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Earlier editions: 2026-09

Title 13 — PUBLIC SERVICES›Division I — Garbage

Soledad Municipal Code Ch. 13.05 Deconstruction, Demolition and Construction Material Recovery And…

Soledad Municipal Code · 2026-10 edition · updated 2026-10-04 · Soledad

Cite as: Soledad Municipal Code Chapter 13.05 · Text as of 2026-10-04

13.05.010 - Purpose and intent.

The city council of the city of Soledad, hereinafter referred to as jurisdiction, finds and determines that the city is committed to protecting the public health, safety, welfare and environment; that in order to meet these goals it is necessary that the city promote the reduction of solid waste and reduce the stream of solid waste going to landfills; that under California law as embodied in the California Waste Management Act (California Public Resources Code Sections 40000 et seq.), this jurisdiction is required to prepare, adopt and implement source reduction and recycling elements to reach reduction goals, and is required to make substantial reductions in the volume of waste materials going to landfills, under the threat of penalties of ten thousand dollars per day; that debris from demolition and construction of buildings represents a large portion of the volume presently coming from this jurisdiction, and that much of said debris is particularly suitable for reuse; that this jurisdiction's commitment to the reduction of waste in compliance with state law requires the establishment of programs for recycling and salvaging construction and demolition materials; the city council recognizes that requiring demolition and construction debris to be diverted from landfills and reused may in some respects add modestly to the cost of demolition and in other respects may make possible some cost recovery and cost reduction; and that it is necessary in order to protect the public health, safety and welfare that the following material recovery plan be implemented.

(Ord. 639 § 2 (part), 2006)

Exceptions & meaning →

13.05.020 - Definitions.

For purposes of this chapter the following definitions apply:

"Bonafide processor" means a recycling, composting, materials recovery or re-use facility for which a permit has been issued by a chosen member of the Monterey County Regional Integrated Waste Management Task Force.

A facility may be certified if the owner or operator of the facility submits documentation satisfactorily illustrating:

  1. That the facility has obtained all applicable federal, state, and local permits and licenses, and is in full compliance with all applicable regulations;

  2. The percentage of incoming waste from construction, demolition and alteration activities that is diverted from landfill disposal meets the required minimum percentage as set forth; and

  3. All loads are weighed by scale(s) certified as accurate by the county of Monterey, Division of Weights and Measures.

"Construction" means all building, landscaping, remodeling, and addition, involving the use or disposal of designated recovered and reusable materials as defined below.

"Contractor" means any person or entity holding, or required to hold, a contractor's license of any type under the laws of the state of California, or who performs (whether as applicant, contractor, subcontractor or owner-builder) any construction, demolition, remodeling, or landscaping service relating to buildings or accessory structures in Monterey County.

"Demolition and construction debris" means:

  1. Discarded materials generally considered to be not water soluble and nonhazardous in nature, including, but not limited to, steel, glass, brick, concrete, asphalt material, pipe, gypsum, wallboard, and lumber from the deconstruction, demolition and construction of a structure as part of a construction or demolition project, or from the renovation of a structure and/or landscaping, and including rocks, soils, tree remains, trees, and other vegetative matter that normally results from land clearing, landscaping and development operations for a construction project;

  2. Clean cardboard, paper, plastic, wood, and metal scraps from any construction and/or landscape project;

  3. Nonconstruction and demolition debris wood scraps;

  4. Nonhazardous wastes that are generated at construction or demolition projects, provided such amounts are consistent with best management practices of the industry;

  5. Mixing of construction and demolition debris with other types of solid waste will be classified as other than material recovery for construction and demolition debris and charged as waste.

"Demolition/deconstruction" means removal or destruction involving the use or disposal of designated recovered and reusable materials as defined below.

"Designated recovered and reusable materials" means:

  1. Masonry building materials including all products generally used in construction including, but not limited to asphalt, concrete, rock, stone and brick;

  2. Wood materials including any and all dimensional lumber, fencing or construction wood that is not chemically treated, creosoted, CCA pressure treated, contaminated or painted;

  3. Vegetative materials including trees, tree parts, shrubs, stumps, logs, brush or any other type of plants that are cleared from a site for construction or other use;

  4. Metals including all metal scrap such as, but not limited to, pipes, siding, window frames, door frames, slate and fences;

  5. Roofing materials including wood shingles as well as asphalt, stone and slate based roofing material;

  6. Salvageable materials includes, but is not limited to, wallboard, doors, windows, fixtures, toilets, sinks, bath tubs, architectural remnants, and appliances.

"Franchised hauler" means the business or entity that has an approved franchise agreement with a city or county for any of the following collection services: refuse, solid waste, recyclables, green waste, construction and demolition materials or yard waste.

"Inert solids" means concrete, fully cured asphalt, asphalt roofing shingles, brick, ceramics, clay and clay products.

"Jurisdiction" means the permitting city or county which receives and approves a building or demolition permit application (in cases of Federal property, before building or demolition is to commence) in accordance with the codes and ordinances applicable to that jurisdiction.

