Porta Potty Rental in Newark, CA 94560

Sometimes yes, and that makes Newark different from most of our markets. Alameda County writes a permit about portable toilets, and it reaches inside city limits.

The county ordinance covers all territory in the county. Its onsite wastewater rules apply county-wide, not just in unincorporated areas, and they treat a portable toilet as a containment unit. A special permit may be required to use portable toilets or waterless toilets. The county manual adds an exception that may be allowed for temporary use of less than seven days and for agricultural field work.

A valid building permit switches the requirement off. The ordinance states that a special permit is not required for portable toilets on construction sites with a valid building permit. A permitted job needs nothing extra. An event, a long unpermitted use or a stay past a week may bring the county in. That one line is the most useful thing to know before you order.

Some uses are not allowed at all. Portable toilets are permitted for temporary or limited use areas: construction sites for on-site workers, temporary agricultural uses, temporary campsites and special events. They may not serve seasonal dwellings, non-residential facilities or single-family dwellings, so a unit cannot stand in for a home's plumbing.

The county wants your count documented and your layout mapped. Where a special permit applies, you have to document the minimum number of units needed, based on site use or on estimated attendance and duration, measured against published industry guidance. Where a city land use permit is involved, a copy goes in with a site plan showing the units against required setbacks. Your account manager produces both.

Two conditions show up on the unit itself. Each shelter displays the business name and phone number of the owner and of the septage pumper servicing it. The tank is pumped often enough to prevent overflow and never fills past the manufacturer's level. Reporting to the county, where a permit applies, sits with the property owner rather than with us.

Servicing companies register with the county yearly. Septage pumper businesses and their vehicles register annually unless the state health code exempts them. Each truck is registered separately, carries a valid decal, and is inspected once a year with the business name, phone and certified tank capacity fixed on both sides. Ask to see that decal.

A city street or easement is a closed route for most customers. Newark requires an encroachment permit for any construction activity or obstruction of any kind in the right of way of a public street or a dedicated public easement. All work must be done by a contractor licensed by the State of California. The submittal needs plans approved by the City Engineer, traffic control plans stamped by a California registered civil engineer, an itemized cost estimate, and insurance of $1,000,000 each for general liability, auto and workers' compensation, with the city as additional insured. The application fee is $170, a performance bond of 120 percent of the cost estimate or $1,000 applies, and a maintenance bond runs for a year. Initial review takes 14 city working days. Public Works answers on 510-578-4589.