San Rafael Municipal Code Art. VII Inspections and Enforcement

A. The city manager, authorized collector, or designee is authorized to conduct any inspections, remote monitoring, or other investigations as reasonably necessary to further the goals of this chapter, subject to the provisions of the authorized collector's franchise agreement and applicable laws. This may include inspections and investigations, at random or otherwise, of any collection container, collection vehicle load, or transfer, processing, or disposal facility to confirm compliance with this chapter and the provisions of the franchise agreement, subject to applicable laws. This section does not allow entry in a private residential dwelling unit for inspection. For the purposes of inspecting collection containers for compliance, the city manager or authorized collector may conduct container inspections for prohibited container contaminants using remote monitoring, and generators shall accommodate and cooperate with the remote monitoring.

B. A person subject to the requirements of this chapter shall provide or arrange for access during all inspections (with the exception of the interior of a private residential dwelling unit) and shall cooperate with the city manager, authorized collector or designee during such inspections and investigations. Such inspections and investigations may include confirmation of proper placement of materials in collection containers, inspection of edible food recovery activities, review of required records, or other verification or inspection to confirm compliance with any other requirement of this chapter. Failure to provide or arrange for: (i) access to the premises; (ii) installation and operation of remote monitoring equipment, if a remote monitoring program is adopted; or (iii) access to records for any inspection or investigation is a violation of this chapter and may result in penalties.

C. Any records obtained by the city manager, authorized collector, or designee, during inspections, investigations, remote monitoring and other reviews shall be subject to the requirements and applicable disclosure exemptions of the California Public Records Act as set forth in Government Code Section 6250 et seq.

D. The city, authorized collector or designee shall accept written complaints from persons regarding an entity that may be potentially non-compliant with this chapter.

(Ord. No. 2004, § 1, 3-7-2022)

A. Any violation of this chapter may be enforced either as an infraction or as a misdemeanor, or by any remedy available to the city under this code, or under state law.

B. Enforcement actions under this chapter may include issuance of an administrative citation and assessment of a fine. The city's procedures on imposition of administrative citations and fines as contained in Chapter 1 shall govern the imposition, enforcement, collection, and review of administrative citations and fines issued to enforce this chapter and any rule or regulation adopted pursuant to this chapter. Any section of this chapter may be enforced by the city of San Rafael or, if agreed to, by its designated enforcement agency.

C. A violation may be punishable by:

1. A fine not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100.00) for a first violation;

2. A fine not exceeding two hundred dollars ($200.00) for a second violation of the same provision of this Code within any twelve (12) consecutive-month period;

3. A fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each additional violation of the same provision of this Code within any twelve (12) consecutive-month period. Any citation issued after the issuance of a third citation or violation of the same provision of this Code within any twelve (12) consecutive-month period may be charged as a misdemeanor pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 1.

D. Other remedies allowed by law may be used, including civil action. The city may pursue civil actions in the California courts to seek recovery of unpaid administrative citations, and fines. 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. 2004, § 1, 3-7-2022)

In any civil action by an authorized collector against a person alleged to have violated Public Resources Code, Section 41950, the court may either allow trebled damages, as measured by the value of the material removed, or award a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), whichever is greater, for each unauthorized removal, against the unauthorized person removing the recyclable material.

(Ord. No. 2004, § 1, 3-7-2022)