The purpose of this chapter is to promote the recycling and reuse of construction and demolition waste to reduce the amount of such material that is landfilled, to protect the public health, safety, and welfare, and assist the city in meeting the construction and demolition waste diversion requirements established by the state of California.
(Ord. 1753, 5/27/2025)
"Applicant"
means any person, firm, limited liability company, association, non-profit, partnership, political subdivision, government agency, municipality, industry, public or private corporation, or any other entity whatsoever who applies to the city for a permit to undertake covered work.
"Certified recycling facility"
means a recycling, composting, or materials recovery or reuse facility that satisfies all of the following criteria: (1) the facility has obtained all applicable federal, state, and local permits; (2) the facility is operating in compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws or regulations; (3) the facility complies with the diversion requirement for all incoming construction and demolition waste; and (4) the facility is either included on the list of certified recycling facilities kept and maintained by the compliance official or is otherwise approved by the compliance official as meeting the foregoing criteria.
"Compliance official"
means and refers to the director of community development or director of public works, or their respective authorized designee(s), depending on which department is responsible for issuing the permit for covered work.
"Construction"
means any building, rehabilitation, remodeling, renovation or repair of any pavement, facility, building, structure, or other improvement, or any portion thereof, including, but not limited to, tenant improvements.
"Construction or demolition waste"
means solid waste associated with or resulting from construction or demolition activities, including, but not limited to: steel, copper, aluminum, glass, brick, concrete, asphalt, pipe, gypsum, wallboard, or lumber; rocks, soils, tree remains, trees, and other vegetative material resulting from land clearing or landscaping; or remnants of construction or demolition activities such as cardboard, paper, plastic, wood, or metal scraps.
"Covered work"
means any construction or demolition activity for which a building permit, demolition permit, tenant improvement permit, excavation permit, encroachment permit, or similar permit is required by the city before lawfully engaging in the subject construction or demolition activity. Concurrent permits that authorize construction and/or demotion activities on the same project site are considered a single covered work for purposes of this chapter.
"Demolition"
means decimating, razing, ruining, tearing down, demolishing, or wrecking of any pavement, facility, building, structure, or other improvement, whether in whole or in part, whether interior or exterior.
"Diversion requirement"
means the percentage of construction and demolition waste for each demolition and/or construction project that must be diverted from landfills, as specified in Section 8.14.040 of this chapter.
"Divert," "diverted," or "diversion"
means to recycle or reuse construction or demolition waste, as opposed to disposing of such waste in a landfill or a transformation facility, in any of the following ways subject to the approval or conditional approval of the compliance official: (1) using new construction methods that reduce the amount of construction waste generated; (2) reuse of construction or demolition waste on site; (3) delivery of construction or demolition waste to a certified recycling facility; or (4) other methods for reducing the amount of construction or demolition waste that is landfilled, as may be approved by the compliance official.
"Permittee"
means an applicant that has been issued a permit by the city to engage in covered work.
"Recyclable and reusable materials"
means construction or demolition waste material that falls in any of the following categories: (1) masonry material, including, but not limited to, asphalt, concrete, tile, rock, stone, or brick; (2) wood material, including, but not limited to, all dimensional lumber, fencing, or wood that is not chemically treated, creosoted, CCA pressure treated, contaminated, or painted; (3) plant material, including, but not limited to, trees, tree parts, shrubs, stumps, logs, brush, or any other type of plants that are cleared from a site for construction or other use; (4) metal material, including, but not limited to, metal scrap, pipes, siding, window frames, door frames, or fences; (5) roofing material, including, but not limited to, wood shingles, asphalt, stone, or slate-based roofing material; (6) salvageable material includes all salvageable materials or fixtures resulting from construction or demolition activities, such as, without limitation, wallboard, doors, windows, fixtures, toilets, sinks, bath tubs, or appliances; or (7) any construction or demolition waste that is not universal waste.
"Recycling" or "recycle"
means the process of collecting, sorting, cleansing, treating, and reconstituting materials that would otherwise become solid waste, and returning them to the economic mainstream in the form of raw material for new, reused, or reconstituted products which meet the quality standards necessary to be used in the marketplace.
"Solid waste"
has the same meaning as in Section 8.12.020 of this code.
"Universal waste"
means and includes any excluded waste as defined in Section 8.12.020 of this code, or any hazardous waste that is listed in Section 66261.9 of Article 1, Chapter 11, Division 4.5 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations.
"Waste reduction and recycling plan"
means a completed report that must be submitted with an application for a permit to ensure compliance with this chapter, as specified in Section 8.12.060 of this chapter.
(Ord. 1753, 5/27/2025)
A. 
Except as specified herein, this chapter applies to all any construction or demolition activity for which a building permit, demolition permit, tenant improvement permit, excavation permit, encroachment permit, or similar permit that is required from the city before lawfully engaging in the construction or demolition activity. Every person that engages in covered work within the city shall comply with the requirements of this chapter.
B. 
This chapter does not apply to any of the following, as determined by the compliance official at the time of permit issuance:
1. 
Construction or demolition activities for which only a plumbing permit, an electrical permit, or a mechanical permit is required.
2. 
Seismic tie-down projects.
3. 
Installation of prefabricated patio enclosures and covers where no foundation or other structural building modifications are required.
4. 
Installation of prefabricated accessories such as signs or antennas where no structural building modifications are required.
5. 
Other construction or demolition activities that appear on the exemption list maintained by the compliance official for those construction or demolition activities which the compliance official has determined will not generate construction or demolition waste.
