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ORDINANCE NO. 2732-03
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SUNNYVALE ADDING A NEW CHAPTER TO THE SUNNYVALE MUNICIPAL CODE, CHAPTER 12.60, ENTITLED "STORM WATER MANAGEMENT"
WHEREAS, in partial implementation of § 402(p) of the federal Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1344(p); the Phase I Storm Water Regulations and the California Water Code, the California Regional Water Quality Control Board – San Francisco ("RWQCB-SF") issued a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System ("NPDES") Permit and Waste Discharge Requirements for Municipal Storm Water and Urban Runoff Discharges within the County of Santa Clara, Regional Board Order No. 01-024, NPDES No. CAS029819 (the "2001 Permit"), on February 21, 2001, to the Santa Clara Valley Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program ("Program") of which the City is a member; and adopted amendments to that order on October 17, 2001, Regional Board Order No. 01-119; andWHEREAS, City is a permittee under the 2001 Permit and therefore is required by federal and state law to implement requirements of the 2001 Permit, and
WHEREAS, City has authority under Article 11, Section 7 of the California Constitution to adopt ordinances needed to implement these requirements, and
WHEREAS, this City also has authority under the California Water Code to adopt and enforce ordinances conditioning, restricting, and limiting activities that might degrade the quality of the waters of the State of California;
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SUNNYVALE DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. CHAPTER 12.60 ADDED. A new chapter 12.60, entitled "Storm Water Management" is hereby added to the Sunnyvale Municipal Code in the form of Attachment "A" incorporated herein.
SECTION 2. BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES GUIDELINES. Best Management Practices Guidelines shall include but not be limited to the following publications:
(1) California Regional Water Quality Control Board San Francisco Bay Region. Erosion and Sediment Control Field Manual, Third Edition 1999.
(2) California Storm Water Quality Association. Stormwater Best Management Practice Handbook(s) (four volumes: Construction, New Development and Redevelopment, Municipal, and Industrial), 2003.
(3) Fifield, Jerald, Field Manual on Sediment and Erosion Control Best Management Practices for Contractors and Inspectors, Forester Press, 2002.
(4) City of Sunnyvale. Blueprint for a Clean Bay- Best Management Practices for the Construction Industry, 2003.
(5) Bay Area Storm Water Management Agencies Association (BASMAA). Start at the Source. Forbes Custom Publishing, New York, 1999.
(6) Bay Area Storm Water Management Agencies Association (BASMAA). Using Site Design Techniques to Meet Development Standards for Storm water Quality - A Companion Document to "Start at the Source". May 2003
SECTION 3. CEQA. The City Council finds that this ordinance is exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in that it is implementing permit requirements imposed by a regulatory agency. However, individual development projects impacted by this ordinance shall be subject to appropriate environmental review under CEQA.
SECTION 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect on October 15, 2003. However, any privately sponsored development for which an application has been determined to be complete by the director of community development as of October 15, 2003 and any publicly funded project for which funding has been committed and for which construction has been scheduled by October 15, 2003 is exempt from the requirements imposed upon Group 1 projects.
SECTION 5. CONSTITUTIONALITY; SEVERABILITY. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. The City Council declares that it would have adopted this ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause and phrase thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase be declared invalid.
SECTION 6. POSTING AND PUBLICATION. The City Clerk is directed to cause copies of this ordinance to be posted in three (3) prominent places in the City of Sunnyvale and to cause publication once in an adjudicated newspaper of general circulation in the City of Sunnyvale, of a notice setting forth the date of adoption, the title of this ordinance, and a list of places where copies of this ordinance are posted, within fifteen (15) days after adoption of this ordinance.
Introduced at a regular meeting of the City Council held August 12, 2003, and adopted as an ordinance of the City of Sunnyvale at a regular meeting of the City Council held on _____________________, 2003, by the following vote:
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City Clerk |
Mayor |
(SEAL)
CHAPTER 12.60
STORM WATER MANAGEMENT
Sections:
