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WHEREAS, to reduce the spread of the virus and protect the public health, the Shelter In <br />Place Order limits the indoor dining capacity of restaurants in the County and places strict <br />operating procedures and safety measures on such dining; and <br />WHEREAS, the City of San Leandro, pursuant to its police powers, has broad authority <br />to maintain public peace, health, and safety of its community and preserve quality of life; and <br />WHEREAS, in adopting the Emergency Declaration, the Director of Emergency <br />Services took action pursuant to his authority under Government Code Section 8634 and San <br />Leandro Municipal Code Section 3-4-130(a); and <br />WHEREAS, the Declaration was issued because of the propensity of the virus to spread <br />person -to -person and also because the virus physically is causing property loss or damage due to <br />its proclivity to attach to surfaces for prolonged periods of time; and <br />WHEREAS, restricting restaurant operations has placed a sudden and severe financial <br />strain on many restaurants, particularly those that are small businesses that already operate on <br />thin margins, adding to financial pressures in the industry that predate the COVID-19 crisis; and <br />WHEREAS, the limited amount of indoor seating (and limited or no outdoor seating for <br />most) and the need to implement complex and costly safety measures and staff training continues <br />to significantly limit restaurants' ability to cover their operating costs, staff costs, and rent, which <br />were designed for full capacity operations; and <br />WHEREAS, it is in the public interest to take action to maximize restaurant revenue <br />from the takeout and delivery orders that, with the exception of some limited dining operations, <br />are currently the sole source of revenue for these small businesses to enable restaurants to <br />survive this crisis and remain as sources of employment and neighborhood vitality within the <br />City; and <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 />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 small <br />business restaurants are facing during this period of emergency; and <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 />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 />RESOLUTION NO. 2020-142 2 <br />