ORD 2211 - Laserfiche WebLink

Urgency Ordinance No. 2211 Page 2 of 5 WHEREAS, many consumers use third-party applications and websites to place orders with restaurants for delivery and takeout and these applications and websites typically charge the restaurants between 10 and 30 percent of the purchase price of the order as a commission; and WHEREAS, restaurants have limited bargaining power to negotiate lower fees with third- party platforms, given the high market saturation of third-party platforms and the dire financial straits restaurants are facing in this COVID-19 emergency; and WHEREAS, state anti-gouging laws and State of California Executive Order N-44-20 provide protections against profiteering and unscrupulous business practices but do not provide any protections in the market for food delivery services; and WHEREAS, if retail food providers raise their costs or close as a result of high fees from third-party delivery services, their workers will lose employment, thereby affecting their ability to provide for their families, and the community will lose access to essential food services for its residents; and WHEREAS, continuity of operations among the city's restaurants is critical for the delivery of essential food services to the residents of Pleasanton and to sustain these sources of employment and neighborhood vitality within the city; and WHEREAS, several Bay Area jurisdictions, including San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Fremont, San Leandro, Dublin, and Livermore have experienced significant increases in delivery fees from third-party delivery services that also operate in Pleasanton and have recently enacted similar measures to cap the fees they may charge at 15 percent; and WHEREAS, the City has heard from local businesses who attest to increasing delivery fees from third-party delivery services looking to leverage their position during the COVID-19 emergency; and WHEREAS, capping delivery service fees at 15 percent per order, will achieve the public purpose of ensuring the continued operation of local restaurants and third-party platforms during the period of emergency; the 15 percent cap is based on the findings and experience of other California cities and cities nationwide that have already adopted 15 percent fee ceilings or similar caps as reasonable emergency regulations; and WHEREAS, the California Constitution, Article XI, Section 7, provides cities with the authority to enact Ordinances to protect the health, safety, and general welfare of their citizens; and WHEREAS, California Government Code Section 36937 authorizes the City Council to introduce and adopt an Ordinance it declares to be necessary as an emergency measure to preserve the public peace, health and safety at one and the same meeting if passed by at least a four-fifths affirmative vote; and WHEREAS, in light of the economic impacts of the public health emergency on local restaurants and the necessity to preserve access to essential services and protect public health and safety in Pleasanton, the City Council finds and determines there is an immediate need to preserve public health, safety and welfare by enacting an Ordinance to cap the per-order fee third- party applications and websites can charge restaurants during the term of this emergency; and