Sonora Municipal Code § 7.08 Definitions

Unless the context otherwise requires, the following definitions set out in this chapter shall be used in the interpretation and construction of this title.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Act" means the California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 (commencing with Section 40000 of the Public Resources Code), as amended, including but not limited to, the Jobs and Recycling Act of 2011 (AB 341), SB 1016 (Chapter 343, Statutes of 2008 [Wiggins, SB 1016]), the Mandatory Commercial Organics Recycling Act of 2014 (AB 1826), and the Short-Lived Climate Pollutants Bill of 2016 (SB 1383), and as implemented by the regulations of CalRecycle.

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Buy-back recycling center" means a facility that pays a fee for the delivery and transfer or ownership to the facility of source separated materials, for the purpose of recycling or composting.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"CCR" means the California Code of Regulations. CCR references in this title are preceded with a number that refers to the relevant Title of the CCR (e.g., "14 CCR" refers to Title 14 of CCR).

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"City administrator'' means the city administrator of the City of Sonora, or his or her designee, which may include city employees.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Collection" means to take physical possession of solid waste at, and remove from, the place of generation for transport to a solid waste facility or other recovery activity.

(Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Collection area" means all those portions of the incorporated area in the city.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Commercial business" or "Commercial" means a firm, partnership, proprietorship, joint-stock company, corporation, or association, whether for-profit or nonprofit, strip mall, industrial facility, or a multi-family dwelling, or as otherwise defined in 14 (CCR) Section 18982, subdivision (a)(6). A multi-family dwelling that consists of fewer than five (5) or more dwelling units is not "Commercial", for the purposes of this title.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Commercial customer" means any person who has established a commercial service account with a franchisee or permittee.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Commercial edible food generator" means a tier one or a tier two commercial edible food generator as defined in 14 CCR section 18982, subdivisions (a)(73) and (a)(74). Food recovery organizations and food recovery services are not commercial edible food generators.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Commercial solid waste" means municipal solid waste originating from stores, business offices, commercial warehouses, hospitals, schools, health care facilities, military installations, correctional institutions, nonprofit organizations, campgrounds, government offices or complexes of apartments, condominiums, town homes or mobile home parks which complex or park contains five or more units.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Commercial service" means commercial solid waste collection service or recyclables collection service provided by a franchisee or a permittee under this title to a commercial customer.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Community composting" means any activity that composts green material, agricultural material, food material, and vegetative food material, alone or in combination, and the total amount of feedstock and compost on-site at any one time does not exceed 100 cubic yards and 750 square feet, as specified in 14 CCR section 17855, subdivision (a)(4); or, as otherwise defined by 14 CCR section 18982, subdivision (a)(8).

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Composting" means the process of controlled biological decomposition of organic waste.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Construction and demolition debris" or "C&D" means used or discarded materials resulting from construction, renovation, remodeling, repair, demolition, excavation or construction clean-up operations on any pavement or structure.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Container" or "collection container" means, for the purpose of this title, any bin, box or cart used for the purpose of holding solid waste for collection.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Customer" means any person requesting services and paying rates regulated by this title.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Reenacted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Curb service" means collection of waste containers placed by the residential customer adjacent to a street.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Debris box" means any ten (10) to forty (40) cubic yard container, or any compactor provided by a solid waste generator, placed in the public right-of-way, on city property, private property, or elsewhere in the service area, which is procured by a solid waste generator for their use in the collection of their solid waste. Debris boxes are serviced by means of lifting the entire container, including all contents, onto a designated collection vehicle.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Disposal" means the management of solid waste through transformation at a permitted solid waste facility or through landfill disposal.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Drop-off recycling center" means a location or facility which accepts delivery or transfer of ownership of source separated materials for the purpose of recycling or composting, without a monetary transaction.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Dwelling unit" means one (1) or more rooms with internal access between all rooms, which provide complete independent living facilities for at least one (1) family, including provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, bathing, and sanitary facilities.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Edible food" means food intended for human consumption, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR section 18982, subdivision (a)(18). For the purposes of this ordinance or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR section 18982, subdivision (a)(18), "Edible Food" is not solid waste if it is recovered and not discarded. Nothing in this title or in 14 CCR, Division 7, Chapter 12 requires or authorizes the recovery of edible food that does not meet the food safety requirements of the California Retail Food Code.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Enforcement Action" means an action of the city to address non-compliance with this ordinance including, but not limited to, issuing administrative notices, citations, fines, penalties, or using other remedies.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Enforcement Agency" means an entity with the authority to enforce part or all of this title as specified herein. Employees and agents of an Enforcement Agency may carry out inspections and enforcement activities pursuant to this title. Nothing in this title authorizing an entity to enforce its terms shall require that entity to undertake such enforcement except as agreed to by that entity and the City. The City is an enforcement agency for all Sections of this title. The City may choose to additionally delegate enforcement responsibility for certain sections, to other public entities, including the County of Tuolumne.

