Laguna Woods Municipal Code Ch. 4.24 Construction and Demolition Materials Management

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— Ord. No. 12-05, §§ 2, 3, adopted Apr. 18, 2012, repealed the former Ch. 4.24, §§ 4.24.010—4.24.210, and enacted a new Ch. 4.24 as set out herein. The former Ch. 4.24 pertained to construction and demolition materials management and derived from Ord. No. 06-04, § 2, adopted 6-21-2006.

The purpose of this chapter is to promote the recycling of construction and demolition waste in order to protect the public health, safety, and welfare and to meet the City's obligations under Assembly Bill 939, Senate Bill 1374, the California Green Building Standards Code, and related diversion requirements of the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery.

(Ord. No. 12-05, § 1, 4-18-2012)

For the purposes of this chapter the following words and phrases are defined as follows, unless it is apparent from the context that a different meaning is intended. Words and phrases not defined by this section shall have the meanings set forth in Division 30, Part 1, Chapter 2 of the Public Resources Code, § 40000 [et seq.] and following and the regulations of the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery.

If not defined in the Public Resources Code or the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery's regulations, then the definitions found in the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act ("RCRA"), 42 U.S.C. § 6901 and following and the regulations implementing RCRA, as they may be amended, shall apply.

(05) Applicant shall mean any person, firm, limited liability company, association, partnership, political subdivision, government agency, municipality, industry, public or private corporation, or any other entity whatsoever required to apply for a City permit to undertake any covered project, as defined below.

(10) Community Development Director shall mean the City Manager's designee and his or her designees.

(15) Construction and demolition materials or C&D materials shall mean used or commonly discarded materials removed from premises of a covered project during construction, grading, remodeling, repair, demolition, deconstruction or renovation resulting from construction, renovation, grading, remodeling, repair, deconstruction or demolition operations on any pavement, house, commercial building, or other structure, or from landscaping. Such materials include, but are not limited to, inert waste (including rock, concrete, brick, sand, soil, ceramics and cured asphalt), gravel, plaster, gypsum wallboard, aluminum, glass, plastic pipe, roofing material, carpeting, wood, masonry, trees, stumps, remnants of new materials, including paper, plastic, carpet scraps, wood scraps, scrap metal, building materials, packaging and rubble. "C&D materials" specifically excludes universal waste.

(20) Construction and demolition diversion security deposit or diversion security deposit shall mean cash or a letter of credit in a form acceptable to the City, submitted to the City pursuant this chapter.

(25) Construction and demolition materials management plan or C&DMMP shall mean a completed C&DMMP form, approved by the City for the purpose of compliance with this chapter.

(30) Covered project shall mean a project for which a building permit is required by the City for:

a. Construction of any new building;

b. An addition or alteration that increases any existing residential building's conditioned area, volume, or size; and/or,

c. An addition or alteration of any existing non-residential building of any kind.

(35) Deconstruction shall mean a process to dismantle or remove useable materials from structures, in a manner which maximizes the recovery of building materials for reuse and recycling and minimizes the amount of waste transported for disposal in landfills and transformation facilities.

(40) Divert or diversion shall mean activities which reduce or eliminate the amount of C&D material from disposal in a landfill or transformation facility. See Public Resources Code § 40124.

(45) Diversion requirement shall mean the diversion of at least 65 percent, by weight, of the C&D material, other than inert waste, generated by a covered project by reuse or recycling, and that at least 65 percent of the inert waste is removed from the solid waste stream and not disposed of in a solid waste landfill, unless the applicant has been granted an exemption pursuant to this chapter. If the applicant has been granted an exemption, the diversion requirement shall be the maximum feasible diversion rate established by the community development director for the project.

(50) Feasible shall have the meaning ascribed by Public Resources Code § 21061.1.

(55) Inert waste shall have the meaning ascribed by Public Resources Code § 41821.3(a)(1).

(60) Project shall mean any activity for which a building, demolition, grading or other similar permit is required from the City.

(65) Recycling shall have the meaning ascribed by Public Resources Code § 40180.

(70) Reuse shall mean further or repeated use of C&D materials or inert waste.