12.60.010. Purpose and intent.
12.60.020. Scope and limits of chapter.
12.60.030. Administration.
12.60.040. Definitions.
12.60.050. Ultimate responsibility of discharger.
12.60.060. Fees.
12.60.070. Discharge prohibitions.
12.60.080. Prohibition of illegal connection.
12.60.090. Unlawful acts.
12.60.100. Compliance with NPDES storm water permit.
12.60.110 Storm water treatment - New projects.
12.60.120. Group 1 projects.
12.60.130. Storm water pollution reduction
12.60.140. Storm water management plan required.
12.60.150. Numeric sizing criteria for pollutant removal treatment systems.
12.60.160. Group 2 projects.
12.60.170. Design standards concerning flooding.
12.60.180. Certification of adherence to design criteria.
12.60.190. Infiltration treatment measures.
12.60.200. Agreement to maintain best management practices.
12.60.210. Submission of revised storm water management plan.
12.60.220. Best management practices incorporated.
12.60.230. Minimum best management practices for all dischargers.
12.60.240. Authority to inspect.
12.60.250. Requirement to remediate.
12.60.260. Failure to properly operate and maintain treatment facilities.
12.60.270. Waiver for impracticability and compensatory mitigation.
12.60.280. Impractibility criteria.
12.60.290 Regional project.
12.60.300. Alternative compliance.
12.60.310 Issuance of cease and desist orders.
12.60.320. Emergency corrections.
12.60.330 Appeals.
12.60.340. Administrative proceedings.
12.60.350. Judicial civil penalties.
12.60.360. Remedies cumulative.
12.60.010. Purpose and intent.
The purpose of this chapter is to provide regulations and give legal effect to certain requirements of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit (the "Permit") issued to the City of Sunnyvale regarding municipal storm water and urban runoff requirements. This chapter shall apply to all water entering the storm drain system generated on any developed and undeveloped lands lying within the city. This chapter shall be construed to assure consistency with the requirements of the Clean Water Act and Porter-Cologne Act and any applicable implementing regulations, as they exist at the time of enactment or as later amended.
12.60.020. Scope and limits of chapter.
This chapter shall apply to ministerial as well as discretionary approvals of new development or significant redevelopment projects, as those terms are defined in this chapter. Nothing in this chapter shall be interpreted to:
12.60.030. Administration.
This chapter shall be administered jointly by the director of community development and the director of public works. Any powers granted to or duties imposed upon these individuals to administer, implement and enforce the provisions of this chapter may be delegated to other city personnel.
12.60.040. Definitions.
For the purposes of this chapter the following words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this section. Words and phrases not defined in this chapter shall have the definitions set forth in the Permit or by the regulations implementing the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, Clean Water Act section 402, and Division 7 of the California Water Code, as they currently exist or may be amended.
(a) "Authorized enforcement official" means the director of public works or the director of community development and their designees.
(b) "Best management practices" (BMP) means a structural device, measure facility or activity that helps to achieve storm water management control objectives at a designated site.
(1) "Maintenance of a best management practice" means periodic action taken to maintain the as-designed performance of best management practice, and includes, but is not limited to, repairs as necessary and replacement of the best management practice by an equally effective or more effective best management practice.
(2) "Source control best management practice" means any schedule of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, managerial practices or operational practices that aim to prevent storm water pollution by reducing the potential for contamination at the source of pollution.
(3) "Treatment best management practice" means any engineered system designed to remove pollutants by simple gravity settling of particulate pollutants, filtration, biological uptake, media adsorption or any other physical, biological, or chemical process.
(c) "Construction" means constructing, clearing, grading, or excavation that results in soil disturbance. Construction also includes structure demolition. Construction does not include routine maintenance to maintain original line and grade, hydraulic capacity, or original purpose of a facility, nor does it include emergency construction activities required to immediately protect public health and safety, interior remodeling with no outside exposure of construction material or construction waste to storm water or mechanical permit work.
(d) "Detention" means the temporary storage of storm runoff in a manner that controls peak discharge rates and provides some gravity settling of pollutants.
(e) "Development" means any construction, rehabilitation, redevelopment or reconstruction of any public or private project, or mass grading for anticipated construction. Development does not include routine maintenance to maintain original line and grade, hydraulic capacity or original purpose of a facility, nor does it include emergency construction activities required to protect immediately public health and safety.
(f) "Discharge" when used as a verb, means to allow pollutants to directly or indirectly enter storm water, or to allow storm water or non-storm water to directly or indirectly enter the storm drain system from an activity or operation. When used as a noun, "discharge" means the pollutants, storm water and/or non-storm water that is discharged.
(g) "Discharger" means any person or entity engaged in activities or operations or owning facilities, which will or may result in pollutants entering storm water or the storm drain system. Discharger also means the owners of real property on which such activities, operations or facilities are located; provided, however, that a local government or public authority is not a discharger as to activities conducted by others in public rights of way.
(h) "General permit" means an NPDES permit issued under Code of Federal Regulations section 122.28 (40 CFR 122.28) authorizing a category of discharges under the Clean Water Act within a geographical area.
(i) "Illegal connection" means any device or artifice, excluding roof drains and other similar connections, connecting into the storm drain system without a permit, through or by which an illicit discharge may be discharged.
