Solvang Municipal Code Ch. 3 Regulations and Requirements

A. Generally. Any person engaging in activities that may result in pollutants entering the city's stormwater system shall undertake all practicable measures to reduce such pollutants. Examples of such activities include the use of premises that may be a source of pollutants, such as parking lots, gasoline stations, industrial facilities, business enterprises, and dwelling units.

B. Litter. No person shall throw, deposit, leave, keep or maintain any refuse, rubbish, garbage or other discarded or abandoned objects, articles or other litter in or upon any street, alley, sidewalk, business place, creek, stormwater system, river or any other body of water, or upon any public or private parcel of land, except in containers or in lawfully established waste disposal facilities.

C. Authorization to Adopt and Impose Best Management Practices. The city may adopt a guide that requires the identification and implementation of BMPs for any activity, operation, or facility which may cause or contribute to pollution or contamination of stormwater, the storm drain system, or waters of the state. Where BMP requirements are promulgated by the city or any federal, state of California, or regional agency for any activity, operation, or facility which would otherwise cause the discharge of pollutants to the storm drain system or water of the U.S., every person undertaking such activity or operation, or owning or operating such facility shall comply with such requirements. The director will periodically report to the city council on the status of implementation of the stormwater management program including the adoption of guidance that provides the most current applicable BMPs, low impact design tools, and/or post-construction requirements to be implemented by the city staff, owners or developers of construction sites and/or other target audiences.

D. New Development and Redevelopment. The city may require any owner or person developing real property to identify appropriate BMPs to control the volume, rate, and potential pollutant load of stormwater runoff from new development and redevelopment projects as may be appropriate to minimize the generation, transport and discharge of pollutants during the course of construction. The city shall review designs and proposals for new development and redevelopment to determine whether adequate BMPs will be installed, implemented, and maintained during construction and after final stabilization (post construction).The city shall incorporate such requirements in any land use entitlement and construction or building related permit to be issued relative to such development or redevelopment. The owner and developer shall comply with the terms, provisions, and conditions of such land use entitlements and building permits as required by the city. In addition, the city shall require any owner or person developing real property to integrate post construction requirements that will control the volume, rate and potential pollutant load of runoff. These post construction requirements shall comply with the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Coast Region Resolution No. R3-2013-0032, "Post-Construction Storm Water Management Requirements for Developmental Projects in the Central Coast Region."

E. BMP Requirements. The city requires BMPs to be installed, implemented and maintained through the duration of a project (construction, new or redevelopment) or at a facility (industrial or commercial) to minimize the discharge of pollutants to the storm drain system. These requirements may include a combination of structural and non-structural BMPs that are consistent with the California Storm Water Quality Association (CASQA) Best Management Practice Handbooks or equivalent and shall include requirements to ensure the proper long term operation and maintenance of these BMPs.

F. Construction Adjacent to Watercourse. A land use clearance shall be obtained through the planning department prior to any construction activity within 10 feet of the bank of a creek or watercourse.

G. Construction Sites. The city shall require any owner or developer to identify appropriate BMPs to control the volume, rate, and potential pollutant load of stormwater runoff from a construction site to minimize the generation, transport and discharge of pollutants during the course of construction.

The city developed and adopted a Construction Industry's Guide to BMPs that provides a list of typical BMPs that are used in the construction industry that owners or developers will be required to include within a project's Erosion and Sediment Control Plan (E&SCP) and/or Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP). BMPs include, but are not limited to, erosion control, sediment control, tracking control, run-on and run-off control as well as for good housekeeping, non-stormwater management (including dewatering), stabilized disturbed areas (soil stabilization), post-construction BMPs, etc. The BMP guide also outlines the city's stormwater requirements which are based on project size (total square feet of soil disturbance) and/or creation or replacement of impervious surfaces for the following types of projects.

The city shall review designs and proposals for the construction site to determine whether adequate BMPs will be installed, implemented, and maintained during construction and after final stabilization (post construction). The city shall incorporate such requirements in any land use entitlement and construction or building-related permit to be issued relative to such construction. The owner and developer shall comply with the terms, provisions, and conditions of such land use entitlements and building permits as required by the city.

H. Responsibility to Implement Best Management Practices. Notwithstanding the presence or absence of requirements promulgated pursuant to subsections A, B and C of this section, any person or entity engaged in activities or operations, or owning facilities or property which will or may result in pollutants entering stormwater, the storm drain system, or waters of the state shall implement BMPs to the extent they are technologically achievable to prevent and reduce such pollutants. The owner or operator of a commercial or industrial establishment shall provide reasonable protection from accidental discharge of prohibited materials or other wastes into the municipal storm drain system or waters of the state. Facilities to prevent accidental discharge of prohibited materials or other wastes shall be provided and maintained at the owner's or operator's expense.

