HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 176-06City of Palo Alto
City Manager’s Report
TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: PUBLIC WORKS
DATE:MARCH 20, 2006 CMR:176:06
SUBJECT:FIRST YEAR RESULTS OF CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION
DEBRIS REUSE AND RECYCLING PROGRAM
This is an informational report and no Council action is required.
DISCUSSION
The purpose of the attached report is to inform the City Council of the first year results of the
City’s Construction and Demolition (C&D) Debris Reuse and Recycling Program (Program). In
May 2004, City Council adopted Ordinance No. 4830 which added Chapter 5.24, Requirement to
Divert Construction and Demolition Waste from Landfill to the Palo Alto Municipal Code. A
program was developed to implement the requirements of the Ordinance.
The Program was implemented in November 2004 with a primary goal to help reduce the
amount of C&D debris being disposed of in landfills. During Program development, it was
estimated the Program would affect 500 projects, and divert 20,000 tons of C&D debris. In its
first year, the Program affected 560 projects for an estimated 21,900 tons of C&D debris. The
Program covered projects in 11 different building permit categories, ranging from residential
home demolition to commercial building remodels.
Education and outreach for the Program includes web pages, an informational brochure, job site
poster, Program participation signs, and project address cards for contractors. A Debris
Management Plan form was created so applicants could calculate how much debris their project
would generate and designate where they would take the debris for reuse or recycling, all prior to
beginning the project. An approved list of C&D debris reuse and recycling facilities was
established so permit applicants could simply pick from a list of facilities that could meet the
requirements of the Program. A Sustainability Coordinator staff position, hired within the
Planning and Community Environment Department and funded by Public Works Refuse Fund,
was established at the Development Center to implement the Program and provide informational
and technical assistance. The $225 fee charged to permit applicants, for projects covered by the
Program, recovered staff position and Program costs.
The most common materials diverted from landfills were mixed C&D (e.g., wood, metal,
gypsum board, concrete, etc. all mixed together), concrete, asphalt, and metal. Permit applicants
for projects covered under the Program are required to submit receipts at the end of their project
CMR:176:06 Page 1 of 2
indicating the weight of the C&D debris that they delivered to a reuse or recycling facility.
During the first year of the Program:
¯158 of the 560 projects (28%) covered under the Program completed their project within
the year;
¯37 of the 158 completed projects (23%) fully complied with the Program; and
¯353 projects (63%),covered under the Program are still in progress so they have not
submitted documentation of their C&D debris diversion activities.
Projects mentioned above which were completed but did not submit receipts, are cmTently being
addressed by the Sustainability Coordinator to bring them into compliance. Upon evaluation of
the first year, the following adjustments are planned to increase compliance with the Program:
¯Implement method of tracking completed demolition projects in Accela system. This
will allow Sustainability Coordinator to follow-up on demolition projects in a timely
manner.
¯Create C&D sheet to be included with plan set. Including Program requirements on the
plan set will notify the contractor at the job site of the Program requirements which they
may not have been aware of if they were not responsible for preparing the Program
paperwork.
¯Development of standardized protocol of handling non-compliance cases including
letters, phone calls and referral to Code Enforcement only as a last resort.
Considering that approximately 25% of Palo Alto’s waste being disposed in landfills is C&D
debris, this Program will continue to play an important role.
ATTACHMENT
Attachment A: "City of Palo Alto Construction and Demolition Program Year One Review"
PREPARED BY:
DEPARTMENT HEAD:
MICt~t,2KEL JACKSON
De,p_~Director, Public Works Operations
GLENN S. ROBERTS
Director of Public Works
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL
EMIl HARRISON
Assistant City Manager
CMR: 176:06 Page 2 of 2
ATTACHMENT A
City of Palo Alto
Construction and Demolition Program
Year One Review
February 14, 2006
Prepared By:
Jason Nortz
Sustainability Coordinator
City of Palo Alto
(650) 329-2189
jason.nortz@cityofpaloalto.org
Program Overview:
On November 1, 2004 the City of Palo Alto fully implemented the Construction and Demolition
Program. The main goal of the C&D program is to help reduce the amount of construction and
demolition debris that is being disposed of in our landfills through reuse and recycling. It is estimated
that nearly 25% of all waste generated in Palo Alto is construction and demolition debris.
The C&D program requires that all qualifying or "covered" projects divert at least 90% of all inert
material (asphalt, concrete, etc.) and 50% of the remaining C&D debris from the landfill per PAMC Ch.
5.24. Covered projects include any project requiring a demolition permit and all projects that are valued
at $75,000 or more. The program applies to both residential and commercial projects which will
typically include new construction, remodels, additions, alterations and tenant improvements.
