TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Talyn Mirzakhanian, City Manager
FROM:
Erick Lee, Public Works Director
Jeff Page, Utilities Manager
Anna Luke-Jones, Solid Waste Administrator
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of Potential Updates to the Refuse Enclosure Ordinance and the Status of the LiveOak Tavern, LLC Deposit Regarding Refuse Enclosure Non-Compliance (Potential Budget Impact) (Public Works Director Lee).
(Estimated Time: 1 Hr.)
DISCUSS AND PROVIDE DIRECTION
Body
_________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Provide direction on potential updates to the Refuse Enclosure Ordinance; and
2. Provide further direction on the status of the LiveOak Tavern, LLC deposit related to refuse enclosure non-compliance from the tenant improvements performed at Brewco Social without a permit.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Potential Updates to the Refuse Enclosure Ordinance
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 in compliance with the Manhattan Beach Municipal Code (MBMC), including the refuse enclosure, before December 31, 2024. At the direction of the City Council, the deadline was extended to March 31, 2025. If the City Council extends the deadline for compliance or relieves LiveOak of its obligations under the agreement, this deposit could be refunded.
BACKGROUND:
September 3, 2024 City Council Meeting
City Council directed staff to return with a report to discuss deferring the enforcement of the refuse enclosure ordinance until further direction.
November 19, 2024 City Council Meeting
Based on the direction from City Council at its September 3, 2024 meeting, staff provided 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 stormwater obligations under its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. As part of this report, staff also proposed ways that the Refuse Enclosure Ordinance could be updated.
After hearing from staff and members of the business community, the City Council directed staff to meet with the business community and discuss ways to address concerns over refuse enclosure regulations and return to Council with options for consideration.
DISCUSSION:
January 14 and 16, 2025 Business Community Meetings
Two community meetings with the business community were held at the Police/Fire Conference Room. These meetings were a “hybrid” format, with interested parties also participating online. Staff presented the same material at both meetings. At least 10 members of the business community attended the meetings, with a mixture of in-person and online attendance.
Attached to this report is a copy of the meeting presentation, which explains the Refuse Enclosure Review process and a summary of the business community’s concerns and proposed solutions. A summary of the feedback received at this meeting is also attached to this report.
To summarize the feedback received during these meetings, it was clear that the business community was not satisfied with the proposals staff had developed to update the ordinance. Furthermore, they requested staff to consider ways to better address space constraints in Downtown Manhattan Beach and in the North Manhattan Beach Business Improvement District and the challenges they create for compliance with the existing ordinance. They also implored staff to consider solutions for business owners to share space to meet their refuse enclosure obligations and for the City to implement and/or expand programs for private businesses to utilize publicly owned or managed refuse enclosures.
Based on the feedback received, staff committed to reviewing the ideas received from the meeting participants and consider alternative approaches. The group collectively agreed to meet again once staff was able to properly research this information and develop refined solutions for the business community’s consideration.
March 6, 2025 Business Community Meeting
The meeting was held at the Public Works Yard at 3621 Bell Avenue. It was also a “hybrid” format, with some participants joining online. There were 10 members of the business community in attendance. An updated presentation (included as an attachment to this report) was given to the participants, which recapped feedback received at the January 2025 meeting and incorporated revised ordinance change proposals developed by staff. Specifically, the following changes to the Refuse Enclosure Ordinance were proposed at this meeting to address the business community’s needs:
1. Separate the Downtown Business Improvement District (BID) and the North Manhattan Beach BID from the rest of the City in regards to the Refuse Enclosure Ordinance, creating a distinct process for properties in these 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 (Excerpt of this code section is included as an attachment to this report).
If a planned tenant improvement met the criteria for a refuse enclosure review, the City would review the plans for compliance with the ordinance, conducting a customized review to help the applicant properly design and construct its refuse enclosures.
Additionally and as part of the refuse enclosure review process, applicants would also have the ability to provide an Alternative Refuse Enclosure Plan for the City’s consideration. This plan would detail how an applicant proposed to store its refuse containers and manage it 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 its waste streams and was approved by City, the applicant would not be required to construct the 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 the plan.
