Retail committee votes 3-0 to recommend four public‑works ordinances to City Council

The Palo Alto Retail Committee voted 3–0 on Aug. 20 to recommend that City Council adopt four ordinance chapters and associated resolutions that separate and update municipal rules for stormwater, fats‑oils‑and‑grease (FOG), hauled liquid waste and sewer use.

Staff said the package is largely a codification and reorganization of existing requirements with several new provisions intended to reduce sewer and stormwater pollution. "It's a 4 package deal. It's mostly a cleanup," said Karen North, assistant director of public works, introducing the proposal and the staff team. The committee's vote followed staff presentations, public comment and a councilmember question-and-answer period.

The ordinances would: separate stormwater provisions from the existing sewer use chapter into a standalone stormwater ordinance; establish a standalone FOG ordinance and new requirements for grease control devices and secondary containment for used cooking oil containers; create a standalone hauled liquid waste chapter that specifies allowed waste types, testing and sampling of hauled discharges and reporting; and revise the sewer use ordinance to align with federal…