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Pleasant Hill council introduces ordinance forcing trash‑capture devices to meet regional stormwater mandate
Summary
After staff said the city is at 87.3% of required trash capture and one large parcel accounts for about 10% of the load, council introduced an ordinance requiring certified inlet filters or other approved devices on private parcels and public right‑of‑way to comply with MRP Provision C10.
Pleasant Hill's City Council on March 2 introduced an ordinance to require installation and maintenance of approved trash‑capture devices on private parcels and in the public right‑of‑way where needed to meet the Bay Area Municipal Regional Permit (MRP) Provision C10.
Staff presentation: Tisha, the city's civil engineer, told the council the city currently documents 87.3% trash capture citywide but the MRP requires incremental reductions leading to full capture; a single high‑trash commercial parcel near Contra Costa Boulevard and Chilanzingo accounts for roughly 10% of the city's total trash load, keeping the city out of compliance. Staff said failure to reach the MRP target risks a cease‑and‑desist order and fines (staff referenced potential fines up to $10,000 a day) if the city does not present and implement a plan to achieve required capture.
What the ordinance would require: the amendment to Municipal Code chapter 15.05 would allow the city to require certified trash‑capture devices such as inlet filters (the most common, roughly $500 each), pipe screens, or larger hydrodynamic separators on private commercial parking lots and other high‑generation parcels. Devices must capture particles 5 mm or larger and follow waterboard‑approved specifications; maintenance obligations also would be required.
Outreach and enforcement: staff said the city will pursue good‑faith outreach to parcel owners before enforcement, including certified notice and follow‑up. Existing enforcement tools in municipal code include nuisance abatement (with cost recovery), administrative citations (with fee schedule), civil action and permit revocation. Staff said publicly funded grant sources for private‑parcel device installation are not known to them, though jurisdictions sometimes secure grants for public‑right‑of‑way installations.
Costs and alternatives: staff estimated inlet filters at about $500 per unit plus initial maintenance costs; pipe screens are more expensive but centralize maintenance on a downstream pipe, while hydrodynamic separators are large, costly structures typically used in higher‑density, shoreline jurisdictions. Staff recommended tailoring outreach and device selection to each zone and parcel.
Council action: council voted to introduce the ordinance, instruct staff to perform outreach in good faith and return with required ordinances and implementation steps. Staff emphasized the ordinance is meant to allow compliance actions only after outreach; the city will report progress to the regional waterboard once full capture is achieved.
Provenance: staff presentation and council discussion are recorded in the meeting transcript and generated the council's introduction of the ordinance.
