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Extracted from Consolidated Report
This investigation was originally published as part of a larger consolidated report containing multiple investigations. View the consolidated PDF for the complete document.
San Mateo County Grand Jury
• 2023-2024
Restaurant Exteriors: the Neglected Space Issue The exterior trash areas of food service businesses are often unsightly
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings 7 findings
F1
Page 52
High green cart enrollment costs and insufficient bin space are the dominant contributors to low participation rates among multi-family dwellings and businesses. Response: Partially agree – Due to the fact that most of the multi-family dwelling units are older, the lack of space for bins is the biggest problem that we see when trying to have compost bins available for residents. Cost doesn’t seem to be the issue – it's more of a question of where the bins will fit.
F2
Page 52
Green bin contamination among compliant multi-family dwellings and businesses prevents them from diverting more organic waste. Response: Agree
F3
Page 52
City, County, and RethinkWaste compliance outreach efforts for multi-family dwellings and businesses could improve because a significant portion of these properties remain non- compliant. Response: Agree
F4
Page 52
Multi-family dwellings and businesses produce a significant amount of the County’s organic Waste. Response: Agree Docusign Envelope ID: 23C51A16-262F-4662-8896-09DA025A2BFB
F5
Page 53
Citizens cannot conveniently access reliable diversion and participation rates because JPAs and cities do not make the information available on their government websites. Response: Agree
F6
Page 56
Waste water from the cleaning of trash areas and from rain flow into the storm drain systems. Response: Partially Disagree - The California Water Board’s Municipal Regional Permit 3.0. Provision C.4 lists commercial and industrial outdoor waste storage and disposal areas as reasonably likely to contribute to the pollution of stormwater runoff; as such, these locations are required by the Municipal Regional Permit to implement appropriate best management practices to address pollutant sources. Provision C.4 inspections must include observations for appropriate best management practices to prevent stormwater runoff pollution or unauthorized or illicit discharges from entering the stormwater system. Facilities not in compliance may be required to take corrective action and can face penalties for inadequate best management practices or illicit discharges. Thus, while it is reasonable that wastewater and untreated rainwater from trash areas and cleaning of trash areas may flow into the storm drain it is illegal for facilities to do so, and steps are currently in place to ensure preventative actions are being taken.
F7
Page 53
An alternate and reliable method to separating waste tons by property type would be analyzing contamination statistics from route audits and waste evaluations. Response: Partially agree - While this would assist with determining waste tons per property type, it would be challenging to track as required under SB 1383 current regulations.
Recommendations 5
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R1Page 53Beginning March 1, 2025, cities, the County, and RethinkWaste should host regular in person green cart enrollment summits for non-compliant businesses and multi-family dwellings, and identify other new compliance strategies. Response: The recommendation has not been implemented due to the lack of staff capacity, but the City of Half Moon Bay supports the proposal and plans to partner with nearby jurisdictions and the County on green cart enrollment summits and outreach.
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R2Page 57By 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. Response: Support this recommendation; the City is happy to work with the County to implement.
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R3Page 57By 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. Response: Support this recommendation and look forward to working with the County while ensuring it is not burdensome for small businesses to implement.
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R4Page 53Beginning November 30, 2024, cities should publish quarterly or annual waste reports with diversion and participation rates on their government websites. Response: The recommendation has not been implemented but the City of Half Moon Bay will implement
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R8Page 53By 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. Response: For businesses – this is already being implemented. They receive service at a minimum of once a week under our Franchise Agreement. Republic, our hauler, then works with them to right- size their service. Republic works with the City of Half Moon Bay if there are any issues around this implementation. For the challenge of limited bin space at multi-family units, the City of Half Moon Bay has worked with property managers and its hauler to right-size bins given the limited capacity In closing, the City of Half Moon Bay thanks the Civil Grand Jury for its efforts to address the issues around diversion rates. We appreciate the opportunity to share our perspective. Sincerely, Docusign Envelope ID: 23C51A16-262F-4662-8896-09DA025A2BFB Joaquin Jimenez Mayor City of Half Moon Bay Docusign Envelope ID: 23C51A16-262F-4662-8896-09DA025A2BFB October 1, 2024 Hon. Amarra A. Lee Judge of the Superior Court c/o Bianca Fasuescu Hall of Justice 400 County Center – 2nd Floor Redwood City, CA 94063-1655 RE: San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury Report - “Restaurant Exteriors: The Neglected Space” Dear Judge Amarra Lee, The City of Half Moon Bay hereby submits this letter in reply to the San Mateo Grand Jury Report, “Restaurant Exteriors: The Neglected Space.” Pursuant to Penal Code Section 933.05 and the Brown Act, this response was approved by the City Council at the October 1, 2024, public meeting.
Observations 3
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OB1Open floor segments can permit food and other waste falling under the floor of the parklet to the street;
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OB2Many have open side(s) permitting vermin to go under the parklet to feed on scraps;
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OB3Street drainage (from road crown and gutter flow) can exacerbate the problems of waste under the floor, including leaves and other refuse.