3. Allow for parcels in close proximity to share enclosure spaces. Such agreements 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 handle their refuse exclusively on private property. This would be accomplished by the use of recorded covenant agreements between property owners, with the City included as a party to these agreements.
Meeting participants thoroughly discussed the proposals outlined above. There was general consensus among the group that they were tangible solutions for enabling businesses in Downtown and North Manhattan Beach to comply with City regulations related to refuse enclosures. However, some participants expressed the following concerns:
A. In regard to sharing enclosure space, some business owners asserted that recorded covenant agreements would be difficult to secure, as certain property owners would be reluctant to voluntarily place restrictions on their property. Feedback received from businesses during the meeting suggested that operating agreements between businesses that ran concurrent with property leases could accomplish the same purpose which property owners would find more acceptable.
B. Using the fire sprinkler requirement as part of the criteria for conducting a refuse enclosure review may be too onerous for business owners. Some participants encouraged staff to reconsider including this as part of the criteria.
C. The City should establish multiple communal enclosures in the Downtown and North Manhattan Beach. These refuse enclosures would be on City property and operate similarly to the enclosure previously located at the former Parking Lot 3 site.
Staff has reviewed the concerns received in regard to A, B, and C above. For the sharing of enclosure space (A), the City Attorney’s Office has opined that a recorded covenant agreement provides the greatest protection to the City. That instrument would ensure that all parties, current and future, are aware of the acknowledged use of the parcels for the sharing of refuse enclosure space. With the City included as a party to such covenants, it would also ensure that no changes to these arrangements could be made without the City’s consent. While the idea of an operating agreement between businesses could accommodate refuse enclosure needs for many years, at some point ownership of parcels and/or businesses could change. In the absence of a recorded covenant, businesses could be left without proper areas to store their refuse.
As it relates to using the need for a property to add fire sprinklers as part of the criteria for prompting a refuse enclosure review (B), staff believes that this is an appropriate threshold. Under the current MBMC, fire sprinklers are required whenever:
1. An additional story is added.
2. A remodel causes the tenant space to exceed 2,000 square feet in area and the remodel is over 50% of the existing building footprint.
3. The building is 2,000 square feet or greater in gross floor area and a remodel or addition causes more than 25% of the walls or roof system to be structurally altered.
4. The building is 2,000 square feet or greater in gross floor area and the addition increases the existing floor area by more than 50%.
If an applicant in Downtown or North Manhattan Beach is altering a property to such a degree that it requires fire sprinklers, they are engaging in significant changes to the building. As such, it makes sense for the City to review their enclosure space to make sure it can accommodate all of its refuse on-site. If the applicant ultimately determines that it cannot design a code-compliant refuse enclosure on their property, they would still have the ability to submit an Alternative Refuse Enclosure Plan for the City’s consideration, as summarized above.
In regard to establishing communal refuse enclosures (C), City Council recently directed staff to construct a temporary, refuse enclosure within the interim parking lot at the site of the former Lot 3 Parking Structure. This enclosure will house the private recycling containers of nearby businesses that were stored within that facility prior to its demolition in 2024. Per the direction received, a $3.00 per square-foot fee will be incorporated into all licensing agreements between the City and individual business owners who store their containers at this City facility. Some participants in the outreach meetings strongly urged the City to expand this temporary program to other locations in the City. They claim this would allow businesses to dedicate their private property to the most productive uses for their commercial enterprises, rather than for storing their refuse. If City Council would like to consider providing City-owned space in locations in Downtown or North Manhattan Beach by either repurposing existing or acquiring additional City property for communal refuse enclosures, staff can research this issue and report its findings back to the Council at a later date.
Summary Regarding Potential Updates to the Refuse Enclosure Ordinance
Staff recommends that the City Council provide direction on the following proposed revisions to the Refuse Enclosure Ordinance:
1. Separate the Downtown Business Improvement District (BID) and the North Manhattan Beach BID from the rest of the City in regard to the Refuse Enclosure Ordinance, creating a distinct process for properties in these 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.