(j) "Illicit discharge" means any discharge to a storm drain system that is not composed entirely of storm water except discharges pursuant to an NPDES permit, including categorically allowed discharges and conditionally exempted discharges permitted under section 12.60.070 (e) and (f) of this chapter.
(k) "Impervious surface" means constructed or modified surface that cannot effectively infiltrate rainfall. Impervious surface includes but is not limited to building rooftops, pavement, sidewalks, and driveways where such surfaces are not constructed with pervious materials. "Impervious surface area" means the ground area covered or sheltered by an impervious surface, measured as if from directly above.
(l) "Infiltration" means the process of percolating storm water or non-storm water into the subsoil.
(m) "Land disturbance activity" means any activity that moves soils or substantially alters the pre-existing vegetated or man-made cover of any land including, but not limited to, grading, digging, cutting scraping, stockpiling or excavating of soil; placement of fill materials; paving, pavement removal, exterior construction; substantial removal of vegetation where soils are disturbed including, but not limited to, removal by clearing or grubbing or any activity which bares soil or rock or involves streambed alterations or diversion or piping of any watercourse. Land disturbance activity does not include routine maintenance to maintain original line and grade, hydraulic capacity, or the original purpose of the facility, nor does it include emergency construction activities required to protect public health and safety.
(n) "Land owner" means the holder of legal title to the land, and other persons or entities who exercise control over a land development project pursuant to rights granted in a purchase agreement, joint venture agreement, development agreement, or long-term lease.
(o) "Maximum extent practicable" means a standard for implementation of storm water management programs to reduce pollutants in storm water to the maximum extent possible, taking into account equitable considerations and competing facts including, but not limited to the seriousness of the problem, public health risks, environmental benefits, pollutant removal effectiveness, regulatory compliance, cost and technical feasibility.
(p) "Storm drain system" means the conveyance or system of conveyances, including roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, manmade channels, or storm drains owned or operated by the city and used for the purpose of collecting, storing, transporting, or disposing of runoff.
(q) "Storm water infiltration device" means any structure that is designed primarily to infiltrate (percolate) water into the subsurface and bypass the natural groundwater protection afforded by surface soil. The definition of storm water infiltration device does not include any septic system or other waste water disposal system, any infiltration of water other than storm water, Santa Clara Valley Water District percolation ponds, lined sumps and basins, or any naturally occurring body of surface water.
(a) infiltration basins
(b) infiltration and exfiltration trenches
(c) unlined retention basins (i.e., basins with no outlets)
(d) unlined or open-bottomed vaults or boxes installed below grade that store storm water allowing infiltration into subsurface soils
(e) dry wells
(2) The definition of storm water infiltration device does not apply to the following best management practices that treat storm water and then release it into a storm drain system:
(a) media filtration devices
(b) underground detention system
(c) hydrodynamic device
(d) water quality inlet filters
(e) contained and flow-through planter boxes
(f) roof gardens
(g) extended detention basin
(h) any device with an impermeable liner and underdrain/outfall to the storm drain
(r) "Redevelopment" means land-disturbing activity that results in the creation, addition, or replacement of impervious surface area on an already developed site. Redevelopment includes, but is not limited to the expansion of a building footprint; addition or replacement of a structure; replacement of impervious surface area that is not part of a routine maintenance activity; and land disturbing activities related to structural or impervious surfaces.
(s) "Regional project" means regional or municipal storm water detention or treatment facilities; regional or municipal land acquisition or conservation programs which protect or enhance water quality or beneficial uses; and other specific projects and/or programs (or designated functions or components of projects or programs) that protect or enhance water quality or beneficial uses in a manner equivalent to that which would be provided by the installation of on-site measures.
(t) "Storm water" means surface runoff and drainage associated with storm events.
(u) "Storm water management plan" means a plan identifying the measures that will be used for storm water and non-storm water management during the permitted activity and/or during and after construction of any development or significant redevelopment project subject to the provisions of this chapter.
(v) "Total project cost" means the construction labor and materials cost of the physical improvements proposed. Total project cost does not include land, transaction, financing, permitting, or demolition costs or costs of any mitigation measures except those consisting of on-site modifications to the project itself.
(w) "Transit village project" means a project located within one-fourth mile of an existing or planned rail or bus station (not including bus stops that are not stations), terminal or major transfer point, or a project supplying less than one-half parking space per residential dwelling unit where the city makes findings that a limited parking supply is justified by existing or planned transit opportunities.
