LA County Board

19. Streamlining Access to Safe and Regulated Vending and Micro-\nEntrepreneurship Opportunities\nRecommendation as submitted by Supervisor Mitchell: Instruct the Director of\nPublic Health, in collaboration with County Counsel and the Director of\nEconomic Opportunity, to report back to the Board in writing within 120 days,\nwith a draft ordinance authorizing Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations\n(MEHKO) within the County public health jurisdiction, consistent with the\nprovisions of the California Retail Food Code, provide opportunities for public\ninput during the drafting of the MEHKO ordinance and development of the\nMEHKO permitting program through proactive outreach and engagement with\nimpacted stakeholders, including representatives from cities across the County,\nmicroentrepreneurs, sidewalk vendors, and brick and mortar businesses; and\nreport back to the Board in writing quarterly following the passage of the\nordinance, and annually thereafter for five years, with progress updates\nincluding the number of MEHKOs permitted, the length of time from submission\nuntil approval for these permits, and the neighborhood locations of the MEHKOs\npermitted, and within one year of the ordinance passage, the report should\ninclude a deeper analysis of the economic impact of MEHKOs and a full\nassessment of the program’s successes and challenges, including\nrecommended adjustments and improvements to the County’s ordinance and\nprogram model to ensure MEHKOs are being implemented carefully and in a\nway that addresses the needs of brick and mortar businesses, sidewalk\nvendors, and other community stakeholders; and instruct the Director of Public\nHealth to take the following actions:\nIn collaboration with County Counsel, to report back to the Board in\nwriting within 90 days with recommendations to ensure the County’s\nordinance and program aligns with best practices for equitable, safe, and\naccessible MEHKO adoption, including in the design of fees, permitting\nprocesses, and other program components, the Department of Public\nHealth’s (DPH’s) research and recommendations should include a review\nof implementation learnings from the other 11 counties with MEHKO\nprograms, including model jurisdictions, such as San Diego County,\nRiverside County, Santa Clara County, and San Mateo County, with the\nprogrammatic research to also consider opportunities for how to best\ncoordinate and streamline MEHKO permitting, commissary permitting,\nand sidewalk vending permitting processes to streamline the process for\nmicroentrepreneurs, the Director of Public Health should also consult\nwith MEHKO policy expert organizations and microentrepreneur\nstakeholders, including the COOK Alliance, with County Counsel’s draft\nordinance, and MEHKO permitting program, to consider and incorporate\nthe recommendations in the DPH’s report; and\nIn collaboration with the Director of Economic Opportunity, the Chief\nExecutive Officer, and the Directors of Regional Planning and Public\nWorks, to prepare a MEHKO permitting program that can be established\nwithin 120 days of the Board’s adoption of a MEHKO ordinance, with the\nprogram to include permit processes, consistent with Senate Bill 972,\nSidewalk vendors, enabling sidewalk vendors to utilize MEHKOs as a\ncommissary space, and should include an increase or waiver of the\nannual cap on revenue and number of meals for MEHKO commissaries,\nconsistent with State law;\nInstruct the Director of Economic Opportunity, in partnership with the Directors\nof Public Health, Regional Planning and Public Works, to prepare a public\neducation program for small home-based retail food operations and food safety,\nthat will be ready for immediate implementation upon the Board’s adoption of a\nMEHKO ordinance and the establishment of the permitting program, and should\ninclude the following:\nCoordinate with the County’s existing outreach and education efforts to\nsupport sidewalk vendors, including promoting opportunities for sidewalk\nvendors to get their home kitchens licensed as MEHKOs so they can\nserve as commissaries;\nInclude general educational guidance on how to be a good neighbor\nwhile running a small volume retail food operation, including\nconsiderations of land use, traffic, parking, noise and the importance of\nappropriate disposal for grease and other food-related waste; and\nUtilize a proactive outreach strategy that engages sidewalk vendors,\nmicroentrepreneurs, and brick and mortar businesses through\ncanvassing, events, media, and other outreach approaches in the main\nthreshold languages spoken in the County; and\nDirect the Chief Executive Officer, in collaboration with the Directors of Public\nHealth and Economic Opportunity, to report back to the Board in writing within\n90 days with the identification and analysis of potential funding sources to cover\nthe costs of MEHKO-related programming, with the funding assessment to\ninclude an analysis of the County’s opportunity to pursue grant funding at the\nState and Federal level and through philanthropic partners, the report back\nshould consider funding to cover the following costs:\nFunding DPH’s start-up and ongoing MEHKO program implementation\nactivities;\nFunding the Department of Economic Opportunity’s public education\nprogram and ongoing MEHKO-related outreach activities;\nSubsidizing the full or partial fees for DPH’s MEHKO permits, particularly\nin the program’s first year, to increase accessibility for low-income\nmicroentrepreneurs; and\nProviding grants or loans to cover other MEHKO-related start-up costs for\nlow-income microentrepreneurs, such as equipment investments and\nother non-County-related permitting costs. (23-3322)\nAttachments: Motion by Supervisor Mitchell\nPublic Comment/Correspondence