A. In addition to any other remedy available by law, violation of any provision of this chapter shall constitute grounds for issuance of a notice of violation and assessment of an administrative fine by a citing official pursuant to Chapter 1.04 of this Code.
B. The penalty levels for administrative fines for violation of this chapter shall be as follows:
1. For a first violation, the amount of the administrative fine shall be fifty dollars ($50) to one hundred dollars ($100) per violation.
2. For a second violation, the amount of the administrative fine shall be one hundred dollars ($100) to two hundred dollars ($200) per violation.
3. For a third or subsequent violation, the amount of the administrative fine shall be two hundred fifty dollars ($250) to five hundred dollars ($500) per violation.
C. The following factors shall be used to determine the administrative fine for each violation within the appropriate penalty level range:
1. The nature, circumstances, and severity of the violation(s).
2. The violator's ability to pay.
3. The willfulness of the violator's misconduct.
4. Whether the violator took measures to avoid or mitigate violations of this chapter.
5. Evidence of any economic benefit resulting from the violation(s).
6. The deterrent effect of the penalty on the violator.
7. Whether the violation(s) were due to conditions outside the control of the violator.
D. The city may extend the compliance deadlines 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.
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 C.C.R. § 18996.2 due to those deficiencies.
(Ord. 1224, passed 2-15-2022)