Ord 1997-27ORDINANCE NO. 27
AN ORDINANCE OF THE COSTA MESA SANITARY
DISTRICT PROHIBITING SCAVENGING AND PROVIDING
FOR THE REMOVAL OF WASTE CONTAINERS
WHEREAS, the Costa Mesa Sanitary District is a sanitary district established pursuant
to the provisions of California Health and Safety Code Section 6400 et seq.; and
WHEREAS, Health and Safety Code Section 6512 provides that a sanitary district has
the authority to operate garbage collection and disposal systems; and
WHEREAS, Health and Safety Code Section 6518 provides that sanitary districts may
collect waste and garbage; and
WHEREAS, in Ex Parte Sozzi (54 Cal App 304) the Court recognized that a sanitary
district has the right to grant the right to another person to be the District's trash collection
contractor; and
WHEREAS, Health and Safety Code Section 6521 provides that a sanitary district may
make and enforce regulations for all sanitary purposes not in conflict with the laws of the state;
and
WHEREAS, Health and Safety Code Section 6522 provides that a sanitary district has
the incidental powers necessary to complete the exercise of its specific powers; and
WHEREAS, all California communities are under a legislative mandate to reduce their
waste stream by specified percentages by "A.B. 939" (The California Integrated Waste
Management Act of 1989 - Public Resources Code Section 4000 et sec .); and
WHEREAS, the California courts have recognized that recycled goods are the property
of the government entity that collects trash or their franchisee /contractor (See Waste
Management of the Desert, Inc. and the City of Rancho Mirage v Palm Springs Recycling
Center, Inc. (1994) 7 Ca1.4th 478, 28 Cal.Rptr.2d 461, 869 P.2d 440; City of San Marcos v.
Coast Waste Management, Inc. (1996) 47 Cal.App.4th 320, 54 Cal.Rptr.2d 588).
WHEREAS, Health and Safety Code Section 6523 provides that violation of a district
regulation is a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine of up to one - thousand dollars per day
and /or up to six months in jail; and
WHEREAS, in Guptil v. Ke1sy 6 Cal. 35, a court upheld the right of a sanitary district
to prosecute a person removing trash without authorization to do so;
NOW, THEREFORE, the Board of Directors of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District does
ORDAIN as follows:
Section 1. Purpose. The purpose of this Ordinance is to implement the District's
authority to provide for the collection of trash, garbage and other waste in the waste stream, and
to recover and provide for the recapture and recycling of such parts of the waste stream. A
further purpose is to provide for the public health and welfare and sanitary streets by requiring
that waste containers be stored on the property out of view except for reasonable periods of time
for collection.
Section 2. Rubbish Removal - Scavenging Prohibited. The District and its duly
authorized agents or any contractor with whom the District may at any time enter into a contract
or franchise therefor, and the agents, servants and employees of said contractor while any said
contract or franchise is in force shall have the exclusive right to gather, collect and remove all
waste material from all residential premises in the District and no other persons than those above
specified shall gather, collect and remove any waste material or convey or transport any rubbish
in or along or over any public street, alley or highway in the District, or take any waste material
from any receptacle in which the same has been placed for collection or removal or interfere
with or disturb any such receptacle or remove any such receptacle from any location where same
is placed by the owner thereof; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall be deemed
to prohibit the occupant of any dwelling house, commercial establishment, or industry, from
himself removing any waste material accumulated on the premises occupied by him as a dwelling
house, commercial establishment, or industry, and disposing of the same in a lawful manner,
or to prohibit any person from gathering, collecting and removing from the premises occupied
by him any waste material or other objects of debris considered to be large items. Once waste
material has been placed in a container and placed curbside for collection, no person shall
scavenge or remove any item from said container except for the District's contractor/ franchisee.
Section 3. Removal of Trash Containers. Residential waste material containers shall
be removed from the curb by midnight the day of trash collection and shall be stored in the rear
or side yard of the property so as to be out of view from the street. Such containers shall not
be placed at the curb for collection earlier than 5 p.m. on the evening before the scheduled
collection day.
Section 4. Penalty. Any person, firm or corporation violating the provisions of this
ordinance shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and punishable by a fine of up to one - thousand
dollars per day and /or up to six months in jail.
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Section 5. Severance Clause. Should any part, clause or section of this Ordinance be
declared by any Court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the remaining provisions of this
Ordinance shall nevertheless be and remain in full force and effect and the Board of Directors
of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District of Orange County, California, hereby declares that each and
every section, clause, provision or part of this Ordinance would have been adopted and made
a part of this Ordinance without the adoption of any portion thereof and that the invalidity of any
part of provision hereof shall not in any way affect the validity or enforcement or the remaining
provisions of this Ordinance.
Section 6. Effective Date. Pursuant to Health and Safety Code Sections 6490 and
6491.3, the Secretary shall cause this ordinance to be published in a newspaper of general
circulation printed and published in the District according to law and it shall take effect upon
the expiration of one week after publication.
PASSED and ADOPTED this day of
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STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) SS
CITY OF COSTA MESA )
I, JOAN REVAK, Clerk of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District, hereby certify that the above
and foregoing Ordinance No. a 7 , was duly and regularly passed and adopted by said
Board of Directors at a regular meeting thereof, held on the day of
19 q 7.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the Costa
Mesa Sanitary District, this day of , 19 �7 .
Clerk of #e Costa Mesa Sanitary District