6. 
Construction or demolition activities done under contract with the city, except as said contract incorporates this chapter in whole or in part.
(Ord. 1753, 5/27/2025)
Every person engaging in covered work shall recycle or divert the minimum percentage amount of designated recyclable and reusable materials that is established by the most current California Green Building Standards Code (CALGreen) for generated construction and demolition materials, and any future revisions to the diversion rate under that code.
(Ord. 1753, 5/27/2025)
Universal waste (such as batteries, electronic waste, electronic lamps, cathode ray tubes/glass, nonempty aerosol cans) shall be diverted from landfills and disposed of in the manner required by federal, state, and local laws or regulations.
(Ord. 1753, 5/27/2025)
Every applicant seeking a permit for covered work shall, at the time of applying for the permit, submit all of the following to the compliance official: (1) a waste reduction and recycling plan, in a form made available by the city or otherwise approved by the compliance official; (2) an application fee for the waste reduction and recycling plan, in an amount as may be established from time to time by resolution of the city council to reimburse costs incurred in administering and enforcing this chapter; and (3) a security deposit, in the form of cash or cash equivalents acceptable to City, and in an amount equal to three percent of the estimated value of the permitted work or $200, whichever is higher, up to a maximum deposit of $10,000 per permit. No permit shall be issued by the city for covered work unless a waste reduction and recycling plan has been approved by the compliance official.
(Ord. 1753, 5/27/2025)
A. 
No later than 60 days after a permittee's completion of covered work, every permittee shall submit the following documentation to the compliance official demonstrating compliance with the diversion requirement of this chapter:
1. 
A final construction and demolition waste recycling and disposal report summary that shows actual data of tonnage of the construction or demolition waste that was recycled or diverted; and
2. 
Originals or certified photocopies of receipts and weight tags or other records of measurement for construction or demolition waste from certified recycling facilities, recycling companies, contractors, and/or landfill and disposal companies.
B. 
The information and documentation required by this subsection A shall be submitted on the form(s) and in the manner specified by the compliance official, and the accuracy and truth of such information shall be certified by permittee under penalty of perjury.
C. 
If a person is applying or has been issued concurrent permits for both demolition and construction work for the same site, the documentation required by subsection A for the demolition work must be submitted to and approved by compliance official before any permits authorizing construction work will be issued. An applicant or permittee may satisfy the requirements of this subsection by submitting a statement to the compliance official, certified under penalty of perjury and subject to verification by the city, that no designated recyclable or reusable materials were generated from the completed demolition work.
D. 
If an applicant or permittee for construction work fails to comply with the requirements of this chapter for demolition work related to the same project site, the compliance official may, in addition or alternative to other remedies set forth in this chapter, require the permittee to divert a higher percentage of construction waste than otherwise would be required by this chapter; provided that the diversion rate construction waste is no higher than is reasonably necessary to cover shortfalls in construction waste diversion.
(Ord. 1753, 5/27/2025)
The compliance official shall return or refund the security deposit required by this chapter upon the occurrence of any of the following:
A. 
A determination that the security deposit was erroneously paid or collected. If the determination is that the security deposit was miscalculated, then the compliance official shall return any overpaid amounts.
B. 
An applicant cancels their application, or a permittee cancels and terminates the permit, before any work covered by the application or permit is commenced.
C. 
A permittee has complied with the requirements of this chapter by satisfying the minimum diversion requirement for the covered work and submitting the documentation required by this chapter to demonstrate such compliance.
D. 
Upon application from a permittee for the return or refund of the security deposit, unless the compliance official has issued a noncompliance notice pursuant to Section 8.14.090, in which case the deposit shall be returned or forfeited in the manner specified in said section.
(Ord. 1753, 5/27/2025)
A. 
Security Deposit Forfeiture. In the event a permittee fails to comply with the requirements of this chapter, the compliance official shall determine on a case-by-case basis whether, despite the noncompliance, the permittee made a good faith effort to comply. If the compliance official determines a permittee failed to make a good faith effort, then the compliance official may issue a notice of noncompliance describing actions the permittee must take to be in compliance with this chapter. If the permittee fails to take and complete the actions described in the notice within 30 days from the date thereof, then the compliance official may declare permittee in violation of this chapter and upon notice of such determination to permittee the security deposit shall be forfeited to the city.
1. 
The compliance official may authorize a partial refund of a security deposit in cases where there has been some compliance but less than the minimum diversion requirement has met, with the amount of the refund being in proportion to the documented amount of diverted construction or demolition waste.
2. 
Funds received by the city by as forfeited security deposits shall be kept and retained in a separate account and used only for the following purposes: reimbursement of security deposits; documented administrative costs of the program in excess of application fee revenues; recycling or diversion programs for construction and demolition waste; programs to develop or improve recycling or diversion programs for construction and demolition waste.
B. 
Administrative Fine. Any person that violates the requirements of this chapter may be issued an administrative citation by the compliance official and subject to fines specified in Chapter 1.04 of this code.
C. 
Remedies Cumulative. The remedies and penalties provided in this section are in addition to those available under federal, state or local law.
(Ord. 1753, 5/27/2025)
Any determination made by the compliance official to implement or enforce this chapter may be appealed to the city manager in writing within 10 calendar days of the date of the decision being appealed. Any person aggrieved by a final decision of the city manager may file an appeal to the city council within 10 days of the date of the city manager's decision pursuant to Section 5.00.200 of this code.
(Ord. 1753, 5/27/2025)