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Exempt waste" means biohazardous or biomedical waste, hazardous waste, medical waste, regulated radioactive waste, waste that is volatile, corrosive, or infectious, waste treatment or processing sludge, contaminated soil and dirt, contaminated concrete, contaminated asphalt, automobiles, automobile parts, boats, boat parts, boat trailers, internal combustion engines, lead acid batteries, any matter or materials which are not acceptable for disposal at a solid waste landfill as defined in AB 939 and subsequent legislation, and those wastes under the control of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 883 on 4/18/2022)

"Food recovery organization" means an entity that engages in the collection or receipt of edible food from commercial edible food generators and distributes that edible food to the public for food recovery either directly or through other entities or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR section 18982, subdivision (a)(25), including, but not limited to: A food bank as defined in Section 113783 of the Health and Safety Code; A nonprofit charitable organization as defined in Section 113841 of the Health and Safety code; and, A nonprofit charitable temporary food facility as defined in Section 113842 of the Health and Safety Code.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Food recovery service" means a person or entity that collects and transports edible food from a commercial edible food generator to a food recovery organization or other entities for food recovery, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR section 18982, subdivision (a)(26). A food recovery service is not a commercial edible food generator for the purposes of this Title and implementation of 14 CCR, Division 7, Chapter 12 pursuant to 14 CCR section 18982, subdivision (a)(7).

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Food waste" means food scraps and trimmings and other putrescible waste that result from food production, preparation, cooking, storage, consumption or handling. Food Waste includes but is not limited to meat, fish and dairy waste, fruit and vegetable waste and grain waste. Food waste does not include exempt waste.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Franchise" means the authority and obligation to provide services specified in a valid franchise agreement entered into under this title.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Franchisee" means a person who operates under a franchise agreement with this city entered into pursuant to this title.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Garbage" means all non-recyclable packaging and other waste attributed to normal activities of a service unit. Garbage must be generated by and at the service unit wherein the garbage is collected. Garbage does not include recyclable materials, organic materials, debris from construction and demolition, large items, e-waste, universal waste, hazardous waste, household hazardous waste or exempt waste.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Generators," for the purpose of this title, means a person or entity, including commercial generators and residential generators, that is responsible for the initial creation of organic materials, or as otherwise defined as "organic waste generator" in 14 CCR section 18982, subdivision (a)(48).

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Gross receipts" means all gross operating revenues received from the collection and transport of solid waste or recyclables within the city.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Hauler'' means a person who collects material from a generator and delivers it to a reporting entity, end user, or a destination outside of the state. "Hauler" includes public contract haulers, private contract haulers, food waste self-haulers, and self-haulers. A person who transports material from a reporting entity to another person is a transporter, not a hauler.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Hazardous waste" means the same as described in section 25117 of the California Health and Safety Code which at this time provides:

A. "Hazardous waste" means either of the following:

1. A waste, or combination of wastes, which because of its quantity, concentration or physical, chemical or infectious characteristics may either:

a. Cause, or significantly contribute to, an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness;

b. Pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or environment when improperly treated, stored, transported or disposed of, or otherwise managed.

2. A waste which meets any of the criteria for the identification of a hazardous waste adopted pursuant to section 25141 of the Health and Safety Code.

B. "Hazardous waste" includes, but is not limited to, RCRA hazardous waste.

C. Unless expressly provided otherwise, the term "hazardous waste" shall be understood to also include extremely hazardous waste and acutely hazardous waste as defined in sections 25115 and 25110.02 of the Health and Safety Code.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Industrial solid waste" means solid waste:

A. As a by-product of the business of processing or manufacturing agricultural, animal or other products or materials;

B. As a by-product of the business of building construction or demolition; or

C. As ash from industrial boilers, furnaces and incinerators.

(Ord. 692 § 4 (part), 1994.; Repealed & Replaced by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Inspection" means a site visit where a jurisdiction or its designee or designated entity, reviews records, containers, and an entity's collection, handling, recycling, or disposal of solid waste or edible food handling to determine if the entity is complying with requirements set forth in this title, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR section 18982, subdivision (a)(35).

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Landfill" means a disposal site as defined by section 40122 of the Public Resources Code.

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Local enforcement agency" or "LEA" means the county agency designated pursuant to Article 1, Chapter 2, Part 4 (commencing with section 43200) of the Public Resources Code as responsible for enforcement of state solid waste management minimum standards in the city.

