A. Violation of any provision of this Chapter shall constitute grounds for issuance of a Notice of Violation and assessment of a fine by a Jurisdiction Enforcement Official or representative. Enforcement actions under this Chapter include, but are not limited to, issuance of an administrative citation and assessment of a fine. The City's procedures on imposition of administrative fines, as set forth in Chapter 1.02 of this Code, are hereby incorporated in their entirety, as modified from time to time, and shall govern the imposition, enforcement, collection, and review of administrative citations issued to enforce this Chapter and any rule or regulation adopted pursuant to this Chapter, except as otherwise indicated in 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 the California courts to seek recovery of unpaid administrative citations.
C. Responsible entity for enforcement.
1. Enforcement pursuant to this Chapter may be undertaken by the Jurisdiction Enforcement Official, the City Manager or their designated entity, legal counsel or combination thereof.
2. The Jurisdiction Enforcement Officials will interpret this Chapter; implement enforcement actions; and, determine if compliance standards are met.
3. The Jurisdiction Enforcement Officials may issue Notices of Violation(s).
D. Process for enforcement.
1. Jurisdiction Enforcement Officials and/or their designee will monitor compliance with this Chapter randomly and through compliance reviews, route reviews, investigation of complaints, and an inspection program (that may include remote monitoring). Section 5.08.055 establishes the City's right to conduct inspections and investigations.
2. The City may issue an official notification to notify regulated entities of their obligations under this Chapter.
3. The City will issue a Notice of Violation to any responsible person found to have prohibited container contaminants in a container upon the first occurrence of any such violation. Such notice will be provided via a cart tag or other communication immediately upon identification of the prohibited container contaminants. Such notice shall, at a minimum, include information regarding the requirement to properly separate material into the appropriate containers and may include photographic evidence of the violation. If the City observes prohibited container contaminants a second time, a second Notice of Violation, containing a warning that a third occurrence may result in a fine and/or the assessment of costs, will be provided in the same manner as required of a first Notice of Violation. If the City observes prohibited container contaminants a third time, the City may assess the responsible person the costs of enforcing this § 5.08.060.D.3. and for cleaning the contamination and/or impose any applicable administrative fines.
4. Effective January 1, 2024, with the exception of violations of generator contamination of container contents addressed under § 5.08.060.D.3., the City shall issue a Notice of Violation, for any other violation of this Chapter, requiring compliance within sixty (60) days of issuance of the Notice of Violation.
5. Absent compliance by the responsible person within the deadline set forth in the Notice of Violation, the City shall commence an action to impose penalties, via administrative citation and fine, pursuant to the provisions of this § 5.08.060 and Chapter 1.02 of this Code.
E. Penalty amounts for violations. The penalties for any violations of this Chapter 5.08 shall be imposed in accordance with § 1.02.025 of this Code.
F. Compliance deadline extension considerations. The City may extend the compliance deadlines set forth in a Notice of Violation issued in accordance with this § 5.08.060 if it finds that there are extenuating circumstances beyond the control of the responsible person 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 § 18996.2 due to those deficiencies.
G. Education period for noncompliance. Beginning January 1, 2022 and through December 31, 2023, the City will conduct inspections, route reviews or waste evaluations, and compliance reviews, depending upon the type of regulated entity, to determine compliance, and if the City determines that organic waste generator, 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, 2024.
H. Civil penalties for noncompliance. Beginning January 1, 2024, if the City determines that an organic waste generator, 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 Chapter, as needed.
(Ord. No. 2021-014, § 2(part))