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Recycling Facilities

Recycling Facilities. City Council Meeting February 25, 2013. Moratorium. On February 4, 2013, the City Council directed staff to prepare an interim urgency ordinance to temporarily prohibit: T he establishment of new recycling facilities;

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Recycling Facilities

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  1. Recycling Facilities City Council Meeting February 25, 2013

  2. Moratorium On February 4, 2013, the City Council directed staff to prepare an interim urgency ordinance to temporarily prohibit: • The establishment of new recycling facilities; • The expansion or modification of existing facilities; and • The resumption of discontinued legal nonconforming recycling centers.

  3. Interim Urgency Ordinance • An interim urgency ordinance establishing a moratorium has been prepared as requested. • Purpose: The moratorium provides an opportunity to determine what regulations are necessary to eliminate or reduce impacts and to further understand applicable State laws; • Applicability: No new recycling centers; no expansion of existing; no re-establishment if existing facilities are discontinued. • Exceptions: No exceptions to this moratorium are proposed. • Processing: No applications will be accepted or processed during the moratorium (exclusion for immediate fire, life safety concerns).

  4. Conclusion/Recommendation Make environmental findings required by CEQA; Adopt an interim urgency ordinance with findings; Direct staff to prepare permanent revisions to the ordinance as outlined in report, with Planning Commission and public input.

  5. Recycling Facilities

  6. Overview The City Council identified impacts associated with Recycling Facilities; The City Council has requested that staff amend existing regulations and, to address immediate concerns, has directed staff to prepare an interim urgency ordinance to prevent new facilities from being established; The City Council also requested information regarding the City’s existing recycling program.

  7. Background • On December 5, 2012, The Economic Development and Technology Committee (EdTech) of the City Council discussed Recycling Facilities at a publicly noticed meeting. • The public expressed concerns regarding the secondary impacts of these facilities, including: • Accumulation of trash and debris; • Noise; • Loitering; • Traffic congestion; • Transient activity; • Public drunkenness; and • General property upkeep.

  8. Background (continued) The EdTech Committee directed staff to amend the City’s existing regulations to eliminate or mitigate negative impacts associated with these uses. On February 4, 2013, the City Council further discussed the matter and concurred with the EdTech’s recommendation to amend the existing regulations; Recognizing the potential current and immediate threat to the public safety and welfare, the City Council directed staff to return with a moratorium on such uses; The City Council asked staff present information regarding the City’s curbside recycling program and applicable State Laws.

  9. Curbside Recycling Program The City provides a curbside recycling program for residential customers; It is estimated that theft of residential recyclables costs the City $30,000/Yr; The City offers lockable blue bins - $1.40/Mo; 196 customers use them (0.7%); To provide the City’s 27,500 residential customers lockable bins - $2.6M (4%/Mo/Customer); PW and PD have recently established new and effective enforcement operations to address theft.

  10. State Law The City Council inquired whether or not recycling facilities could be banned; Staff is exploring state law requirements regarding recycling facilities within certain distances of beverage distribution facilities, such as grocery stores; Recycling facilities are governed by the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act; Additional staff research is required to fully understand the matter.

  11. Ordinance Revisions Standards for classifying ‘Large’ and ‘Small’ facilities (500SF versus 200SF); Standards for distance/separation requirements; Design Review; Property Maintenance Hours of operation; New standard conditions; Application to new and existing facilities;

  12. Location of Recycling Centers Food4Less 1329 N. Lake rePlanet Vons 1390 N. Allen NexCycle Vons 665 N. Fair Oaks NexCycle • Beverage Container • Recycling Centers • Ralphs 160 N. Lake (rePlanet) • Food4Less 1329 N. Lake (rePlanet) • Vons 1390 N. Allen (NexCycle) • Ralphs 3601 N. Foothill (rePlanet) • Vons 665 N. Fair Oaks (NexCycle) 3 2 5 4 1 Ralphs 3601 N. Foothill rePlanet Ralphs 160 N. Lake rePlanet

  13. Existing Facilities *Application Pending to change hours of operation

  14. Existing Facilities • All five existing recycling centers were established prior to the City’s requirement to obtain a Minor Conditional Use permit and are considered to be Legal Non-Conforming Uses (“grandfathered”). • Pursuant to Municipal Code Section 17.71.040, a non-conforming use may be continued and maintained, provided that there is no addition, alteration, or enlargement of the use.

  15. Existing Regulations • Since there are no conditions of approval regulating these uses, they are governed by general property maintenance regulations; • Some issues that the PMC deals with generically for all uses in the City include: • Accumulations of litter, debris and junk • Excessive noise • Odors causing discomfort or annoyance • Unsanitary, unsightly or blighted conditions detrimental to the public

  16. Code Compliance Process • When a use is in violation of general property maintenance requirements: • 1st Violation: Business is warned • 2nd and Subsequent Violations: Citations ranging from $104 – 1,044 • Further Violations: Code Enforcement Commission to require corrective measures • City Prosecutor: Fines, abatement, other penalties

  17. Existing Centers • Existing Problems with Recycling Centers: • Loitering • Trash/Debris • Drinking alcohol in public • Noise

  18. Potential Solutions to Existing Problems • Change existing standards in ordinance: • Reduce hours of operation; • Increase distance requirements; • Regulate hours of pickup; • Require specific site maintenance standards; • These changes would address future uses, but would not affect existing operators.

  19. Potential Solutions to Existing Problems • Amendments to Affect Existing Operators • Explore the City’s ability to require existing uses to obtain a CUP within a specific period of time and comply with regulations governing these uses – [City of Alhambra has adopted a similar ordinance]. • Potential ordinance changes should balance the City’s desire to protect and preserve neighborhoods while allowing for the promotion of sustainable practices (including recycling).

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