ORDINANCE NO. ___
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF ATHERTON AMENDING CHAPTER 15.52 OF THE ATHERTON MUNICIPAL CODE REGARDING
RECYCLING OF DEBRIS FROM CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION (C&D) WHEREAS, on October 21, 2026, the City Council held a duly noticed public hearing as prescribed by law to introduce and consider the first reading of the amendment of Chapter 15.52 of the Atherton Municipal Code and receive public comment.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the Town of Atherton that Chapter 15.52 of the Atherton Municipal Code shall be hereby amended, based on the findings, supported by substantial evidence in the record, as follows:
The City Council of the Town of Atherton does hereby ordain as follows:
SECTION 1. RECITALS. The recitals set forth above are true and correct and are hereby incorporated herein by this reference as if fully set forth in their entirety.
SECTION 2. AMENDMENT TO CODE. Chapter 15.52, "Recycling of Debris from Construction and Demolition", is hereby amended to the Atherton Municipal Code to read as follows:
Chapter 15.52
RECYCLING OF DEBRIS FROM CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION
15.52.010 Findings and purpose.
The city council of the town hereby finds and determines that the town is committed to protecting the public health, safety, welfare and environment; that in order to meet these goals it is necessary that the town promote the reduction of solid waste and reduce the stream of solid waste going to landfills; that under California law as embodied in the California Waste Management Act (California Public Resources Code Sections 40000 et seq.), Atherton is required to prepare, adopt and implement source reduction and recycling elements to reach reduction goals, and is required to make substantial reductions in the volume of waste materials going to landfill, under the threat of penalties of ten thousand dollars per day; that construction and demolition projects in Atherton are required to recycle construction and demolition waste per the California Green Building Standards Code, also known as CALGreen (CCR Title 24, Part 11), which has been adopted and incorporated by reference into town code §15.19.010; that debris from construction and demolition of buildings represents a large portion of the volume presently coming from Atherton, and that much of said debris is particularly suitable for
recycling; and that Atherton’s commitment to the reduction of waste and to compliance with state law requires the establishment of programs for recycling and salvaging construction and demolition materials. The city council recognizes that requiring construction and demolition (C&D) debris to be recycled and reused may in some respects add modestly to the cost of demolition and in other respects may make possible some cost recovery and cost reduction; and that it is necessary in order to protect the public health, safety and welfare that the following regulations be adopted. (Ord. 529, 2002)
15.52.020 Definitions.
For purposes of this chapter the following definitions apply:
A. “Contractor” means any person or entity holding, or required to hold, a contractor’s license of any type under the laws of the State of California, or who performs (whether as contractor, subcontractor or owner-builder) any construction, demolition, remodeling, or landscaping service relating to buildings or accessory structures in Atherton.
B. “Covered project” means any project that is subject to CALGreen C&D debris recycling requirements. Covered project may include, but is not limited to the following, as determined by the building official or designee: new construction, qualifying additions and alterations, and qualifying demolition, and in particular may include projects subject to the construction waste management requirements of Sections 4.408 and 5.408 of CCR Title 24, Part 11.
C. “Construction and demolition debris” or “C&D debris” means:
1. Discarded materials generally considered to be not water soluble and non-hazardous in nature, including but not limited to steel, glass, brick, concrete, asphalt material, pipe, gypsum, wallboard, and lumber from the construction or destruction of a structure as part of a construction or demolition project or from the renovation of a structure and/or landscaping, and including rocks, soils, tree remains, trees, and other vegetative matter that normally results from land clearing, landscaping and development operations for a construction project.
2. Clean cardboard, paper, plastic, wood scraps, and metal scraps from any construction and/or landscape project.
3. De minimis amounts of other non-hazardous wastes that are generated at construction or demolition projects, provided such amounts are consistent with best management practices of the industry.
4. Mixing of C&D debris with other types of solid waste will cause it to be classified as other than C&D debris.
D. “Demolition” means the decimating, razing, ruining, tearing down, or wrecking of any facility, structure, pavement, or building, whether in whole or in in part, whether interior or exterior.
E. “Designated recyclable and reusable materials” means:
1. Masonry building materials including all products generally used in construction including, but not limited to asphalt, concrete, rock, stone and brick.
2. Wood materials including any and all dimensional lumber, fencing or construction wood that is not chemically treated, creosoted, CCA pressure treated, contaminated or painted.
3. Vegetative materials including trees, tree parts, shrubs, stumps, logs, brush or any other type of plants that are cleared from a site for construction or other use.
4. Metals including all metal scrap such as, but not limited to, pipes, siding, window frames, door frames and fences.
5. Roofing materials including wood shingles as well as asphalt, stone and slate based roofing material.
6. Salvageable materials including all salvageable materials and structures including, but not limited to wallboard, doors, windows, fixtures, toilets, sinks, bath tubs and appliances.
F. “Mixed C&D recycling facility” means a facility that accepts mixed C&D debris for the purpose of manually and/or mechanically sorting the material into recyclable components for the purpose of recycling a portion of the total material entering the facility.
