The County shall administratively adopt and administer the alternative program in the unincorporated areas of the County under the supervision of the County Administrator or his or her designee. The County shall utilize the state and federal standards and cleanup goals of the OES Program as the standards for the alternative program. Under the Supervision of the County Administrator or his or her designee, the County may administratively update these standards as necessary to address ongoing changes in the administration of the OES Program and the need to efficiently remove hazardous fire debris from the community.
For those persons who are not eligible for the State Program, or who opt out of the State Program, private action to remove fire debris from fire-damaged properties is prohibited unless and until a hazardous materials inspection has been performed and authorization from the Department of Community Services, Environmental Health Division has been provided pursuant to the alternative program.
The alternative program shall require an application and work plan that identifies the appropriate licensed contractors who will perform the work and the submission of plans that demonstrate that the standards established in the alternative program will be met. Work shall not begin until the County approves the application and work plan. The County may rely upon the subject matter expertise of multiple departments in deciding whether to approve the application and work plan.
Upon completion of the work described in the approved plans, the alternative program shall require an application for certification of successful completion of the work required by the alternative program. The alternative program will require that: (1) the debris removal and clean-up work on the property meets or exceeds the standards set by the State of California for debris removal; (2) remove and dispose of hazardous trees and (3) the owner completely remove and dispose of the foundation or submit a letter from a licensed civil or structural engineer certifying that the foundation is acceptable for rebuild. The letter shall certify structural reasons for the decision and include the process and procedure used to reach the conclusion.
(§ 2, Ord. 1531, eff. December 15, 2020)