Some restaurants and other food facilities have been closed completely due to the coronavirus quarantine while the rest are limited to delivery and pick-up. The San Diego County Board of Supervisors decided that the restaurants and other food and beverage businesses which are foregoing revenue should be given a deferral for their fee payments to the county.
A 5-0 Board of Supervisors vote March 24 directed the county’s Chief Administrative Officer to defer the date for the payment of health permit fees, plan check fees, and late fees to Sept. 1. The Chief Administrative Officer was also directed to utilize general fund money to cover any revenue shortfall caused by the delay in fee payments and to seek Federal and state funding to assist in the recovery of the food, beverage, and hospitality industries. The supervisors also directed the CAO to analyze any county policies which may inhibit the immediate reopening of food facilities after the quarantine is lifted and to report back to the Board of Supervisors with possible solutions within 30 days.
“Today we want to provide immediate relief for this industry,” said Supervisor Kristin Gaspar.
“We want to make sure that when the health order is lifted they can get back in business as quickly as possible,” said Supervisor Jim Desmond.
Health permits issued by the county’s Department of Environmental Health are required for all food facilities in San Diego County, including those in incorporated cities (but not those on sovereign Indian reservations, which have their own system). More than 15,000 retail food facilities exist in the county including more than 8,100 restaurants. The cost of the permits, which must be renewed annually, ranges from $200 to $1,930.
Gaspar is herself a business owner (she and her husband own a physical therapy business) who is a San Diego County native but attended Arizona State University to major in broadcast journalism. Gaspar funded her college expenses by working at a restaurant.
“During these challenging times we know that every dollar matters,” she said.
The county health order issued on March 12 prohibited gatherings of more than 250 people. On March 16 the order was amended to prohibit gatherings of more than 50 people, and that order also closed all bars which did not serve food while prohibiting dining in restaurants which are still allowed to provide pick-up and delivery service.
