle, Building B
Port Charlotte, FL 33948
growthmanagement@charlottefl.com
Main Number: 941.743.1500
Fax Number: 941.743.1570
