Newark Municipal Code Ch. 15.44 Green Building and Construction and Demolition Debris Recycling

The ordinance codified in this chapter shall be known as the City of Newark "green building and construction and demolition recycling" ordinance. Green building is a whole systems approach to the design, construction, and operation of buildings that helps mitigate the environmental, economic, and social impacts of buildings. Green building practices recognize the relationship between natural and built environments and seek to minimize the use of energy, water, and other natural resources and provide a healthy, productive indoor environment. The purpose of the green building and construction and demolition debris recycling ordinance is to minimize or avoid a variety of adverse impacts by regulating the design, construction, and operation of buildings and landscaping.

(Ord. 422 (part), 2007)

As used in this chapter:

A. "City" means the City of Newark.

B. "Construction" means the building of any facility or structure or any portion thereof, including any improvements, alterations, or additions to an existing facility or structure.

C. "Construction and demolition debris" (C&D debris) means used or discarded materials generated and/or removed from residential, commercial, or industrial premises as a consequence of construction or demolition.

D. "Covered project" shall have the meaning set forth in Section 15.44.040 of this chapter.

E. "Demolition" means the deconstruction, destroying, razing, tearing down, or wrecking of any pavement, street, driveway, house, building, or other structure or improvement regardless of the nature of such structure or improvement whether in whole or in part, whether interior or exterior.

F. "Divert" means to use material for any purpose other than disposal in a landfill or transformation facility.

G. "LEED" means the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.

H. "Project" means any activity involving construction, demolition, or renovation, and which requires issuance of a permit from the city.

I. "Recycling" means the process of collecting, sorting, cleansing, treating, and/or reconstituting of materials that would otherwise become solid waste, and returning them to the economic mainstream in the form of raw material for new, reused, or reconstituted products which meet the quality standards necessary to be used in the marketplace.

J. "City-covered projects" means heavy construction projects such as pump stations, flood control improvements, roads, bridges, as well as traffic lights, sidewalks, bike paths, bus stops, street median projects, and associated infrastructure on city-owned and maintained property.

K. "Transformation facility" means a facility that burns solid waste to produce heat or electricity.

L. "Waste management plan compliance official" shall be the public works director or their designee.

M. "Waste management plan" (WMP) means a completed form, approved by the city, for the purpose of compliance with this chapter, submitted by the applicant for any covered or noncovered project.

(Ord. 422 (part), 2007)

(Ord. No. 540, § 2(Exh. A), 5-25-2023)

All covered projects identified in Section 15.44.040 shall meet the mandatory construction waste management requirements in the most current version of the construction waste reduction, disposal and recycling sections of the California Green Building Standards Code.

(Ord. 422 (part), 2007)

(Ord. No. 540, § 2(Exh. A), 5-25-2023)

A. Covered Projects. Covered projects shall be any construction, addition, alteration, and demolition projects that are subject to the mandatory measures, in the most current version of the construction waste reduction, disposal and recycling sections of the California Green Building Standards Code.

B. City-Covered Projects. All city construction, alteration, renovation, or demolition projects shall be subject to the non-residential mandatory measures, found in the most current version of the construction waste reduction, disposal and recycling sections of the California Green Building Standards Code. Specific diversion requirements for city projects may also be reflected in the bid specifications by the city.

(Ord. 422 (part), 2007)

(Ord. No. 540, § 2(Exh. A), 5-25-2023)

A. When required by this chapter, applicants shall complete a waste management plan (WMP) on a form provided by the city which the community development director shall review and approve prior to the issuance of any permit associated with such WMP. At the conclusion of a project which required the submission of a WMP, the city shall review the completed WMP. Each WMP shall contain all of the following:

1. The estimated type by weight and yardage of C&D debris that the project will generate; and

2. The estimated type by yardage and weight of C&D debris to be diverted or not diverted, listed by each type of material; and

3. The name of all haulers and/or facilities that the applicant proposes to use to collect or receive that material; and

4. Contact information for the applicant, the project address and permit number.

B. City-Covered Projects. The project manager or contractor of any city-covered project shall submit a properly completed waste management plan to the WMP compliance official within ten business days of the notice to proceed, prior to beginning any grading, encroachment, construction or demolition activities.

C. Deconstruction. In preparing the WMP, applicants for covered projects that involve the removal of all or part of an existing structure shall consider deconstruction, to the maximum extent feasible, and shall where feasible make the materials generated available for salvage and reuse prior to demolition.