(x) "Treatment" means the use of designed and/or engineered systems, which use physical, chemical, or biological processes to remove pollutants. Such processes include, but are not limited to filtration, gravity settling, media absorption, biodegradation, biological uptake, chemical oxidation and ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
12.60.050. Ultimate responsibility of discharger.
The standards established by this chapter are minimum standards, and do not imply that compliance by any discharger will ensure that there will not be contamination, pollution, nor unauthorized discharge of pollutants. This chapter shall not create liability on the part of the city or any city employee for any damages that result from any discharger’s reliance on this chapter or any lawful administrative decision.
12.60.060. Fees.
The amount of the fees for services provided under this chapter shall be established periodically by resolution of the city council.
12.60.070. Discharge prohibitions.
(a) General Prohibition. Any discharge to the storm drain system not composed entirely of storm water is prohibited, except as set forth in this chapter.
(b) Separately Permitted Discharges. Discharges regulated under a valid facility-specific NPDES permit or facility-specific Regional Water Quality Control Board waste discharge requirements permit not including a state general permit, shall be regulated exclusively by the Regional Water Quality Control Board and are exempt from discharge prohibitions established by this chapter, provided compliance with all relevant permit conditions is maintained to the satisfaction of the board. Storm water discharges at a facility with a facility specific permit which only addresses process discharges or non-storm water discharges are not exempted.
(c) State General Permit Discharges. Storm water discharges regulated under the state general industrial storm water permit or state general construction storm water permit are exempt from discharge prohibitions established by this chapter, provided compliance with all relevant general permit conditions is maintained to the satisfaction of the Regional Water Quality Control Board.
(d) Certain Agricultural Discharges. Non-storm water agricultural discharges that the State Water Quality Control Board or Regional Water Quality Control Board have explicitly determined to allow pursuant to a written waiver or formal policy, including any such discharges from commercial nurseries and greenhouses that are covered by such waivers or policies, are exempt from the discharge prohibitions established by this chapter, provided compliance with all relevant permit, waiver or policy conditions established by the state board or regional board are maintained to the satisfaction of the respective board.
(e) Categorically Allowed Discharges. The following categories of non-storm water discharges are exempt from discharge prohibitions established by this chapter.
(1) Flows from riparian habitats or wetlands;
(2) Diverted stream flows;
(3) Springs;
(4) Rising ground waters; and
(5) Uncontaminated groundwater infiltration.
(f) Conditionally Exempted Discharges. The following categories of non-storm water discharges are conditionally exempt from discharge prohibitions established by this chapter. Dischargers must install, implement and maintain any specifically applicable minimum best management practices, set out in the Best Management Practices Guidelines or BMP Guidebook referenced in Section 12.60.220, so as to prevent or eliminate adverse impacts of such discharges. (1) Uncontaminated pumped groundwater;
(2) Foundation drains;
(3) Water from crawl space pumps;
(4) Footing drains;
(5) Irrigation water;
(6) Landscape irrigation;
(7) Lawn or garden watering;
(8) Planned and unplanned discharges from potable water sources;
(9) Water line and hydrant flushing;
(10) Individual residential car washing; and
(11) Discharges or flows from emergency fire fighting activities.
(g) On-site Wastewater Systems. Discharges to the subsurface from permitted properly functioning on-site wastewater systems are not prohibited by this chapter.
(h) Exemptions Not Absolute. Any discharge category described above that is a significant source of pollutant to waters of the United States shall be prohibited from entering the storm drain system, or shall be subjected to a requirement to implement additional best management practices to reduce pollutants in the discharge to the maximum extent practicable. Such prohibitions shall be effective on a schedule specified by an authorized enforcement official in a written notice to the discharger. The schedule may take into account the nature and severity of any effects caused by the discharge; and the time required to design, engineer, fund, procure, construct and make appropriate best management practices operational.
12.60.080. Prohibition of illegal connection.
(a) The construction, use, maintenance or continued existence of illegal connections to the storm drain system is prohibited.
(b) The authorized enforcement official may, by written notice, require a person responsible for an illegal connection to the storm drain system to eliminate or to secure approval for the connection within a specified time.
12.60.090. Unlawful acts.
(a) It is unlawful knowingly to make or present to the city any false statement, representation, record, report, plan or other document, with regard to any requirements of this chapter.
(b) It is unlawful to throw, deposit, leave, abandon, maintain or keep materials or wastes on public or private lands in a manner and place where they may result in an illegal discharge.
12.60.100. Compliance with NPDES stormwater permit.
Any person subject to an industrial or construction activity NPDES storm water discharge permit shall comply with all provisions of such permit. Proof of compliance may be required in a form acceptable to the authorized enforcement official prior to or as a condition of the approval of a subdivision map, site plan, building permit, development or improvement plan; upon inspection of the facility and/or during any enforcement action.
