8.20.130 Enforcement.

(A) Violation of any provision of this chapter shall constitute grounds for issuance of a notice of violation and assessment of a fine by a city compliance officer or designee. Enforcement actions under this chapter are administrative citation issuance and fine assessment. The city's procedures on administrative fines set forth in Chapter 9.12 are hereby incorporated in their entirety, as modified from time to time, and shall govern the imposition, enforcement, collection, and review of administrative citations issued to enforce this chapter and any rule or regulation adopted pursuant to this chapter, except as otherwise indicated in this chapter.

(B) Other remedies allowed by law may be used, including civil action or prosecution as misdemeanor or infraction. The city may pursue civil actions in the California courts to seek recovery of unpaid administrative citations. 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.

(1) Enforcement pursuant to this chapter may be undertaken by the city compliance officer, which may be the city manager or their designated entity, legal counsel, or combination thereof.

(2) Enforcement may also be undertaken by a regional or county agency enforcement officer, designated by the city, in consultation with city compliance officer.

(a) City compliance officer(s) and regional or county agency enforcement officer will interpret ordinance; determine the applicability of waivers, if violation(s) have occurred; implement enforcement actions; and, determine if compliance standards are met.

(b) City compliance officer(s) and regional or county agency enforcement officer may issue notices of violation(s).

(D) Process of Enforcement.

(1) City compliance officers or regional or county enforcement officers and/or their designee will monitor compliance with this chapter randomly and through compliance reviews, route reviews, investigation of complaints, and an inspection program. Chapter 8.20.130 establishes the city's right to conduct inspections and investigations.

(2) The city may issue an officer notification to notify regulated entities of its obligations under this chapter.

(3) The city shall issue a notice of violation requiring compliance within sixty days of issuance of the notice.

(4) Absent compliance by the respondent within the deadline set forth in the notice of violation, the city shall commence an action to impose penalties, via an administrative citation and fine, pursuant to the city's administrative citation ordinance in Chapters 1.20 and 1.24.

Notices shall be sent to "owner" at the officer address of the owner maintained by the tax collector for the city or if no such address is available, to the owner at the address of the dwelling or commercial property or to the party responsible for paying for the collection services, depending upon available information.

(E) Penalty Amounts for Types of Violations. The fine structure in Chapter 9.12, as amended, is hereby incorporated into this chapter.

(F) Compliance Deadline Extension Considerations. The city may extend the compliance deadlines set forth in a notice of violation issued in accordance with Section 8.20.130 if it finds that there are extenuating circumstances beyond the control of the respondent that make compliance within the deadlines impracticable, including the following:

(1) Acts of God such as earthquakes, wildfires, flooding, and other emergencies or natural disasters.

(2) Delays in obtaining discretionary permits or other government agency approvals; or,

(3) Deficiencies in compost material recycling infrastructure or edible food recovery capacity and the city is under a corrective action plan with CalRecycle pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18996.2 due to those deficiencies.

(G) Appeals Process. The appeals process identified in Chapter 9.12 are hereby incorporated into this chapter.

(H) Education Period for Noncompliance. Beginning January 1, 2022 and through December 31, 2023, city or its designee will conduct inspections, route reviews or waste evaluations, and compliance reviews, depending upon the type of regulated entity, to determine compliance, and if the city determines that compost material generator, self-hauler, authorized contractor, tier one commercial edible food generator, food recovery organization, food recovery service, or other entity is not in compliance, it shall provide educational materials to the entity describing its obligations under this chapter and a notice that compliance is required by January 1, 2022, and that violations may be subject to administrative civil penalties starting on January 1, 2024

(I) Civil Penalties for Noncompliance. Beginning January 1, 2024, if the city determines a compost material generator, self-hauler, authorized contractor, tier one or tier two commercial edible food generator, food recovery organization, food recovery service, or other entity is not in compliance with this chapter, it shall document the noncompliance or violation, issue a notice of violation, and take enforcement action pursuant to Section 8.20.130, as needed.