(Ord. 422 (part), 2007)

(Ord. No. 540, § 2(Exh. A), 5-25-2023)

A. Compliance as a Condition of Approval. Compliance with the provisions of this chapter shall be listed as a condition of approval on any building or demolition permit for a covered project or city-covered project. Failure to include such a condition shall not relieve the applicant from compliance with this chapter.

B. WMP Approval Required Prior to Permit Issuance. Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, no building, demolition or other similar permit shall be issued for any covered project unless, and until, the WMP compliance official has approved the WMP. Approval shall not be required, however, where an emergency demolition is required to protect public health or safety.

C. Criteria for WMP Approval. The WMP compliance official shall only approve a WMP if he or she first determines that all of the following conditions have been met:

1. The WMP provides all of the information set forth in Section 15.44.050; and

2. The WMP indicates the diversion requirement will be achieved; and

3. The WMP indicates that the contractor will use either the franchised hauler debris box service or self-haul the construction and demolition debris to approved recycling facilities.

D. If the WMP compliance official determines that these conditions have been met, he or she shall mark the WMP "approved," return a copy of the WMP to the applicant which shall be incorporated into the construction drawings, and notify the building division that the WMP has been approved.

E. WMP Disapproval. If the WMP compliance official determines that the WMP is incomplete or fails to indicate that the diversion requirements will be met, he or she shall:

1. Return the WMP to the applicant with a statement of reason for disapproval and a request to correct, add to or explain the information, and resubmit for approval.

F. A deposit shall be set at the time of approval of the WMP, and will be based on the valuation of the projects or current process in effect at that time.

(Ord. No. 540, § 2(Exh. A), 5-25-2023)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 540, § 2(Exh. A), adopted May 25, 2023, repealed former § 15.44.060 and added new §§ 15.44.060—15.44.090, as set out herein and later amended, and in so doing renumbered the existing §§ 15.44.070—15.44.110 as §§ 15.44.100—15.44.140.

A. Application. If an applicant 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 exception at the time that he or she submits the WMP. The applicant shall indicate on the WMP the maximum rate of diversion he or she believes is feasible for each material and the specific circumstances that he or she believes make it infeasible to comply with the diversion requirement.

B. Meeting with WMP Compliance Official. The WMP compliance official 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 WMP compliance official shall determine whether it is feasible for the applicant to meet the diversion requirement.

C. Granting of Exception. If the WMP compliance official determines that it is infeasible for the applicant to meet the diversion requirements, he or she shall determine the feasible diversion options, if any, for the project which shall then be incorporated into the WMP as the project diversion requirement. The WMP compliance official shall return a copy of the WMP to the applicant marked "approved for exception" and shall notify the building division that the WMP has been approved.

D. Denial of Exception. If the WMP compliance official determines that it is feasible for the applicant to meet the diversion requirement, he or she shall inform the applicant in writing. The applicant shall have ten business days to resubmit a WMP form in full compliance with Section 15.44.050. If the applicant fails to timely resubmit the WMP, or if the resubmitted WMP does not comply with Section 15.44.050, the WMP compliance official shall disapprove the WMP in accordance with Section 15.44.060.

(Ord. No. 540, § 2(Exh. A), 5-25-2023)

A. Documentation. After the completion of any covered project or city-covered project, and as a precondition to issuance of a temporary or final certificate of occupancy by the city, the applicant shall submit to the WMP compliance official documentation that it has met the project diversion requirement as set forth in the WMP. This documentation shall include all of the following:

1. Contact information for the applicant or contractor, the project name, address and permit number(s);

2. A debris disposal and diversion report summary listing the total volume or weight generated by the project, actual volume or weight of C&D debris that was diverted by type of material and diversion method, and the actual volume or weight of C&D debris that was landfilled and not diverted; and

3. Receipts from the approved haulers or facilities which collected or received project C&D debris showing the actual weight or volume of each material, and/ or detail reports from the approved facility or vendor that generally match the same materials identified on the WMP; and within the date range that the permit was active; and

4. To count toward meeting the diversion requirement, the documentation (receipts or detail reports) must include:

a. Receipts/weight tags from approved haulers or approved recycling facilities;

b. The City of Newark officially listed as the city of origin:

c. All of the materials generated by the project, including materials generated and hauled by subcontractors; and

d. Receipts/weight tags that were generated within the date range that the permit was active with permit number indicated.