12.60.110. Storm water treatment - New projects.
This chapter sets forth specific storm water treatment design requirements for certain categories of new and redevelopment projects. There shall be two categories of projects based on project size – Group 1 projects and Group 2 projects. Group 1 projects are defined as set forth. Group 2 projects shall be defined by later amendment to this chapter.
12.60.120. Group 1 projects.
Group 1 projects shall include any of the following types of projects:
(a) Buildings. Commercial, industrial or residential developments that create one acre (43,560 square feet) or more of impervious surface, including roof area, streets and sidewalks. This category includes any development of any type on public or private land, which falls under the planning and building authority of the city, where one acre or more of new impervious surface, collectively over the entire project site, will be created.
(b) Streets. Any street, road, highway or freeway that is under the city's jurisdiction and that creates one acre (43,560 square feet) or more of new impervious surface. This category includes any newly constructed paved surface used by or for transportation of automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, and other motorized vehicles.
(c) Significant Redevelopment. A project on a previously developed site that results in addition or replacement with a combined total of one acre (43,560 square feet) or more of impervious surface on an already developed site.
(1) Where a significant redevelopment project results in an increase of, or replacement of, more than fifty percent of the impervious surface of a previously existing development, and the existing development was not subject to storm water treatment measures, the entire project must be included in the treatment measure design.
(2) Where a significant redevelopment project results in an increase of, or replacement of, less than fifty percent of the impervious surface of a previously existing development, and the existing development was not subject to storm water treatment measures, only that affected portion must be included in treatment design. Excluded from this category are interior remodels and routine maintenance or repair, including roof or exterior surface replacement and repaving.
(d) Exception. The following are exempt from the requirements for Group I projects:
(1) Any privately sponsored development for which an application to city has been determined to be complete by the director of community development as of October 15, 2003; and
12.60.130. Storm water pollution reduction.
All applicants for permits pertaining to the planning, design, and construction of all Group 1 projects shall design and implement storm water best management practices so as to reduce storm water pollution to the maximum extent practicable. Such projects shall incorporate the numeric sizing criteria for best management practices set forth in this chapter, by the appropriate implementation dates, unless a waiver and alternative performance is applicable.
12.60.140. Storm water management plan required.
(a) All applications for any city permit or approval required for land disturbance activities, construction, development or significant redevelopment for any project that meets the definition of a Group 1 project, including but not limited to use permits, special development permits, grading permits, variances, landscape plans, design review, parcel maps or tentative maps, applicable building permits, or applicable encroachment permits, must include a storm water management plan.
(b) The storm water management plan shall be accompanied by plans and related documentation demonstrating how the requirements of this chapter will be met, and the permit or approval shall not be granted unless the authorized enforcement official determines that the plan complies with the requirements of this chapter.
(c) At the discretion of the authorized enforcement official, the storm water management plan may include but not be limited to any of the following:
(1) A description of activities and pollutant sources;
(2) Descriptions of best management practices, drawings, maps, and relevant copies or references of parts of other plans;
(3) An employee training program;
(4) Spill response procedures;
(5) Preventive maintenance of structural best management practices as well as other facility equipment and systems;
(6) Material handling and storage, including waste materials and recyclable materials;
(7) An inspection program to investigate non-storm water discharges, best management practice effectiveness, soil erosion; and
(a) Treatment best management practices for Group 1 projects shall incorporate the following hydraulic sizing design criteria to treat storm water runoff.
(1) Volume Hydraulic Design Basis. Treatment best management practices whose primary mode of action depends on volume capacity, such as detention/retention units or infiltration structures, shall be designed to treat storm water runoff equal to:
(A) The maximized storm water quality capture volume for the area, based on historical rainfall records, determined using the formula and volume capture coefficients set forth in Urban Runoff Quality Management, WEF Manual of Practice No. 23/ASCE Manual of Practice No. 87 (1998), pages 175-178 (e.g. approximately the 85th percentile 24-hour storm runoff event); or
(B) The volume of annual runoff required to achieve 80 percent or more capture, determined in accordance with the methodology set forth in Appendix D of the California Storm Water Best Management Practices Handbook (2003), using local rainfall data.
(2) Flow Hydraulic Design Basis. Treatment best management practices whose primary mode of action depends on flow capacity, such as swales, sand filters, or wetlands, shall be sized to treat:
(A) 10% of the 50-year peak flow rate; or
(B) The flow of runoff produced by rain equal to at least two times the 85th percentile hourly rainfall intensity for the applicable area, based on historical records of hourly rainfall depths (for Sunnyvale this is equivalent to 0.17 inches per hour, or
(C) The flow of runoff resulting from rain equal to at least 0.2 inches per hour intensity.
