HomeMy WebLinkAbout39141 Ordinance No . 3914
2 AN ORDINANCE REQUIRING SOLID WASTE REMOVAL AND DISPOSAL
3 FROM ALL RESIDENTIAL RENTAL PROPERTIES.
~ The Board of Supervisors of the County of Butte ordains as
5 follows:
6 Section 1. Le islative Tntent: The Board finds and determines the
7 following: The pervasive presence of roadside trash dumps in the
8 unincorporated areas of the County is a significant and pervasive
9 condition, which impairs the charm of the diverse and beautiful lands
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of the County. The Board finds that the significant problem of
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unlawful dumping in the County has continued, in spite of the Board's
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best efforts to discourage and abate it. A proliferation of garbage,
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14 rubbish, and other waste matter, including but not limited to~
15 putrescible waste, generated on properties used for both single-family
16 and multi-family rental properties in the County has recently grown
1'7 to be a problem which has the potential to harm the public health,
18 safety and welfare.
19 Tt has recently been discovered by the County's Tllegal Dumping
20 Code Enforcement Officer that the preponderance of administrative
21 illegal dumping citations, issued pursuant to the recently adopted
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unlawful dumping ordinance set forth in Chapter 49 of the Butte County
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Code, have been issued to residents of single family rental units, for
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which no regular garbage service subscription exists. Such waste
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26 matter must be removed on at least a weekly basis and legally disposed
27 of, in order so that it does not constitute a potential harm to the
28 public health, safety and welfare.
The purposes of this ordinance include, but are not limited to
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1 ensuring, to the extent possible, that the public health, safety and
2 welfare are protected by requiring that owners of all residential
3 rental properties in the unincorporated areas of the County contract
4 with or subscribe to a licensed solid waste hauler for the provision
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of periodic solid waste removal and disposal services on an ongoing
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basis, and requiring that solid waste haulers provide such services
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8 to owners of all rental properties in the County.
9 Section 2. Section 31-11.445 is added to Article II of Chapter 31 of
10 the Butte County Code to read as follows:
11 "31-11.445 Residential Rental Property
12 a. "Residential Rental Property" means a structure used
1~ as a residence and/or living space which is rented and/or
14 let and/or hired and occupied, included but not limited to
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mobile homes, apartments, houses and all other similar
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structures.
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b. "Hired" refers to the existence of an agreement,
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19 written or unwritten, formal or informal, by which one
2U gives to another the temporary possession and use of
21 property, for some type of reward and/or compensation,
22 whether monetary or not.
23 Section 3. Section 31-5Q of Article VI of Chapter 31 of the Butte
24 County Cade is amended to read as follows:
25 "31-50 Failure to remove solid waste.
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a. Both the owner and tenant of any premises, business
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establishment or industry shall be responsible for the
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satisfactory removal of all solid waste accumulated on said
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1 premises. However, the owner of any Residential Rental
2 Property, as defined Section 31-11.445, shall be solely
3 responsible for the satisfactory removal of all solid waste
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accumulated on said premises. To prevent propagation,
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harborage or attraction of flies, rodents or other vectors
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and the creation of a nuisance, solid waste, excepting non-
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flammable inert material, shall not be allowed to remain on
~ the premises for more than seven {7} days.
10 b. Non--flammable inert materials stored on a premises
11 shall not be allowed to become either a harborage for
12 rodents, insects or other vectors, nor a public nuisance.
13 Such inert non-flammable materials which are not properly
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stored shall not be allowed to remain on a premises for
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mare than thirty (30} days.
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c. The owner of any Residential Rental Property, as
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18 defined in Section 31-11.445, shall contract with or
19 subscribe to a licensee, as defined in Section 31-11.301,
20 for the provision of solid waste removal and disposal
21 services, referred to as "Residential Service", as defined
22 in Section 31-11.450, for such dwelling. All such owners
23 shall maintain such a contract or subscription on an
24 ongoing, continuous basis while the dwelling is occupied.
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Neither the property owner nor the property manager shall
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place the burden of contracting for residential service on
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the tenant or tenants.
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d. Garbage, rubbish, and waste matter accumulated on
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1 properties used as a Residential Rental Property, as
2 defined in Section 31-11.445, shall be placed in
3 receptacles or stored for collection in the manner provided
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by this chapter,
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e. All receptacles used for the storage of garbage,
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rubbish and waste matter accumulated on properties used as
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a Residential Rental Property, as defined in Section 31-
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9 11.445, shall be emptied and the contents thereof removed
10 and disposed of when:
11 1. Said contents are even with the top of the
12 receptacle; and
13 2. At least once a week.
14 3. The owner of any such Residential Rental
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Property, as defined in Section 31-11.445, shall not permit
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said contents to overflow above the top of the receptacle
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prior to removal and disposal."
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Section 4. Section 3-151 of Article XVI of Chapter 3 of the Butte
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2a County Code is amended to read as follows:
21 3-151 Accounting.
22 The Enforcement Officer shah. keep an account of the total
23 cast of each abatement performed by the County. The
24 Enforcement Officer shall request that the Auditor-
2S Controller establish a project number to be used to account
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far the cost of each abatement carried out by the
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Enforcement Officer, other County departments, and/or by
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independent contractors retained by the Enforcement Officer
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1 or other County departments.
2 Section 5. Section 49-2 of Article T of Chapter 49 of the Butte
3 County Code is amended to read as follows:
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49-2 Unlawful and unauthorized dumping.
