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Ordinance No. 4186
AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE COUNTY OF BUTTE ADDING CHAPTER 54,
"NORTH COMPLEX FIRE RECOVERY CODE" AND AMENDING SECTIONS 1-7, 41-1,
41-3 and 41-5 OF THE BUTTE COUNTY CODE
4/5 VOTE REQUIRED
The Board of Supervisors of the County of Butte ordains as follows:
Section 1. Chapter 54 is added to the Butte County Code as follows:
CHAPTER 54 - NORTH COMPLEX FIRE RECOVERY
Article I. Findings and Title
Section 54-1. Emergency Findings.
This Urgency Ordinance is adopted pursuant to California Government
Code Sections 25123(d) and 25131 and shall take effect immediately
upon its approval by at least a four-fifths vote of the Board of
Supervisors. The Board, in consultation with the Local Health Officer,
finds that this Ordinance is necessary for the immediate preservation
of the public peace, health and safety, based upon the following
facts:
A. On August 17, 2020, lightning strikes sparked the Bear Fire and
the Claremont Fire, both in Plumas County. Conditions of extreme
peril to the safety of persons and property within the County
of Butte were caused by wildfire known as the North Complex Fire
when the Bear and Claremont Fires merged and progressed into the
County of Butte on the 8th day of September, 2020, at which time
the Board of Supervisors was not in session. A map depicting the
North Complex Fire area is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
B. California Government Code Section 8630 empowers the County
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Administrator to proclaim the existence of a local emergency
when the county is affected or likely to be affected by a public
calamity, subject to ratification by the Board of Supervisors
at the earliest practicable time.
On September 9, 2020, the Assistant Chief Administrative Officer
of the County of Butte proclaimed the existence of a local
emergency within the county due to the North Complex Fire.
On August 18, 2020, the Governor of the State of California
proclaimed a State of Emergency for multiple fires caused by
lightning strike, including what would grow into the North
Complex Fire pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act,
commencing with Section 8550 of the Government Code.
On August 22, 2020, the President of the United States approved
a disaster declaration for the State of California relating to
the wildfires, providing assistance from many federal agencies,
including FEMA;
On September 11, 2020, Dr. Robert Bernstein, the County of
Butte's Local Health Officer, issued a Declaration of Health
Emergency pursuant to California Health and Safety Code section
101080. Dr. Bernstein's declaration stated that the local health
emergency was a consequence of the debris resulting from the
North Complex Fire that contains hazardous material in the ash
of the burned qualifying structures. The purpose of the
Declaration was to address the immediate threat to the public
health and the imminent and proximate threat of the introduction
of contagious, infectious or communicable disease, chemical
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agents, non -communicable biologic agents, toxins and/or
radioactive agents present at the time in the North Complex Fire
area. The threats included (1) the enormous amount of fire debris
present in the North Complex Fire area, including respirable -
size ash and other debris containing hazardous materials
including radioactive materials that have been demonstrated in
the past to be present in ash and debris from qualifying
structures, (2) the threat of infectious or communicable disease
and/or non -communicable biologic agents due to animal carcasses,
radioactive waste and perishable foods, (3) the potential
contamination or destruction of the residential and commercial
water supply in the North Complex Fire area and (4) the potential
pollution of the drinking water in or around the North Complex
Fire area if weather conditions caused the spread of the
hazardous materials in the ash and debris of burned qualifying
structures.
On September 14, 2020, Dr. Bernstein issued a Hazard Advisory
strongly suggesting residents should not reside on property with
qualifying structures damaged or destroyed by the North Complex
Fire until the property had been cleared of hazardous waste, ash
and debris and certified clean by the Department of Public
Health, Environmental Health Division. When the evacuation
orders are lifted, the Department of Public Health will make
health and safety information available to residents who choose
to visit their property to collect valuables. The re-entry
information will cover the dangerous conditions and toxic
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materials present in the North Complex Fire area. The re-entry
information is intended to improve and protect public health and
safety from the hazards likely to be encountered during the
visit, and are not intended to encourage long-term habitation.
The purpose of the Hazard Advisory was to address the public
health hazards present at the time in the North Complex Fire
area, including (1) the enormous amount of fire debris present
in the North Complex Fire area, (2) the hazardous materials and
probable radioactive materials present in ash and debris from
qualifying structures, (3) the lessened but still present threat
of infectious or communicable disease -causing agents and/or non-
communicable disease -causing agents due to animal carcasses,
radioactive waste and perishable foods, (4) the potential
contamination or destruction of the residential and commercial
water supply in the North Complex Fire area and (5) the potential
pollution of the drinking water in or around the North Complex
Fire area if weather conditions caused the spread of the
hazardous materials in the ash and debris of burned qualifying
structures.
