Elk Grove Opposes MEHKO Home Kitchen Rules

Elk Grove city staff recommended on May 22 that the City Council authorize Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen to send an opposition letter to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors over a proposed ordinance allowing microenterprise home kitchen operations, or MEHKOs, in residential neighborhoods. Elk Grove officials framed the issue as a local land-use and business-regulation dispute tied to county health permitting and neighborhood impacts. Sacramento County is considering whether to authorize the home-kitchen model under California law, which leaves adoption to individual cities and counties. ### What is Elk Grove objecting to? Sacramento County is considering an ordinance that would permit commercial MEHKOs, a category of home-based food business created under California law. The California Department of Public Health says a MEHKO is a retail food facility operated by a resident in a private home where food is stored, handled, prepared and may be served to consumers. (elkgrovenews.net) City staff in Elk Grove said the county proposal would allow those operations inside residential neighborhoods. Elk Grove News, which reported on the staff recommendation, said staff urged the council to authorize Singh-Allen to sign and send an official opposition letter to county supervisors. ### Why does the county matter if Elk Grove is a city? (cdph.ca.gov) California’s MEHKO framework gives local governments “full discretion” to authorize the businesses in their jurisdictions, according to the state public health department. The state says that until a city or county authorizes them, MEHKOs cannot be issued a health permit to operate. (elkgrovenews.net) Sacramento County Environmental Management is the local agency that handles food-related permitting and enforcement across the county system. Its website says a health permit is required when food is given or sold to the public, including cooked foods, and that the department serves residents of the county and its seven cities. ### What are MEHKOs allowed to do under state law? (cdph.ca.gov) California lawmakers created MEHKOs through Assembly Bill 626, which Governor Jerry Brown signed on Sept. 18, 2018, with the law taking effect on Jan. 1, 2019. The state public health department says the law established MEHKOs as a new type of retail food facility and also set rules for internet food service intermediaries that advertise them online. (emd.saccounty.gov) The California Department of Public Health says the gross annual sales cap for a MEHKO, adjusted for inflation, was $107,121 as of Jan. 1, 2025. A state document shows the cap was originally $50,000, rose to $100,000 under a 2023 adjustment, and then increased again with inflation. (cdph.ca.gov) ### What concerns are Elk Grove officials raising? Elk Grove News reported that city officials contend home-based food businesses operating under the proposed county ordinance could bypass costs tied to commercial zoning, building permits and disability-access compliance. The publication said officials described that as creating an uneven economic playing field for brick-and-mortar businesses. (cdph.ca.gov) Those concerns have surfaced before in Elk Grove. A city council staff report from 2019 recommended that the mayor send a letter opposing the permitting of microenterprise home kitchen operations in Sacramento County, showing the city has previously taken a formal position against the model. ### How would residents follow the decision from here? (elkgrovenews.net) Elk Grove schedules City Council meetings on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers at 8400 Laguna Palms Way, and the city says agendas and supporting documents are posted before the meeting. The city’s website lists a council meeting for May 27, 2026. Public comments can be submitted to the city clerk by 4 p.m. on the day of the meeting, according to the city’s council meetings page. (elkgrove.gov) Sacramento County’s next step on any MEHKO ordinance would run through its own legislative process and environmental health permitting system. (elkgrove.gov)