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Municipal solid waste" or "MSW" means all solid waste generated at residences, commercial establishments, and institutions, including construction and demolition debris.

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Notice of Violation (NOV)" means a notice that a violation has occurred that includes a compliance date to avoid an action to seek penalties.

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Organic material" or "organic waste" means solid wastes containing material originated from living organisms and their metabolic waste products, including but not limited to food waste, green material, landscape and pruning waste, organic textiles and carpets, lumber, wood, paper products, printing and writing paper, manure, biosolids, digestate, and sludges or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR section 18982, subdivision (a)(46).

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Other service" means collection of solid waste at any location mutually agreed to by the customer and franchisee or permittee, other than curb, yard and commercial service.

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Person" means any person or persons, firm, association, corporation or other entity acting as principal, agent or officer, servant or employee, for themselves or for any other person, firm or corporation.

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Permit" means the authority granted under this title for the activities described in Section 7.12.060.

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Permittee" means a person holding a valid permit pursuant to this title.

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Premises" includes a tract or parcel of land with or without habitable buildings or appurtenant structures. (14 CCR section 17225.50) For purposes of this title the word premises includes residential and commercial uses of the land, whether owned, leased, rented or subrented, including every dwelling house, dwelling unit, apartment house or multiple-dwelling building, trailer or mobile home park, store, restaurant, rooming house, hotel, motel, office building, department store, manufacturing, processing or assembling shop or plant, warehouse and every other place or premises where any person resides, or any business is carried on or conducted within the city.

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Prohibited container contaminants" means (1) discarded materials placed in the designated recyclables container that are not identified as acceptable source separated recyclables for the City's designated recyclables collection container; (2) discarded materials placed in the designated organic materials collection container that are not identified as acceptable source separated organic materials for the City's designated organic materials collection container; and (3) discarded materials placed in the garbage container that are acceptable source separated recyclables and/or source separated organic materials to be placed in City's designated organic materials collection container and/or designated recyclables collection container, and (4) exempt waste placed in any container.

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

Recyclable (source separated) materials" means any material designated to be separated from the waste stream for purposes of recycling. (adapted from Pub. Resources Code, § 41951). This designation shall be made by the city and the authorized collector based on good public practice, ability to receive an acceptable economic return, and feasibility of separating the material from the waste stream at the point of collection. Recyclable materials are currently limited to paper, glass, cardboard, plastics, ferrous metal, and aluminum.

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Recycle/recycling" means the process of collecting, sorting, cleansing, treating or reconstituting materials that would otherwise be solid waste, and returning them to the economic mainstream in the form of raw material for new, reused or reconstituted products which meet the quality standards necessary to be used in the marketplace. "Recycling" does not include transformation, as defined in section 40201 of the Public Resource Code.

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Recyclables" means those materials that are normally part of the solid waste stream which have market value and can be segregated from other waste materials and recycled and/or composted.

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Recycling container" means a container which is provided by, or acceptable to, the service providing franchisee or permittee for the sole purpose of containing recyclables that are source separated from the nonrecyclable portion of solid waste.

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Residential" means, for the purposes of this title, any premise consisting of between one (1) and four (4) dwelling units, and onsite domestic uses accessory to these dwelling units. A multi-family dwelling that consists of fewer than five (5) dwelling units is "Residential", for the purposes of this title.

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Residential customer" means any person who has established a residential service account with a franchisee or permittee.

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Residential service" means municipal solid waste collection service or recyclables collection service for single-family residences, two-family residences (duplexes), three- family residences (triplexes), four-family residences (quadraplexes), mobile homes, trailers or other residential units as provided by a franchisee or permittee under this title to a residential customer.

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Segregated from other waste materials" means any of the following:

A. The placement of recyclable materials in separate containers;

B. The binding of recyclable material separately from the other waste material;

C. The physical separation of recyclable material from other waste material.

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022

"Self-haul" means a person who hauls solid waste, organic waste or recovered material they have generated to another person. Self-hauler also includes a person who back- hauls waste, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR section 18982, subdivision (a)(66). "Back-haul" means generating and transporting organic materials to a destination owned and operated by the generator using the generator's own employees and equipment, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR section 189881, subdivision (a)(66)(A).