H. On September 15, 2020, the Board of Supervisors adopted
Resolution No. 20-111 ratifying the Assistant Chief
Administrative Officer's proclamation of the existence of a
local emergency in the County of Butte. The resolution also
requested that the State of California waive regulations that
may hinder response and recovery efforts, as well as make
available assistance under the California Disaster Assistance
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Act or any other state funding, and that the Federal Government
expedite access to federal resources and any other appropriate
federal disaster relief program.
I. On September 15, 2020, the Board of Supervisors ratified Dr.
Bernstein's Declaration of a Local Health Emergency.
J. As of September 18, 2020, the North Complex Fire has consumed
over 287,000 acres and has led to the destruction of over 1,200
structures including residences and commercial buildings, and
resulted in evacuation orders or warnings which impacted over
20,000 residents. As a result, the North Complex Fire has created
an enormous amount of debris while causing the deaths of 15
people. The North Complex Fire is still burning through the
County and despite firefighters' best efforts, the wildfire has
not been contained. Evacuation orders are currently in place and
numerous severe public health and safety hazards are present in
the North Complex Fire area, including many blocked roads from
fallen power lines, burned trees and vehicles, no available
utilities, no available public services and the presence of
human remains and animal carcasses.
K. There exists the potential for widespread toxic exposures and
threats to public health and the environment in the aftermath
of a major wildfire disaster, and debris and ash from residential
and commercial structure fires contain hazardous materials and
the harmful health effects of hazardous materials produced by a
wildfire are well-documented.
L. The combustion of building materials such as siding, roofing
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tiles, and insulation results in dangerous ash that may contain
asbestos, heavy metals and other hazardous materials. Household
hazardous waste such as paint, gasoline, cleaning products,
pesticides, compressed gas cylinders, and chemicals may have
been stored in homes, garages, or sheds that may have burned in
the fire, also producing hazardous materials.
Exposure to hazardous materials may lead to acute and chronic
health effects and may cause long-term public health and
environmental impacts. Uncontrolled hazardous materials and
debris pose significant threats to public health through
inhalation of dust particles and contamination of drinking water
supplies. Improper handling can expose residents and workers to
toxic materials, and improper transport and disposal of fire
debris can spread hazardous substances throughout the community.
Standards and removal procedures are needed immediately to
protect the public safety, health and environment, and to
facilitate coordinated and effective mitigation of the risks to
the public health and environment from the health hazards
generated by the North Complex Fire disaster.
The North Complex Fire has created hazardous waste conditions
in the County of Butte in the form of contaminated debris from
household hazardous waste/materials and structural debris
resulting from the destruction of thousands of structures. This
hazardous waste debris poses a substantial present or potential
hazard to human health and the environment until the property
is certified clean. The accumulated exposure to hazardous waste
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debris over an extended period of time poses a severe hazard to
human health.
P. The Department of Toxic Substances Control has issued reports
regarding the assessment of burn debris from wildfires in the
past. The studies of burned residential homes and structures
from large scale wildland fires indicated that the resulting ash
and debris can contain asbestos and toxic concentrated amounts
of heavy metals such as antimony, arsenic, cadmium, copper,
lead, and zinc. Additionally, the ash and debris may contain
higher concentrations of lead if the home was built prior to
1978 when lead was banned from household paint in the United
States. The reports indicated that the residual ash of burned
residential homes and structures has high concentrations of
heavy metals that can be toxic and can have significant impacts
to individual properties, local communities, and watersheds if
the ash and debris is not removed safely and promptly.
Q. It is essential that this Urgency Ordinance become immediately
effective to mitigate the harm that could be caused to the public
health and safety and to the environment from the improper
disturbance, removal and/or disposal of debris containing
hazardous materials, and to facilitate the orderly response to
the North Complex Fire disaster.
Section 54-2. Title.
This Chapter shall be known and may be cited as the North Complex
Fire Recovery Code.
Article II. Debris Removal
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ISection 54-10. Definitions.
Board. The term "Board" means the Board of Supervisors.
Director. The term Director shall mean the Butte County Director of
Public Health and his/her designee.
Qualifying structure. For the purposes of this Article, the term
A'qualifying structure" shall mean a structure of 120 square feet and
7 11 over.
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Removal of Fire Debris. The term "removal of fire debris" as used in
this Article includes all cleanup of fire debris from structures
resulting from the North Complex Fire, including removal, transport
and disposal of fire debris, but it does not include the removal of
personal property from residential sites unless such removal of
personal property involves cleanup and the removal of ash from the
property.
Section 54-11. Effective Period.
This Article relating to debris removal shall take effect immediately
upon adoption and shall remain in effect until the removal of fire
debris has been completed on all properties damaged by the North
Complex Fire, subject to modification by the Board.
Section 54-12. Prohibition on Removal of Fire Debris from Private
Property.
