City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Public Works
Meeting Date: June 18, 2024
Report #:2404-2911
TITLE
Approval of a Memorandum of Understanding for a Countywide Food Recovery Program; CEQA Status – Exempt under CEQA Guidelines Section 15308
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that Council approve and authorize the City Manager or their designee to execute the Memorandum of Understanding between the County of Santa Clara, the cities of Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, San José, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, and Saratoga; the towns of Los Altos Hills and Los Gatos; and the City of Palo Alto for the ongoing management and operation of a countywide edible food recovery program and sharing of program costs.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) is for the ongoing management, operation and sharing of costs for a countywide edible food recovery program based on the number of edible food generators within each city. The MOU allows for consistent implementation within the county for generators and cities to meet California Senate Bill 1383 (SB 1383) requirements and complete annual reporting to the State.
BACKGROUND
SB 1383 took effect in 2016 with the goals of reducing disposal of organic waste in landfills, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and addressing food insecurity. To avoid disposal of edible food, in November 2020 the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) developed regulations requiring jurisdictions to establish edible food recovery programs to recover the maximum amount of edible food that would otherwise be sent to landfills to instead feed people in need. The state goal is to reduce edible food going to landfills by 20%.
Beginning January 1, 2022, "Tier 1" commercial edible food generators were required to arrange for food recovery through a contract or written agreement with food recovery
organizations or services that would collect or accept self-hauled edible food. The following commercial edible food generators are in Tier 1, as defined by CalRecycle:
•wholesale food vendors
•food service providers and distributors
•grocery stores over 10,000 square feet
•supermarkets
Palo Alto currently has nine grocery stores and wholesale food vendors meeting these Tier 1 generator requirements.
Beginning January 1, 2024, the following "Tier 2" generators (listed below, as defined by CalRecycle) were required to donate their edible food:
•restaurants over 5,000 square feet
•hotels with 200 or more rooms and on-site food facilities •local education agencies with on-site food facilities
•large venues/events
•health facilities with at least 100 beds and on-site food facilities Palo Alto has 83 Tier 2 generators including 48 restaurants, 18 local education agencies, 10 campus/food service providers, 3 health facilities, 2 large venues, 1 hotel and 1 private school.
To allow for conformity and consistency for generators within the county to meet the SB 1383 requirements, an edible food recovery model ordinance was created and adopted by all the cities located within the county and participating in the County of Santa Clara Recycling and Waste Reduction Commission (RWRC) Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). The City Council approved Palo Alto’s Municipal Code Chapter 5.40 Edible Food Recovery Requirements on November 29, 2021.1 The ordinance was developed with flexible language that enabled subsequent decisions to be made on items that were not fully developed at the time the ordinance was established to be compliant with SB 1383’s timeline for adopting ordinances.
The flexibility allowed for details related to enforcement, funding, and agreements to be developed in collaboration with all cities in the county.
To take advantage of economies of scale and due to the cross-jurisdictional nature of food recovery operations, TAC on June 16, 2022 amended an existing agreement with Joint Venture Silicon Valley (JVSV) to develop and manage the Santa Clara County Food Recovery Program (Program).2 As a result, JVSV conducts the necessary outreach to the edible food generators, provides assistance, connects businesses with food recovery organizations, and gathers the 1 City Council. November 01,2021, Agenda Item #13, SR#13547, https://cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/v/1/agendas-minutes-reports/reports/city-manager-reports- cmrs/year-archive/2021/id.-13547-implementation-of-the-state-california-short-lived-climate-pollutant-senate- bill-1383-requirement.pdf
2 Santa Clara County Food Recovery Program, June 16, 2022, First Amendment To Agreement Joint Venture Silicon Valley – Contract Scope of Services – Santa Clara County Food Recovery Monitoring Program and Deliverables – 6.16.22 required data for reporting back to CalRecycle. The program is very successful and was showcased by CalRecycle as an example of how other regions in California might want to organize their programs. The costs of the program were shared based on the number of generators within each city.
To keep this successful Program operating, in 2022 the TAC evaluated multiple long-term funding mechanisms and organizational structure options within the county. The TAC determined that the current funding mechanism based on the number of generators operating within each jurisdiction, and the organizational structure in implementation under a one-year Memorandum of Understanding, is the most cost effective and efficient methodology for participating jurisdictions to jointly administer and fund the Program. In 2023, a one-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)3 with the cities of Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San José, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, and Saratoga; the towns of Los Altos Hills and Los Gatos; and the County of Santa Clara was developed to fund the cost of the Program to satisfy SB 1383 requirements for a period of one year. The County of Santa Clara (County), as well as each city and town within the county, became responsible for paying a share of the Program under the MOU. In addition, the MOU iterates the County is the fiscal agent for TAC and the City of Morgan Hill is the administrator and contracting agent for TAC. Therefore, the County as the fiscal agent issued invoices to the jurisdictions for their committed amounts and collected funds that are redirected to the City of Morgan Hill in its capacity as the RWRC TAC administrator and contracting agent.
