A. 
City representatives and/or its designated entity, including designees, are authorized to conduct Inspections and investigations, at random or otherwise, of any collection container, collection vehicle loads, or transfer, processing, or disposal facility for materials collected from generators, or source separated materials to confirm compliance with this chapter by organic waste generators, commercial businesses (including multifamily residential dwellings), property owners, commercial edible food generators, haulers, selfhaulers, food recovery services, and food recovery organizations, subject to applicable laws. Without a warrant, this section does not allow city to enter the interior and/or restricted areas (i.e., behind a gate or fence) of a private residential property for inspection.
B. 
Regulated entities shall provide or arrange for access during all inspections (with the exception of residential property interiors) and shall cooperate with the city's employee or its designated entity/designee during such inspections and investigations. Such Inspections and investigations may include confirmation of proper placement of materials in containers, edible food recovery activities, records, or any other requirement of this chapter described herein. Failure to provide or arrange for: (1) access to an entity's premises; or (2) access to records for any Inspection or investigation is a violation of this chapter and may result in civil, criminal and/or administrative penalties.
C. 
Any records obtained by a city during its inspections and other reviews shall be subject to the requirements and applicable disclosure exemptions of the Public Records Act as set forth in Government Code Section 6250 et seq.
D. 
City representatives, its designated entity, and/or designee are authorized to conduct any Inspections or other investigations as reasonably necessary to further the goals of this chapter, subject to applicable laws.
E. 
City shall receive written complaints from persons regarding an entity that may be potentially noncompliant with SB 1383 regulations, including receipt of anonymous complaints.
(Ord. 1838 § 1, 2021)
A. 
Violation of any provision of this chapter shall constitute grounds for issuance of a notice of violation and assessment of civil, criminal and/or administrative penalties by a city enforcement official or representative. Administrative enforcement actions under this chapter may include the issuance of an administrative citation and assessment of a fine. The city's penalties are included in Section 1.08.010 and Section 1.20.050 are hereby incorporated in their entirety, as modified from time to time, and shall govern the imposition, collection and enforcement of this chapter.
B. 
Other remedies allowed by law may be used, including civil action or prosecution as misdemeanor or infraction. The city may pursue civil actions in California courts to seek recovery of unpaid administrative citations. The city may choose to delay court action until such time as a sufficiently large number of violations, or cumulative size of violations exist such that court action is a reasonable use of city staff and resources.
C. 
Responsible Entity for Enforcement.
1. 
Enforcement pursuant to this chapter may be undertaken by the city enforcement official, which may be the city manager or his or her designee, designated entity, legal counsel, or combination thereof.
2. 
Enforcement may also be undertaken by a regional or county agency enforcement official, designated by the city, in consultation with city enforcement official.
3. 
City enforcement official will interpret ordinance; determine the applicability of waivers, if violation(s) have occurred; implement enforcement actions; and, determine if compliance standards are met.
4. 
City enforcement official(s) may issue notices of violation(s).
D. 
Process for Enforcement.
1. 
City enforcement officials or designee will monitor compliance with the ordinance randomly and through compliance reviews, route reviews, investigation of complaints, and an Inspection program. Section 8.04.360 establishes city's right to conduct inspections and investigations.
2. 
City may issue an official notification to notify regulated entities of its obligations under the ordinance.
3. 
City shall issue a notice of violation requiring compliance within sixty days of issuance of the notice.
4. 
Absent compliance by the respondent within the deadline set forth in the notice of violation, city shall commence an enforcement action pursuant to Section 1.08.010 and Section 1.20.
5. 
Notices shall be sent to "owner" at the official address of the owner maintained by the tax franchisee for the city or if no such address is available, to the owner at the address of the dwelling or commercial property or to the party responsible for paying for the collection services, depending upon available information.
E. 
Penalty Amounts for Types of Violations. Consistent with Section 1.20.050, the penalty levels are as follows:
1. 
For a first violation, the amount of the base penalty shall be one hundred dollars per violation.
2. 
For a second violation, the amount of the base penalty shall be two hundred dollars per violation.
3. 
For a third or subsequent violation, the amount of the base penalty shall be five hundred dollars per violation.
4. 
In addition to the recommended penalties, the city's enforcement official may commence other civil, criminal and/or administrative actions to address the violations.
F. 
Compliance Deadline Extension Considerations. The city may extend the compliance deadlines set forth in a notice of violation issued in accordance with this section if it finds that there are extenuating circumstances beyond the control of the respondent that make compliance within the deadlines impracticable, including the following:
1. 
Acts of God such as earthquakes, wildfires, flooding, and other emergencies or natural disasters;
2. 
Delays in obtaining discretionary permits or other government agency approvals; or
3. 
Deficiencies in organic waste recycling infrastructure or edible food recovery capacity and the city is under a corrective action plan with CalRecycle pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18996.2 due to those deficiencies.
G. 
Administrative Citation Appeals Process. Consistent with Chapter 1.20.060, persons receiving an administrative citation containing a penalty for an uncorrected violation may request a hearing to appeal the citation. A hearing will be held only if it is requested within the time prescribed and consistent with city's procedures in the city's codes for appeals of administrative citations. Evidence may be presented at the hearing. The city will appoint a hearing officer who shall conduct the hearing and issue a final written order.
H. 
Education Period for Noncompliance.
Beginning January 1, 2022 and through December 31, 2023, city or its designee will conduct inspections, route reviews or waste evaluations, and compliance reviews, depending upon the type of regulated entity, to determine compliance, and if city determines that organic waste generator, self-hauler, hauler, tier one commercial edible food generator, food recovery organization, food recovery service, or other entity is not in compliance, it shall provide educational materials to the entity describing its obligations under this chapter and a notice that compliance is required by January 1, 2022, and that violations may be subject to administrative civil penalties starting on January 1, 2022.
I. 
Civil Penalties for Noncompliance. Beginning January 1, 2022, if the city determines that an organic waste generator, self-hauler, hauler, tier one or tier two commercial edible food generator, food recovery organization, food recovery service, or other entity is not in compliance with this chapter, it shall document the noncompliance or violation, issue a notice of violation, and take enforcement action pursuant to this section, as needed.
(Ord. 1838 § 1, 2021)