Salinas Municipal Code Div. 3 Reduction of Pollutants and Best Management Practices

Stormwater runoff, soil erosion and nonpoint source pollution can be controlled and minimized through the regulation of stormwater runoff from development sites. These goals are achieved by designing sites that disturb only the smallest area necessary, minimize soil compaction and imperviousness, preserve natural drainages, vegetation and buffer zones, and utilize on-site stormwater treatment techniques. These principles and techniques are collectively known as low impact development (LID). The California Regional Water Resources Control Board has determined that LID techniques are effective, feasible and economically practical, and that they are a component of the maximum extent practicable (MEP) standard as defined in Section 29-3 of this chapter.

Any person engaged in activities, which will, or may result in pollutants entering the city storm drainage system or which may otherwise cause or contribute to pollution shall undertake all feasible measures to reduce the introduction of such pollutants, including the implementation of LID techniques. Where best management practices requirements are promulgated by the city or any federal, state or regional agency for any activity, operation or facility which would otherwise cause the discharge of pollutants to the storm drain system or waters of the United States, every person undertaking such activity or operation, or owning or operating such facility shall comply with such requirements.

The city's stormwater management program shall establish minimum requirements that apply to pollutant generating activities within the city. With regard to such activities, the following minimum requirements shall apply. Where applicable, the requirements of subsections (d) through (h) shall be made conditions of any ministerial or discretionary building permit.

(a) Littering. No person shall throw, deposit, leave, maintain, keep or permit to be thrown, deposited, placed or left, any refuse, rubbish, garbage or other discarded or abandoned objects, articles and accumulations, in or upon any street, alley, sidewalk, storm drain, inlet, catch basin, conduit or any other drainage structures, business place or upon any public or private plot of land in the city, so that the same might be or become a pollutant. No person shall throw or deposit litter in any fountain, pond, lake, stream or any other body of water in a park or elsewhere in the city. This section shall not apply to the storing of such potential pollutants in containers or in lawfully established waste disposal facilities.

(b) Owners of Abutting Property. The occupants, tenants, owners, lessees and/or proprietors of any real property in the city of Salinas in front of which there is a paved sidewalk shall be responsible for maintaining such sidewalk and keeping the same free of dirt and litter. Sweepings from such sidewalk shall not be swept or otherwise made or allowed to go into the gutter or roadway, but shall be disposed of in receptacles maintained on such real property as required for the disposal of garbage.

(c) Owners and Operators of Parking Lots and Similar Structures. Persons owning or operating a paved parking lot, gas station pavement, paved private street or road, or similar structure, shall clean those structures in a manner that does not result in discharge of pollutants to the city storm drain system.

(d) Best Management Practices for Construction Sites. All construction shall comply with the city of Salinas Standards to Control Excavations, Cuts, Fills, Clearing, Grading, Erosion and Sediments, as adopted by the city council and as the same may be amended from time to time. Any construction contractor performing work in the city shall keep debris and dirt out of the city's storm drain system. The authorized enforcement officer may require any construction contractor performing work in the city to submit a stormwater pollution prevention plan prior to final map approval by city or prior to issuance of a building permit by city, whichever occurs first.

(e) Implementation of Post-Construction Pollutant Control Strategies. Every person undertaking any new development or significant redevelopment, as defined herein, that may discharge pollutants to waters of the United States or cause or contribute to pollution, shall implement low impact development (LID) strategies and/or structural treatment control BMPs as specified in the stormwater development standards or other applicable standards adopted by the city. Every such person shall also implement any additional stormwater control strategies specified by the city engineer based on site or project considerations. All new development and significant redevelopment, as defined herein, shall develop and implement a stormwater control plan, as defined herein, demonstrating how the site's drainage will be managed. The stormwater control plan shall be included in the building permit application. The approved plan shall become a condition of the building permit. These requirements apply to both ministerial and discretionary projects.

