Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code Art. VII Enforcement

A. City representatives and/or their designated entity are authorized to conduct inspections and investigations, at random or otherwise, of any collection container (placed out on curb during collection day), collection vehicle loads, or transfer, processing, or disposal facility for materials collected from generators, or source separated materials to confirm compliance with this chapter by organic waste generators, commercial businesses, property owners, commercial edible food generators, haulers, self-haulers, food recovery services, and food recovery organizations, subject to applicable laws.

B. Generators, commercial businesses (including multifamily dwellings), property owners, commercial edible food generators, self-haulers, food recovery services, and food recovery operations shall provide or arrange for access during all inspections (with the exception of residential property interiors) and shall cooperate with the city's representative or designated entity during such inspections and investigations. Such inspections and investigations may include confirmation of proper placement of materials in containers, edible food recovery activities, records, or any other requirement of this chapter described herein. Failure to provide or arrange for:

(i) Access to an entity' s premises; or

(ii) Access to records for any inspection or investigation;

is a violation of this chapter and may result in penalties described.

C. Any records obtained by the city during its inspections and other reviews shall be subject to the requirements and applicable disclosure exemptions of the Public Records Act as set forth in Government Code § 6250 et seq.

D. City representatives/personnel and/or designee are authorized to conduct any inspections or other investigations of generators, commercial businesses (including multifamily residential dwellings), property owners, commercial edible food generators, self-haulers, food recovery services, and food recovery organizations as reasonably necessary to further the goals of this chapter, subject to applicable laws.

E. Any person may submit to the city a written complaint, which may be anonymous, regarding an entity that may be potentially noncompliant with SB 1383 regulations.

(Ord. No. 658, § 4(8.20.450), 3-15-2022)

A. Violations of any provisions of this chapter shall constitute grounds for issuance of a notice of violation and assessment of a fine by the city manager or their designee. Enforcement actions under this chapter include, but are not limited to, issuance of an administrative citation and assessment of a fine. In addition to the procedures in this section, the city may enforce this chapter consistent with the procedures in chapters 1.08 (General penalty) and 1.16 (Administrative penalties). The penalty levels shall be as follows:

1. For a first violation, the amount of the base penalty shall be $50.00.

2. For a second violation, the amount of the base penalty shall be $100.00.

3. For a third or subsequent violation, the amount of the base penalty shall be $250.00 per violation.

Other remedies allowed by law may be used for enforcement, including, but not limited to, civil action or prosecution as misdemeanor or infraction. The city may pursue civil actions in the state courts to seek recovery of unpaid administrative citations. The city may choose to delay court action until such time as a sufficiently large number of violations, or cumulative size of violations exist such that court action is a reasonable use of city staff and resources.

(Ord. No. 658, § 4(8.20.460), 3-15-2022)