Additionally, applicants would also have the ability to provide an Alternative Refuse Enclosure Plan for the City’s consideration.
3. Allow for parcels in close proximity to share enclosure spaces. This would be accomplished by the use of recorded covenant agreements between property owners, with the City included as a party to these agreements.
If directed to move forward with any or all of the potential revisions, staff will return with an ordinance for the Council to review and adopt during the summer of 2025.
Additionally, staff recommends that the City Council provide direction about the desire of some members of the business community for the City to establish multiple communal enclosures in the Downtown and North Manhattan Beach. These refuse enclosures could be on City property and operate similarly to the enclosure previously located at the former Parking Lot 3 site.
Status of the LiveOak Tavern, LLC Deposit
On June 14, 2024, the City entered into an agreement with LiveOak regarding its Brewco Social restaurant property located at 124 Manhattan Beach Boulevard. LiveOak had renovated this property without the required permits, and the construction did not meet the requirements of MBMC Section 5.24.030(c)(2) related to the obligation to have an enclosed trash receptacle. Subsequently, LiveOak submitted plans reflecting the as-is construction of the restaurant. The City then issued permits for such plans with a note that the trash receptacle enclosure does not meet MBMC requirements and needs to be remedied with a revised set of plans. LiveOak then submitted a revised set of plans in an attempt to demonstrate compliance with the MBMC, including the required trash receptacle enclosure. LiveOak also provided a check in the amount of $100,000 (“Deposit”) to the City guaranteeing that LiveOak will construct the MBMC compliant improvements, including a proper trash receptacle enclosure, in accordance with City approved revised plans, by December 31, 2024.
Upon receipt of the Deposit and related fees, the City issued a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy (TCO), allowing Brewco Social to temporarily open and commence operations until a final Certificate of Occupancy was obtained, or the TCO expired on December 31, 2024, whichever came first.
Under the terms of the agreement, if LiveOak failed to construct the MBMC compliant improvements, including the trash receptacle enclosure, by December 31, 2024, the TCO would expire on its own terms on December 31, 2024, no individual would be allowed to occupy the Brewco Social restaurant, and LiveOak would forfeit the entire $100,000 Deposit allowing the City to use the moneys for any lawful purposes.
On November 19, 2024, as part of its direction to staff to meet with the business community and discuss ways to address their concerns over refuse enclosure regulations, the City Council also directed staff to extend the compliance deadline for the Brewco Social restaurant trash enclosure issue until after the City Council could receive new recommendations about revising the Refuse Enclosure Ordinance. Following receipt of this direction, staff prepared an amendment to the agreement extending the compliance deadline to March 31, 2025. However, the City has not received an executed amendment from LiveOak.
As of the date of this report, LiveOak l has not constructed the required MBMC compliant improvements, including the trash receptacle enclosure.
In light of potential revisions to the Refuse Enclosure Ordinance that the Council is now considering, staff recommends that the City Council provide direction on whether to continue pursuing a compliance deadline extension with LiveOak. Such extension could result in the $100,000 Deposit ultimately being refunded to LiveOak.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
“Save the Date” flyers and meeting requests were sent to business group contacts on December 17, 2024. Business community meetings took place on January 14, January 16, and March 6, 2025. Business groups were also notified about the date for this report to be presented at City Council. Additionally, the item was included on the agenda for this City Council meeting in accordance with applicable law.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the activity is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no environmental review is necessary at this time. Should the City Council provide direction to staff to prepare amendments to the Manhattan Beach Municipal Code, appropriate environmental review pursuant to CEQA will be conducted prior to bringing the draft amendment(s) forward for consideration.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Presentation (January Business Community Meetings)
2. Presentation (March Business Community Meetings)
3. Summary of Feedback from Business Community Meetings
4. MBMC Section 9.01.080 - Fire Sprinkler Requirements
5. Agreement - LiveOak Tavern, LLC
6. PowerPoint Presentation