How the Program Works:
All covered projects must submit C&D forms with the building department. The Building Division
counter staffwill determine if the project qualifies for the C&D program based on the above
qualifications. If the project falls within the above parameters then the building department will provide
the C&D Diversion Program Package. This package includes the following materials:
1.Acknowledgement Form (Form #1).
2.Debris Management Form (Form #2).
3.Approved Facilities List (Form #3)
The applicant is required to complete Forms #t & #2 and submit the forms with the building permit as
part of the building permit process. Form #3 is used to assist the applicant in finding a recycling
facility. There is also a program fee of $225 that is required. This fee recovers the cost to the City for
the implementation and operation of the C&D program. If the applicant needs assistance or plans need
to be reviewed the C&D Coordinator will meet with the applicant to go over the details of the program.
In some cases the person applying for the building permit is unable to provide the necessary
information. In this instance the forms will need to be completed by the appropriate person and turned
back into the Building Department. The building department will route the forms to C&D Coordinator
for approval. The C&D Coordinator will notify the applicant that their forms have been received and
are either approved or are being reviewed for completeness. Once the forms have been approved the
information will be entered into Accela. Accela is the database that tracks the status of all building
permits. Building permits cannot be issued without the C&D section approved in the Accela database
system. Once the project begins the applicant is contacted to make sure there are no problems and to
ensure the program is running smoothly. Some site visits and waste assessments were conducted as
needed.
Upon project completion the applicant will be reminded that they have 30 days after the final building
inspection to submit all weight tags and receipts for all diversion activities that occurred. The receipts
and weight tags will be reviewed by the C&D Coordinator to ensure compliance with the program.
After the weight tags have been reviewed a confirmation letter will be sent to the applicant notifying
them of the status of their project. If the applicant is unable to provide the correct information a code
enforcement case could be brought against them. If the requirements of the program are still not met
then a noncompliance fee starting at $1000 can be applied. To date no projects have been turned over to
enforcement. The main reasons for this are 1) we did not have an active enforcement component in
place until we could have the statutes and fines in the Municipal Code updated. This did not take place
until late summer, 2005.2) Due to the high turnover of staff(in Code enforcement, Chris Fujimoto
being moved to a different department, Paul being pulled off of, then put back on the program during
July and August of 2005, Jason coming on line in October of 2005), we have unfortunately not had the
time to pursue this option, although it is now it is much more viable since staff issues have been
resolved and the legal ability to levy the fines is now in place..
Program Results (Nov. 2004 - Nov. 2005):
The first year of the C&D Program reviewed and approved 560 projects for participation in the C&D
Program from November 1, 2004- November 1, 2005*. These 560projects are estimated to represent
roughly 21,900 tons of C&D debris **. The 560 projects that were approved for the C&D program can
be categorized into 11 different construction types:
1.Residential-New Single Family
2.Residential-New 2 Unit Buildings
3.Mixed Use -New Residential/Commercial Building
4.Commercial-New Building
5.Residential Remodel/Repair
6.Residential Addition Remodel
7.Commercial Remodel/Repair
8.Commercial Addition/Remodel
9.Residential Demolition
10.Commercial Demolition
11.Commercial Interior Non-Structural Demolition
* Accela reports were used tofind the total number ofprojects that were covered under the C&D
program for the first year.
** This is an estimated number based on the calculations on the Debris Management Plans (Form #2)
that have been submitted by all applicants during the first year of the program.
The following chart breaks down the number of projects by each construction type.
Residential New Single Family
Residential New 2 Unit Building
Mixed Use New Residentia!/Commercial Building
Commercial New Building
Residential Remodel/Repair
Residential Addition/Remodel
Commercial Remodel/Repair
Commercial Addition/Remodel
Residential Demolition
Commercial Demolition
?~ommercial Intedor Non-Structural Demolition
TOTAL
89
2
1
5
19
138
143
6
105
7
45
560
16.00%
0.35%
0.17%
0.89%
3.39%
24.60%
25.50%
1.10%
18.75%
1.25%
8.00%
100,00%
Each covered project that has qualified for the C&D program has been categorized based on what stage
of the process they are in. For purposes of this report the stages of completion will include:
1.Pre-Approved Projects - covered projects that have submitted approved C&D
Application Packages but have not been finaled.
2.Finaled Projects - projects that have been finaled but have not submitted weight
tags/receipts.
3. Completed Projects - projects that have submitted all weight tags/receipts and have
fully complied with all program requirements.
4. Miscellaneous - projects that have qualified for the C&D program and have been
approved for a building permit. They have been set up in the Accela system for C&D
approval but no C&D applications packages are on file. In most cases this happened
because projects were approved over the counter (usually residential demolition
projects) and no documentation was taken in.
