Pacifica Municipal Code Art. 1 Garbage Collection

The Council hereby establishes the provisions set forth in this chapter for the collection and disposal of garbage, rubbish, waste matter, and refuse in the City.

(§ 2, Ord. 334-C.S., eff. May 26, 1982, and § 2, Ord. 523-C.S., eff. December 12, 1988)

For the purposes of this chapter, unless otherwise apparent from the context, certain words and phrases used in this chapter are defined as follows:

(a) "Garbage" shall mean and include all animal and vegetable wastes from kitchens; all household wastes which have been prepared for, or are intended to be used as, food or which have resulted from the preparation of food; every accumulation of animal and vegetable wastes from establishments where foodstuffs intended for human consumption are handled commercially; and bottles, tin cans, and other food containers.

(b) "Refuse" shall mean and include all types of garbage, rubbish, and waste matter, as defined in this section.

(c) "Rubbish" shall mean and include pasteboard boxes; rags; paper; straw; sawdust; packing materials; shavings; boxes; trimmings from lawns, trees, and flower gardens; and similar combustible materials.

(d) "Scavenger" shall mean an agent or employee of the City or any person, or the agents or employees thereof, with whom the City shall have duly contracted, as provided in this chapter, to collect, receive, carry, and/or transport garbage, and/or rubbish, and/or waste matter in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

(e) "Waste matter" shall mean and include crockery, bottles, metal vessels, ashes, shells, plaster, and all other similar noncombustible materials.

(f) Repealed.

(§ 2, Ord. 334-C.S., eff. May 26, 1982, as amended by § I, Ord. 500-C.S., eff. February 24, 1988, and §§ 2, 3, Ord. 523-C.S., eff. December 12, 1988)

(a) The owner of each and every residential unit, and each and every occupied hotel, motel, apartment house, and rooming house, and each and every premises occupied for business, commercial, or industrial use shall subscribe to and pay for refuse collection services as provided in this chapter.

(b) The provisions of this section are not intended to prevent an arrangement of, or the continuance of, an existing agreement under which the subscription to and payment for such refuse collection services are made by a tenant or any agent on behalf of an owner. However, such arrangement or future arrangements shall not relieve the owner's obligation as provided in this chapter.

(c) The scavenger shall provide with each regular billing information on the more common refuse collection rates, a telephone number for customers to contact the company for service and billing information, and notice that refuse collection service is mandatory in the City and requires new residents to make arrangements for such service within fifteen (15) days after occupancy. The scavenger shall also send out a more detailed notice on all refuse collection rates to all City property owners and tenants once each year.

(d) It shall be the responsibility of the owner of each parcel of property occupied for residential, commercial, or industrial use to request the scavenger to initiate refuse collection service as provided in this chapter within fifteen (15) days after the occupancy of any premises required to have refuse collection. If an owner shall fail to request the initiation of refuse collection service as provided in this chapter, the scavenger shall initiate and continue refuse collection service for such premises and bill the owner for such service.

(e) Owners who are delinquent in their payment for refuse collection services shall be subject to the penalties set forth in the franchise agreement between the scavenger and the City and the collection provisions of Section 6-5.112 of this chapter.

(f) The company shall establish a process for receiving and acting upon customer complaints. The company shall inform customers of the procedure for filing a complaint and shall provide forms for such purpose. The company shall maintain a record of all customer complaints filed, including the name and address of the customer, a description of the complaint, the time the complaint was received, and the action taken in response to the complaint. The records shall be maintained at the company's office and shall be available for inspection by the City during the company's office hours.

(g) The City may require a different size or quantity of waste container(s) than the size or quantity assigned to or selected by the owner, as well as a higher frequency of collection beyond the subscribed or regularly scheduled service, if the volume of garbage, rubbish, or waste exceeds the capacity of the provided container(s) or the frequency of collection is inadequate for the garbage, rubbish or waste generated by the owner. The City shall notify the owner and the company in writing if the City determines that a different size or quantity of waste container or a higher frequency of collection is required.

(§ 2, Ord. 344-C.S., eff. May 26, 1982, as amended by §§ 1 and 2, Ord. 380-C.S., eff. December 14, 1983, § 1, Ord. 437-84, eff. January 9, 1985 and § 2, Ord. 523-C.S., eff. December 12, 1988; Ord. 898-C.S., § 1, eff. April 23, 2025)

All garbage, refuse, rubbish, and waste matter shall be placed by the person upon whose premises it shall have been produced or accumulated in containers of size, design, and weight as provided in the franchise agreement between the scavenger and the City however, the City may require a different size or quantity of waste container than the size or quantity assigned to or selected by the owner as provided in section 6-5.103(g).

(§ 2, Ord. 334-C.S., eff. May 26, 1982, as amended by § 2, Ord. 523-C.S., eff. December 12, 1988; Ord. 898-C.S., § 1, eff. April 23, 2025)

The contents of garbage containers shall be delivered not less than once each week to the scavenger authorized by the City to collect garbage in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and the franchise agreement between the City and the scavenger however, the City may require a higher frequency of collection beyond the subscribed or regularly scheduled service, if the frequency of collection is inadequate for the garbage, rubbish or waste generated by the owner as provided in section 6-5.103(g).

(§ 2, Ord. 334-C.S., eff. May 26, 1982, as amended by § 2, Ord. 523-C.S., eff. December 12, 1988; Ord. 898-C.S., § 1, eff. April 23, 2025)

All garbage receptacles shall be located in such a place as to be readily accessible for removing and emptying the receptacles in accordance with the provisions of the franchise agreement between the City and the scavenger. Such receptacles shall not be placed within the limits of any street, road, avenue, way, alley, public place, or other place so as to constitute a nuisance. All garbage receptacles shall be contained within a protected area on the premises, except for a period of twelve (12) hours prior to and twelve (12) hours after the collection day by scavengers.

