Restaurants and bars to get some relief

The last two weeks have caused unprecedented uncertainty across this country and across this county, but in order to overcome, we must come together. While we are still in the midst of this storm, we need to set our sights on the future.

Last week, the Board of Supervisors took action on a Board Letter introduced by Supervisor Kristin Gaspar and myself to defer fees collected by the Department of Environmental Health from March 1, 2020, through Aug. 30, 2020, for restaurants and bar businesses impacted by the Health Order.

Fees to be deferred include annual food facility health permit fees, late fees and plan check correction fee. This applies to all restaurants including cities and the unincorporated areas!

The cost savings range from $200 to $1,930 per establishment. The request also asks all county departments to analyze local regulations that may be barriers for businesses to reopen when the Health Order is lifted and report back to the board with solutions to reduce or remove those barriers.

I know this is an extremely challenging time for restaurants and business, with some difficult decisions ahead. However, we need to do our part as county leaders to ensure we help the restaurant industry and other small businesses impacted in San Diego!