TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Talyn Mirzakhanian, City Manager
FROM:
Ramzi Awwad, Public Works Director
Masa Alkire, Community Development Director
Tari Kuvhenguhwa, Associate Planner
Jeff Page, Utilities Manager
Anna Luke-Jones, Solid Waste Administrator
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of:
a) First Reading of Ordinance to Amend Municipal Code Garbage and Refuse Regulations to Create Additional Flexibility for Refuse Enclosures, Including Shared Enclosure Agreements; (No Budget Impact)
b) Providing Direction on the LiveOak Tavern, LLC Deposit Related to Refuse Enclosure Non-Compliance.
(Potential Budget Impact for item “B”) (Public Works Director Awwad)
(Estimated Time: 30 Min.)
A) INTRODUCE ORDINANCE NO. 26-0013
B) DISCUSS AND PROVIDE DIRECTION
Body
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RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Consider introducing Ordinance No. 26-0013, amending Municipal Code garbage and refuse regulations to create additional flexibility for refuse enclosures; and
2. Provide direction on the LiveOak Tavern, LLC deposit related to refuse enclosure non-compliance from the tenant improvements performed at Brewco Social without a permit.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Ordinance Updates to Manhattan Beach Municipal Code Chapter 5.24
There is no fiscal implication immediately related to this item.
LiveOak Tavern, LLC Deposit
There is a fiscal implication immediately related to this item. LiveOak Tavern, LLC (LiveOak), deposited $100,000 to ensure LiveOak’s construction of improvements come into compliance with the Manhattan Beach Municipal Code (MBMC), including refuse enclosure requirements, before December 31, 2024. At the direction of the City Council, the deadline was extended to March 31, 2025. On June 3, 2025, the City Council extended this consideration until a Shared Enclosure Operating Agreement was completed or the location came into compliance with the new regulations. If the City Council determines that LiveOak has met its contractual obligations, the deposit will be refunded.
BACKGROUND:
June 14, 2024 Deposit Agreement
On June 14, 2024, the City entered into a deposit agreement (Deposit Agreement) with LiveOak Tavern, LLC (LiveOak), for Municipal Code violations related to work performed at Brewco Social,124 Manhattan Beach Boulevard, without the required permits. One of the requirements for a permit was related to refuse enclosure modifications to comply with Manhattan Beach Municipal Code (MBMC) Section 5.24.030.C, which requires all refuse containers in commercial structures to be placed inside an enclosure.
Code Enforcement discovered that the tenant improvement, which had been discussed in a preliminary form, had been mostly completed without a permit, and the City responded by yellow-tagging the business. LiveOak went through the permitting and inspection process by a specific deadline for the work that had already been completed, or a fine would be issued. All required updates were performed and approved, except for the refuse enclosure compliance, where no updates had been completed.
On June 11, 2024, the City issued retroactive permits with a comment that the refuse enclosure does not meet MBMC requirements and needs to be remedied with a revised set of plans. LiveOak provided a check in the amount of $100,000 to the City as part of the Deposit Agreement, guaranteeing that LiveOak will construct the MBMC-compliant improvements by December 31, 2024. A Temporary Certificate of Occupancy (“TCO”) was issued for Brewco Social to operate until the requirements were met or until the December 31, 2024 deadline.
September 3, 2024 City Council Meeting
In response to a public comment on non-agenda items made by the owner of LiveOak, the City Council directed staff to present a report on deferring enforcement of the City’s existing Refuse Enclosure Ordinance.
November 19, 2024 City Council Meeting
Staff presented a report on the evolution of refuse enclosures in the business districts, refuse industry changes, and operational changes in solid waste collection within the Sand Section since 2011. Additionally, this report included information from the County’s Health Department inspection program about how refuse enclosures contribute to public health. It also included information on the importance of refuse enclosures as they relate to the City’s obligations to prevent stormwater pollution. As part of this report, staff also proposed ways that the Refuse Enclosure Ordinance could be updated.
The City Council also discussed whether to extend the LiveOak December 31, 2024 deadline in the Deposit Agreement, allowing additional time for LiveOak to become compliant so the City can return the $100,000 to LiveOak.
After receiving feedback from staff and members of the business community, the City Council directed staff to meet with the business community to discuss ways to address concerns about refuse enclosure regulations and to return to the City Council with options for consideration. The City Council authorized an extension of the $100,000 deposit paid by LiveOak until it could review the business community feedback and staff recommendations. A copy of the November 19, 2024 staff report is included as Attachment 5 of this report.