(§ 2, Ord. 334-C.S., eff. May 26, 1982, as amended by § 2, Ord. 523-C.S., eff. December 12, 1988)

Council may award a contract or franchise for the collection and disposal of refuse to any person whom the Council believes best qualified and equipped to perform the work of a scavenger. The franchise agreement shall specify the level of collection service, compensation paid to the scavenger, rate review process, insurance requirements, and all other matters related to the collection and disposal of refuse.

(§ 2, Ord. 334-C.S., eff. May 26, 1982, as amended by § 2, Ord. 523-C.S., eff. December 12, 1988)

It shall be unlawful, except as otherwise provided in this section, for any person to collect, transport, or carry refuse over any street or public place in the City unless such person is an agent or employee of the City acting within the scope of his employment or has been awarded a contract by the City as scavenger. The City Manager, however, with the approval of the Council, may issue permits to transport or carry refuse over streets and public places of the City to the scavenger of any other City or public agency if the Council finds and determines that such permit is in the public interest and will not impair the contractual rights of the scavenger of the City. The City Manager, with the approval of the Council, may also issue permits to any person to collect, transport, or carry rubbish and waste matter, other than garbage, for purposes purely incidental to the conduct of any lawful business within the City, other than the business of collecting, transporting, or carrying refuse.

(§ 2, Ord. 334-C.S., eff. May 26, 1982, as amended by § 2, Ord. 523-C.S., eff. December 12, 1988)

The provisions of this chapter shall not prohibit any individual from transporting such individual's residential rubbish and waste matter, other than garbage, on City streets without obtaining a permit. The spilling of refuse on City streets shall be unlawful.

No person who has incurred substantial expense in reliance upon this section prior to June 11, 1984, shall be prohibited from transporting such person's garbage on City streets. Any person who claims to have incurred such expense shall file a substantiated claim with the City on or before August 10, 1984, or be prohibited from transporting garbage. The City Manager shall determine whether such claim is substantiated and whether substantial expense has been incurred within the meaning of this section.

(§ 2, Ord. 334-C.S., eff. May 26, 1982, as amended by § 3, Ord. 380-C.S., eff. December 14, 1983, §§ 1 and 2, Ord. 409-C.S., eff. July 11, 1984, and § 2, Ord. 523-C.S., eff. December 12, 1988)

The fee or charge and method of collection which the scavenger may exact from the owner or occupant of any premises for the collection, removal, or disposal of refuse shall be as determined to be reasonable by the Council in accordance with the provisions of the franchise agreement between the City and the scavenger.

(§ 2, Ord. 334-C.S., eff. May 26, 1982, as amended by § 4, Ord. 380-C.S., eff. December 14, 1983, and § 2, Ord. 523-C.S., eff. December 12, 1988)

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person in any manner to interfere with the collection or disposal of garbage, refuse, or waste matter by any person authorized by license, franchise, or contract to collect or dispose of the same.

(b) Repealed.

(§ 2, Ord. 334-C.S., eff. May 26, 1982, as amended by § II, Ord. 500-C.S., eff. February 24, 1988, and §§ 2, 4, eff. December 12, 1988)

(a) Delinquent accounts shall be collected solely by the company. The company shall collect delinquent accounts, and penalties thereon, as provided by agreement with the City and as set forth by this section.

(b) Delinquent accounts shall not be collected by the City, included with any tax bill or made a lien against property.

(c) The company shall notify all affected property owners of pending delinquent bills in the same manner as tenants are notified prior to the delinquent penalties becoming effective against the owner in order to provide the owner with the opportunity of satisfying the delinquent account. If the company has not notified the property owner that a tenant's scavenger bill has become delinquent prior to the penalties becoming effective against the owner, there shall be no penalty assessed to the delinquent billing.

(d) A penalty for delinquent charges shall only apply to the charge that is delinquent and not to the two (2) month prepayment security and shall only be assessed once against any one delinquent charge.

(e) The two (2) month prepayment security shall only be imposed one time for a delinquent account and not be applied again if the delinquent account remains unpaid. The two (2) month prepayment security shall only be imposed once on an account at any given time. The company may require a reasonable deposit, approved by the City, in lieu of the prepayment penalty.

(f) The company shall be allowed bad debt write-offs up to one (1%) percent of annual rate revenues for delinquent accounts, provided that the company shall be required to demonstrate to the City during the annual rate review process that it first has made reasonable efforts to collect such delinquent accounts, including without limitation sending three (3) written notices to the customers responsible for each delinquency. To the extent this requirement results in an increase in the company's costs associated with billing and collection, the company may submit such costs for the City's review on annual rate applications. The City may in its discretion allow the company bad debt write-offs of annual rate revenues for delinquent accounts in excess of one (1%) percent, provided that the company shall demonstrate that such write-offs in excess of one (1%) percent are necessary.

(§ 2, Ord. 334-C.S., eff. May 26, 1982, as amended by §§ 5 and 6, Ord. 380-C.S., eff. December 14, 1983, § 2, Ord. 437-84, eff. January 9, 1985, § 2, Ord. 523-C.S., eff. December 12, 1988, and § 1, Ord. 716-C.S., eff. July 14, 2004; Ord. No. 761-C.S., § 1, eff. July 9, 2008)