(A) Violation of any provision of this Article shall constitute grounds for issuance of a Notice of Violation and assessment of a fine by a City Enforcement Official or representative. Enforcement Actions under this Chapter are issuance of an administrative citation and assessment of a fine. The City's procedures on imposition of administrative fines set forth in Title 1, Chapter 4 through Chapter 4Bare 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. City may pursue civil actions in the California courts to seek recovery of unpaid administrative citations. 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, the development services director, or their 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.
(a) City Enforcement Official(s) and Regional or County Agency 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.
(b) City Enforcement Official(s) and Regional or County Agency Enforcement Official may issue Notices of Violation(s).
(D) Process for Enforcement.
1. City Enforcement Officials or Regional or County Enforcement Officials and/or their Designee will monitor compliance with the ordinance randomly and through Compliance Reviews, Route Reviews, investigation of complaints, and an Inspection program. Section 7-1B-12 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 (60) 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 action to impose penalties, via an administrative citation and fine, pursuant to the City's Administrative Citation ordinance in Title 1, Chapter 4 through Chapter 4B.
Notices shall be sent to "owner" at the official address of the owner maintained by the tax collector 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 1-4-5, the penalty levels are as follows:
1. For a first violation, the amount of the base penalty shall be one hundred dollars ($100.00) per violation.
2. For a second violation, the amount of the base penalty shall be two hundred dollars ($200.00) per violation.
3. For a third or subsequent violation, the amount of the base penalty shall be five hundred dollars ($500.00) per violation.
(F) Compliance Deadline Extension Considerations: The City may extend the compliance deadlines set forth in a Notice of Violation issued in accordance with Section 7-1B-13 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) Appeals Process: Consistent with Section 1-4A-30 through 1-4A-48, 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 Non-Compliance: 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 Article 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.
(I) Civil Penalties for Non-Compliance: Beginning January 1, 2024, 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 Article, it shall document the noncompliance or violation, issue a Notice of Violation, and take Enforcement Action pursuant to Section 7-1B-13, as needed. (Ord. 1706, 12-14-2021)