I. Stormwater Pollution Prevention. Any person responsible for a property or premises, which is, or may be, the source of an illicit discharge, will be required to implement, at said person's expense, additional structural and non-structural BMPs that are consistent with the California Storm Water Quality Association (CASQA) Best Management Practice Handbooks or equivalent to prevent the further discharge of pollutants to the municipal separate storm sewer system. Compliance with all terms and conditions of a valid NPDES permit authorizing the discharge of stormwater associated with industrial activity, to the extent practicable, shall be deemed in compliance with the provisions of this section. These BMPs shall be part of a stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) as necessary for compliance with requirements of the NPDES permit.

(Ord. 13-302, 2013; Ord. 20-0346, 2020)

Notwithstanding the requirements of Sections 14-4-1 and 14-4-2 of this title, the director may require by written notice that a person or entity responsible for an illicit discharge immediately, or by a specified date, discontinue the discharge and, if necessary, take measures to eliminate the source of the discharge to prevent the occurrence of future illicit discharges.

(Ord. 13-302, 2013; Ord. 20-0346, 2020)

A. The director may require by written notice that a person or entity responsible for an illegal connection to the storm drain system comply with the requirements of this title to disconnect an illegal connection until the person or entity can secure approval for the connection by a specified date, regardless of whether the connection or discharges had been established or approved prior to the effective date of the ordinance codified in this title.

B. If, subsequent to disconnecting a connection found to be in violation of this title, the responsible person or entity can demonstrate that an illicit discharge will no longer occur, said person or entity may request city approval to reconnect. The reconnection or reinstallation of the connection shall be at the responsible party's expense.

(Ord. 13-302, 2013; Ord. 20-0346, 2020)

Every person or entity owning property through which a watercourse passes, or such owner's lessee, shall keep and maintain that part of the watercourse within the property free of trash, debris, excessive vegetation, and other obstacles that would pollute, contaminate, or significantly retard the flow of water through the watercourse. 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, or remove said vegetation in such a manner as to increase the vulnerability of the watercourse to erosion. The property owner or such owner's lessee, 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. 13-302, 2013; Ord. 20-0346, 2020)

Whenever the director finds that a discharge of pollutants is taking place or has occurred which will result in or has resulted in pollution of stormwater, the storm drain system, or waters of the U.S., the director may require by written notice to the owner of the property and/or the responsible person or entity that the pollution beremediated and the affected property restored within a specified time pursuant to the provisions of Sections 14-3-3 through 14-3-6 of this chapter.

(Ord. 13-302, 2013; Ord. 20-0346, 2020)

The director may require by written notice that any person or entity engaged in any activity and/or owning or operating any facility which may cause or contribute to stormwater pollution, illicit discharges, and/or non-stormwater discharges to the storm drain system or waters of the U.S., to undertake at said person's or entity's expense such monitoring and analyses and furnish such reports to the city of Solvang as deemed necessary to determine compliance with this title.

(Ord. 13-302, 2013; Ord. 20-0346, 2020)

Notwithstanding other requirements of law, as soon as any person responsible for a facility or operation, or responsible for emergency response for a facility or operation has information of any known or suspected release of materials which are resulting or may result in illicit discharges or pollutants discharging into stormwater, the storm drain system, or waters of the U.S. from said facility, said person shall take all necessary steps to ensure the discovery, containment, and cleanup of such release. In the event of such a release of a hazardous material said person shall immediately notify emergency response officials of the occurrence via emergency dispatch services (911). In the event of a release of nonhazardous materials, said person shall notify the city's public works department/engineering division in person or by phone or e-mail no later than five (5.00) p.m. of the next business day. Notifications in person or by phone shall be confirmed by written notice addressed and mailed to the city's public works department/engineering division, within three business days of the phone/in person notice. If the discharge of prohibited materials emanates from a commercial or industrial establishment, the owner or operator of such establishment shall also retain an on site written record of the discharge and the actions taken to prevent its recurrence. Such records shall be retained for at least three years. The city will respond to a complaint, or notice of spill, illicit discharge or illegal connection within 72 hours of a non-stormwater discharge; and within 24 hours if related to sewage and/or significantly contaminated discharges; and conduct investigation to locate and identify the source of the non-stormwater discharge in accordance to the city's spill response plan.

(Ord. 13-302, 2013; Ord. 20-0346, 2020)