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2 <br /> <br /> <br />WHEREAS, in adopting this Emergency Declaration, the City is taking action pursuant to <br />its authority under Government Code Sections 8634 and San Leandro Municipal Code Section <br />3-4-130(a); and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, this Declaration has been issued because of the propensity of the virus to <br />spread person-to-person and also because the virus physically is causing property loss or <br />damage due to its proclivity to attach to surfaces for prolonged periods of time; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, restricting restaurants to takeout and delivery offerings only has placed a <br />sudden and severe financial strain on many restaurants, particularly those that are small <br />businesses that already operate on thin margins, adding to financial pressures in the industry <br />that predate the COVID-19 crisis; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, it is in the public interest to take action to maximize restaurant revenue from <br />the takeout and delivery orders that, with the exception of some limited outdoor dining <br />operations, are currently the sole source of revenue for these small businesses to enable <br />restaurants to survive this crisis and remain as sources of employment and neighborhood <br />vitality within the City; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, many consumers use third party food delivery companies to place orders <br />with restaurants for delivery and takeout, and these third party delivery companies charge <br />restaurants fees; service agreements between some restaurants and third party delivery <br />companies provide that the company charges the restaurant 30% or more of the purchase price <br />per order; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, restaurants, and particularly restaurants that are small businesses with few <br />locations, have limited bargaining power to negotiate lower fees with third party delivery <br />companies given the high market saturation of these companies, and the dire financial straits <br />small business restaurants are facing during this period of emergency; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, given that only a few companies in the marketplace provide such delivery <br />services, small restaurants that do not operate their own delivery service resort to contracting with <br />third party food delivery companies as a means to compete in the marketplace; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, if retail food providers close as a result of high fees from third party food <br />delivery companies, their workers will lose employment, thereby affecting their ability to provide <br />for their families; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, during the COVID-19 emergency, many residents rely on food delivery and <br />may not be able to receive delivered food if the fees charged by third party food delivery <br />companies are too high; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, limiting the per-order fees at 15% will accomplish the legitimate public <br />purpose of ensuring the continued operation of local restaurants during the period of emergency <br />the 15% limit is based on the findings and experience of other California cities that have already <br />adopted 15% fee limits as reasonable emergency regulations; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, this Declaration is temporary in nature and only intended to promote stability <br />and safe and healthy operations within the restaurant and food markets in the City during the <br />COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, and to prevent avoidable business closures thereby serving the <br />366