Dumping waste on public or private property in Sonoma is prosecuted under California Penal Code §374.3 with mandatory fines starting at $250 and rising to $10,000 for commercial-quantity third offenses; cleanup costs are recoverable from the dumper.
There is no city-specific dumping chapter that supersedes state law — the City of Sonoma enforces California's general littering and dumping statutes. Cal. Penal Code §374.3 makes it unlawful to dump waste matter on public or private property without consent of the owner and prescribes mandatory fines: $250–$1,000 first conviction, $500–$1,500 second, and $750–$3,000 third or subsequent. Fines are DOUBLED if the waste is used tires. Commercial-quantity dumping is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 6 months in county jail plus mandatory fines of $1,000–$3,000 (first), $3,000–$6,000 (second), and $6,000–$10,000 (third). The court must also order the convicted person to remove the dumped waste or pay the cost of removal. Locally, accumulated waste, junk, or debris on private property is independently declared a public nuisance under SMC §14.30.020 and abated through SMC Ch. 1.28 administrative citations. Sonoma County has installed solar-powered, motion-activated surveillance cameras at six known dumping hotspots (CalRecycle illegal-dumping grant) and refers commercial-volume cases for prosecution by the County DA.
Cal. Penal Code §374.3 fines: $250–$1,000 (1st), $500–$1,500 (2nd), $750–$3,000 (3rd); doubled for tires; commercial-quantity dumping = misdemeanor up to 6 months jail + $1,000–$10,000. The court must order cleanup costs. The City may layer SMC Ch. 1.28 administrative fines ($100 / $200 / $500) and abate the dump site through SMC §14.30 with full cost-recovery and a property lien.
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