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a. Any person who:
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1. Fails to arrange for the lawful disposal of solid
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~ waste generated on property which that person awns,
9 occupies or is the person responsible for day-to-day
1p operations thereof, for example, an owner of Residential
11 Rental Property, as defined in Section 3111.445, who fails
12 to comply with Butte County Code section 31-50(c), by
13 failing to maintain a continuous subscription for regular
14 refuse removal by a licensed refuse hauler when said
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property is occupied;
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2. Causes, maintains or permits solid waste to be
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deposited within the county in any manner that violates the
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19 provisions of this chapter;
20 3. Causes or permits the deposit of solid waste on the
21 right-of-way of any public highway, street, easement or
22 thoroughfare, or upon any camping place or public grounds,
23 or on any premises, or in any container, without the
24 permission of the owner thereof, or into any stream or dry
25 watercourse, within the county of Butte, State of
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California, and outside of the incorporated cities; or
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4. Causes, maintains or permits the accumulation of
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solid waste which creates an unsanitary condition or
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1 permits or encourages the accumulation or breeding of
2 vectors, or causes, maintains or permits solid waste to be
3 placed in a container other than provided in this chapter;
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is guilty of a misdemeanor and may be punished as provided
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6 in Section 1-7, Subsection (a) of this code. Such person is
~ also subject to the administrative/abatement procedures set
~ forth in this Article, as well as any other remedy provided
g by law.
1~ b. Any Condition which is a direct result of any of the
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acts/omissions set forth in subsection a of this section is
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hereby deemed to be a public nuisance subject to the
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administrative/abatement procedures set forth in this
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15 Article, as well as any other remedy provided by law.
16 c• Tn a criminal proceeding alleging a violation of
17 subsection a of this section, upon a prima facie showing by
1g the prosecution that a person's items, solid waste or
19 property have been found in any location where it is
20 unlawful to dispose of solid waste, under circumstances
21 which would lead a reasonable trier of fact to conclude
22 that the items had previously been discarded in that
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location, shall constitute a permissible inference that the
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person is guilty of a violation of Subsection a of this
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Section. The mental state required for conviction of a
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27 violation of Subsection a of this Section is strict
28 liability, without regard to any element of mens rea,
fault, negligence or other wrongdoing.
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1 d. In the event of a conviction of a violation of
2 Subsection a of this Section and under appropriate
3 circumstances, the court shall order the defendant to pay
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restitution to any public entity and/or private party which
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and/or whom has incurred out-of-pocket expenses as a result
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of cleaning up an unlawful dump site, as a rehabilitative
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measure, in addition to any penalty imposed.
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9 Section 6. Section 49-7 of Article I of Chapter 49 of the Butte
10 County Code is amended to read as follows:
11 49-7 Liability.
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a. In any enforcement action brought pursuant to this
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Article, whether by administrative proceedings, judicial
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15 proceedings or summary abatement, the person who creates or
16 has created the nuisance, either directly or indirectly,
1~ for example, an owner of Residential Rental Property, as
18 defined in Section 31.-1..445, who has failed to comply with
19 Butte County Code section 31-50(c), by failing to maintain
20 a continuous subscription for regular refuse removal by a
21 licensed refuse hauler when said property is occupied;
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shall be liable for all costs set forth in Chapter 3,
23
Article XVI (beginning with Section 3-150) of this code
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incurred by the county, including, but not limited to,
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26 administrative costs and any and all cost incurred to
27 undertake, or to cause or compel any responsible party to
2g undertake any abatement action in compliance with the
requirements of this Chapter, whether those costs are
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1 incurred prior to, during or following enactment of this
2 chapter.
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b. In any action by the County to abate a nuisance under
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this chapter, whether by administrative proceedings,
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6 judicial proceedings or summary abatement, the prevailing
~ party shall be entitled to a recovery of the reasonable
~ attorneys' fees incurred. Recovery of attorneys' fees under
9 this section shall be limited to those actions or
10 proceedings in which the County elects, at the initiation
~~ of that action or proceeding, to seek recovery of its own
12 attorneys' fees. In no action, administrative proceeding or
~3 special proceeding shall an award of attorneys' fees to a
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prevailing party exceed the amount of reasonable attorneys'
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fees incurred by the County in the action or proceeding.
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1~ c. Unless otherwise expressly indicated, the standard of
jg liability imposed by this Article is strict liability,
19 without regard to any element of mens rea, fault,
20 negligence or other wrongdoing.
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d. The scope of liability in this chapter is joint and
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several for any person who has caused, created or
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24 contributed to a violation and/or a nuisance as defined in
25 this Article, is joint and several. Any person seeking to
26 apportion the harm must demonstrate by clear and convincing
27 evidence that the component of harm which is sought to be
28 apportioned is scientifically and technologically
susceptible to apportionment, that there is a reasonable
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and practicable basis for apportioning the harm, and that
the separate abatement activity proposed for that harm is
a practicable, safe, efficient, reliable and cost-effective
in providing the degree of protection of the public health,
welfare and the environment as the abatement activity or
activities, if any, proposed by the Enforcement Officer.
Section 7. Severability. If any provision of this Ordinance or the
application thereof to any person or circumstances is for any reason
held to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such
provision sha11 be deemed severable, and the invalidity thereof shall
not affect the remaining provisions or other applications of the
Ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or
,application thereof.
Section 8. Effective Date and Publication. This Ordinance shall take
effect thirty (30) days after the date of its passage. The Clerk of
the Board of Supervisors is authorized and directed to publish this
ordinance before the expiration of fifteen (15) days after its
passage. This Ordinance shall be published once, with the Harries of
the members of the Board of Supervisors voting for and against it, in
the Enterprise-Record _, a newspaper of general
circulation published in the County of Butte, State of California.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of Supervisors of the County of
~~ Butte, State of California, on the i3th day of October ,
2005, by the following vote:
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