8.12.1512 Enforcement.
A. Violation of any provision of this article that occurs on or after January 1, 2024, shall constitute grounds for issuance of a notice of violation and assessment of a fine by the city enforcement official in accordance with 14 CCR Section 18995.4. Enforcement actions under this article are issuance of an administrative citation and assessment of a fine. The city’s procedures for imposition of administrative fines set forth in Chapter 1.20 (Administrative Citations) 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 article and any rule or regulation adopted pursuant to this article, except as otherwise indicated in this article.
B. The provisions of subsection A of this section do not apply to violations related to a generator placing prohibited container contaminants in containers, which the city enforcement official and/or the city’s designee shall enforce through the notice provisions of 14 CCR Section 18984.5(b) and contamination processing fees, including pursuant to the provisions of the applicable collection agreement between the city and a franchised hauler.
C. Other remedies allowed by law may be used, including civil action or prosecution as a misdemeanor or infraction. The city may pursue civil actions in the state 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.
D. Process for Enforcement.
1. The city enforcement official and/or the city’s designee will monitor compliance with this article randomly and through compliance reviews, route reviews, investigation of complaints, and an inspection program. Section 8.12.1511 establishes the city’s right to conduct inspections and investigations.
2. The city shall issue a notice of violation requiring compliance within sixty days of issuance of the notice.
E. Penalty Amounts for Types of Violations. For the purposes of this article, the penalty levels for violations of the provisions of this article are as follows:
1. For a first violation, the amount of the base penalty shall be one hundred dollars per violation.
2. For a second violation, the amount of the base penalty shall be two hundred fifty dollars per violation.
3. For a third or subsequent violation, the amount of the base penalty shall be five hundred dollars 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 Section 18996.2 due to those deficiencies. (Ord. 716 §1, 2021).