January 14 and 16, 2025 Business Community Meeting
Staff met with the business community and received feedback. Staff are committed to reviewing the ideas received and considering alternative approaches. The group agreed to meet again once staff was able to properly research the ideas and develop refined solutions for the business community’s consideration.
March 6, 2025 Business Community Meeting
An additional meeting took place to discuss changes to the Refuse Enclosure Ordinance, based on discussions at the January meetings. Specifically, the following key changes to address the business community’s needs were proposed:
1. Separate Downtown Manhattan Beach and North Manhattan Beach from the rest of the City regarding the Refuse Enclosure Ordinance, creating a distinct process for properties in those areas.
2. This distinct process would not require refuse enclosure reviews for all tenant improvements in Downtown or North Manhattan Beach. Rather, the reviews would be required only if one or more of the following criteria were met:
a. Change of use;
b. New/modified Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) license type;
c. Intensification or expansion of use;
d. Any project with a scope of work large enough to trigger the requirement to add fire sprinklers pursuant to MBMC Section 9.01.080.
If a planned tenant improvement met the criteria for a refuse enclosure review, then City staff would then review the plans for compliance with the ordinance, and conduct a customized review to help the applicant properly design and construct its refuse enclosures.
Additionally, as part of the refuse enclosure review process, applicants would also have the ability to provide an Alternative Refuse Enclosure Plan for consideration. This plan would detail how an applicant proposed to store their refuse containers and manage their waste streams without constructing a code-compliant refuse enclosure that is traditionally necessary to keep these materials on private property and out of the public right of way. If the plan sufficiently demonstrated the applicant’s ability to properly manage their waste streams and was approved by the City, the applicant would not be required to construct the fully code-compliant refuse enclosure. Rather, they would be required to follow their approved plan for keeping their refuse out of the public right of way and would be subject to enforcement actions if they deviated from that plan.
3. Allow for parcels in close proximity to share enclosure spaces. This would provide space-constrained parcels with the ability to share enclosure space with other parcels, provided that proper long-term agreements were in place to ensure private property owners were able to store their refuse exclusively on private property. This was proposed to be accomplished by the use of recorded covenant agreements between property owners, with the City included as a party to these agreements.
June 3, 2025 City Council Meeting
The proposal from the March 6, 2025 business community meeting was presented to the City Council; who directed staff to move forward with the MBMC updates summarized in the March 6, 2025, Business Community Meeting section above, including the creation of a Shared Enclosure Operating Agreement.
Also, the City Council directed staff to keep the owner of LiveOak apprised of updates to the Shared Enclosure Operating Agreement so he could prepare to comply and receive the $100,000 under the Deposit Agreement.
Lastly, Council asked staff to return at a future date, not necessarily tied to the other direction, to present on communal refuse enclosures. A copy of the June 3, 2025 staff report is included as Attachment 6 of this report.
DISCUSSION:
Based on City Council direction from the June 3, 2025 meeting; the Public Works Department, Community Development Department, and City Attorney’s Office collaborated to update Section 5.24 of the Manhattan Beach Municipal Code (MBMC) (Attachments 2 & 3) and create a Shared Enclosure Operating Agreement (Attachment 4). The communal enclosures report will return to Council at a future date after the ordinance updates are approved.
There are two core changes to the proposed ordinance update since the June 3, 2025 presentation for the City Council to consider at this time are listed below. The changes are proposed to apply to all permits under review and not issued, as outlined below.
1. In lieu of carving out a section in the MBMC specifically for the Downtown Manhattan Beach and North Manhattan Beach businesses and multi-family dwellings to receive additional flexibility, the additional flexibility is proposed to apply citywide to all commercial businesses and multi-family dwellings. Accordingly, refuse enclosure review would only be triggered under any of the following scenarios:
a. All new construction;
b. Change of use;
c. New/modified Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) license type;
d. Intensification or expansion of use; or
e. Any project with a scope of work large enough to trigger the requirement to add fire sprinklers pursuant to MBMC Section 9.01.080.
2. A comprehensive update to Chapter 5.24 in its entirety to modernize or eliminate outdated terms and any code language that no longer applies, such as the discontinued street sweeping fee allocation based on a percentage of the refuse collection.
