For City Council Meeting January 13, 2026
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
APPROVAL: Tanya Williams, City Manager
FROM: Yazdan Emrani, P.E., Director of Public Works
Title
Request City Council to: (1) Approve a Non-financial Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Services and the City of Rialto to Partner on Food Recovery Efforts that Meet the Requirements of Senate Bill 1383, Effective from the Date of Execution through December 31, 2030; and (2) Authorize the City Manager or Their Designee to Execute all Related Documents.
Body
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1) Approve a Non-financial Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Services and the City of Rialto to partner on food recovery efforts that meet the requirements of Senate Bill 1383, effective from the date of execution through December 31, 2030; and
2) Authorize the City Manager or their designee to execute all related documents.
BACKGROUND
SB 1383 required the City of Rialto and the County of San Bernardino to adopt ordinances to reduce the amount of solid waste sent to landfills and promote organic waste recycling in California, including organic waste disposal reduction and food recovery. Additionally, the legislation requires 20% of edible food that would otherwise go to landfills to be recovered and directed to people in need by 2025. The City of Rialto adopted Ordinance No. 1664 on March 8, 2022, to meet the requirements of SB 1383.
SB 1383 placed commercial edible food generators into two tiers and mandated the establishment of an edible food recovery program. Required program elements include education and outreach, compliance monitoring, recordkeeping, and enforcement activities. Tier 1 generators are wholesale food vendors, food service providers, food distributors, grocery stores, and supermarkets over 10,000 sq. ft, and they must comply by January 2022. Tier 2 generators are hotels with on-site food facilities and 200 or more rooms, restaurant facilities over 5,000 sq. ft. or with 250 or more seats, health facilities with on-site food facilities and 100 or more beds, state agencies with cafeterias over 5,000 sq. ft. or 250 or more seats, large venues and events, and local education agencies with on-site food facilities had a compliance date of January 2024.
On April 25, 2023, the Rialto City Council approved the first Non-financial Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Services and the City of Rialto to partner on food recovery efforts that meet the requirements of Senate Bill 1383. The executed MOU expired on December 31, 2025.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION
The County of San Bernardino’s Ordinance No. 4434 designated Environmental Health Services (EHS) as the program responsible for the implementation of SB1383-related regulatory requirements on Edible Food generators, Food Recovery Non-Financial Memorandum of Understanding Template for Environmental Health Services and Incorporated Cities Providing Food Recovery Organizations, and Food Recovery Services within the unincorporated areas of the County. EHS’ responsibilities include establishing an edible food recovery program, education and community outreach, record keeping, compliance monitoring, and enforcement.
Individual cities are responsible for implementing the SB 1383 requirements in San Bernardino County incorporated areas. Because EHS regulates all food facilities within San Bernardino County, EHS is offering to assist the cities with these responsibilities. EHS is not required to provide this assistance, but is doing so to help San Bernardino County cities meet the goals of SB 1383. If EHS assumes these responsibilities for a city within San Bernardino County, Section 18981.2 of the California Code of Regulations requires that a written agreement, such as a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), be used to delineate roles.
On April 25, 2023, the Rialto City Council approved the first Non-financial Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Services and the City of Rialto to partner on food recovery efforts that meet the requirements of Senate Bill 1383. The executed MOU expired on December 31, 2025.
The recommended non-financial MOU, included as Attachment 1, delineates the roles and responsibilities of enforcing State law and County ordinances within each participating city and establishes a fixed MOU term effective from the date of execution through December 31, 2030.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT:
Adoption of the Non-Financial Memorandum of Understanding is not a “Project” as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Pursuant to Section 15378(a), a “Project” means the whole of an action, which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. According to Section 15378(b), a Project does not include: (5) Organizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment.
GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY:
Approval of this action complies with the City of Rialto General Plan Goals and Policies:
Measure 8.43: Provide Solid Waste and Recycling Programs, which states: Continue to meet the community’s needs for solid waste disposal and recycling, and provide that operations are done in an efficient and cost-effective manner.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney’s Office has reviewed the Memorandum of Understanding and approved it as to form.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Operating Budget Impact
Approval of the Non-financial Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Services and the City does not impact the operating budget.
Capital Improvement Budget Impact
Approval of this action does not impact the Capital Improvement Budget.
Licensing
The proposed action does not require the payment of a business license tax.