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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 06181991 - IO.3 �. L.O. -3 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORSSE L : Contra FROM: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE / Costa o rs County DATE: June 10, 1991 Ops�q EpUN�`4r SUBJECT: STATUS REPORT ON THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL FOR THE ACME TRANSFER STATION SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. Direct staff from the Community Development Department to discuss with representatives from Acme Fill Corp. the feasibility of having Acme construct now the- type of additional access gate which will be required as a condition of approval for the permanent transfer station and report their conclusions and the terms and conditions of any agreement which appears to be workable and acceptable to all affected parties back to our Committee no later than September 9, 1991. If such an agreement can be reached at an earlier date, our Committee will be happy to make arrangements to hear this report at an earlier date. 2. Direct staff from the Community Development Department to meet with staff from the Office of the Sheriff-Coroner, and as necessary with representatives from Acme Fill Corp. in an effort to define a litter enforcement program which can be funded in such a manner that the enforcement program need not depend on fine and forfeiture surcharges imposed against violators for its continued existence and report their conclusions and the terms and conditions of any agreement which appears to be workable and acceptable to all affected parties back to our Committee no later than September 9, 1991. If such an agreement can be reached at -an earlier date, our Committee will be happy to make arrangements to hear this report at an earlier date. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: __X_YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR DATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S): I, HRODER SUNNE WRIGHT MC PEAK ACTION OF BOARD ON . unt- 18, 1991 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED X OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE _Ya_UNANIMOUS(ABSENT I• III ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. CC: ATTESTED 199/ Please See Page 2. PHI BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR M382 (10/88) BY DEPUTY I .O. -3 -2- 3 . Request staff from the Community Development Department to report back to our Committee on September 9, 1991 on the subject of a host mitigation compensation program for the residents of the Arthur Road area, as has previously been. discussed with our Committee and reported to the Board of Supervisors. 4. Request the Public Works Director to insure that the concrete blocks reported 'to our Committee in the attached staff report are removed as soon as feasible. It is understood that payment for this removal work will be paid for from existing resource recovery funds. BACKGROUND: On April 2, 1991, the Board of Supervisors approved our last report on this subject. In response to those referrals, our Committee met with staff from the Community Development Department and Sheriff-Coroner 's Office on June 10, 1991. We received and reviewed in some detail the attached staff reports from both departments. Despite the suggestions from Community :Development that we look at a key arrangement to resolve the Martinez Gun Club access problems, we are impressed with the Sheriff ' s concerns about whether such a proposal is enforceable on any kind of realistic basis. The Sheriff recommends that a second access gate be erected by Acme adjacent to the Gun Club entrance, thereby allowing access to the Gun Club through the existing gate, but not allowing access to Acme from this pointwithout approval from Acme. Chuck Zahn indicated that such a gate would be required as a condition of approval for the permanent transfer station. Rather than asking Acme to build one solution now and another a year from now, it might be . most feasible and appropriate to ask Acme to simply build .now what they will eventually_ be required to build anyway. We are also impressed with the Sheriff 's concerns about having a $10 violators fee which may discourage- legal disposal of waste, encourage illegal littering and require that the increase enforcement effort depend on a funding source which the enforcement action is intended to eliminate. ' We think that the suggestion of a very modest increase in the tipping fee might be enough to finance such an enforcement program and would not require dependance on a violator surcharge to finance the enforcement program. We have, therefore, made the above recommendations and hope that the full Board will agree with us on the need for their prompt approval. cc: County Administrator Director, G.M.& E.D. , Agency Community Development Director Chuck Zahn, CDD Sheriff-Coroner Acme Fill Corp (Via CDD) County Counsel CONTRA COSTA COUNTY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT June 10, 1991 TO: . Internal Operations Committee FROM: Chuck Zahn, Assistant Director-Conserv tion Louise Aiello, Planning Coordinator g SUBJECT: Conditions of Approval/ACME Transfer Station Three Conditions of Approval for the ACME Transfer Station were previously reviewed with your Committee. 1. Host Mitigation Compensation. As part of your Committee' s recommendation 'to the Board of Supervisors, and the Board' s subsequent action, Host Mitigation Compensation is to be included as part of the negotiations on the Franshise for the ACME Transfer Station. These negotiations are closely related to the negotiations to establish a Joint Powers Agreement for the purchase of the ACME Transfer Station. Consequently, resolution •of the Host Mitigation compensation is not concluded. 