(Ord. 639 § 2 (part), 2006)

Exceptions & meaning →

13.05.030 - Diversion requirements.

One hundred percent of inert solids, and at least fifty percent of the remaining demolition and construction debris shall be diverted.

For each covered project, the diversion requirements of this chapter shall be met by submitting and following a waste reduction and recycling plan that includes the following:

  1. Deconstructing and salvaging all or part of the structure as practicable;

  2. Directing one hundred percent of inert solids to bonafide facilities for reuse or recycling; and

  3. Either:

a. Taking all mixed demolition and construction debris to a bonafide processor approved by the jurisdiction, or

b. Source separating non-inert materials, such as cardboard and paper, wood, metals, green waste, new gypsum wallboard, tile, porcelain fixtures, and other easily recycled materials, and directing them to recycling facilities approved by the jurisdiction and taking the remainder (but no more than fifty percent by weight) to a facility for disposal. In this option, calculations must be provided to show that fifty percent of demolition and construction debris (in addition to one hundred percent of inert solids) has been diverted.

Determination of acceptability and designation as demolition and construction debris is solely the responsibility of the bonafide processor, landfill or transfer station representative.

(Ord. 639 § 2 (part), 2006)

Exceptions & meaning →

13.05.040 - Information required before issuance of permit.

As a condition precedent to issuance of any permit (in cases of federal property, before building or demolition is to commence) for a construction or a demolition permit that involves the production of solid waste, the applicant shall be informed that a letter of intent must be submitted to the jurisdiction.

The letter of intent is a description of the proposed plan of diversion of solid waste materials from the landfill.

The jurisdiction shall provide to each permit applicant a current list of bonafide processors.

(Ord. 639 § 2 (part), 2006)

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13.05.050 - On-site practices.

During the term of the demolition or construction project, the permittee shall recycle or divert the said percentages of materials, and keep records thereof in tonnage. The jurisdiction will evaluate and monitor each project to gauge the percentage of materials recycled, salvaged and disposed from the project based on information provided by the permittee.

Permittees are encouraged to make every structure planned for demolition available for deconstruction, salvage, and recovery; and to recover the maximum feasible amount of salvageable designated recovered and reusable materials prior to demolition.

Recovered and reusable materials from the deconstruction phase shall be counted towards the diversion requirements of this chapter.

The use of debris boxes and/or the collection and removal of demolition and construction material by a hauler or business other than the franchised hauler must be consistent and allowed by the jurisdiction's franchise agreement.

(Ord. 639 § 2 (part), 2006)

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13.05.060 - Reporting.

The permittee shall submit documentation to the jurisdiction which proves compliance with the requirements of this chapter before issuance of a certificate of occupancy or the final inspection. The documentation shall consist of a complete and final waste reduction and recycling plan showing actual data of tonnage of materials recycled and diverted or salvaged, supported by legible receipts and weight tags or other records of measurement.

(Ord. 639 § 2 (part), 2006)

Exceptions & meaning →

13.05.070 - Diversion exemptions.

Neither a waste reduction and recycling plan nor an administrative charge shall be required for the following:

A. Work for which a building permit is not required.

B. Residential construction of less than twenty thousand dollars in value.

C. Commercial construction of less than forty thousand dollars in value.

D. Residential demolition or deconstruction of less than five thousand dollars in value.

E. Commercial demolition or deconstruction of less than ten thousand dollars in value.

F. Roofing projects only. (See Section 13.05.090 below)

G. Work for which only a plumbing, electrical or mechanical permit is required.

H. Seismic tie-down projects.

I. The installation or replacement of shelves.

J. Installation of pre-fabricated patio enclosures and covers where no foundation or other structural building modifications are required.

K. Installation of swimming pools and spas excavation that does not exceed sixteen square feet, and any related construction or alterations necessary for pool or spa equipment or accessories, not to any other portion of the project.

L. Installation of pre-fabricated accessories such as signs or antennas where no structural building modifications are required.

(Ord. 639 § 2 (part), 2006)

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13.05.080 - Voluntary compliance for roofing permits.

Applicants for roofing permits are requested to voluntarily complete the waste reduction and recycling plan and return it to the permitting jurisdiction when the project is complete.

(Ord. 639 § 2 (part), 2006)

Exceptions & meaning →

13.05.090 - Administrative charge.

As a condition precedent to issuance of any permit (in cases of federal property, before building or demolition is to commence) for a building, roofing, or demolition that involves the production of solid waste, the applicant shall pay a sufficient charge to compensate the jurisdiction for expenses incurred in ensuring compliance with these provisions. The charged amount shall be determined in accordance with the then current resolution of the city council determining the same.

(Ord. 639 § 2 (part), 2006)

Exceptions & meaning →

13.05.100 - Effective date.

This chapter shall be in full force and effect commencing thirty days after its final passage and a summary hereof shall be published once within fifteen days in the Soledad Bee, a newspaper of general circulation printed and published in the county of Monterey and circulated in the city of Soledad.

(Ord. 639 § 2 (part), 2006)

Exceptions & meaning →

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