(75) Salvage shall mean the controlled removal of C&D materials from a permitted construction or demolition site for the purpose of recycling, reuse, or storage for later recycling or reuse.

(80) Valuation shall have the same meaning as defined in Chapter 10.08 (California Building Code) of this Code.

(Ord. No. 12-05, § 1, 4-18-2012; Ord. No. 18-01, § 3(Exh. A), 2-21-2018; Ord. No. 18-06, § 3(Exh. A), 7-18-2018)

All covered projects shall comply with the provisions of this chapter. Compliance with the provisions of this chapter shall be a condition for refund of the project's diversion security deposit.

(Ord. No. 12-05, § 1, 4-18-2012)

The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to any of the following:

(1) Work for which a building permit is not required by the City.

(2) Projects that do not meet the definition of "covered project".

(3) Demolition or construction required to protect public health or safety in an emergency, as defined in Public Resources Code § 21060.3.

(Ord. No. 12-05, § 1, 4-18-2012; Ord. No. 18-06, § 3(Exh. A), 7-18-2018)

Each applicant for a permit for any covered project shall complete and submit to the Community Development Department a C&DMMP on a form approved by the City for this purpose prior to permit issuance. The completed C&DMMP, at a minimum, shall indicate all of the following:

(1) The estimated weight of C&D materials, itemized as required by City, to be generated;

(2) The maximum weight of C&D materials projected to be generated by the covered project;

(3) The estimated weight of residual C&D materials to be transported for disposal in a landfill or transformation facility; and

(4) The estimated weight of inert waste to be removed from the waste stream and not disposed of in a landfill or transformation facility.

(Ord. No. 12-05, § 1, 4-18-2012)

Each applicant for a permit for a covered project, except for all City-sponsored projects, shall submit a diversion security deposit with the C&DMMP. The amount of the diversion security deposit shall be as follows:

(Ord. No. 12-05, § 1, 4-18-2012; Ord. No. 18-06, § 3(Exh. A), 7-18-2018)

The Community Development Director shall approve a C&DMMP if all of the following conditions have been met:

(1) The C&DMMP provides all of the information set forth in Section 4.24.050 of this chapter;

(2) The C&DMMP indicates that the diversion requirement will be met; and

(3) The applicant has submitted an appropriate diversion security deposit in compliance with Section 4.24.060 of this chapter.

(Ord. No. 12-05, § 1, 4-18-2012)

If the Community Development Director determines that the C&DMMP is incomplete or fails to meet the diversion requirement, the Community Development Director shall notify the applicant and no permits shall be issued until the C&DMMP is approved.

(Ord. No. 12-05, § 1, 4-18-2012)

Within 180 days after the completion (permit final) of any covered project that requires a diversion security deposit, the applicant may submit to the Community Development Director documentation that the applicant has met the diversion requirement for the project and apply for a refund of the diversion security deposit. This documentation may include any of the following in form sufficient to the City:

(1) For covered projects that use the City's franchise waste hauler, proof of purchase or delivery of waste containers shall be sufficient to meet the diversion requirement. Weight of materials will not be required;

(2) Receipts or gate tickets from the vendor or facility which received the C&D materials showing the actual weight of that material and "Laguna Woods" as the city of origin;

(3) A description of the type and amount of materials used for salvage; or

(4) Any additional information the Community Development Director determines is relevant to determining the applicant's efforts to comply in good faith with this chapter.

(Ord. No. 12-05, § 1, 4-18-2012)

Applicants shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that all C&D materials diverted, or delivered to disposal facilities for disposal, are measured and recorded using the most accurate method of measurement reasonably available. To the extent practicable, all C&D materials and inert waste to be removed from the waste stream and not disposed in a landfill or transformation facility or used for salvage shall be weighed on scales. Such scales shall be in compliance with all regulatory requirements for accuracy and maintenance. For C&D materials 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 standardized conversion rates approved by the City for this purpose. All weight-related documentation must indicate "Laguna Woods" as the city of origin.

