Elk Grove Rejects Home-Based Restaurant Kitchens

Elk Grove city leaders moved last week to keep home-based restaurant kitchens out of residential neighborhoods, but the vote was really about Sacramento County’s next step. On May 27, the Elk Grove City Council took up a staff presentation on microenterprise home kitchen operations, or MEHKOs, and considered a resolution authorizing Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen to send Sacramento County supervisors a letter reaffirming the city’s opposition. Under California law, these permits allow residents to prepare and sell meals from private homes if a city or county chooses to authorize them. Elk Grove’s action did not change state law. It put the city on record against countywide approval. ### What exactly did Elk Grove vote on? The May 27 council agenda described the item as a presentation on MEHKOs and a resolution authorizing the mayor to sign and send a letter to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors reaffirming Elk Grove’s opposition. That matters because Elk Grove was not creating a new local ban at that meeting. California’s MEHKO framework already gives local jurisdictions discretion to allow or not allow the businesses. Elk Grove instead used the meeting to formally oppose Sacramento County permitting them on a countywide basis. ### What is a MEHKO, and why was this even on the agenda? Assembly Bill 626, signed in 2018 and effective January 1, 2019, created the microenterprise home kitchen operation category in California. The California Department of Public Health says the law allows an individual to operate a restaurant in a private residence if the local city or county authorizes it. State health guidance says MEHKOs cannot receive a health permit until a city or county adopts the needed ordinance or resolution. That local-option structure is why the issue has become a county and city policy question rather than a statewide automatic right. ### Why did Elk Grove object? Jose Mendez, Elk Grove’s code enforcement manager, presented the proposal to the council, according to local coverage of the meeting. City staff asked the council to back a letter opposing countywide authorization in Sacramento County. The concerns raised in local reporting centered on public safety, neighborhood impacts and enforcement. Those objections included questions about parking, traffic, food safety oversight and whether home-based operators would compete under different rules than brick-and-mortar restaurants. Elk Grove’s position fit a land-use argument more than a food-policy argument. The city’s action was aimed at keeping commercial cooking activity from moving into residential areas through a county permit structure. ### Why does Sacramento County matter if Elk Grove has its own council? California’s MEHKO law gives cities and counties discretion to authorize the businesses in their jurisdictions. Because Sacramento County is considering whether to permit them, Elk Grove’s council used the vote to tell county officials it does not want that framework applied in a way that affects neighborhoods in the city. Sacramento County’s Board of Supervisors is the governing body that would decide whether to adopt a county ordinance. Elk Grove’s letter is part of that county-level process, not the final decision itself. ### Is this a statewide rejection of home kitchens? California has not banned MEHKOs. The state created the category and left adoption to local governments. The California Department of Public Health says local authorization is required before permits can be issued. That means some jurisdictions have chosen to allow the businesses, while others have not. Elk Grove’s vote places the city in the opposition camp as Sacramento County weighs whether to move ahead. ### What happens next? Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen was authorized to send Elk Grove’s opposition letter to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors after the May 27 vote. Sacramento County supervisors are the officials to watch next. Their agenda, hearing schedule and any proposed ordinance will determine whether MEHKOs move forward countywide despite Elk Grove’s objections.