Sunnyvale, CA Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

Section 12.60.310 of the Sunnyvale Municipal Code sets the "minimum best management practices and source control measures for all dischargers" under the city's stormwater ordinance, Chapter 12.60. Subsection (c), captioned "Construction Site Stormwater Pollution Controls," requires that "all construction sites will implement effective erosion control, runon and runoff control, sediment control, active treatment systems (as appropriate), good site management, and non-stormwater management through all phases of construction (including, but not limited to, site grading, building and finishing of lots) until the site is fully stabilized by landscaping or the installation of permanent erosion control measures." The city incorporates its own Stormwater Quality BMP Guidance Manual and the CASQA Stormwater Best Management Practice Handbook by reference to define acceptable erosion-control measures (SMC 12.60.300), and the authorized enforcement official, the Directors of Public Works, Community Development or Environmental Services, or their designees, may revise that manual to track new NPDES requirements.

If a project's plan is inadequate, the site is poorly maintained, or it becomes a significant contaminant source, Section 12.60.290 lets the city require a revised stormwater management plan showing the erosion and sediment controls that will be used. Inspectors may enter a construction site at reasonable times to check compliance and can seek a court order if entry is refused (SMC 12.60.320). Failure to properly operate or maintain approved erosion and sediment controls is itself declared a code violation under Section 12.60.340.