(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. Fines will follow the schedule for infractions as defined in § 1.04.030 subject to any minimum fine amounts set forth in the SB 1383 regulations. 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 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.
(D) Process for enforcement.
(1) City enforcement officials will monitor compliance with this chapter randomly and through compliance reviews, route reviews, investigation of complaints, and an inspection program. § 7.17.120 establishes city's right to conduct inspections and investigations.
(2) City may issue an official notification to notify regulated entities of its obligations under this chapter.
(3) City shall issue a notice of violation requiring compliance within 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 § 7.17.130. All applicable appeals and collection procedures shall apply. Moreover, during any appeal, the decision-maker shall consider any applicable factors required by regulation of CalRecycle.
(E) Penalty amounts for types of violations. The penalty levels are as follows:
(1) For a first violation, the amount of the base penalty shall be $50 per violation.
(2) For a second violation, the amount of the base penalty shall be $100 per violation.
(3) For a third or subsequent violation, the amount of the base penalty shall be $250 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 this section 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 § 18996.2 due to those deficiencies.
(G) Education period for noncompliance. Beginning immediately 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, selfhauler, 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, 2023, and that violations may be subject to administrative civil penalties starting on January 1, 2024.
(H) 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 pursuant to this section, as needed.
(I) Applicability of chapter. This chapter shall be interpreted consistent with the city's regulatory authority and shall only apply to local education agencies and other state or federal entities to the extent permitted by law, including SB 1383.
(Ord. 2022-07, passed 6-7-2022)