Mountain View Municipal Code Div. 2 Mandatory Edible Food Recovery

a. Tier one commercial edible food generators must comply with the requirements of this section commencing January 1, 2022, and tier two commercial edible food generators must comply commencing January 1, 2024, pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18991.3.

b. Large venue or large event operators not providing food services but allowing for food to be provided by others shall require food facilities operating at the large venue or large event to comply with the requirements of this section, commencing January 1, 2024.

c. Tier one and tier two commercial edible food generators shall comply with the following requirements:

1. Arrange to recover the maximum amount of edible food that would otherwise be disposed.

2. Contract with or enter into a written agreement with food-recovery organizations or food-recovery services for: (i) the collection of edible food for food recovery; or, (ii) acceptance of the edible food that the commercial edible food generators self-hauls to the food-recovery organizations for food recovery.

3. Shall not intentionally spoil edible food that is capable of being recovered by a food-recovery organization or a food-recovery service.

4. Allow the city enforcement official to access the premises, conduct inspections and review electronic and hard copy records pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18991.4.

5. Keep records that include the following information, or as otherwise specified in 14 CCR Section 18991.4: (a) a list of each food-recovery service or organization that collects or receives its edible food pursuant to a contract or written agreement established under 14 CCR Section 18991.3(b); (b) a copy of all contracts or written agreements established under 14 CCR Section 18991.3(b); and (c) a record of the following information for each of those food-recovery services or food-recovery organizations: (i) the name, address and contact information of the food-recovery service or food-recovery organization; (ii) the types of food that will be collected by or self-hauled to the food-recovery service or food-recovery organization; (iii) the established frequency that food will be collected or self-hauled; and (iv) the quantity of food, measured in pounds recovered per month, collected or self-hauled to a food-recovery service or food-recovery organization for food recovery.

d. Tier one commercial edible food generators shall submit food-recovery reports, as defined below, to the city enforcement official according to the following schedule:

1. On or before August 1, 2022, tier one commercial edible food generators shall submit a food-recovery report for the period of January 1, 2022 through June 30, 2022.

2. On or before May 1, 2023, and on or before May 1 each year thereafter, tier one commercial edible food generators shall submit a food-recovery report for the period covering the entire previous calendar year.

e. Tier two commercial edible food generators shall submit food-recovery reports, as defined below, to the city enforcement official according to the following schedule:

1. On or before May 1, 2025, and on or before May 1 each year thereafter, tier two commercial edible food generators shall submit a food-recovery report for the period covering the entire previous calendar year.

f. Food-recovery reports submitted by tier one and tier two commercial edible food generators shall include the following information:

1. The name and address of the commercial edible food generator;

2. The name of the person responsible for the commercial edible food generator's edible food-recovery program;

3. A list of all contracted food-recovery services or food-recovery organizations that collect edible food from the commercial edible food generator;

4. The total number of pounds of edible food per year donated through a contracted food-recovery organization or food-recovery service.

g. Nothing in this article shall be construed to limit or conflict with the protections provided by the California Good Samaritan Food Donation Act of 2017, the Federal Good Samaritan Act, or share table and school food donation guidance issued by the California Department of Education pursuant to Senate Bill 557 (2017).

(Ord. No. 11.21, § 1, 12/14/21.)

a. Food-recovery services collecting, receiving or coordinating the collection of edible food directly from tier one or tier two commercial edible food generators, via a contract or written agreement established under 14 CCR Section 18991.3(b), shall maintain the following records, or as otherwise specified by 14 CCR Section 18991.5(a)(1):

1. The name, address and contact information for each commercial edible food generator from which the service collects edible food.

2. The quantity in pounds of edible food collected from each commercial edible food generator per month.

3. The quantity in pounds of edible food transported to each food-recovery organization per month.

4. The name, address and contact information for each food-recovery organization that the food-recovery service transports edible food to for food recovery.

b. Food-recovery organizations collecting, receiving or coordinating the collection of edible food directly from tier one or tier two commercial edible food generators, via a contract or written agreement established under 14 CCR Section 18991.3(b), shall maintain the following records, or as otherwise specified by 14 CCR Section 18991.5(a)(2):

1. The name, address and contact information for each commercial edible food generator from which the organization receives edible food.

2. The quantity in pounds of edible food received from each commercial edible food generator per month.

3. The name, address and contact information for each food-recovery service that the organization receives edible food from for food recovery.

c. The food-recovery organizations and food-recovery services that have their primary address physically located in the city and contract with or have written agreements with one (1) or more tier one or tier two commercial edible food generators pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18991.3(b) shall submit food-recovery reports, as defined below, to the city enforcement official according to the following schedule:

1. On or before August 1, 2022, food-recovery organizations and food-recovery services shall submit a food-recovery report for the period of January 1, 2022 through June 30, 2022.

2. On or before May 1, 2023, and on or before May 1 each year thereafter, food-recovery organizations and food-recovery services shall submit a food-recovery report for the period covering the entire previous calendar year.

d. Food-recovery report submitted by food-recovery services or organizations shall include the following information:

1. Total pounds of edible food recovered in the previous calendar year from tier one and tier two commercial edible food generators with whom the reporting entity has a contract or written agreement pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18991.3(b).

2. Total pounds of edible food recovered in the previous calendar year from tier one and tier two commercial edible food generators within Santa Clara County with whom the reporting entity has a contract or written agreement pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18991.3(b).

e. In order to support edible food recovery capacity planning assessments or other studies conducted by the County of Santa Clara, the city, or their designees, food-recovery services and food-recovery organizations operating in the city shall provide information and consultation to the city, designee, or city enforcement official, upon request, regarding existing or proposed new or expanded food-recovery capacity that could be accessed by the city and its tier one and tier two commercial edible food generators. A food-recovery service or food-recovery organization contacted by the city, the city enforcement official or designee shall respond to such request for information within sixty (60) days, unless a shorter time frame is specified.