Any person subject to this subsection shall be solely responsible for any costs and expenses necessary to develop and implement the LID and/or structural treatment control BMPs and shall be solely responsible for the ongoing maintenance of such features. All stormwater treatment practices shall have an enforceable operation and maintenance agreement to ensure the system functions as designed. This agreement will include any and all maintenance easements required to access and inspect the stormwater treatment practices, and to perform routine maintenance as necessary to ensure proper functioning of the stormwater treatment practice. All applicable building permits shall have, as a requirement of the permit, an enforceable operation and maintenance agreement. In addition, a legally binding covenant specifying the parties responsible for the proper maintenance of all stormwater treatment practices shall be secured prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy.

Prior to the issuance of any permit that requires a stormwater management facility, the applicant or owner of the site must execute a maintenance easement or agreement that shall be binding on all subsequent owners of land served by the stormwater management facility. The easement or agreement shall provide for access to the facility at reasonable times for periodic inspection by the city, or its contractor or agent, and for regular or special assessments of property owners to ensure that the facility is maintained in proper working condition to meet stormwater development standards and any other requirements of this chapter. The easement or agreement shall be recorded by the owner of record prior to issuance of a certificate of final occupancy.

Maintenance of all stormwater management facilities shall be ensured through the creation of an easement or other maintenance covenant that must be approved by the city and recorded prior to final plan approval. The city, in lieu of a maintenance covenant, may accept dedication of any existing or future stormwater management facility for maintenance, in accordance with the stormwater development standards.

The city engineer may only exempt requirements for LID strategies or other development standards in accordance with a waiver program incorporated into in the stormwater development standards, and only in circumstances where, in the opinion of the city engineer, it is not feasible to implement; or where implementation of such requirements would provide no benefit to water quality.

(f) Notification of Intent and Compliance with General Permits. Each industrial discharger, discharger associated with construction activity, or other discharger, described in any general stormwater permit addressing such discharges, as may be adopted by the USEPA, the State Water Resources Control Board, or the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Coast Region, shall provide notice of intent, comply with, and undertake all other activities required by any general stormwater permit applicable to such discharges unless the discharger is covered by an individual permit. Each discharger identified in an individual NPDES permit relating to stormwater discharges shall comply with and undertake all activities required by such permit. Violation of any applicable general or individual NPDES stormwater permit shall constitute a violation of this chapter.

(g) Compliance with Best Management Practices. Where best management practices guidelines or requirements have been defined in city ordinances, the stormwater development standards, the city's stormwater management program, by the city engineer or adopted by any federal, state, regional, county and/or city agency, for any activity, operation or facility which may cause or contribute to stormwater pollution or contamination, and/or discharges of nonstormwater to the stormwater system or waters of the United States, provided the same is first determined by the city engineer to be equivalent, every person undertaking such activity or operation or use of premises, or owning or operating any facility, that may cause or contribute to stormwater pollution or contamination, illegal discharges or nonstormwater discharges shall comply with such guidelines or requirements. Any person engaged in activities or operations, or owning facilities or property which will or may result in pollutants entering stormwater, the storm drainage system or waters of the U.S. shall implement best management practices to the extent they are technologically achievable to prevent or reduce the discharge or runoff of such pollutants.

(h) Watercourse Protection. Every person owning property through which a watercourse passes, or such person's lessee, shall keep and maintain that part of the watercourse within the property reasonably free of trash, debris, excessive vegetation and other obstacles that would cause or contribute to pollution or significantly retard the flow of water through the watercourse, except as prohibited by the regulations of the California Department of Fish and Game. In addition, the owner or lessee shall maintain existing privately owned structures within or adjacent to a watercourse, so that such structures will not become a hazard to the use, function or physical integrity of the watercourse. The owner or lessee shall not remove healthy bank vegetation beyond that actually necessary for maintenance, nor remove such vegetation in such a manner as to increase the vulnerability of the watercourse to erosion. The property owner shall be responsible for maintaining and stabilizing that portion of the watercourse that is within their property lines in order to protect against erosion and degradation of the watercourse originating or contributed from their property.

(Ord. No. 2473 (NCS), § 1.)