12.60.160. Group 2 projects. (Reserved)
12.60.170. Design standards concerning flooding.
Except as this chapter may specifically exempt, every best management practice required to be implemented in new development or redevelopment shall not, by its construction, operation, maintenance, or lack thereof, lead to or cause flooding.
The authorized enforcement official may require a developer to provide a signed certification from a civil engineer or a licensed architect or landscape architect registered in the State of California that any plan for proposed storm water treatment facilities and best management practices meet the requirements of this chapter and the established criteria. Each certifying person shall establish to city’s satisfaction that such person has been trained on best management practice design for water quality not more than three years prior to the signature date, and that each certifying person understands the groundwater protection principles applicable to the project site. Training conducted by an organization with storm water treatment best management design expertise such as a university, the American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Landscape Architects, American Public Works Association, or the California Water Environment Association may be considered qualifying.
In order to protect groundwater from pollutants that may be present in urban runoff, treatment best management practices that function primarily as storm water infiltration devices must meet, at a minimum, the following conditions:
(a) Pollution prevention and source control best management practices shall be implemented at a level appropriate to protect groundwater quality at sites where infiltration devices are to be used;
(b) Infiltration devices shall not be used in areas that may adversely affect known groundwater pollutant plumes.
(c) Use of infiltration devices shall not cause or contribute to degradation of groundwater quality objectives;
(d) Infiltration devices shall be adequately maintained to maximize pollutant removal capabilities;
(e) The vertical distance from the base of any infiltration device to the seasonal high groundwater mark shall be at least ten feet, except that as to infiltration devices described in Section 12.60.040 (q) (1) (a-e) a greater separation from the high groundwater mark may be required in accordance with the "Best Management Practices Guidelines". In locations which are characterized by highly porous soils and/or a high groundwater table, for such areas best management practices approvals will be subject to a higher level of analysis (e.g., considering the potential for pollutants such as on-site chemical use, the level of pretreatment to be achieved, and similar factors);
(f) Unless storm water is first treated by a means other than infiltration, infiltration devices shall not be employed for areas of industrial or light industrial activity; are as subject to high vehicular traffic (25,000 or greater average daily traffic on main roadway or 14,000 or more average daily traffic on any intersecting roadway); automotive repair shops, car washes; fleet storage areas; nurseries; and other high threat to water quality land uses and activities as designated by city.
(g) Infiltration devices of the type listed in Section 12.60.040 (q) (1) (a-e) shall be located a minimum of 250 feet horizontally from any water supply wells.
12.60.200. Agreement to maintain best management practices.
(a) Every person applying for a city planning, or building permit to construct any new development or significant redevelopment project subject to this chapter, shall agree in writing to properly maintain any structural or treatment control best management practices to be implemented in the project. Such agreement shall be through means such as a covenant running with the land, enforceable conditions of approval, or other legal agreement. The agreement shall provide access to the extent allowable by law for representatives of city, the local vector control district, and the Regional Water Quality Control Board, strictly for the purposes of verification of proper operation and maintenance for the specific storm water treatment best management practices. The agreement shall be recorded in the office of the County Recorder, shall remain in force until ownership of the developed property has been transferred, and upon transfer, shall be binding on the new owner(s).
(b) Any land owner of a property which has been required by this chapter to construct or install and maintain such best management practices shall, upon transferring ownership of such property, provide the new owners with a current copy of this chapter, and shall inform the new owners in writing of their obligation to properly operate and maintain such storm water treatment and/or source control best management practice.
12.60.210. Submission of revised storm water management plan.
(a) An authorized enforcement official may require a discharger who has previously received approval of a storm water management plan, to prepare and submit a revised storm water management plan for approval if the discharger does not come into compliance with this chapter after one or more warnings or other enforcement action, because best management practices are inadequate or are not being adequately maintained; or if the facility or activity at issue is a significant source of contaminants to the storm drain system despite compliance with this chapter. Any discharger required to submit and to obtain approval of a revised plan shall install, implement and maintain the best management practices specified in the approved revised plan.
(b) The revised storm water management plan shall identify the best management practices that will be used by the discharger to prevent or control pollution of storm water to the maximum extent practicable. If the activity at issue is a construction or land disturbance activity, the revised plan submitted to the city shall at a minimum meet the requirements of the NPDES general construction storm water permit. If a facility required to submit a revised plan to the city discharges non-storm water to ground water, the facility shall obtain a Regional Water Quality Control Board permit as required by the California Water Code, and shall describe the requirements of that permit in the revised plan.