The
Residential New
Single Family
Residential New
2 Unit Building
Mixed Use New
Residential/Commercia
Building
Commercial
New Building
Residential
Remodel/Repair
Residential
Addition/Remodel
Commercial
Remodel/Repair
Commercial
Addition/Remodel
Residential Demolition
Commercial Demolition
Commercial Intedor
Non-Structural
Demolition
TOTAL
% OF TOTAL
74
2
1
4
13
118
69
5
40
5
8
0
0
0
2
16
51
1
33
0
~e of completion they are currentl in.
1
0
0
0
1
2
13
0
8
2
6
0
0
1
3
2
10
0
24
0
22 10 10 3
353 121 37 49
63%21.6%6.6%8.8%
Pre-Approved Proiects
The highest percentage of projects falls into the category of pre-approved projects. 63% of the 560
projects that have been required to comply with the C&D program did not complete the project during
the first year of the program. The largest representative category of the pre-approved projects comes
from ResidentialAddition/Remodel Projects. This type of project accounts for 33% of the total # of
projects that are still in the pre-approved stage of the program. This information was gathered by
comparing all the projects that are on file at the Development Center to there current status as listed in
Accela. However, Accela does not track the final status of most demolition projects do to the fact that
these types of projects do not go through a final inspection. As it stands now the Building Division are
not completing Final Inspections on demolitions. This is the policy as it stands now.
67 of the 353 pre-approved projects (19%) are either residential or commercial demolition projects. So
as a result, the total number of pre-approved projects could be lower resulting in a higher number of
Finaled or Completed projects. There is no current way of confirming this information.
Finaled Projects
The second highest percentage of projects falls into the category of finaled projects. 21.6% of the 560
projects that are covered under the C&D program have completed their project but have not submitted
the necessary weight tags/receipts to show compliance with the program.
Reason (s) for noncompliance:
1. Insufficient follow through. Most of these projects were completed during the summer,
and from July-November, the majority of the time was spent proeessing new
applications.
Commercial Remodel/Repair projects represent the highest percentage of finaled projects making up
42% of the total # offinaled projects.
Completed Proiects
After the first year of the program only 6.6% of the 560 projects that have been required to comply with
the C&D program have finished their project and submitted the necessary paperwork. The main reason
this number is so low is not really a compliance issue, but rather a large percentage of pre-approved
projects have not completed their project yet due to complexity, size, etc. Commercial Remodel/Repair
projects again represent the highest percentage of the completed projects accounting for 35% of the total
# of completed projects.
Miscellaneous Proiects
The remainder of the projects falls into the category of miscellaneous. This category represents all of
the projects that have applied for building permits and are required to comply with the C&D Program.
8.8% of the 560 projects are part of this category. As stated earlier the main reason these projects have
been put into this category is because no C&D application packages are on file.
Residential Demolition projects account for 49% of all miscellaneous items. Again, one of the reasons
there may be such a high number of demolition projects that are incomplete is because demo permits are
not subject to final inspection. As a result, there is no way of tracking the current status of these
projects.
C&D Diversion Totals:
During the first year of the program 560 covered projects were processed by the C&D Program. The
initial estimated tons to be diverted from these projects were 21,900 tons. This number was calculated
using the Debris Management Forms that were submitted for each project during the programs first
year. As shown earlier, 37 total projects reached the Completed Projects stage of the C&D Process
during the first year of the program. 10 of the 37 projects completed waiver forms and thus were not
able to divert any material from their projects. As a result 27 total projects were responsible for
diverting nearly 2,600 tons of debris from the landfill.
The main reasons waivers were applied for were:
Contaminated materials, such as asbestos
Projects that triggered the $75,000 valuation mark, but simply had no materials to divert. The
most common reason for this was the replacement of large industrial equipment, such as
compressors and large AC units.
The chart below illustrates each material type diverted and to what approved location is went to.
Material
Davis St. TSF *
Harbor Sand
& Gravel
Alco Iron *
Simsmetal
SRDC
Schnitzer *
Steel
Guadalupe
Landfill
Premier *
Recycling
Palo Alto
Landfill
PASCO
Raisch
Products
:~eusable
_umber
Stevens Creek
3uarry
A/hole House
Zanker
~IRF
tOTAL
10
80
1.5 50.1
289.1
4.94
20.89
592
14.28
90.62
10.77 35.08
5.47
32
132.8
85
105
15 15.03 6.28
96 1133.9 85 15.03 6.28
* Facilities that are not on the Approved Facilities List.
