Monterey County DA to enforce restrictions on construction activities
MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION) UPDATED 4/14/20 6:00 p.m. Monterey County's shelter-in-place order hasn't stopped construction within the county, but the District Attorney's office announced Tuesday they'll enforce restrictions under the order.
Things like hiring a landscaper are not allowed during the shelter in place order. But not all construction needs to stop. Work that’s considered essential is still allowed to continue.
The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office wants to end construction
activity that violates the shelter in place order.
“We really want to ensure that there’s a level playing field so for those
folks that are complying and feeling kind of the pain associated with
complying, we want to make sure that they’re not being put at an unfair
disadvantage if people are not complying with the order,” Deputy District Attorney Emily Hickok said.
Hickok told KION the DA's office is investigating about 12 complaints that have come in since April 4, mostly at homes.
“Certainly cosmetic type things are not allowed at this point, landscaping
for cosmetic purposes, gardening for cosmetic purposes," Hickok said. "If you’re hiring other people to come to your home to do that is not allowed right now.”
So what is allowed to continue during the shelter in place?
- essential infrastructure maintenance and repair,
- healthcare operations projects
- affordable housing construction
- public works projects designated “essential government functions”
- shelters and temporary housing (but not hotels or motels).
- Projects that help provide critical services for people in need, like the homeless or elderly
While some sites must be shutdown, construction is allowed to ensure the
sites are left in a safe and secure manner.
Construction to keep residences and essential businesses safe and operable is also okay.
But construction companies are feeling the weight of the shelter in
place; many have taken a financial hit.
“It is disappointing to see that some people tend to ignore the orders and
they tend to be a little bit on the greedy side. Thinking that they’re going
to get ahead of it somehow,” said Don Chapin, president and CEO of The Don Chapin Company.
The Salinas-based construction company told KION they’ve had to shutdown about 80 percent of operations because of the order.
“Frankly, I think a crackdown by the DA is not a bad thing," Chapin said. "We’ve been sheltered in place pretty strongly for the last three weeks. We’ve closed down all of the projects that entities have told us aren’t essential.”
They are continuing some essential projects and have protocols in place to
keep employees safe, including limiting equipment use to one person in between sanitizing and wearing masks.
They’re also paying employees health coverage for the month of may and are trying to help employees apply for financial assistance.
The DA’s office is hoping people will voluntarily comply with the order, but if they don’t, there are criminal and civil penalties for unfair business practices and it is a misdemeanor to violate the order.
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Those who have involvement with construction in Monterey County are asked to evaluate how they're operating.
The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office has received numerous complaints about ongoing construction activities that may be happening in violation of Monterey County’s revised Shelter-in-Place Order, which was issued by the Monterey County Health Officer on April 3, 2020.
The revised April 3rd Order allows only the types of construction activities that are listed below to continue while the shelter-in-place restrictions are in effect. (Terms that are capitalized below are defined within the Order.)
- Projects immediately necessary to the maintenance, operation, or repair of Essential Infrastructure;
- Projects associated with Healthcare Operations, including creating or expanding Healthcare Operations;
- Affordable housing that is or will be at least partially income-restricted, including multi-unit or mixed-use developments;
- Public works projects if specifically designated as an Essential Governmental Function by the lead governmental agency;
- Shelters and temporary housing, but not including hotels or motels;
- Projects immediately necessary to provide critical non-commercial services to individuals experiencing homelessness, elderly persons, persons who are economically disadvantaged, and persons with special needs;
- Construction necessary to ensure that existing construction sites that must be shut down under this order are left in a safe and secure manner, but only to the extent necessary to do so; and
- Construction or repair necessary to ensure that residences and buildings containing Essential Businesses are safe, sanitary, or habitable and operable, to the extent such construction or repair cannot reasonably be delayed.
The April 3rd Order further provides that plumbers, electricians, exterminators, and other service providers may provide services that are necessary to maintaining the habitability, sanitation, and operation of residences and essential businesses, but may not perform work for cosmetic purposes.
Arborists, landscapers, gardeners, and similar service professionals may only perform work to the limited extent necessary to maintain the habitability, sanitation, operation of businesses or residences, or the safety of residents, employees or the public (such as fire safety or tree trimming to
prevent a dangerous condition), and may not perform work for cosmetic or other purposes (such as upkeep).
Violations of the April 3rd Order are subject to criminal and/or civil penalties. Each day that a violation continues may be a separate violation. Both the contractor and owner of the building may be liable.
The Consumer Protection Division of the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office is currently investigating reports of non-essential construction activity and following up on leads.
Reports of non-essential construction activity may be sent to the District Attorney’s Office at consumercomplaints@co.monterey.ca.us or quejasdelconsumidor@co.monterey.ca.us or by calling (831) 755-5070. Please include the address of the construction activity, the name of the contractor, reasons why you believe the construction is in violation of the order, and any photographs, if available.