(c) Whenever submission of a storm water management plan or a revised storm water management plan is required pursuant to this chapter, any authorized enforcement staff may use the existing "Best Management Practices Guidelines" to assess the adequacy of the proposed plan.
12.60.220. Best management practices incorporated.
In addition to the Best Management Practices Guidelines which are incorporated by reference into this ordinance Ordinance No. 2732-03, the authorized enforcement official may from time to time revise or add to such Best Management Practices Guidelines, and the city council may adopt these revisions by resolution.
12.60.230. Minimum best management practices for all dischargers.
(a) Minimum Best Management Practices. All dischargers must implement and maintain at least the following minimum best management practices:
(1) Eroded soils. Prior to the rainy season, dischargers must remove or secure any significant accumulations of eroded soils from slopes previously disturbed by clearing or grading, if those eroded soils could otherwise enter the storm drain system.
(2) Storage of Materials and Wastes. All materials and wastes with the potential to pollute urban runoff shall be stored in a manner that either prevents contact with rainfall and storm water, or contains contaminated runoff for treatment and disposal.
(3) Use of Materials. All materials with the potential to pollute urban run off (including but not limited to cleaning and maintenance products used outdoors, fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, etc. ) shall be used in accordance with label directions. No such product may be disposed of or rinsed into the storm drain system.
(b) Inspection, maintenance, repair and upgrading of best management practices. Best management practices at manned facilities must be inspected by the discharger before and following predicted rain events. Best management practices at unmanned facilities must be inspected by the discharger at least once during the rainy season and at least once between each rainy season. These best management practices must be maintained so that they continue to function as designed. Best management practices which fail must be repaired as soon as it is safe to do so. If the failure of a best management practice indicates that the best management practices in use are inappropriate or inadequate to the circumstances, the practices must be modified or upgraded to prevent any further failure in the same or similar circumstances.
12.60.240. Authority to inspect.
Whenever necessary to make an inspection to enforce any provision of this chapter, or whenever the authorized enforcement official has cause to believe that there exists, or potentially exists, in or upon any premises any condition which constitutes a violation of this chapter, the official may enter such premises at all reasonable times to inspect the premises, to inspect and copy records related to storm water compliance, and to collect samples and take measurements. In the event the owner or occupant refuses entry after a request to enter and inspect has been made, the city is hereby empowered to seek assistance from any court of competent jurisdiction in obtaining such entry.
12.60.250. Requirement to remediate.
Whenever the authorized enforcement official finds that a discharge of pollutants is taking place or has occurred which will result in or has resulted in pollutants discharged to storm water or the storm drain system, the official may require by written notice to the owner or responsible person that the pollution be remediated and the affected property restored within a specified time.
12.60.260. Failure to properly operate and maintain treatment facilities.
(a) It is a violation of this code for any land owner to fail to properly operate and maintain any approved storm water treatment facilities and/or source control best management practices on the owner’s property.
(b) It is a further violation for any land owner to fail to follow any storm water management plan submitted and approved by city unless a modification to the plan is later approved in writing by the authorized enforcement official and such modification is thereafter recorded in the same manner as the original agreement.
12.60.270. Waiver for impracticability and compensatory mitigation.
Any applicant may request a waiver from the requirement to install treatment best management practices for a given project, upon an appropriate showing of impracticability, as determined by the authorized enforcement official, and with provision to treat an equivalent pollutant loading or quantity of storm water runoff, or to provide other equivalent water quality benefit. Such a waiver shall be known as "alternative compliance." The location of equivalent storm water treatment, or water quality benefit, should be where no other requirement for treatment exists, and within the same storm water runoff drainage basin, and treating runoff discharging to the same receiving water, where feasible.
City may grant eligibility for alternative compliance if the implementation of required on-site measures is impracticable, under any of the criteria defined below. The applicant may need to provide at city's request an appropriate technical consultant’s certification, supporting such eligibility.
(a) There are space limitations on detention and/or conveyance of runoff ;
(b) There are limitations on ability of treatment measures to address pollutants of concern;
(c) Location of project site:
(1) Site is within a designated "groundwater protection area" zone; or
(2) Project site is located on soil that is not suitable for infiltration;
(d) If projected costs of required on-site measures would exceed two percent (2%) of total project costs;
(e) For the following types of projects if projected costs of the required on-site measures would exceed one percent (1%) of total project costs:
(1) Projects within redevelopment areas that create housing units affordable to persons of low or moderate income as defined by Health and Safety Code section 50093.
(2) Projects within redevelopment areas which redevelop an existing brownfield site, as defined by Health and Safety Code section 50093.