(Ord. No. 11.21, § 1, 12/14/21.)

a. The city enforcement official is authorized to conduct inspections and investigations, at random or otherwise, of any collection container, collection vehicle loads or transfer, processing or disposal facility for materials collected from generators to confirm compliance with this Division 2 by tier one and tier two commercial edible food generators, food-recovery services, and food-recovery organizations, subject to applicable laws. this section does not allow the city enforcement official to enter the interior of a private residential property for inspection.

b. Entities subject to this Division 2 of this chapter shall provide or arrange for access during all inspections (with the exception of residential property interiors) and shall cooperate with the city enforcement official during such inspections and investigations. Such inspections and investigations may include in-person or electronic review of edible food-recovery activities, records or any other requirement of this Division 2 described herein. Failure to provide or arrange for access to an entity's premises or access to records for any inspections or investigation is a violation of this chapter and may result in penalties described.

c. Any records obtained by the city enforcement official during its inspections and other reviews shall be subject to the requirements and applicable disclosure exemptions of the Public Records Act as set forth in Government Code Section 6250, et seq.

d. Representatives of the city enforcement official are authorized to conduct any inspections or other investigations as reasonably necessary to further the goals of this article, subject to applicable laws.

e. The city enforcement official shall receive written complaints, including anonymous complaints, regarding entities that may be in violation of this Division 2. Complaints shall include the name and contact information of the complainant, if the complainant is not anonymous; the identity of the alleged violator, if known; a description of the alleged violation, including location(s) and all other relevant facts known to the complainant; any relevant photographic or documentary evidence to support the allegations in the complaint; and the identity of any witnesses, if known.

(Ord. No. 11.21, § 1, 12/14/21.)

a. Administrative fine. Violation of any provision of this Division 2 shall constitute grounds for issuance of a notice of violation and assessment of an administrative fine by the city enforcement official. Absent compliance by the respondent within the deadline set forth in the notice of violation, the city enforcement official shall commence an action to impose penalties via an administrative citation and fine.

b. Notice of violation. Before assessing an administrative fine, the city enforcement official shall issue a notice of violation requiring compliance within sixty (60) days of issuance of the notice. The notice shall include: (1) the name(s) of each person or entity to whom it is directed; (2) a factual description of the violations, including the regulatory section(s) being violated; (3) a compliance date by which the respondent is to take specified action(s); and (4) the penalty for not complying before the specified deadline. For repeat and/or willful violations, the city enforcement official may require compliance within fewer than sixty (60) days or may immediately issue an administrative citation and fine.

c. Extensions to compliance deadlines. The city enforcement official may extend the compliance deadlines set forth in a notice of violation if it finds that there are extenuating circumstances beyond the control of the respondent that make compliance within the deadlines impracticable, including the following:

1. Acts of God, such as earthquakes, wildfires, flooding, and other emergencies or natural disasters;

2. Delays in obtaining discretionary permits or other government agency approvals;

3. Deficiencies in edible food-recovery capacity and the existence of a corrective action plan imposed by CalRecycle pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18996.2 due to those deficiencies; or

4. Any other circumstance in which the city enforcement official, in their sole discretion, finds good cause to extend the compliance deadlines.

d. Administrative citations. If the respondent fails to correct the violation by the compliance date or as otherwise provided in subsection (b), the city enforcement official shall issue an administrative citation and fine. The citation shall include a description of the administrative citation appeal process, including the designated hearing officer, the time within which the administrative citation may be contested and instructions for requesting a hearing.

e. Amount of fine. The amount of the administrative fine for each violation of this Division 2 shall be as follows:

1. For a first violation, the amount of the base penalty shall be fifty dollars ($50.00) to one hundred dollars ($100.00) per violation.

2. For a second violation, the amount of the base penalty shall be one hundred dollars ($100.00) to two hundred dollars ($200.00) per violation.

3. For a third or subsequent violation, the amount of the base penalty shall be two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) to five hundred dollars ($500.00) per violation.

f. Factors considered in determining penalty amount. The following factors shall be used to determine the amount of the penalty for each violation within the appropriate penalty range:

1. The nature, circumstances and severity of the violation(s).

2. The violator's ability to pay.

3. The willfulness of the violator's misconduct.

4. Whether the violator took measures to avoid or mitigate violations of this chapter.

5. Evidence of any economic benefit resulting from the violation(s).

6. The deterrent effect of the penalty on the violator.

7. Whether the violation(s) were due to conditions outside the control of the violator.

g. Appeals. Persons receiving an administrative citation for an uncorrected violation may request a hearing to appeal the citation. The city will designate a hearing officer who shall conduct the hearing and issue a final written order. The hearing officer may be a city official or another public agency designated by the city. The hearing officer shall be identified in the administrative citation. A hearing will be held only if it is requested within fifteen (15) days from the date of the notice of the administrative citation.

h. Education period for noncompliance. Beginning January 1, 2022 and through December 31, 2023, the city enforcement official will conduct inspections and compliance reviews. If the city enforcement official determines that a tier one commercial edible food generator, food-recovery organization, food-recovery service or other entity is not in compliance, it shall provide educational materials to the entity describing its obligations under this Division 2 and a notice that compliance is required. It shall also provide notice that violations may be subject to administrative civil penalties starting on January 1, 2024.

(Ord. No. 11.21, § 1, 12/14/21.)