40.11
55
7.4 888.83
25.14 1151.63
51.6
289.1
4.94
20.89
592
24.28
90.62
45.85
5.47
32
138.8
85
185
0.25 932.79
0.25 2553.34
As shown on the previous page, 15 facilities were used for either recycling or reuse/salvage. 94.5% of
all materials that were taken to these facilities were recycled and the remaining 5.5% were either reused
or salvaged. Zanker Materials Processing Facility was the most popular choice for diversion, accepting
nearly 37% of all diverted material. The top 5 facilities for diversion are shown below. All of these
facilities are on the Approved Facilities List.
Zanker
MRF
SRDC
Harbor Sand
& Gravel
Stevens Creek
Quarry
Raisch
Products
TOTAL
932.79
592
289.1
185
138.8
2137.69
In some cases facilities not on the approved list were used. It should be noted that every effort is made
prior to application submittal that applicants are strongly encouraged to use the approved facilities. If
tags are received from facilities that are not on the approved list we would follow up with each facility
to confirm that the material was in fact recycled. All the facilities that were used that are not on the
approved list were able to provide sufficient documentation to confirm their recycling efforts.
95% of all debris that went to Zanker was classified as Mixed C&D Debris. Mixed C&D represented
the largest type of debris diverted, accounting for 45% of all materials diverted. The top 5 most diverted
materials are shown below.
Mixed C&D 1151.63
Concrete 1133.90
~sphalt 96
Dirt 85
Metal 40.11
TOTAL 2506.64
*The top 5 materials total 98% of all debris diverted during the first year of the program.
Salvage For Reuse
As stated earlier only 5.5% of all completed projects in the first year attempted salvage for reuse. This
area of the C&D program experienced the lowest amount of participation for numerous reasons.
Without set targets, and without sites visits being preformed prior to submittal of the Debris
Management Plans it is very difficult to know if the applicant is actually salvaging as much as they
could. Also, issues related to the lack of facilities and the lack of accountability make tracking salvage
difficult, especially when it is very difficult for the C&D Coordinator to leave the office during business
6
hours. There are almost never weight tags/receipts submitted with salvaged projects so how do we
quantify the amount of material salvaged?
Public Outreach:
The C&D website is the largest outreach component to date. Applicants are able to view all the details
of the C&D program on line as well as download all the necessary forms required by the program. In
addition to providing all the necessary forms, the website also has brochures and other educational
materials that can be downloaded and used at the job site. Examples of materials used at the job site
include:
1. Project cards- developed as a resource for contractors. The idea was to have the
contractor provide the cards to their subcontractor so when the time came to take the
material to the recycling facility the subcontractor would know the project address.
2. Large Metal Display Signs- developed as a way to advertise the program throughout the
city. Due to their cost, these signs were only given out on projects that had high
visibility (one current project using these sings is the Hyatt Rickey’s Demo).
All the information that is provided on the website is available at the Development Center. Every
applicant is provided with all C&D related brochures at the counter during the submittal process. Other
outreach efforts include:
1.Utility inserts -sent out twice
2.Dedicated phone line for C&D questions.
3.The program has been mentioned twice in the Daily and on the City’s television show.
Compliance:
The general feeling from homeowners has been uniformly positive. They seem very receptive to the
obvious environmental benefits and are pleased to know that the waste from their projects will be
treated in a more responsible way. The feedback from contractors has been somewhat less enthusiastic,
but remains on the whole positive. The toughest group to convince has most certainly been the
designers, especially those that tend to act as permit managers for the homeowners. The main issue that
consistently comes up is receiving documentation from projects that have been finaled.
Future Progress:
There are a few key adjustments that need to be put in place in order to help increase the diversion totals
and create higher participation levels for the second year of the program.
Key adjustments include:
¯Implement method of confirming completed demolition projects so we have a better idea of
when final tags need to be submitted. Working with Building Department to develop better
system
¯Conduct regular site visits to confirm program compliance. These visits would be both
announced and unannounced.
7
¯Develop another form for final submittal requirements that would be sent out to applicant after
project begins. This would act as both an outreach and compliance tool.
¯Increase the importance of salvage for reuse as diversion option. This aspect of the program
will be the most difficult to tackle. One possibility is to design a sheet that could be inserted
into the plan set, thus making the contractors fully aware of the requirements. I believe this idea
would help get the word out and would help to ensure a higher level of compliance. (The idea
would be to have a similar list of conditions that Tree Protection program has. "C&D - It’s Part
of the Plan.")
¯Dealing with the issue of noncompliance. Implement a system that effectively deals with
projects that have not submitted weight tags/receipts within 30 days of the final inspection.
1.Compliance letter sent out for all projects that have passed the 30 day window. Letter
would require applicant to submit paperwork within 2 weeks of sent letter.
2. If no documentation received after 2 weeks then project is handed over to Code
Enforcement for further follow up.
3. Fines applied if Code Enforcement finds necessary