Marin looks to ease food business regulations

Marin County is shifting its approach to regulating food operators, moving from a singular focus on health hazards to a dual-track process that aims to balance safety enforcement with local economic vitality.

“Our primary lens historically has been a focus on the regulatory, identifying health risks and ensuring code compliance through manual oversight,” said Sarah Jones, director of the Marin County Community Development Agency. “Our new focus is about moving from a perceived gatekeeper role to a partnership model. We want to be at the table with business owners from day one, acting as a resource rather than as a hurdle.”

Jones updated county supervisors on the agency’s transition at their meeting on Feb. 10 and sought their guidance on prioritizing next steps.

The biggest change under consideration is allowing new business owners to “self-certify” when they are seeking a health permit. A new health permit is required whenever ownership changes. Permitting serves as the primary enforcement mechanism for ensuring that restaurants and other food businesses are in compliance with the California Retail Food Code.

Shannon Bell, an environmental health supervisor, said, “With self-certification, the new owner will have the option to sign a document stating that they are using the same equipment, the same floor plan and the same menu. Because the operation stays identical from what was previously permitted and approved, the new owner is certifying that their operation will be in compliance with Calcode.”

Bell said the change would allow qualifying businesses “to skip the lengthy change of ownership inspection” process that is currently required.

Dan Baker, a former local restaurant owner, told supervisors in August that some local food operators were having trouble selling their businesses because of all the upgrades required in order for buyers to obtain their permits.

Baker said that when he sold his restaurant in 2022, he had to install a three-compartment sink, relocate an ice machine, increase the size of his grease interceptor, replace the floors in his kitchen and storage room, purchase new water heaters, install 100 feet of gas line and rebuild a server station with new side-by-side sinks. The changes cost him some $90,000.

The county is also planning to exempt food operators from a state law passed in 2007 requiring that customers be able to reach a restroom without walking through a kitchen or a food preparation area.

“For many older historic buildings, following this law is nearly impossible without expensive and difficult construction,” Bell said. “We will be establishing a clear definition for an exemption for buildings that have been in continuous operation since before 2007.”

Jones said, “We have not been waiting until today to start acting. We’re now issuing conditional permits, which allow an operator to open and come into compliance with Calcode over time.”

It’s unclear when, if ever, food operators would be required to upgrade their businesses to bring them in line with the conditions in state law.

“As with many of the other items we talked about at the study session, we will need to develop the self-certification program cooperatively with County Counsel,” Jones wrote in an email. “I can’t say at this time exactly how it will work.”

Food operators will still be required to comply with local building codes, fire district mandates and sanitary district grease trap regulations.

A number of other initiatives are also planned to speed the permitting process. Marin County Environmental Health Services, which inspects and permits restaurants, is developing a digital permit tracking system that will replace inefficient paper filing and manual entry of inspection reports. An agency employee would also be assigned to ensure that the county complies with a new state law that specifies the amount of time the county has to approve plans for the building or remodel of a food facility. The law allows the county 20 days, with an additional 10 days granted for each resubmission.

Other changes include switching to a tiered permit review schedule, so smaller projects aren’t unduly delayed by larger, more complicated ones; and an effort to coordinate permitting with other jurisdictions. These might include city planning and building departments, sanitary districts, fire departments and the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

Jones recommended focusing first on developing the digital permit tracking system and improving communications with business owners before instituting self-certification. She said that currently business owners are unprepared to assert that they are code compliant because they lack a firm grasp on what that means.

Supervisors Mary Sackett and Stephanie Moulton-Peters agreed.

Supervisors Eric Lucan and Dennis Rodoni, however, said the county should make self-certification a priority.

“Self-certification for change of ownership is something that I would like to see sooner rather than later,” Lucan said.

Rodoni said, “I’ve been a big fan of self-certification.”

Supervisor Brian Colbert didn’t express an opinion on which approach he favors, but said additional adjustments to aid businesses might be in order.

The county received kudos for its efforts from business people in attendance.

“The changes are perfect,” said Andy Podshadley, the owner of Trek Winery in Novato. “I’m getting chills going down my spine.”

Rob Benson, a manager at Bon Air Center, said, “Great work.”

There was, however, some dissent to another aspect of the county’s plan that would cease monitoring of restaurants’ compliance with reusable foodware ordinances that were adopted by the county and most local municipalities in 2023. All the jurisdictions in Marin, except for Corte Madera, entered into a memorandum of understanding with the county to implement the ordinance.

“The time for talking is over,” said Jane McDonough, one of the leaders of Plastic Free Marin. “The enforcement deadline of Nov. 10, 2023, is now two years overdue. We’re calling on you today to honor your promise, enforce the ordinance without further delay and allocate the budget to make it happen.”

The county’s review of its policy for permitting food operations began after Jones recommended in May that supervisors adopt an ordinance that would have legalized microenterprise home kitchen operations. The ordinance was designed to take advantage of state laws that permit local governments to establish programs allowing people to operate a restaurant or prepare a range of food items for sale from their residences, including rentals.

The laws also allow home kitchen operators to prepare and store food for up to two mobile food vendors. Several supervisors raised concerns, and the ordinance was put on hold. Jones said Tuesday that she hopes the supervisors will reconsider the ordinance sometime this spring.