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 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 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 ordinance 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. 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: Enforcement pursuant to this chapter may be undertaken by the City Enforcement Official, which may be the City Manager or their designated entity, legal counsel, or combination thereof.
1. City Enforcement Official(s) will interpret this Chapter; determine the applicability of waivers, if violation(s) have occurred; implement enforcement actions; and, determine if compliance standards are met.
2. City Enforcement Official(s) may issue Notices of Violation(s).
D. Process For Enforcement:
1. City Enforcement Official(s) 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 13.67.120 establishes the City's right to conduct inspections and investigations.
2. The City may issue an official notification to notify regulated entities of its obligations under the ordinance.
3. For incidences of prohibited container contaminants found in containers, the City or its designee will issue an informational Notice of Contamination to any generator found to have prohibited container contaminants in a container. Such notice will be provided via a cart tag or other communication immediately upon identification of the prohibited container contaminants or within ten (10) days after determining that a violation has occurred. If the City or its designee observes prohibited container contaminants in a generator's containers on more than two (2) occasions, the City or its designee may arrange for pick up and disposal of contaminated containers and assess contamination processing fees (such as return trip fees and extra pick-up fees) on the generator.
4. To address violations of this Chapter, the City shall issue a Notice of Violation requiring compliance within thirty (30) calendar days after issuance of the notice, or such shorter reasonable specific time period as the City Enforcement Official shall assign within which the generator must correct or otherwise remedy each violation, but in no event less than twenty-four (24) hours from the date and time the Notice of Violation is issued.
5. Absent compliance by the respondent within the deadline set forth in the Notice of Violation, the City shall commence an action to impose penalties, via an administrative citation and fine, pursuant to the Chapter/Section addressing fines and penalties of our MC, unless the City determines compliance deadline extensions as set forth in Section 13.67.130(f) are found to be warranted by extenuating circumstances.
E. Penalty Amounts For Types Of Violations: The penalty amounts for violation of this Chapter shall be consistent with the City's Administrative Remedies Ordinance or fee schedule (Resolution 8045 of the City of Redlands) and assessed as the rates referenced.
F. Compliance Deadline Extension Considerations: The City may extend the compliance deadlines set forth in a Notice of Violation issued 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: 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 the 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, the City will conduct inspections, route reviews and/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, 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, 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 chapter, it shall document the noncompliance or violation, issue a Notice of Violation, and take enforcement action as needed. (Ord. 2945 § 1, 2022)