HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Statement 1988/01/12 Item 22COUNCIL AGENDA STATEMENT
• Item 2 2
Meeting Date 1/12/88
ITEM TITLE: Public Hearing: Zoning Ordinance Amendment PCA 88-4; to amend
Title 19 (Zoning) of the t,iunicipal Code to regulate recycling
facilities mandated by AB 2020 (The Bottle Bill)
Ordinance Regulating recycling facilities
mandated by AB 2020
Resolution ~~ ~/ ~ Adopting design standards to be
utilized in the establishment of recycling facilities mandated
by the Bottle Bill
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SUBMITTED BY: Director of Planning ~~
REVIEWED BY: City Manager ~ ~?' (4/5ths Vote: Yes No X )
The City Council, on October 13, .1987, enacted an urgency ordinance to amend
the zoning ordinance on an interim basis to regulate recycling facilities
mandated by the California Beverage Recycling and Litter Reduction Act, passed
by the State Legislature in 1986. As part of the newly mandated system,
beverage recycling facilities must be established within 1/2 mile of every
• major supermarket with a gross income of two million dollars or more
(designated as convenience zones) throughout the City. The Act states that
there must be a certified recycling facility in every convenience zone by a
target date of October 1, 1987, with the possibility that fines may be levied
on beverage dealers if tt~e facilities are not in place by January 1, 1988.
The urgency ordinance was enacted for a period of 90 days with a provision
that the ordinance amendment be brought back for consideration as a permanent
ordinance at the end of the 90-day period.
The proposed ordinance amendments are categorically exempt from environmental
rEView under Section 15303 (3c) of the Guidelines of the California
Environmental Quality Act.
RECOMMENDATION:
1. Amend Title 19 of the P~tunicipal Code to regulate recycling collection
centers as shown in exhibit A attached and made a part hereto.
2. Adopt the proposed design standards for recycling collection centers
mandated by AB 2020.
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• Meeting Date 1 12 88
BOARDS/COMMISSIONS RECOMMENDATION: The Montgomery Planning Committee at its
meeting of November 18, 1987, recommended by unanimous vote that the City
Council amend the Zoning Ordinance to regulate recycling collection centers
and adopt design standards for these uses as outlined in the staff
recommendation.
The Planning Commission, at its meeting of December 2, 1987, voted unanimously
to recommend that the City Council amend the zoning ordinance to regulate
recycling collection centers as reflected in the staff recommendation.
DISCUSSION:
The Beverage Container Recycling Act requires that at least one recycling
facility be placed within a 1/2 mile radius of all supermarkets with gross
incomes of two million dollars or more within the City limits. These areas
are referred to by the State as convenience zones; Chula Vista presently has
twelve such zones, with more to be added in the future, particularly in the
eastern territories, as new supermarkets are constructed.
A recycling facility may take the form of reverse vending machines, collection
bins, a mobile recycling unit or a permanent facility. These facilities must
accept all types of beverage containers, and pay at minimum the redemption
• values prescribed by the State. In addition, they must be in operation at
least 3C hours a week; five of those hours must be outside the standard
business hours of 9:00 a. m. to 5:00 p.m., P~9onday through Friday.
Most major supermarket chains have contracted with recycling firms or are in
the process of doing so in order to provide required facilities at each of
their member stores statewide. Some of the markets with agreements include
Albertsons, Lucky Stores (Food Basket), Safeway, Alpha Beta, Ralphs and Von s.
The Planning Department is currently processing three conditional use permits
for beverage recycling centers under the terms of the interim ordinance, and
two additional applications are being prepared by recycling firms for
submittal.
The State Recycling Act prohibits municipalities from denying pe nnits to
mobile recycling units or reverse vending machines which are certified (or
have applied for certification), are located on property zoned for commercial
or industrial use within a convenience zone, and have the permission of the
property owner. Under these circumstances, local jurisdictions may only deny
permits for facilities of this type if it is specifically found and reasons
stated that the individual facility would be detrimental to public health,
safety, and well being. Local jurisdictions may limit the number of
facilities within a convenience zone, but must permit at least one.
Recycling facilities
Environmental Quality
case-by-case basis.