Palo Alto used existing Refuse Fund operating budget to fund the single year Program through the initial MOU, which is effective from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024, and covers the base and enhancement Program based on each jurisdiction’s contributions, calculated at $133 per generator (for base program costs) applied to the number of generators within the jurisdiction.
The enhancements include any activities identified by the Program that ensure efficient food recovery and prevention. Projects may include, but are not limited to, strategic capacity enhancements, and projects that promote the efficient recovery of surplus food or the prevention of surplus food.
The City’s Program cost (base and enhancements) was $17,054 in fiscal year 2024 based on the number of generators. The countywide base and enhancement program services performed by JVSV included the following deliverables:
•Create and coordinate a standardized edible food recovery program within the County •Review and update the lists of Tier 1 and Tier 2 generators •Provide requirements for large events within each jurisdiction •Provide information and data for inclusion in reports to CalRecycle 3 SCC 2023 Memorandum of Understanding,
Memorandum of Understanding Among Local Public Agencies in Santa Clara County For Food Recovery Program Costs
•Retain records of inspections
•Communicate with the appropriate jurisdictional entity if noncompliance issues arise •Provide education and outreach to generators
•Coordinate with food recovery organizations to compile reports •Conduct inspections and monitor generators and food recovery organizations •Maintain the Santa Clara County Edible Food Recovery Program website and list of Food Recovery Organizations and their services
•Prepare an annual report on program activities
•Communicate food recovery statistics with the County’s Office of Sustainability •Issue small capacity grants to increase the capacity of food recovery organizations •Provide food waste prevention classes via webinar and in-person series for different sectors regulated under SB 1383 (e.g., restaurants, hospitals, schools, large events) to promote food waste prevention measures specific to each regulated sector, provide food recovery tips and best practices
ANALYSIS
The long-term MOU (Attachment A) is anticipated to go into effect on July 1, 2024. The MOU and its terms will remain in effect until the TAC terminates the agreement using the TAC Memorandum of Agreement’s organizational voting structure. The long-term MOU extends the commitment of participating jurisdictions to submit annual contributions to fund the mandated Program based on the number of generators in each jurisdiction. Jurisdictions may also use the long-term MOU to contribute additional optional funds for Program enhancements that will be considered and approved by the TAC annually as part of its annual workplan and budget process. For the City, no additional funding is being requested at this time for this countywide Program.
The MOU creates one uniform, standardized, and coordinated effort for the edible food generators. The countywide Program benefits all cities in the county, including Palo Alto, by alleviating the need for duplicative staff, cost analysis, capacity assessment, expenditures for infrastructure, labor, administration, and record keeping for the edible food recovery activities.
Each year, details about the Program are provided in an annual report containing pertinent information the City uses to demonstrate compliance with the CalRecycle SB 1383 reporting requirements.
Moving forward, staff will continue to coordinate efforts with TAC and the Program to be proactive with the generators, address complaints, and work with the Program to review and provide feedback on inspection protocol and triggers for generators. In addition, staff will be involved in compliance checks and any enforcement needed.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
For Fiscal Year 2025, the City’s financial commitment is $26,243 for the countywide Program and for Fiscal Year 2026 it is estimated at $31,464. The overall Program biennial budget will not increase by more than ten percent of the prior year’s budget without prior approval by the RWRC during its annual work plan and budget approval process. These costs for the next two fiscal years and staff’s participation in RWRC TAC’s actions are included in the proposed FY 2025 Refuse Fund operating budget, subject to Council approval as part of the annual budget development process. No additional funding is being requested at this time for this countywide Program.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Stakeholder engagement included notifying the public at the monthly RWRC meetings, the TAC meetings, the Implementation Committee meetings as well as the various TAC subcommittee meetings. All meeting minutes are posted on the County Board of Supervisors and Boards and Commission webpage4. In addition, JVSV maintains the web site SCCFoodRecovery.org, conducts regular outreach to the edible food generators through mail, electronic communication, and webinars on best practices for preventing food waste and how to set up a food recovery program. They also help businesses connect with food recovery organizations.
Staff provides further outreach to Palo Alto’s food generators through utilities bill inserts, social media, direct mail, and Zero Waste newsletters.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Council action on this item is exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because the Countywide Food Recovery Program is an action by the City, as regulatory agency to assure the maintenance, restoration, enhancement, or protection of the environment.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Food Recovery Program RWRC MOU
APPROVED BY:
Brad Eggleston, Director Public Works/City Engineer
4 TAC, RWRC, and Implementation Committee Meeting Minutes http://sccgov.iqm2.com/citizens/default.aspx