Proposed ordinance would require facility-specific fugitive dust plans, public fact sheets and a complaints-based enforcement pathway

The draft ordinance presented to the policy committee would require any active commercial or industrial facility with unpaved roads in the city to prepare a proactive fugitive dust plan and make high-level information public.

"This would require a proactive fugitive dust plan from each of the facilities in the covered area," attorney Ashlyn Kenzior said, describing plan elements including dust-control procedures, staff responsibilities, contingency planning for extreme weather and public fact sheets with a contact person for residents. Kenzior emphasized plan approval by the Department of Safety and Inspections (DSI) and said a failure to implement the plan would be a violation of the proposed ordinance.

On enforcement, presenters recommended a complaints-based model routed to DSI with inspections and graduated remedies; they acknowledged practical limits to rapid inspection of transient dust events and suggested resident documentation could support findings. Kenzior also cited Dearborn, Mich., as a precedent for directing assessed fines toward community improvements in the affected neighborhood.