Summary MBMC Chapter 5.24 Updates
Each section of Chapter 5.24 is listed below with a brief summary of the proposed changes. The proposed redlined and clean version of Chapter 5.24 are attached to this report (Attachments 2 & 3). The proposed changes are as follows:
• 5.24.010 Definitions: Adding, deleting, and modernizing existing terms and definitions.
• 5.24.020 Mandatory Collection by the City: Modernizing and clarifying terms and language to improve clarity.
• 5.24.030 Pre-Collection Practices:
o Modernizing and clarifying terms and phrases.
o Separating the “Residential” section into two sub-sections consisting of “Single-Family Residential” and “Multi-Family Residential” because the two property types can differ greatly with respect to enclosure needs.
o Updating language in the “Commercial” section related to reasonable accessibility as it relates to the arrangement of refuse containers and elaborates on enclosure structural requirements.
§ The update also provides specific instructions for businesses along Sepulveda Boulevard. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) owns Sepulveda Boulevard and determines traffic operations policies. Because the City cannot govern whether a refuse collection vehicle can idle or park along Sepulveda Boulevard for collection, the code account for this. Specifically, for properties fronting on Sepulveda that are on a corner, projects shall be designed so that the City's service provider accesses the site from the side street. For properties fronting on Sepulveda that are not on a corner, the refuse enclosure shall be placed in a location that allows the City’s service provider to enter and exit the site in a forward direction. This provision shall not apply to properties that are not wide enough to allow a refuse collection vehicle to turn around on-site and staff will need to work with Caltrans directly on those.
o A new section was added with general requirements and criteria for the refuse enclosure review, as well as tables outlining the minimum enclosure square footage. These tables are used by many cities to assist applicants, especially with new development projects, in performing preliminary space planning. Because the additional flexibility in the refuse enclosure review process is now proposed to apply citywide, staff will consider any complexities with a parcel’s location.
o For parcels that prefer to share a neighboring enclosure within close proximity, the City Attorney’s office created the Shared Enclosure Operating Agreement (Attachment 3) for consideration per the direction from the June 3, 2026, Council meeting.
• 5.24.040 Post-Collection Practices: Replaced “shall” with “may.
• 5.24.050 Collection by the City: Modernized terms and language to improve clarity.
• 5.24.060 Prohibited Activities: Modernized terms and language to improve clarity.
• 5.24.070 Issuance of Permits to Private Collectors: This section included minor wording updates.
• 5.24.080 Enforcement: There were no updates to this section.
• 5.24.090 Street Sweeping Fee: This section was eliminated as this allocation structure was previously discontinued on June 24, 2013.
LiveOak Deposit
On June 3, 2025, the City Council extended the deadline of the deposit and directed staff to reassess the waiver of the deposit for LiveOak when the City Council considers adoption of the ordinance updates, contingent upon LiveOak demonstrating compliance with the proposed new regulations. If the City Council chooses to introduce the proposed ordinance at this meeting and adopts the ordinance upon second reading, Live Oak would be in compliance, and City staff would refund the deposit upon adoption.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
Since the June 3, 2025 City Council meeting, staff discussed the core changes to the Refuse Enclosure Ordinance with the Executive Director of the Downtown Manhattan Beach Business and Professional Association and the President and CEO of the Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, Staff communicated with the owner of LiveOak on several occasions, including an in-person meeting, to discuss the updates on the Shared Enclosure Operating Agreement.
Outreach previously performed is discussed in more detail in a previous City Council update included as Attachment 6 of this report.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the Project qualifies for a Class 8 categorical exemption pursuant to Section 15308 (Actions by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of the Environment) of the State CEQA Guidelines. Class 8 exemptions include actions taken by regulatory agencies, as authorized by state or local ordinance, to assure the maintenance, restoration, enhancement, or protection of the environment. The project consists of code amendments to align with local and State laws and practices related to sanitation, refuse storage and collection requirements, and stormwater regulations for new and existing facilities. Furthermore, there are no features that distinguish this project from others in the exempt class, and therefore, there are no unusual circumstances. Thus, no environmental review is necessary.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has approved the Refuse Enclosure Ordinance and the Shared Refuse Enclosure Agreement as to form.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Ordinance No. 26-0013
2. Redlined Municipal Code Chapter 5.24
3. Clean Municipal Code Chapter 5.24
4. Shared Enclosure Operating Agreement (Citywide Template)
5. November 19, 2024 - City Council Staff Report (Web-Link Provided)
6. June 3, 2025 - City Council Staff Report (Web-Link Provided)
7. PowerPoint Presentation