The removal of fire debris from qualifying structures on private
property is prohibited at this time. This prohibition shall not
apply to properties that only contained non -qualifying structures,
including but not limited to sheds, canopies, carports, well
houses, greenhouses, chicken coops or fencing. Whether fire debris
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derives from a qualifying or non -qualifying structure shall be
determined by the Director.
Section 54-13. County Development Permits.
A. No application for a County Development permit in the North
Complex Fire area for a parcel containing fire debris from a
qualifying structure shall be considered complete until the applicant
has been issued a completion certificate by the Department of Public
Health, Environmental Health Division.
B. This Section shall not apply to permits for wells or septic
systems with the Environmental Health Division of Public Health.
Applicants are prohibited from installation of such systems unless
it is completed pursuant to the guidance of the Environmental Health
Division of Public Health.
Section 54-14. Remedies Not Exclusive. The remedies identified are
in addition to and do not supersede or limit any and all other
remedies, civil or criminal. The remedies provided in this Article
shall be cumulative and not exclusive.
Section 2. Sub -Section 1-7(b) of the Butte County Code is amended
to read as follows:
"Notwithstanding any provision of this Code to the contrary in
subsection (a) of this section or in chapters 4, 10, 11, 13,
14, 19, 23B, 24, 26, 26A, 26B,
27, 28, 28A, 28B, 31, 32, 33, 37, 38, 53 or 54, whenever any
provision in any of said chapters provides that any act is
prohibited or made or declared to be unlawful or a misdemeanor or
an infraction, or requires the doing of any act or declares the
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failure to do any act unlawful or a misdemeanor or an infraction,
the violation of such provision may be charged as an infraction
and punishable as specified in section 41-5 of this Code. This
subsection shall apply to the violation of any provision described
herein, including but not limited to the following sections of
this Code: 4-1, 4-1.1,4-1.2, 4-1.3, 4-1.5, 4-2, 4-3, 4-13, 10-
1, 10-2, 10-8, 10-22, 11-2, 11-4, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7, 11-8, 11-
10, 11-11, 11-18, 13-3, 13-104(a), 14-1, 14-4, 14-5, 14-12, 14-
15, 14-21, 14-28, 14-30, 14-47, 14-48, 14-61, 14-80, 14-91, 19-
3, 19-4, 19-5, 19-7, 19-18, 23B-3, 23B-10, 24-4, 24-5, 24-6, 24-
36.2, 24-63.1, 24-68, 26-6, 26A-4, 26A-12, 26B-5, 27-6, 28-4, 28A-
2, 28B-2, 31-1, 31-5, 31-7.5, 31-8, 31-8.5, 31-11, 32-10, 33-
3, 33-4, 37-7, 37-8, 37-9, 37-16, 37-22, 37-23, 38-4, 53-12 and
54-12."
Section 3. Section 41-1 of the Butte County Code is amended as
follows:
"The following policies and procedures are adopted to implement a
program of enforcement of Butte County's zoning, building,
sanitation and other ordinances contained in the following
chapters of this Code: Chapter 10, Highways and Streets; Chapter
11, Junk Dealers, Pawnbrokers and Secondhand Dealers; Chapter 13,
Grading and Mining; Chapter 14, Motor Vehicles and
Traffic; Chapter 19, Sewage Disposal; Chapter 23B, Water
Wells; Chapter 24, Zoning; Chapter 26, Buildings; Chapter 26A,
Underground Utility Districts; Chapter 28A, Mobilehome and
Mobilehome Lot Standards; Chapter 28B, State Housing Law
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Requirements; Chapter 31, Solid Waste Collection, Management and
Recycling; Chapter 32, Naming of Streets and Highways; Numbering
Properties and Principal Buildings; Chapter 33, Groundwater
Conservation; Chapter 37, Underground Hazardous Substance Storage
Facilities; Chapter 41A, Noise Control; Chapter 50, Stormwater
Ordinance; Chapter 53, Camp Fire Disaster Recovery; and Chapter
54, North Complex Fire Recovery."
Section 4. Section 41-3 of the Butte County Code is amended as
follows:
(a) Enforcement Duties: Each code enforcement officer shall
have the duty to enforce the provisions of Chapters 10, 11,
13, 14, 19, 23B, 24, 26, 26A, 31, 32, 33, 37, 41, 41A,
50, 53 and 54 of this Code.
(b) Right of Entry. Whenever necessary to enforce any of the
provisions of said chapters, or whenever a code enforcement
officer has reasonable cause to believe that there exists in
or upon any premises any such violation which makes such
premises unsafe, dangerous or hazardous, the code enforcement
officer may enter such premises at all reasonable times to
inspect the same or to perform any duty imposed upon the code
enforcement officer by this chapter; provided, that if such
premises be occupied, he or she shall first identify himself
or herself as a Butte County Code Enforcement Officer and
request entry; and if such premises be unoccupied, he or she
shall first make a reasonable effort to locate the violator
and request entry. If such entry is refused, the code
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enforcement officer shall have recourse to every remedy
provided by law to secure entry.
