8.12.701 Illegal dumping.
A. Prohibition. No one may discard any solid waste in the city, with or without intent, purposefully or negligently, except under this chapter, such as Section 8.12.205 (with respect to container set-out requirements) or in Section 8.12.700 (with respect to discard at sites and facilities in accordance with law). Without limiting this prohibition, no one may discard any solid waste on or in any of the following places:
1. Any public property (such as a public highway, street, parkway, thoroughfare, alley, gutter, sidewalk, setback, right-of-way or storm drain);
2. Banks of any stream or dry watercourse;
3. Anyone else’s private property, such as empty lots, unless by owner’s permission;
4. Anyone else’s solid waste container, unless the person that pays for solid waste handling services with that container gives written permission; or
5. A public solid waste container placed at public facilities (such as City Hall) or on public property (such as adjacent to bus stops or in parks), except for discard of litter incidentally generated by the public using the public facility or public property.
B. Costs and Fines. Anyone who discards solid waste in violation of subsection A of this section must pay the city the following amounts upon city demand:
1. The city’s cost of handling that discarded solid waste under law; and
2. Any fine that the city council may establish by resolution.
C. Proof.
1. The city may consider photo images and/or video footage of persons and/or vehicles used for illegal dumping as sufficient evidence to pursue any administrative or judicial enforcement action. When vehicle license plates can be identified, city code enforcement officer access to the California Law Enforcement Telecommunication System will be necessary to identify registered owners of record for vehicles used for illegal dumping.
2. The public works director may clean up and discard illegally discarded solid waste and charge the generator the city’s related solid waste handling costs. The city may consider names or addresses on items that it discovers in discarded or disposed solid waste (such as in litter or illegally dumped solid waste) as sufficient evidence that the identified addressee is the owner of those items. Examples include any or all of the following:
a. Addressed letters and packages;
b. Invoices, receipts and package labeling; and
c. Other correspondence.
3. Anyone may rebut that evidence by producing a written subscription, invoice or receipt documenting that he meets both of the following conditions:
a. Subscribes to collection service from a franchised hauler or the city at least weekly; and
b. Has no record of discarding solid waste in excess of subscribed capacity.
D. Remedies. In addition or as an alternative to the remedies in subsection B of this section, the city may do either or both of the following:
1. Hold proceedings to declare a property a public nuisance and abate the nuisance under Article XIV of this chapter; or
2. Declare summary abatement under law. (Ord. 702 § 1, 2019; Ord. 633 (Att. A), 2013).