In a previous post, I shared that in 2023, the then-sitting Council adopted a mandatory composting program for the City with the goals of creating a healthier environment and saving the City money on tipping fees.

I also mentioned that this month, the current Council is considering updates to the Ordinance during its meetings. The edits cover a few different topic areas, and as part of the updates, I was interested to revisit the enforcement approach described in the original Ordinance to ensure it was balanced.

My goal was that with the City adopting this program, the enforcement provisions should be no more expansive than those already followed by our Code Enforcement team - A big first step being: always begin with a notice (and not a penalty). This allows for building awareness, conversations, and is a much more human/ personal first step when compared with the existing Ordinance provision allowing to jump straight to penalties without any requirement for notice.

The other key piece for me is that, especially in light of the new trash truck equipment Council approved last fall, any inspections can occur curb-side during trash collection and there’s no need to enter a resident’s yard, deck, fence, etc. For me, this comes from a principle that residents should have a reasonable expectation for peaceful enjoyment of their property that should only be overridden by an adequately serious circumstance, like a ‘life safety’ concern. To me, composting does not rise to this level, and practically speaking, it’s more effectively and efficiently accomplished through simple means.

As always, your voice helps me shape legislation and make decisions, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to me with any thoughts or ideas. And composting is a relatively new program for the City, so please also feel free to ask questions, seek answers, gather information, and provide feedback to the City team as they rollout the program - they are looking to facilitate and help.