San Mateo County Grand Jury • 2023-2024

Summary of Responses to the Final Reports of the 2023 - 2024 San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury

Published: July 11, 2025 15 pages
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Findings and Recommendations 9 findings

F1
Sanitary conditions of the exterior of restaurant facilities fall outside current inspections of the County Health Department. The varying unsatisfactory conditions in the waste removal areas of the facilities shows something is lacking in the regulatory process.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
By June 30, 2025, the County should amend its Food Facility Checklist to include the condition of trash area flooring, bins, dumpsters and enclosures, and note any needed repair, replacement or cleaning.
F2
Sanitary conditions of parklets fall outside of current inspections by the County Health Department or Vector Control.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
By June 30, 2025, the County should amend its Food Facility Checklist to include the entire exterior waste storage area, retention areas and parklets, including flooring and underfloor areas.
F3
Sanitary conditions of exterior areas used for waste storage and disposal fall outside current inspections by local jurisdictions; local jurisdictions are, by and large, only reactive to an actual complaint.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
By June 30, 2025, the County should require operators/owners of restaurants to have a written diagram of their approved waste storage/retention area posted so the inspector can evaluate the condition of the facilities.
F4
Most restaurant exterior areas are “out of sight” of the public and as a result complaints are less frequent.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
By June 30, 2025, inspectors for all jurisdictions with restaurants should be empowered to require owners/operators to add receptacles or increase the frequency of pick-ups. Applicable Follow-up Responding Agency Response Recommendation Year
F5
Because they lack oversight, unacceptable conditions in restaurant trash areas are likely not to be rectified.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
By December 31, 2024, implement the use of an annual or semi-annual collaborative onsite property condition report involving the nonprofit operators and the County to detail and verify that agreed upon repairs, maintenance and renovations have been completed.
F6
Waste water from the cleaning of trash areas and from rain flow into the storm drain systems.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
By December 31, 2024, ensure that a process is in place for regular meetings among nonprofit operators, mental health providers, and the County to share issues and best practices across all the properties.
F7
Effective inspection of parklet sanitation can be severely hampered by closed skirting and lack of under floor access. Spacing between planking and lack of solid flooring can lead to accumulation of organic debris and possible infestation by vermin.
Related Recommendations (1)
R7
By December 31, 2024, develop and apply performance metrics to evaluate whether and how hotel conversions meet objectives, and communicate this to the public. Applicable Follow-up Responding Agency Response Recommendation Year
F8
Homekey imposed strict short timelines for property inspections, so some pre-purchase due diligence processes could not occur. Thus, the County and nonprofit operators had to modify the properties later, which made operating the properties more difficult in the initial months and added cost.
Related Recommendations (1)
R8
By February 1, 2025, jurisdictions should develop and implement new ways to make green bins usable in multi-family dwellings’ and businesses’ narrow or small waste enclosures. Responding Agency Applicable Response Follow-up Recommendation Year
F9
The County has not communicated what performance metrics it has developed to evaluate whether hotel conversions meet objectives.
No recommendations for this finding

No Responses Found 3

Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.

San Mateo County Board of Supervisors Elected County Office
San Mateo County District Attorney Elected County Office
San Mateo County Sheriff Elected County Office