Pittsburg Municipal Code Art. I General Provisions

The purpose of this chapter is to recycle or reuse debris commonly referred to as construction and demolition (C&D) debris which consists of materials generated during construction, renovation, and demolition projects in order to meet CalRecycle requirements for recycling utilizing the California Green Building Standards Code. In addition, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Water Board), and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) require these materials be screened and assessed for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) prior to demolition, renovation or construction to prevent contamination in local waterways.

(Ord. 19-1461 § 2, 2019)

All applicants subject to this chapter shall pay the building demolition permit fee and/or fees applicable to the project set forth in the master fee schedule established by the city council. The intent of this application fee is to defray the costs to the city for the program established by this chapter. Applicants for all city-owned or city-sponsored projects shall be exempt from paying an application fee.

(Ord. 19-1461 § 2, 2019)

A. Criminal Penalties. Any person who violates any provision of this chapter, including but not limited to noncompliance with a waste management plan (WMP) or screening assessment, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. The penalty upon conviction of such person shall be a fine as set forth in PMC § 1.12.030.

B. Civil Penalties. Any person who violates any provision of this chapter, including but not limited to noncompliance with a WMP or screening assessment, shall be liable to the city for a civil penalty of $1,000 or one percent of the total cost of the project, whichever is greater.

C. Cumulative Remedies. The foregoing remedies shall be deemed nonexclusive, cumulative and in addition to any other remedy the city may have at law or in equity, including but not limited to injunctive relief to prevent violations of this chapter.

D. Withholding of Permit. Failure to submit the information required in Article II of this chapter or submittal of false information will result in enforcement under Chapter 15.72 PMC, Withholding of Permit – Code Violations, as may be amended from time to time.

(Ord. 19-1461 § 2, 2019)

In addition to the general definitions applicable to this code, whenever used in this article, the following terms have the meanings set forth below:

"Applicable structure"

means buildings constructed or remodeled from January 1, 1950, to December 31, 1980. Remodeling, partial building, wood framed structure, and single-family residence demolition projects are exempt.

"Applicant"

means any individual, firm, limited liability company, association, partnership, political subdivision, government agency, municipality, industry, public or private corporation, or any other entity whatsoever who applies to the city for the applicable permits to undertake construction, demolition, or renovation projects within the city.

"Building"

means a structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place. Buildings are intended for human habitation or occupancy.

"Community development director"

means the director of the community development department.

"Construction"

means the building of any facility or structure or any portion thereof including tenant improvements to an existing facility or structure.

"Construction and demolition debris" or "C&D debris"

means used or discarded materials removed from premises during construction or renovation of a structure resulting from construction, remodeling, repair, or demolition operations on any pavement, house, commercial building, or other structure.

"Conversion rate"

means the rate set forth in the standardized conversion rate table approved by the city pursuant to this chapter for use in estimating the volume or weight of materials identified in a waste management plan.

"Covered project"

shall have the meaning set forth in PMC § 8.10.060(A).

"Deconstruction"

means the process of carefully dismantling a building or structure in order to salvage components for reuse or recycling.

"Demolition"

means the decimating, razing, ruining, tearing down or wrecking of any facility, structure, pavement (concrete, asphalt, base, etc.) or building, whether in whole or in part, whether interior or exterior.

"Diversion requirement"

means the redirection from the waste stream of at least 50 percent of the total construction and demolition debris generated by a project via reuse or recycling, unless the applicant has been granted an infeasibility exemption pursuant to PMC § 8.10.110, in which case the diversion requirement shall be the maximum feasible diversion rate established by the WMP compliance official for the project.

"Divert"

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

"DTSC"

means the State of California Department of Toxic Substance Control.

"EPA"

means the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

"Exempt project"

shall have the meaning set forth in PMC § 8.10.060(B).

"PCBs"

means polychlorinated biphenyls.

"PCBs in priority building materials screening assessment"

means the two-step process used to (1) determine whether the building proposed for demolition is high priority for PCBs-containing building materials based on the structure age, use, and construction; and if so (2) determine the concentrations (if any) of PCBs in priority building materials revealed through existing information or representative sampling and chemical analysis of the priority building materials in the building. Directions for this process are provided in the priority building materials screening assessment applicant package.

"Priority building materials"

means the following:

Caulking: e.g., around windows and doors, at structure/walkway interfaces, and in expansion joints;

Thermal/fiberglass insulation: e.g., around HVAC systems, around heaters, around boilers, around heated transfer piping, and inside walls or crawl spaces;

Adhesive/mastic: e.g., below carpet and floor tiles, under roofing materials, and under flashing; and

Rubber window gaskets: e.g., used in lieu of caulking to seal around windows in steel-framed buildings.

"Priority building materials screening assessment applicant package"

(applicant package) means a document package that includes an overview of the screening process, applicant instructions, a process flow chart, a screening assessment form, and the Protocol for Evaluating Priority PCBs-Containing Materials before Building Demolition (BASMAA 2018, prepared for the Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association, August 2018).

"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 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.

"Regional Water Board"

means the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Francisco Bay Region.

"Remodel"

means to make significant finish and/or structural changes that increase utility and appeal through complete replacement and/or expansion. A removed area reflects fundamental changes that include multiple alterations. These alterations may include some or all of the following: replacement of a major component (cabinet(s), bathtub, or bathroom tile), relocation of plumbing/gas fixtures/appliances, significant structural alterations (relocating walls, and/or the addition of square footage).

"Renovation"

means any change, addition, or modification in an existing structure.

"Reuse"

means further or repeated use of materials in their original form.

"Salvage"

means the controlled removal of construction and demolition debris from a permitted building or demolition site for the purpose of recycling, reuse, or storage for later recycling or reuse.

"Tenant improvements"

means a project involving structural or other modifications of an existing property resulting in the generation of C&D debris.

"Total costs"

means the total construction value of the project using standard commercial and residential valuation formulas.

"Waste management plan"

means a completed WMP form, approved by the city for the purpose of compliance with this chapter, submitted by the applicant for any covered project. Prior to project start, the WMP shall identify the types of C&D debris materials that will be generated for disposal and recycling. A completed WMP contains actual weight or volume of the material disposed recycled receipts.

"WMP compliance official"

means the city manager, assistant city manager or his or her designee, chief building official or his or her designee or environmental affairs manager or his or her designee.

(Ord. 19-1461 § 2, 2019)