Laserfiche WebLink
6 <br />2023-2024 San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury <br /> <br />by a private company (a community-based organization, CBO) which recruits and manages the <br />individual Farmers and Vendors. The company polices the area at the breakdown of the Market <br />on Sunday afternoon. The city of San Carlos has a street sweeper go over the area on Monday <br />morning. These actions appear to be sufficient as the area was observed to be clean and free from <br />refuse. <br /> <br />Parklets: Like Food Trucks, parklet regulation is evolving and should be reviewed in more detail <br />at a later date. There are currently no separate inspection line items for parklets in the County <br />Health Department checklist. Parklets increased significantly as a result of the Covid-19 <br />pandemic, which have proven efficient and desirable in many areas. At the outset, their <br />construction was not heavily regulated and there were no specific building code requirements for <br />inspection and cleaning under floors. As these facilities have become permanent, building permit <br />requirements have increased. Problem areas identified in our investigation are: <br />1. Open floor segments can permit food and other waste falling under the floor of the <br />parklet to the street; <br />2. Many have open side(s) permitting vermin to go under the parklet to feed on scraps; <br />3. Street drainage (from road crown and gutter flow) can exacerbate the problems of <br />waste under the floor, including leaves and other refuse. <br /> <br />METHODOLOGY <br /> <br />The Jurors made several site visits over a period of eight months and took photographs. The <br />Grand Jury conducted interviews with some officials of some cities and with several San Mateo <br />County officials including the Health Department and Vector Control. A survey was sent to each <br />city/town in San Mateo County. <br /> <br />FINDINGS <br /> <br />F1: Sanitary conditions of the exterior of restaurant facilities fall outside current inspections of <br />the County Health Department. The varying unsatisfactory conditions in the waste removal areas <br />of the facilities shows something is lacking in the regulatory process. <br /> <br />F2: Sanitary conditions of parklets fall outside of current inspections by the County Health <br />Department or Vector Control. <br /> <br />F3: Sanitary conditions of exterior areas used for waste storage and disposal fall outside current <br />inspections by local jurisdictions; local jurisdictions are, by and large, only reactive to an actual <br />complaint. <br /> <br />F4: Most restaurant exterior areas are “out of sight” of the public and as a result complaints are <br />less frequent. <br /> <br />F5. Because they lack oversight, unacceptable conditions in restaurant trash areas are likely not <br />to be rectified. <br />F6. Waste water from the cleaning of trash areas and from rain flow into the storm drain systems. <br />6.F. - Page 10 of 32 <br />54