G. “Approved mixed C&D recycling facility” means a facility which has been identified by the building official as having recycling rates, reporting mechanisms, and sorting systems which have the highest potential for helping the town achieve its recycling goals and policies. (Ord. 529, 2002)
15.52.030 Deconstruction and salvage and recovery.
Every structure planned for demolition shall be made available for deconstruction, salvage and recovery prior to demolition. No demolition shall commence until a period of ten working days has elapsed from the date of issuance of the demolition permit, in order to facilitate deconstruction, salvage and recovery prior to demolition. It shall be the responsibility of the owner, the general contractor and all subcontractors to recover the maximum feasible amount of salvageable designated recyclable and reusable materials prior to demolition. Recovered and salvaged designated recyclable and reusable materials from the deconstruction phase shall qualify to be counted in meeting the recycling requirements of this chapter. Recovered or
salvaged materials may be given or sold on the premises, or may be removed to reuse warehouse facilities for storage or sale. Title to recyclable materials forwarded to the operator of recycling facilities or of a landfill that is under contract to the cities in southern San Mateo County will transfer to the service provider upon departure of materials from the site. (Ord. 529, 2002)
15.52.040 Recycling requirements.
All covered projects shall adhere to the requirement that seventy-five percent of the total nonhazardous C&D debris tonnage generated by the project be diverted from landfills by using recycling, reuse, or diversion programs.
15.52.050 Information required before issuance of permit.
Every applicant shall register their project and submit properly completed recycling and waste reduction plans, in a form or format as prescribed by the building official, which may include registration and plan submittal via an online software platform. The plans shall contain a goodfaith estimate of the tonnage or other specified units of construction and/or demolition debris to be generated from construction and demolition on the site. Approval of the project registration and plans as complete and satisfactory shall be a condition precedent to issuance of any building or demolition permit. (Ord. 529, 2002)
15.52.060 Administrative fee.
As a condition precedent to issuance of any permit for a covered project, the applicant shall pay to the town a fee sufficient to compensate the town for all expenses incurred in administering, reviewing, and monitoring compliance with the permit and this chapter. The amount of this fee shall be determined in accordance with the current resolution of the city council. (Ord. 529, 2002)
15.52.070 On site practices.
During the term of the covered project, the contractor shall recycle C&D debris in compliance with this Chapter and with CALGreen, and shall maintain and provide to the Town upon request evidence of records sufficient to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of this chapter.
The contractor or other responsible party shall submit required project information and documentation through the recycling management system designated by the town within the time periods established by the building official.
Required records may include, but are not limited to, weight tickets, receipts, invoices, facility records, photographs, or other documentation demonstrating that materials generated by the project were recycled, reused, salvaged, or otherwise properly disposed of.
The building official will evaluate and monitor each project to gauge the amounts of materials recycled, salvaged and disposed from the project.
To the maximum extent feasible, on-site separation of scrap wood and clean green waste in a designated debris box or boxes shall be arranged, in order to permit chipping and mulching for soil enhancement or land cover purposes. In order to protect chipping and grinding machinery, metal and other materials which cannot be chipped or ground shall not be placed in such boxes.
On-site separation shall be undertaken for wallboard to the extent feasible on new construction. (Ord. 529, 2002)
15.52.080 Reporting.
Within the time period established by the building official, following the completion of any covered project, the contractor or other responsible party shall submit required documentation through the recycling management system designated by the town to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of Section 15.52.040.
Documentation for a covered project must be submitted and approved by the building official before final inspection. If a project involves both demolition and construction, the documentation for the demolition project must be submitted and approved by the building official before issuance of a building permit for construction.
Failure to submit the required documentation within the established time period, or to meet the CALGreen C&D debris recycling requirements, shall constitute a violation of this chapter.
As required, the building official shall maintain records and prepare reports regarding the number and types of permits issued; the number and types of projects covered by recycling requirements; and the total tonnage generated and recycled from completed projects. (Ord. 529, 2002)
15.52.090 Administrative Citations.
Violations of the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to administrative citations pursuant to the provisions of Section 1.21 of this code.
15.52.100 Designation of approved mixed C&D recycling facility.
The building official may identify individual facilities as an approved mixed C&D recycling facility and require contractors working on projects covered by the recycling requirements of this chapter to deliver non-source-separated construction and demolition materials to these facilities for the purpose of helping to increase town recycling rates and achievement of AB 939 goals.
Covered projects that deliver all non-source-separated C&D debris to mixed C&D recycling facilities approved by the building official shall be deemed to have met the requirements of Section 15.52.040.
SECTION 3: SCOPE. Except as set forth in this Ordinance, all other provisions of the Atherton Municipal Code shall remain in full force and effect.
SECTION 4: SEVERABILITY. The City Council hereby declares it would have passed this Ordinance sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph, and section by section, and does hereby declare that any provision in the Ordinance severable and, if for any reason any sentence, paragraph, or section of this Ordinance shall be held invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining parts of this Ordinance.
SECTION 5: NO MANDATORY DUTY. This Ordinance is not intended to and shall not be construed or given effect in a manner that imposes the City or other officer or employee thereof a mandatory duty of care towards persons and property within or without the City, so as to provide a basis of civil liability for damages, except as otherwise imposed by law.
SECTION 6: EFFECTIVE DATE. This Ordinance shall be posted in at least three public places according to law and shall take effect and be in force from and after 30 days after its passage and adoption.
Introduced on the 21st of October 2026.
Passed and adopted as ordinance of the City Council of the Town of Atherton at a regular meeting thereof held on the ___ day of ___ 2026 by the following vote:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS:
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS:
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS:
ABSTAIN: COUNCILMEMBERS:
______________________________
STACY HOLLAND, MAYOR
ATTEST:
_____________________________
ANTHONY SUBER, CITY CLERK