ORDINANCE NO. 493 no longer operative

REPEALED Per Ord. 492.8 (3.1) 9-17-1996 (Effective 10/16/96)

ORDINANCE NO. 493.5

AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE PROVIDING

FOR THE REGULATION, INSPECTION AND

GRADING OF RESTAURANTS

The Board of Supervisors of the County of Riverside do ordain as follows:

Section 1.  The following definitions shall apply in the interpretation and enforcement of this ordinance:

(a) “Restaurants” means any coffee shop, cafeteria, short order café, luncheonette, tavern, cocktail lounge, sandwich stand, soda fountain, private school cafeteria, or eating establishment, inplant or employee eating establishment, and any other eating establishment, organization, club, including veterans’ club, boarding house, or guesthouse, which gives, sells, or offers for sale, food to the public, guests, patrons, or employees, as well as kitchens in which food is prepared on the premises for serving elsewhere, including catering functions. The term “restaurant” shall not include itinerant restaurants, vending machines, vehicles, cooperative arrangements by employees who purchase food or beverages for their own consumption and where no employee is assigned full time to care for or operate equipment used in such arrangement, or private homes, or private clubs or other non profit organizations which purchase food or beverages for the consumption of their members and where no employee or member is assigned full time to care for or operate equipment used in such arrangement.

(b) “Itinerant Restaurant” means any restaurant, operating from temporary facilities, serving, offering for sale, selling or giving away food or beverage, and includes, but is not limited to, a restaurant where only wrapped sandwiches or other wrapped and packaged ready-to-eat foods are served, and any mobile unit on which food is prepared and served.

(c)  “Health Officer” means the Health officer of the County of Riverside.

Section 2.     No person shall operate a restaurant without a valid permit issued by the Health Officer. Application for a permit shall be made to the Health Officer upon a form provided by him, and shall be accompanied by a fee as required by Ordinance No. 554 and, in addition, shall be accompanied by a grading a posting fee of $29.00.

Section 3.     The Health Officer shall inspect and grade each restaurant from time to time as he shall deem proper, and must inspect and grade, within five days after receipt of written demand therefore by the owner, any restaurant which received a grade of less than ninety percent on the previous inspection. A signed copy of each inspection, computation and determination of grading each restaurant shall be delivered to the owner, operator or person in charge of the restaurant who shall sign a receipt therefore.

Section 4.     All restaurants shall be inspected and graded uniformly by the Health Officer in conformity with the Score Card attached hereto, and by this reference made a part of this ordinance.

The grade of each restaurant shall be computed and determined by adding together the scores attained for “Equipment” and “Methods” on the Score Card and then dividing the sum by two. The grade of each restaurant shall be evidenced by the posting of a grade card bearing a letter, “A”, “B”, or “C”. The letter “A” shall indicate a grade of ninety percent or higher. The letter “B” shall indicate a grade of less than ninety percent, but not less than eighty percent. The letter “C” shall indicate a grade of less than eighty percent.

            The grade card shall be provided by the Health Officer, and shall be of dimensions of not more than nine inches by eleven inches, and the grade letter shall not be more than five inches in height. Grade A cards shall be printed in blue, Grade B cards in green, Grade C cards in red, all on white stock.

            The grade card shall be posted in a conspicuous place selected by the Health Officer at or near each entrance to the restaurant used by its patrons, and shall be removed only by the Health Officer; provided, however, private schools shall not be required to post a grade card.

Section 5.     The continued operation of a restaurant which has received a grade of less than 80 % is not in the public interest and creates a potential danger to the public health and welfare. The Health officer  shall revoke the permit of any restaurant that does not receive a grade of 80 % or higher within 30 days after service of written notice. Such written notice is sufficient if it specifies the equipment and methods that are deficient, and is delivered or mailed to the owner, operator, or person in charge of the restaurant at the address of the restaurant shown on the permit.

Section 6.     Any individual violating any provision of this ordinance shall be deemed guilty of an infraction or misdemeanor as hereinafter specified. Such individual shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each and every day or portion thereof during which any violation of any of the provisions of this ordinance is committed, continued or permitted.

Any individual convicted of a violation of this ordinance shall be (1) guilty of an infraction offense and punished by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100.00) for a first violation; (2) guilty of an infraction offense and punished by a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars ($200.00) for a second violation on the same site. The third and any additional violations on the same site shall constitute a misdemeanor offense and shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) or six (6) months in jail, or both. Notwithstanding the above, a first offense may be charged and prosecuted as a misdemeanor. Payment of any penalty herein shall not relieve an individual from the responsibility for correcting the violation.

Section 7.     This ordinance shall take effect 30 days after its adoption.

ADOPTED:

493                 11/04/1963 (Eff: 12/03/1963) REPEALED BY 492.8

AMENDED:

493.1             11/30/1971  (Eff: 12/28/1971)  Oper. 01/01/1972 REPEALED BY 492.8

493.2             12/02/1975  (Eff: 01/01/1976)                                REPEALED BY 492.8

493.3             06/27/1978  (Eff: 07/26/1978)                               REPEALED BY 492.8

493.4 (6.3)    05/13/1980   (Eff: 06/11/1980)  Oper. 01/01/1981 REPEALED BY 492.8

493.5 (3.2)    02/21/1989   (Eff: 03/22/1989)                                REPEALED BY 492.8

ATTACHMENT “RESTAURANT SCORE CARD”