(3) Transit village projects within one-fourth mile of transit stations and/or intermodal facilities.
(f) Installation of measures would result in an inability to comply with other regulatory requirements at the federal, state and local levels (for example, seismic building code requirements).
City may grant eligibility for alternative compliance to on-site detention and/or treatment requirements, without a showing of impracticability, where city has identified a regional project with sufficient capacity or credit to protect or enhance water quality and/or beneficial uses in a manner equivalent to or greater than the storm water benefits that would have been provided from the installation of the required treatment measures at the subject project site. Where feasible, the regional project must discharge to or address the same receiving waters.
12.60.300. Alternative compliance.
(a) Upon approval by the authorized enforcement official of an application for a waiver based upon impracticability, the applicant may provide alternative compliance by providing storm water detentions/treatment measures at another site approved by the authorized enforcement official, or by providing other equivalent water quality benefit. Any proposed alternative compliance, including a schedule for such alternative compliance, must be approved by the authorized enforcement official. Applicant must provide certified documentation that its contribution to the off-site detention and/or treatment, or provision of other water quality benefit, will protect or enhance water quality or beneficial uses in an amount equivalent to the benefits that would have been provided from the installation of the required treatment measures at the subject project site; and the project sponsor’s contribution is going towards detention and/or treatment that is not otherwise required at the off-site location.
(b) Failure to provide any alternative compliance according to the approved schedule shall be a violation of this chapter.
(c) The applicant for a waiver based on alternative compliance shall provide the authorized enforcement official with verification of the provision of such alternative compliance upon request in writing by the authorized enforcement official.
12.60.310. Issuance of cease and desist orders.
When the authorized enforcement official finds that a discharge of storm water has taken place or is likely to take place in violation of this chapter, the authorized enforcement official may issue an order to cease and desist such discharge, or practice, or operation likely to cause such discharge and direct those persons not complying with such prohibitions, limits, requirements, or provisions to comply forthwith; comply in accordance with a time schedule set forth by the city; or take appropriate remedial or preventive action.
12.60.320 Emergency corrections.
In the event cleanup, repairs, construction, or other work is performed on any premises pursuant to any provision of law relating to an emergency or pursuant to any other provision of law authorizing public work on private property in order to correct, eliminate or abate a condition upon such premises which threatens to cause, or has caused a violation of any provision of this chapter, the person responsible for the occurrence or condition giving rise to such work, the occupant and the owner of the premises shall be liable, jointly and severally to the city for public expenditures.
(a) Any person aggrieved by any decision, action, finding, determination, order or directive of the authorized enforcement official, made or authorized pursuant to the provisions of this chapter or interpreting or implementing the same, may file a written request with the authorized enforcement official for reconsideration thereof withinten fifteen days of such decision, action, finding, determination or order. The appeal must set forth in detail the facts supporting the request for reconsideration. The authorized enforcement official shall render a final decision within ten days of the receipt of such request for reconsideration.
(b) Any person aggrieved by the final determination of the authorized enforcement official may appeal such determination to the board of building code appeals within ten days of notification by the authorized enforcement official of his or her final determination. Written notification of an appeal shall be filed with the city clerk within ten days after notification of the final determination of the authorized enforcement official, and shall set forth in detail the facts and reasons supporting the appeal. The appeal shall be heard by the board within thirty days from the date of filing the notice of appeal. The appellant, the authorized enforcement official and such other persons as the board may deem appropriate, shall be heard at the hearing on such appeal. Upon conclusion of the hearing, the board may affirm, reverse or modify the final determination of the authorized enforcement official as the board deems just and equitable, and in furtherance of the provisions, purposes and intent of this chapter. During the pendency of any such appeal, the final determination of the authorized enforcement official shall remain in full force and effect. The board's determination on the appeal shall be final.
Administrative proceedings may be held and administrative fines and penalties imposed in accord with Chapter 1.08 of this code, except that civil penalties shall not be limited as set forth in that chapter but are to be determined by taking into consideration all relevant circumstances, including but not limited to, the extent of harm caused by the violation, the economic benefit derived through any noncompliance, the nature and persistence of the violation, the length of time over which the violation occurs and corrective action, if any, attempted or taken by the person in charge.
12.60.350. Judicial civil penalties.
Any person who intentionally or negligently violates any provision of this chapter shall be civilly liable to the city in a sum of not to exceed five thousand dollars per day for each day in which such violation occurs. The city may petition the superior court to impose, assess, and recover such sums.
12.60.360. Remedies cumulative.
The remedies provided for in this chapter shall be cumulative and not exclusive, and shall be in addition to any and all other remedies available to the city.
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