5. Any additional information the applicant believes is relevant to determining its efforts to comply in good faith with this chapter.

B. Weighing of Wastes. Applicants shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that all C&D debris diverted or placed in a landfill are 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 city for this purpose.

C. Determination of Compliance. The WMP compliance official shall review the information submitted under subsection A of this section and determine whether the applicant has complied with the project diversion requirement, as follows:

1. Full Compliance. If the WMP compliance official determines that the applicant has fully complied with the project diversion requirement, he or she shall consider the requirement fulfilled.

2. Good Faith Effort to Comply. If the WMP compliance official determines that the project diversion requirement has not been achieved, he or she shall determine on a case-by-case basis whether the applicant has made a good faith effort to comply. In making this determination, the WMP compliance official shall consider any relevant information provided by the applicant regarding the availability of markets for the C&D debris that was not diverted, the size of the project, and the documented efforts of the applicant to divert C&D debris. If the WMP compliance official determines that the applicant has made a good faith effort to comply with this chapter, he or she shall consider the project diversion requirement fulfilled.

3. Noncompliance. If the WMP compliance official determines that the applicant has not made a good faith effort to comply with the project diversion requirements, the applicant shall be in violation of this chapter and shall be subject to a reduction in returned deposit, commensurate with the ratio of noncompliance.

(Ord. No. 540, § 2(Exh. A), 5-25-2023)

An applicant may appeal a determination made by the WMP compliance official under this chapter to the city manager or person designated by the city manager to hear such appeals. To appeal, the applicant shall file a written appeal with the city clerk within ten business days after the determination of the WMP compliance official, stating the reasons for the appeal. An appeal is limited to the following issues: (a) the granting or denial of an exception to the diversion requirements; and (b) whether the applicant has made a good faith effort to comply with the project diversion requirements. The city manager or designee shall hear the appeal within thirty calendar days and shall give ten calendar days' prior written notice to the applicant of the hearing date and time. Decisions of the city manager or designee shall be final and the aggrieved party may seek relief from the decision only by complying with the requirements set forth in this section.

(Ord. No. 540, § 2(Exh. A), 5-25-2023)

Developers of private property are encouraged to incorporate as many green practices as appropriate and feasible in buildings and structures constructed within the city, should the project strive for Tier 1 or Tier 2 CalGreen Standards the deposit required may be reduced.

(Ord. No. 540, § 2(Exh. A), 5-25-2023)

Note— Formerly § 15.44.070, see editor's note for § 15.44.060.

A. The city shall follow the City of Newark's Bay Friendly Landscape Guide whenever additions, renovations, or replacements are made to city-owned or controlled landscape areas.

B. All projects requiring development review and approval by the planning commission or city council and that involve landscaping shall follow the City of Newark's Bay Friendly Landscape Guide in the design of landscaped areas.

C. Landscapers of private property not otherwise required to follow the City of Newark's Bay Friendly Landscape Guide are encouraged to incorporate as many bay friendly landscape practices as appropriate and feasible in projects involving additions, renovations, or replacements in landscaped areas.

(Ord. No. 540, § 2(Exh. A), 5-25-2023)

Note— Formerly § 15.44.080, see editor's note for § 15.44.060.

Environmentally friendly community design concepts shall be encouraged when updating the general plan and area specific plans.

(Ord. No. 540, § 2(Exh. A), 5-25-2023)

Note— Formerly § 15.44.090, see editor's note for § 15.44.060.

A. It is the policy of the City of Newark to institute practices that reduce waste by increasing product efficiency and effectiveness; purchase products that minimize environmental impacts, toxics, pollution, and hazards to worker and community safety to the greatest extent practicable; and purchase products that include recycled content, are durable and long-lasting, conserve energy and water, use agricultural fibers and residues, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, use unbleached or chlorine free manufacturing processes, are lead-free and mercury-free, and use wood from sustainably harvested forests.

B. The city shall follow the City of Newark Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Policy when making purchases for products for use by the city.

(Ord. No. 540, § 2(Exh. A), 5-25-2023)

Note— Formerly § 15.44.100, see editor's note for § 15.44.060.

A violation of this chapter is deemed an infraction.

(Ord. No. 540, § 2(Exh. A), 5-25-2023)

Note— Formerly § 15.44.110, see editor's note for § 15.44.060.