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Solid waste" has the same meaning as defined in Public Resources Code section 40191, which defines solid waste as all putrescible and no putrescible solid and semisolid wastes, including garbage, recyclable materials, organic materials, demolition and construction wastes, bulky waste, discarded home and industrial appliances, manure, vegetable or animal solid or semisolid wastes, and other discarded solid and semisolid wastes with the exception that Solid Waste does not include any of the following wastes: (1) Hazardous waste, as defined in the Public Resources Code section 40141, (2) Radioactive waste regulated pursuant to the State Radiation Control Law (Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 114960) of Part 9 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code) and (3) Medical waste regulated pursuant to the State Medical Waste Management Act (Part 14 (commencing with Section 117600) of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code). Untreated medical waste shall not be disposed of in a Solid Waste landfill, as defined in Public Resources Code section 40195.1. Medical waste that has been treated and deemed to be Solid Waste shall be regulated pursuant to Division 30 of the Public Resources Code. Recyclable materials and organic materials are a part of solid waste.

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Solid waste collection service" means collection of solid waste originating in the City, by a persons, firms or corporations, and doing so under a contract or franchise agreement with the City.

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Solid waste facility" or "facility" means a solid waste transfer or processing station including material recovery facilities, a recycling facility, a composting facility, a gasification facility, a transformation facility, an engineered municipal solid waste conversion facility, and a disposal facility. Solid waste facility additionally includes a solid waste operation that may be carried out pursuant to an enforcement agency notification, as provided in regulations adopted by CalRecycle, or otherwise set forth in the Act.

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Solid waste manager" or "city administrator" means the city official or employee authorized by the council to provide specified administrative responsibility under this title.

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Source separate" means the process of removing recyclable materials and organic materials from solid waste at the place of generation, prior to collection, and placing such materials into separate containers designated for recyclable materials and organic materials, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR section 17402.5, subdivision (b)(4).

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Solid waste transfer or processing" means receiving solid wastes, temporarily storing, separating, converting or otherwise processing the materials in the solid wastes, or transferring the solid wastes directly from smaller to larger vehicles for transport. "Solid waste transfer or processing" does not include any of the following:

A. Where the principal function is to receive, store, separate, convert or otherwise process in accordance with state minimum standards, manure.

B. Where the principal function is to receive, store, convert or otherwise process wastes which have already been separated for reuse and are not intended for disposal.

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Tier one commercial edible food generator" means a commercial edible food generator that is one of the following as defined in 14 CCR section 18982, subdivision (a):

A. Supermarkets. With gross annual sales of $2,000,000 or more

B. Grocery store with a total facility size equal to or greater than 10,000 square feet.

C. Food service provider, which means an entity primarily engaged in providing food services to institutional, governmental, commercial, or industrial locations of others based on contractual arrangements with these types of organizations.

D. Wholesale food vendor, which means a business or establishment engaged in the merchant wholesale distribution of food, where food (including fruits and vegetables) is received, shipped, stored, prepared for distribution to a retailer, warehouse, distributor, or other destination.

E. Food distributor, which means a company that distributes food to entities including, but not limited to, supermarkets and grocery stores.

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Tier two commercial edible food generator'' means a commercial edible food generator that is one of the following as defined in 14 CCR section 18982, subdivision (a):

A. Restaurant with 250 or more seats, or a total facility size equal to or greater than 5,000 square feet.

B. Hotel with an on-site food facility and 200 or more rooms.

C. Health facility with an on-site food facility and 100 or more beds.

D. Large venue, which means a permanent venue facility that annually seats or serves an average of more than 2,000 individuals within the grounds of the facility per day of operation of the venue facility. For purposes of this ordinance and implementation of 14 CCR, Division 7, Chapter 12, a venue facility includes, but is not limited to, a public, nonprofit, or privately owned or-operated stadium, amphitheater, arena, hall, amusement park, conference or civic center, zoo, aquarium, airport, racetrack, horse track, performing arts center, fairground; museum, theater, or other public attraction facility. For purposes of this ordinance and implementation of 14 CCR, Division 7, Chapter 12, a site under common ownership or control that includes more than one large venue that is contiguous with other large venues in the site, is a single large venue.

E. Large event, which means an event, including, but not limited to, a sporting event or a flea market, that charges an admission price, or is operated by a local agency, and serves an average of more than 2,000 individuals per day of operation of the event, at a location that includes, but is not limited to, a public, nonprofit, or privately owned park, parking lot, golf course, street system, or other open space when being used for an event.

F. A state agency with a cafeteria with 250 or more seats or total cafeteria facility size equal to or greater than 5,000 square feet.

G. A local education agency facility with an on-site food facility. Local education agency means a school district, charter school, or county office of education that is not subject to the control of City or county regulations related to Solid Waste, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR section 18982, subdivision (a)(40).

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Waste container" means a container that conforms to specifications as otherwise provided in this code, in which solid waste is deposited. This does not include a recycling container in which recyclables are placed.

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)

"Yard service" means collection of waste containers placed at a location mutually agreed to by the residential customer and franchisee or permittee which is not more than one hundred feet from a street.

(Adopted by Ord. 882 on 4/18/2022)