2. Removal of Litter/Concrete from Waterfront Road area. Public Works staff examined the concrete blocks which are in the right-of=way area off Waterfront Road. Because the blocks -have been at this location for a very long time, Public Works staff does not believe they were placed there by CALTRANS. Due to the size of the concrete blocks, they must be broken-up • to allow removal. Arrangements have been made with Public Works to break-up the blocks and then have the smaller pieces taken to County Quarry. It is expected that this will be completed by the end of June. 3. Litter Control and Gate Access/Arthur Road area. Staff recommends that the Arthur Road area be included as part of the Adopt-a-Road Litter campaign effort which will be reviewed with the Environmental Affairs Committee this afternoon. This program will provide for community groups to adopt roadways, median strips , and/or parks for litter pick-up by the group. Additionally, Sheriff Department staff are exploring enforcement options and may have a separate .staff report. Previously, staff had listed three alternatives to minimize use of the gate; these alternatives included (1) re-keying the gate and reducing the number of persons from the Martinez Gun Club who have a key; ( 2) requiring ACME to purchase access rights from the Gun Club and permanently eliminating access; and, (3 ) requiring ACME to add an additional "stop/interchange" . The Martinez Gun Club representatives have expressed opposition to all three alternatives. Staff recommends Alternative #1--Re-keying the gate ACME Conditions/IO Comm. , pg. 2 and allowing only 1 non-duplicable key to the Gun club. This alternative provides access for significant events held at the Gun Club which has been the reason the Gun Club has wanted to maintain access via . this route. This option, however, minimizes the potential for regular access via this route because the Gun Club would have only one, non-duplicable key. SHERIFF-CORONER'S DEPARTMENT Contra Costa County Patrol Division 415-313-2500 4 Date: June 6, 1991 To: Internal Operations Committee From: RICHARD K. RAINEY, Sheriff-Coroner by: Warren E ssistant Sheriff Subject: Acme Transfer Station Conditions of Approval While there are many aspects of Acme Fill's land use permit which will at least indirectly affect the Sheriffs Department, the two salient topics are the Arthur Road gate and the enforcement of uncovered load violations. Acme's agreement with the Martinez Gun Club calls for the Arthur Road access to be closed off by a locked gate except when utilized by club members for specific functions. The problem, however, is that lax key control and adherence to the agreement by the gun club has resulted in this access often .being left open. Private refuse haulers consequently still use this access route to Acme Fill.. Of the proposals suggested by Louise Aiello to address this issue, the most practical would be for Acme to erect an additional fence on their property adjacent to the gun club's access. Mr. Tom Riley of Acme Fill indicates this may be one acceptable solution. The broader topic, i.e. enforcement options pertaining to load violations and the concomitant litter issues, should be approached cautiously. The desire to remediate these problems brings with it the danger of creating a self-perpetuating bureaucracy with a fiscal appetite of its own. First of all, let us examine the revenue source. Condition of approval 25.8 of Land Use Permit 2122-86 generates revenues by way of an uncovered load surcharge, collected by Acme gate operators. While conceptually appropriate, actual practice may be less than _ satisfactory. First, I have concerns over putting Acme gate personnel into an enforcement position with likely prospects of confrontational situations. More importantly, however, the $10.00 violator surcharge will encourage a significant number of violators to simply turn around and leave. Not only will the incidence of roadside litter dumps increase, but the anticipated revenues to combat the problem will largely fail to materialize. An alternate approach would call for a slightly higher rate schedule to apply to all loads entering the dump. While such a plan would .generate only modest single transaction cost, it would provide a more predictable source of funding and not create a new incentive for illegal dumps. The foregoing discussion makes it clear that enforcement activities should be a function of the revenues (and not the reverse). After all, it is not our goal to foster a self- renewing environment of load violations and companion enforcement efforts. Given the uncertainty of the proposed surcharge revenues, enforcement options should be direct, efficient and without excessive overhead to this department. I would therefore propose: 1. Deputies working the Martinez beats could easily include enforcement of uncovered load statutes as a part of their regular beat duties. (These deputies already enforce litter and related dumping violations.) 2. Additional enforcement could be undertaken within the directed patrol model of deployment of resources. Regular patrol personnel would be available to focus on the anticipated problem areas during targeted days/times on an overtime basis. This directed patrol would be funded by any revenues generated by the surcharge. As every enforcement vehicle stop has criminal potential, this activity should not be staffed by volunteers or reserve deputies. 3. The most effective and advantageous way to combat the load/litter issue is through a massive publicity and public awareness campaign. Local merchants, such as hardware outlets, might be willing to help underwrite the cost of such efforts with an ad campaign. for inexpensive plastic tarps. Such a program could prove mutually beneficial to both the County and to local businesses. If it became the intention of this Committee to opt for a formal, long term enforcement program, then reliable revenue sources and projections will be necessary. Within the framework of an. offender-based surcharge, however, .the paradox (Catch 22) is that effective enforcement measures will eliminate the revenue source. Therefore, a necessary component of any formal enforcement program is the understanding that a reliable and predictable revenue source, independent of violator surcharges, be identified. The Sheriffs Department can offer programs ranging from public awareness and education to full-time enforcement and liaison with related agencies. Depending on the funding level, positions could be staffed on a seasonal or per diem basis, or on a full-time basis.