COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

Department of Public Works

DATE:

December 27, 2006

BOARD MEETING DATE:

January 9, 2007

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

None

VOTE REQUIRED:

Majority

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Neil R. Cullen, Director of Public Works

SUBJECT:

Resolution Establishing a Deconstruction/Salvage Policy for County Facilities

Recommendation

Adopt a resolution establishing a policy requiring projects involving the demolition, repair or remodel of County-owned facilities to reuse, salvage or recycle to the greatest extent possible, building materials that are removed from a structure or which are not incorporated into the repair or remodel of the structure unless reusing, salvaging or recycling cannot be accomplished for health and safety reasons.

Vision Alignment

Commitment: Responsive, effective and collaborative government.

Goal 20: Government decisions are based on careful consideration of future impact, rather than temporary relief or immediate gain.

Establishing the proposed policy will allow the County to reduce the amount of material that needs to be land filled while setting an example for other public agencies.

Background

Previous Board Action

Adopted Ordinance No. 04099 on February 26, 2002, which requires contractors involved in private construction in the unincorporated areas of the County to file a waste management plan and divert 100% of the inert materials and at least 50% of the remaining construction and demolition debris for:

a)

Demolition work exceeding $5,000 in value;

b)

Renovation, remodel or additions to existing structures or new construction exceeding $250,000; or

c)

Commercial, residential or multi-family residential development that is equal to or greater that 2,000 square feet.

History

Your Board adopted the aforesaid Ordinance as construction and demolition waste comprises approximately 14% of the waste stream in the unincorporated area. We estimate that the enabling ordinance has reduced the amount of material being land filled by 11,000 tons since the ordinance was first considered and enacted.

However, there is no concurrent policy requirement for construction or demolition work associated with County facilities.

Discussion

The proposed resolution will establish requirements, comparable to the private sector requirements, for County remodeling, construction and demolition projects. As an example, the Youth Services Facility is nearing completion and the existing Juvenile Hall and ancillary buildings are scheduled to be demolished. The area of the buildings is approximately 130,000 square feet, and according to a report prepared for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) in June 1998, a non-residential, institutional facility can generate approximately 181 pounds of debris per square foot of demolished building. The demolition of the Juvenile Hall facilities, based on the USEPA report, would generate 11,700 tons of debris. The County’s unincorporated area disposal tonnage for the first quarter in 2006 was 9,600 tons.

Recycling of construction debris is important as this material can have a significant impact on the County’s diversion rate, currently 56% for the unincorporated area, that must be reported to the State Integrated Waste Management Board.

We also propose to retain a consultant, pursuant to the guidelines in Administrative Memorandum No. B-1, to evaluate the selective dismantling and removal of materials from the Juvenile Hall facilities (deconstruction) if your Board adopts a resolution establishing a construction waste management policy. We have had meetings with Probation, Surplus Property, and Construction Services staff and believe that there is a significant amount of material that can be salvaged from these facilities before they are demolished. However, we also believe that it is prudent to confirm this prior to developing the contract documents for the deconstruction/demolition of these facilities.

A resolution has been approved as to form by County Counsel.

Fiscal Impact

There is no direct impact to the General Fund or any other fund of the County associated with your Board adopting the proposed resolution.

We estimate that the policy will not increase project costs by more than 3% for remodeling project under $50,000, as the Construction Services Division currently recycles a large amount of the material that is left from a remodeling project. We will include a bid item in future large remodeling or construction contracts in order that the costs of complying with the proposed policies can be established and tracked. The cost of complying with these provisions is part of the cost of a remodel/renovation project and will be included in the estimated cost of the project when it is budgeted in the Capital Project Budget.

The cost to retain a consultant to evaluate deconstructing the Juvenile Hall facility is estimated not to exceed $10,000. We are recommending that the Solid Waste Fund finance this cost, as this will be the initial evaluation of deconstructing a County facility. There is no additional cost to the General Fund.