Chapter 8.14
CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION WASTE MANAGEMENT
Sections:
8.14.030 Waste management plan.
8.14.040 WMP compliance report.
8.14.010 Definitions.
“City-franchised waste hauler” means the company or individual that the city of Palos Verdes Estates has contracted exclusively to provide waste collection and disposal services within the city.
“City-initiated project” means any construction, deconstruction, demolition, remodeling, repair, cleanup, or removal project performed on behalf of the city via contract with the city.
“Construction and demolition (C&D)” debris means building materials and solid waste from construction, deconstruction, remodeling, repair, cleanup, removal, or demolition operations that are not “hazardous waste” (as defined in Public Resources Code Section 40141), including, but not limited to:
1. Discarded materials generally considered to be water insoluble including asphalt, brick, concrete, glass, gravel, gypsum, masonry, metal, pipe, rock, sand, slate, soil, steel, stone, wallboard or otherwise inert material.
2. Clean cardboard, construction paper, plastics (including but not limited to sheeting, molding, and shrink wrap), wood, and lighting and piping fixtures.
3. Rocks, soils, trees, brush, and other vegetative matter that normally results from land clearing, landscaping and development operations for a construction project.
“Conversion rate” means the rate set forth in the standardized conversion rate table approved by the city manager or his or her designee for use in estimating the volume or weight of materials identified in a waste management plan.
“Deconstruction” means the careful and systematic dismantling of a structure in order to salvage materials for diversion.
“Demolition” means the decimating, razing, ruining, tearing down or wrecking of any facility, structure, pavement or building, whether in whole or in part, whether interior or exterior, and any removal of the same.
“Dispose” means the final deposition of construction and demolition or inert material to a Class III landfill.
“Diversion requirement” means the diversion via reuse or recycling as established by state law of all construction and demolition debris generated by a project.
“Divert” means to use material for any purpose other than disposal in a landfill or transformation facility.
“Program fee” means a payment in an amount established by the city council intended to defray costs to the city for the program established by this chapter.
“Project” means any activity which requires an application for a building or demolition permit or any similar permit from the city.
“Recycling” means the process of collecting, sorting, cleansing, treating, and reconstituting materials for the purpose of using the altered form in the manufacture of a new product. Recycling does not include burning, incinerating, or thermally destroying solid waste.
“Renovation” means any change, addition, and/or modification in an existing structure.
“Reuse” means the use, in the same or similar form as it was produced, of a material which might otherwise be discarded.
“Salvage” means the controlled removal of C&D debris from a permitted building or demolition site for the purpose of recycling, reuse, or storage for later recycling or reuse.
“Transformation facility” means a facility whose principal function is to convert, combust, or otherwise process solid waste by incineration, pyrolysis, destructive distillation, gasification, or to chemically or biologically process solid waste for the purpose of volume reduction, synthetic fuel production, or energy recovery. Transformation facilities do not include biomass conversion or composting facilities (Title 14, California Code of Regulations, Section 18720).
“Waste management plan” or “WMP” means a written plan for disposal, recycling and reuse of project C&D debris prepared and submitted pursuant to PVEMC 8.14.030(A) in a form prescribed by the WMP compliance official.
“WMP compliance official” means the city manager or his or her designee.
“WMP compliance report” means the written documentation of the actual C&D debris generated from the project, (1) indicating the weight and final destination of the debris, (2) listing whether the debris was disposed of, recycled or reused, and (3) including all required receipts, pursuant to PVEMC 8.14.040(A) in a form prescribed by the WMP compliance official. The WMP compliance report shall indicate whether the applicant complied with the diversion requirement. (Ord. 730 § 1, 2018)
8.14.020 Applicability.
A. Covered Projects. “Covered project” shall mean any of the following construction, demolition, or renovation projects:
1. A residential or commercial project where total valuation equals or exceeds fifty thousand dollars.
2. A residential or commercial roofing or reroofing project where the total value equals or exceeds ten thousand dollars, or a project where fifty percent or more of the roof area is replaced, regardless of permit value.
3. All demolition projects requiring a demolition permit regardless of value.
4. A city-owned or city-sponsored project where total costs are valued at one hundred fifty thousand dollars or greater.
Every covered project shall divert at least the amount as established by state law, measured by weight, of all construction or demolition waste generated by the covered project and comply with all of the provisions in this chapter. All phases of a project and all related projects taking place on single or adjoining parcels, as determined by the WMP compliance official, will be deemed a single, covered project. Compliance with the provisions of PVEMC 8.14.030 and 8.14.040 shall be listed as a condition of approval on any building or demolition permit issued for a covered project.
