CGA is setting up meetings with City Council Members to discuss recent shopping enforcement efforts that gouge grocers whose carts are found on public property. If you are available next week to join me for a meeting, let me know right away.

CGA and other business advocacy organizations will meet with LA County’s Environmental Health Director Angelo Bellomo tomorrow afternoon to discuss our opposition to the Department’s proposed fee increases for health inspections and plan checks. Under an analysis completed by the County, larger stores would see dramatic increases for inspections and plan checks, while smaller grocers and c-stores would see fee decreases but increases for plan checks. We have asked Supervisors to deny the reformulation on the grounds that additional costs during the economic crisis will only make it more difficult for the food retail industry to add needed jobs.

We have learned that Hermosa Beach plans to introduce a long-anticipated polystyrene ban on Tuesday, May 9th and are attempting to confirm whether the city plans to create an exemption for meat containers and whether #6 polystyrene (clamshell containers) are included in the proposal. We will forward more information when it becomes available.

Educating your customers about the true facts on food expiration is critical to changing some of the urban myths that have been propagated by opponents of the grocery retail industry. In particular, some anti-grocers groups, like LAANE down here in Los Angeles, have told community groups that grocers stock “expired” products, produce and meats in under-served communities. These lies will take hold unless consumers become knowledgeable about how the varied expiration schemes actually work.

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors passed its bag ordinance on a 4-1 vote. The ordinance is very similar to the San Jose and LA County regulations. The ordinance goes into effect 1/1/2012. The ordinance applies only to the unincorporated part of the County. Supervisor Cortese complimented CGA’s work on the issue. Posted by Cell Phone – 916-832-6149

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors postponed a vote on an ordinance on April 19 which would have increased food facility inspection fees and the process to calculate the fees. LA County provided very little notice the changes were being considered. CGA, along with other affected industries, have been able to secure a 3-week postponement. CGA is actively questioning the rationale behind the recalculation and increases especially since the County is not providing any additional services to justify the fee increase. Proposed fee changes include 50% increase and in one case a 200% increase as well as introducing new fees for previously included services. CGA will continue to engage the County and question the increased fees throughout the process.

CGA has lined up several speakers for tomorrow’s SoCal Issues Forum in the San Fernando Valley to discuss such issues as implementation of local bag ordinances, compliance with federal labor laws and under-served communities. We’ve added a last minute agenda item to discuss egregious fines being giving out by cities such as Pasadena and Santa Ana when shopping carts are found on public property. You can RSVP by emailing Matthew Dodson at [email protected].

Mayor Villaraigosa’s business czar has joined a long list of aspirants for the City’s top job in 2013. Austin Beutner comes from the investment banking industry and would be expected to take Los Angeles in a more business friendly direction. However, he is seen as void of charismatic and lacks the name recognition of other possible candidates, including Controller Wendy Greuel, Council President Garcetti, developer Rick Caruso and state Senator Alex Padilla. It is a long way to June of 2013 and grocers can expect to get many calls from political fundraisers in the coming months.

The California Supreme Court announced it will hear oral arguments May 4 on the Save the Plastic Bag Coalition v. City of Manhattan Beach case. The question before the court is whether a local jurisdiction must perform an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) when regulating carry-out bags. This case is a game-changer since it will decide the speed and ease for passing local ordinances.

In the summer of 2008 Manhattan Beach passed an ordinance banning the use of plastic bags at checkout by all retailers. This effort followed the Oakland ordinance which was dismissed by a court due to lack of CEQA review. Manhattan Beach chose to perform a CEQA review using a Negative Declaration, which essentially states there is no significant environmental impact. Immediately upon passage plastic bag manufacturers under the name “Save the Plastic Bag Coalition” filed suit claiming a full EIR under CEQA must be performed.

The original decision was in favor of the Coalition and prevented enactment by Manhattan Beach until an EIR was performed. Manhattan Beach promptly appealed the decision and was again rejected on the determination that enough environmental impact could exist to warrant full study in the form of an EIR. Manhattan Beach was not satisfied and appealed to the State Supreme Court in early 2010.

EIR’s require extensive analysis of environmental impacts in 23 separate areas which highlight specific impacts of one bag type over another. Plastic manufacturers have claimed the impact of their product in comparison is environmentally preferred. Given this belief they want jurisdictions to perform an EIR to highlight these specific impacts and apply the findings to the policy decision. Los Angeles County and San Jose both performed an EIR and passed ordinances and they were not sued.

It is important to recognize performing an EIR is a long and expensive process. An EIR usually requires $100,000 and 4-6 months to perform at a minimum. In comparison a Negative Declaration adds little additional cost and can be completed in 45-days.

Requiring local governments to perform an EIR is seen by many as creating a financial disincentive to pass ordinances. For the grocery industry this decision will dramatically affect the volume and speed of future ordinance consideration. If an EIR is not required local jurisdictions could pass a bag ordinance in a matter of weeks with little, if any, upfront costs. If required to perform an EIR some local governments may not engage or choose to band together to perform a regional EIR to share costs.

Regardless of the outcome bag ordinances will continue to be pursued by local governments. The unknown is if grocers will experience a flood of ordinances or continue to see a slow trickle.

CGA has learned that supporters of a Los Angeles ordinance to create “incentives” for increased fresh food infrastructure have come up with a two-part scheme to penalize grocers, both of which would make it more difficult for grocers to expand in the city. The union-backed advocacy organization LAANE has long sought to create a regulatory structure in the city that encourages some companies while penalizing others.

This new proposal would force grocers to obtain a conditional use permit for new store development or major remodel. If passed, grocers would expend significant funds to meet the administrative demands and face whithering opposition at public hearings from advocacy groups if they did not fit the model supported by LAANE. Several recent reports on the food desert situation in Los Angeles note that the city needs to streamline the permitting process, not make the process more complicated.
Second, the proposal would create a “mitigation fee” for attempting to build a new store or remodel a store in an area that is not designated a food desert by the City’s Planning Department. Again, increasing costs will only stymie development in the City, not create better, newer fresh food infrastructure.
It is unclear how much support the current proposal has but CGA is assessing the potential damage such an ordinance would have on new store development in the City.