(c) Issuance of Citations.
(1) Each code enforcement officer is hereby authorized to
issue citations for violations of the provisions of the
chapters of this Code which they have the duty to enforce.
Upon referral of a matter by the affected department to the
appropriate code enforcement officer, the code enforcement
officer shall contact the alleged violator; and, unless the
violation has then been abated, the code enforcement
officer shall issue a citation to the violator.
(2) Prior to issuance of a citation, the code enforcement
officer shall identify himself or herself as a county code
enforcement officer. The code enforcement officer shall
then request the alleged violator, and the alleged violator
shall be required, to present his or her driver's license
or other satisfactory evidence of his or her identity for
examination.
(3) The citation shall state a time and date and place at
which the alleged violator shall appear in court to answer
the charges stated in the citation. The appearance date
shall be at least ten (10) days after the date of the
citation.
Section 5. Section 41-5 of the Butte County Code is amended as
follows:
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1"(a) Violations Charged and Punished as Infractions:
Notwithstanding any provision of this Code to the contrary in
Chapters 10, 11, 13, 14, 19, 23B, 24, 26, 26A, 28A, 28B, 31, with
the exception of Section 31-63 of Article VII of Chapter 31, 32,
33, 37, 41, 41A, 50, 53 and 54, whenever any provision in any of
such chapters provides that any act is prohibited or made or
declared to be unlawful or a misdemeanor or an infraction, or
requires the doing of any act or declares the failure to do any
act unlawful or a misdemeanor or an infraction, the violation of
such provision may be charged as an infraction punishable by
imposition of the following fines:
(1) Upon a first conviction, a fine of one hundred dollars
($100.00);
(2) Upon a second conviction of violating the same chapter of
this Code within the twelve (12) month period immediately
preceding the commission of the current violation, a fine of two
hundred dollars ($200.00);
(3) Upon a third conviction of violating the same chapter of this
Code within a twelve (12) month period immediately preceding the
commission of the current violation, a fine of five hundred
dollars ($500.00).
(b) Each Day a Separate Offense. Each and every day or portion
thereof that a person violates or continues to violate any such
provision of any of such chapters constitutes a separate offense
and may be charged and punished separately without awaiting
conviction of any prior violation.
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(c) Misdemeanors. Any violation which may be otherwise charged and
punishable as an infraction pursuant to subsection (a) of this
section may be charged and punishable as a misdemeanor if the
defendant has been convicted of three (3) or more violations of
the same chapter of this Code within the twelve (12) month period
immediately."
Section 6. CEQA Exemption. Adoption of this Ordinance is exempt
from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA) pursuant to California Public Resources Code section
21080(b)(3) regarding projects to maintain, repair, restore, or
replace property or facilities damaged or destroyed as a result of
a declared disaster and Section 21080(b)(4) regarding actions to
mitigate or prevent an emergency, and CEQA Guidelines Section
15269(a) regarding maintaining, repairing, restoring, demolishing,
or replacing property or facilities damaged or destroyed as a
result of a disaster stricken area in which a state of emergency
has been proclaimed by the Governor pursuant to the California
Emergency Services Act, commencing with Section 8550 of the
California Government Code.
Section 7. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence,
clause, or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be
unconstitutional or invalid, such decision shall not affect the
validity of the remaining portion of this Ordinance. The Board of
Supervisors hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance
and every section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase thereof
irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections,
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sentences, clauses or phrases be declared unconstitutional or
invalid.
Section 8. Effective Date and Publication. This Ordinance shall be
and the same is hereby declared to be in full force and effect
immediately upon its passage by a four-fifths (4/5) or greater vote.
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
names of the members of the Board of Supervisors voting for and
against it, in a newspaper of general circulation published in the
County of Butte, State of California. Pursuant to Government Code
section 25124, a complete copy of this Ordinance is on file with the
Clerk of the Board of Supervisors and is available for public
inspection and copying during regular business hours in the office
of the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, 25 County Center Drive,
Oroville, California.
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PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of Supervisors of the County of
Butte, State of California, on the 23rd day of September, 2020 by
the following vote:
AYES: Supervisors Connelly, Lucero, Ritter, and Chair Lambert
ABSENT: Supervisor Teeter
ABSTAIN: None
00,
STEVE LAMBfW, Chair
Butte County Board of Supervisors
FT' W40f*
SHARI MCCRACKEN, Chief Administrative Officer
and Clerk of the Board
By:
Dep&y
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