B. Noncovered Projects. “Noncovered project” shall mean any project that is not a covered project as defined in this section, including:
1. Projects for which only a plumbing, electrical, or mechanical permit is required.
2. Immediate or emergency construction, repair, or demolition work required to protect the public health or safety in an emergency, as defined in Section 21060.3 of the Public Resources Code, as it may be amended from time to time.
Noncovered projects are exempt from the requirements of this chapter. Each applicant for a noncovered project is encouraged to divert at least the amount as established by state law of all project-related C&D debris.
C. Infeasible Exemption.
1. Application. If an application for a covered project experiences unique circumstances that the applicant believes make it infeasible to comply with the diversion requirement, the applicant may apply for an exemption at the time that the waste management plan (WMP) submitted. An applicant applying for an exception must indicate on the WMP the specific circumstances that make it infeasible to comply with the diversion requirement.
2. Meeting with the WMP Compliance Official. The WMP compliance official will review the information supplied by the applicant and may meet with the applicant to discuss possible ways of meeting the diversion requirement.
3. Granting of Exemption. The WMP compliance official will issue an infeasibility exemption if the following findings are made:
a. Circumstances exist which are unique to the project such that compliance with the provisions of this chapter would create an unusual burden on the project which is different than that of similarly situated projects; or
b. That diversion of one or more substances involved in the project presents unique and burdensome obstacles and would create an especially onerous economic burden on the project unless diversion of that substance is reduced or eliminated.
If the WMP compliance official is able to make one or more of the above findings for a project, the WMP compliance official may excuse the project from compliance with this chapter, or determine the maximum feasible reduced diversion rate for each material and indicate this rate on the WMP submitted by the applicant.
4. Denial of Exemption. If the WMP compliance official determines that it is possible for the applicant to meet the diversion requirement, the WMP compliance official will so inform the applicant in writing. The applicant will have thirty days to resubmit a WMP. (Ord. 730 § 1, 2018)
8.14.030 Waste management plan.
A. Submittal of Waste Management Plan.
1. Applicants for building or demolition permits involving any covered project shall complete and submit a WMP, on a WMP form approved by the city for this purpose as part of the application for the building or demolition permit.
a. Contracting with the City-Franchised Waste Hauler. Applicants intending to contract with the city-franchised waste hauler for collection of all C&D debris shall not be required to provide further information within the WMP other than their intent to utilize the services of the city-franchised waste hauler.
b. Self-Haul. A licensed contractor performing work within the scope of the contractor’s license, intending to remove C&D debris from the job site using equipment owned or leased by the contractor, and not through a solid waste enterprise, shall include the following information in the WMP:
i. The estimated volume or weight of project C&D debris, by materials type, that will be generated;
ii. The maximum volume or weight of such materials that can feasibly be diverted via reuse or recycling;
iii. The estimated volume or weight of C&D debris that will be landfilled;
iv. The processing facility that the applicant proposes to use to receive that material; and
v. Any special or specific activities that the applicant will use to comply with the provisions of this chapter.
2. Calculating Volume and Weight of Debris. In estimating the volume or weight of materials identified in the WMP, the applicant shall use the standardized conversion rates approved by the city for this purpose.
3. Deconstruction. In preparing the WMP, applicants for building or demolition permits involving the removal of all or part of an existing structure shall consider deconstruction, to the maximum extent feasible, and shall make the materials generated thereby available for salvage prior to landfilling.
B. Waste Management Plan Review.
1. Approval. Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, no building, encroachment, or demolition permit shall be issued for any covered project unless and until the WMP compliance official has approved the WMP. The WMP compliance official shall only approve a WMP if he or she first determines that:
a. The WMP indicates the applicant’s intent to use the city-franchised waste hauler; or
b. The WMP meets all of the following conditions:
i. The WMP provides all of the information set forth in subsection (A)(1)(b) of this section; and
ii. The WMP indicates that at least the amount as established by state law of C&D debris generated by the project will be diverted;
2. Denial. If the WMP compliance official determines that the WMP does not meet the criteria established in subsection A of this section, he or she shall return the WMP to the applicant marked “Denied,” including a statement of reason for the denial and provide notification to the department of building, which shall then immediately stop processing the building or demolition permit application until a revised WMP has been submitted by the applicant and approved by the WMP compliance official.
C. Deposit Required. As a part of any application for, and prior to the issuance of, any building or demolition permit for a covered project, every permittee shall post a cash deposit, letter of credit or cashier’s check in the amount of three percent of valuation, but not less than one thousand dollars and not more than ten thousand dollars for residential alteration or thirty thousand dollars for commercial alteration or tenant improvement. The deposit shall be returned, without interest, in total or in proportion, upon proof to the satisfaction of the WMP compliance official, that no less than the minimum amount of diversion as established by state law of construction/demolition waste has been diverted. If a lesser percentage is diverted, a proportionate share of the deposit will be returned in accordance with a formula established by the WMP compliance official. The deposit shall be forfeited entirely if there is a failure to comply with the requirements of this section.