•
are still considered a project under the California
Act, and are subject to environmental review on a
Page 3, Item 2 2
• Meeting Date-l7T~T$~
It is possible for a local jurisdiction to apply for an exemption from the
requirement for convenience zones if a city or county has a voluntary or
mandatory curbside recycling operation in place. In curbside programs,
homeowners separate recyclable articles from their trash and leave them out
for pickup on a specified day. Curbside programs may be conducted in
conjunction with regular trash service. Chula Vista is not eligible for an
exemption since there are no programs of this nature in operation or
anticipated in the near future. The County of San Diego is, however,
exploring the feasibility of such a program, and may in the future wish to
include cities which use County landfills in a curbside recycling project.
In order to accommodate the requirements of the Recycling Act, both Title 19
of the Municipal Code and the zoning ordinance governing Montgomery must be
modified. The Municipal Code makes no provision for recycling centers, either
as an accessory or a primary use. The ~~ontgomery zoning ordinance contains a
"recycling collection center" use type, which is permitted in C-37, C-38,
C-40, P7-54 and M-58 zones, but is restricted to collection receptacles not to
exceed 128 cubic feet per parcel in C-35 and C-:s6 zones. A minor use permit
must be obtained to install receptacles holding a total of more than lg2 cubic
feet per legal parcel in all other commercial and limited industrial use
regulations. The limitation on the amount of cubic feet stored is especially
restrictive for C-36 use regulations, since they are the most likely locations
for major supermarkets to operate. The zoning ordinance for P+tontgomery gives
• no direction with regard to site desiyn or aesthetic treatment as applied to
the recycling collection center use type.
Staff is recommending that recycling facilities be separated into three
general categories, and be permitted within commercial and industrial zones
within a convenience zone, subject to varying degrees of review.
Reverse vending machines of the type shown i 11 ustrated i n Exhi bi t B coul d be
permitted as an accessory use to a grocery or other general retail use subject
to administrative site plan review by the Planning Department. Most reverse
vending machines will also require a building permit to accommodate the
increased power requirements needed for the machines, since they usually
exceed the normal requirements of beverage vending machines. T{ie number of
reverse vending machines subject to administrative site plan review should not
exceed three, or 15D square feet of occupied area, since installation of more
machines tends to present a more dominant visual display and should be
evaluated as a zoning administrator approved CUP.
Collection bins, bulk reverse vending machines, and other small collection
facilities could be allowed as an accessory use subject to a zoning
administrator approved CUP for facilities occupying an area not to exceed 300
square feet. These types of small collection facilities require more in-depth
revie~~~ in terms of site design and aesthetics, in that they often are located
in required parking spaces, are more visually predominant, and may require
operation by permanent employees.
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• Meeting DateT/T~/$~
All other collection facilities exceeding 300 square feet of occupied area,
either mobile or permanent, saiould be subject to a conditional use permit
approved by the Planning Commission.
These facilities may have a permanent building, be located on a separate
facility not appurtenant to a host use, have open storage, and emit higher
noise levels associated with processing recycled articles into bales or bricks
for transportation. It can be assumed that higher volumes of recycled
materials are accommodated by this size facility. It should be noted that
large collection centers should process recycled articles only for shipment to
another location and only as an accessory to collection activities.
Industries -~rhich process or manufacture recycled articles into other materials
as a primary use are more appropriately categorized as an industrial activity
and would be subject to different zoning regulations.
In order to insure that properties which contain recycling collection centers
do not become littered with trash and debris and that recycled materials are
removed on a regular basis, staff is recommending that site plan approval or a
conditional use permit can be revoked by the permitting authority upon
presentation of evidence that a center is not being maintained in a safe and
sani tary manner.
• Finally, staff has prepared design standards which would establish criteria
for evaluating the location and design of the range of recycling collection
facilities which could be established within the convenience zones. The
standards define the characteristics of each type of recycling center,
stipulate adherence to noise and performance standards, and determine parking,
setbacks, buffer areas, and requirements for landscaping and design review.
Proposed design standards are included in Exhibit C of this report.
FISCAL IP-1PACT: tdone.
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