(Ord. No. 12-05, § 1, 4-18-2012)

The Community Development Director shall review the information submitted under Section 4.24.090 of this chapter and determine whether the applicant has complied with the C&DMMP, as follows:

(1) Full compliance. If the Community Development Director determines that the applicant has fully complied with the C&DMMP applicable to the project, the Community Development Director shall cause the full diversion security deposit to be released to the applicant.

(2) Good faith effort to comply. If the Community Development Director determines that the applicant has not fully complied with the C&DMMP, the Community Development Director shall determine whether the applicant made a good faith effort to comply with this chapter. In making this determination, the Community Development Director shall consider the availability of markets for the C&D materials transported for disposal in a landfill or transformation facility, the size of the project, and the documented efforts of the applicant to divert C&D materials and remove inert waste from the waste stream. If the Community Development Director determines that the applicant has made a good faith effort to comply with this chapter, the Community Development Director shall approve the release of the diversion security deposit, or a portion thereof, to the applicant. Any portion of the diversion security deposit not released to the applicant shall be retained by the City.

(3) Noncompliance. If the Community Development Director determines that the applicant has not made a good faith effort to comply with this chapter, or if the applicant failed to submit the documentation required by Section 4.24.090 of this chapter within the required time period, then the diversion security deposit shall be retained by the City.

(4) Refund of erroneous payment. The Community Development Director may authorize the refund of any diversion security deposit which was erroneously paid or collected.

(5) Withdrawal of permit application. The Community Development Director may authorize the refund of any diversion security deposit if the permit application for a covered project is withdrawn or cancelled before any work has begun.

(6) Diversion security deposits retained by the City may be used only for:

a. Payment of diversion security deposit refunds;

b. Costs of administration of the program established by this chapter; and

c. Cost of programs to encourage and achieve diversion of construction materials from disposal at disposal facilities.

(Ord. No. 12-05, § 1, 4-18-2012)

(a) If an applicant for a covered project experiences or anticipates unique circumstances that the applicant believes make it not feasible to comply with the diversion requirement, the applicant may apply for a waiver. The applicant shall indicate on the C&DMMP the maximum rate of diversion the applicant believes is feasible for each material and the specific circumstances that the applicant believes make it not feasible to comply with the diversion requirement.

(b) The Community Development Director shall review the information supplied by the applicant and may meet with the applicant to discuss possible ways of meeting the diversion requirement. Based on the information supplied by the applicant, the Community Development Director shall determine whether it is possible for the applicant to meet the diversion requirement.

(c) If the Community Development Director determines that it is not feasible for the applicant to meet the diversion requirement, the Community Development Director shall determine the maximum feasible diversion rate for each material and shall designate this rate on the C&DMMP submitted by the applicant.

(d) If the Community Development Director determines that it is possible for the applicant to meet the diversion requirement, the Community Development Director shall deny the application for exemption and inform the applicant in writing of the denial and the reasons for the denial. The applicant shall have 30 days after receipt of such notification to resubmit a C&DMMP form in full compliance with this chapter. If the applicant fails to resubmit the C&DMMP, or if the resubmitted C&DMMP does not comply with this chapter, the Community Development Director shall deny the C&DMMP, and the Community Development Department shall not issue a permit for that project.

(Ord. No. 12-05, § 1, 4-18-2012)

Each applicant shall have the right to appeal any decision made by the Community Development Director to the City Manager or the City Manager's designee. The applicant must file a notice of appeal from the ruling of the Community Development Director with the City Clerk not more than ten business days after the notice of the Community Development Director's decision was mailed to the address provided by the applicant. The notice of appeal shall include all evidence and legal arguments which the applicant wishes the City, and any reviewing court to consider. The decision made by the City Manager, or the City Manager's designee, shall be in writing, stating the legal and factual basis for the decision. The decision shall be final and conclusive.

(Ord. No. 12-05, § 1, 4-18-2012)

The Community Development Director shall have the right to enter project sites, unannounced, for the purpose of making reasonable inspections to observe and enforce compliance with this section and any applicable laws or regulations.

(Ord. No. 12-05, § 1, 4-18-2012)

Violation of any provision of this chapter shall constitute an infraction.

(Ord. No. 12-05, § 1, 4-18-2012)