D. Program Fee Required. As a part of any application for, and prior to the issuance of, any building or demolition permit for a covered project, every permittee shall pay a program fee as set forth set by city council resolution. (Ord. 730 § 1, 2018)
8.14.040 WMP compliance report.
A. Submittal of WMP Compliance Report. Prior to final approval of the project and the issuance of any certificate of occupancy, the applicant shall submit the documentation required by this section to the WMP compliance official, proving compliance with the approved WMP.
1. If the approved WMP indicated the applicant’s intent to utilize the city-franchised waste hauler for collection of C&D debris pursuant to PVEMC 8.14.030(A)(1)(a), a receipt for services provided by the city-franchised waste hauler shall be provided.
2. If the approved WMP indicated the applicant’s intent to self-haul C&D debris pursuant to PVEMC 8.14.030(A)(1)(b), all of the following documentation shall be provided:
a. Originals or copies of all weight tickets or receipts documenting both disposal and diversion, and showing whether the C&D debris was landfilled, reused or recycled;
b. A copy of the previously approved WMP for the project adding the actual volume or weight of each material diverted and landfilled; and
c. Any other information attesting to or verifying the implementation of diversion activities.
B. Weighing of C&D Debris. Applicants shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that all C&D debris diverted or landfilled is measured and recorded using the most accurate method of measurement available. To the extent practical, all C&D debris shall be weighed by measurement on scales. Such scales shall be in compliance with all regulatory requirements for accuracy and maintenance. For C&D debris for which weighing is not practical due to small size or other considerations, a volumetric measurement shall be used. For conversion of volumetric measurements to weight, the applicant shall use the standardized conversion rates approved by the WMP compliance official for this purpose.
C. Determination of Compliance. The WMP compliance official shall review the submitted WMP compliance report and determine the extent the applicant has complied with the diversion requirement as follows:
1. Full Compliance. If the WMP compliance official determines that at least the amount of diversion as required by state law of the C&D debris generated by the project has been diverted via reuse or recycling, the WMP compliance official shall find the applicant to be in full compliance with the diversion requirement.
2. Partial Compliance. If the WMP compliance official determines that the diversion requirement has not been achieved, the WMP compliance official shall then consider the availability of markets for the C&D debris landfilled, the size of the project, and the documented efforts of the applicant to divert C&D debris.
3. Noncompliance. If the WMP compliance official determines that the applicant has not met the diversion requirements of this chapter, and has not made a good faith effort to comply with the diversion requirement, or if the applicant fails to submit the documentation required by this section, the applicant shall be deemed noncompliant.
4. Administrative Penalty for Noncompliance. Any applicant who does not comply with any requirement of this chapter may be assessed an administrative penalty for noncompliance. The amount of the penalty assessed may be up to five thousand dollars for demolition projects and up to ten thousand dollars for all other projects. The WMP compliance official upon determining noncompliance with this chapter shall notify the applicant of the penalty assessed against it. The notice shall be in writing and shall identify the amount of the penalty assessed, the specific noncompliance for which the penalty is being assessed and inform the applicant that it has a right to a hearing to protest the validity or amount of the assessed penalty. The applicant’s request for a hearing must be made in writing and received by the WMP compliance official no later than the city’s close of business on the seventh calendar day from the mailing date (as determined by postmark) of the penalty notice. A hearing shall be held no later than ten days following the receipt by the WMP compliance official of the written request for hearing. The city manager or his or her designee shall serve as the hearing officer. The applicant shall be notified in writing of the decision of the hearing officer. Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, the decision of the hearing officer shall be final. Any penalty assessed must be paid to the city prior to final building approval. Nothing in this chapter precludes the use of any other type of enforcement if administrative fines are imposed under this section. (Ord. 730 § 1, 2018)
8.14.050 Appeal.
A. Any determination of the WMP compliance official may be appealed to the city manager upon written request of any applicant. An applicant must file the appeal within fifteen days after the date the original decision was sent to the applicant. The appeal fee shall be paid at the time of filing. The amount of the appeal fee shall be set by city council resolution. An appeal is not considered filed until the fee has been paid. The decision of the city manager will be final.
B. The notice of appeal of the decision of the WMP compliance official must contain the following information in addition to the information given by the applicant thereon or reasonably required by the city clerk therefor:
1. The name, address, and telephone number of the applicant; and
2. The type of action requested; and
3. The date on which said decision was made and the name of the WMP compliance official taking such action; and
4. The grounds on which the appeal is taken.
C. The fee for filing an appeal will be charged as provided by resolution of city council. (Ord. 730 § 1, 2018)