"Beverage provider"
means any business, organization, entity, group, or individual located in the city of Laguna Beach that offers liquid, slurry, frozen, semi-frozen, or other forms of beverages to the public for consumption.
"City facilities"
means any building, structure or vehicle owned, leased or operated by the city, its agents, agencies, departments and franchisees.
"Customer"
means any person obtaining prepared food or beverages from a restaurant or retail food vendor.
"Disposable food service ware"
means all single-use disposable products for serving or transporting prepared food or beverages, including without limitation takeout foods and/or leftovers from partially consumed meals prepared by a restaurant or food vendor. Disposable food service ware includes containers, bowls, plates, trays, cartons, ice chests, lids, straws, forks, spoons, knives, and other items and utensils.
"Distribute"
means the sale, offer for sale, or other transfer of possession of an item for compensation, either as a separate transaction or as part of the sale, offer for sale, or other transfer of possession of another item for compensation.
"Food vendor"
means any restaurant or retail food vendor located or operating within the city, including any sidewalk vendor that sells food.
"Nonrecyclable plastic"
refers to any plastic that cannot be feasibly recycled by a municipal recycling program in the state of California, including polystyrene and expanded polystyrene. ganized.
"Person"
means any natural person, firm, corporation, partnership, or other organization or group however organized.
"Plastic beverage straw"
means a tube made predominantly of plastic derived from either petroleum or a biologically based polymer, such as corn or other plant sources, for transferring a beverage from its container to the mouth of the drinker. "Plastic beverage straw" includes compostable and biodegradable petroleum or biologically based polymer straws, but does not include straws that are made from non-plastic materials, such as paper, sugar cane, bamboo, etc.
"Plastic cutlery"
means any utensil, such as a fork, spoon, spork, or knife, made predominantly of plastic derived from either petroleum or a biologically based polymer, such as corn or other plant sources, intended for only one-time use, and includes compostable and biodegradable petroleum or biologically based polymer forms of cutlery, but does not include forms of cutlery that are made from non-plastic materials, such as paper, sugar cane, bamboo, etc.
"Plastic stirrer"
means a device that is used to mix beverages, intended for only one-time use, and made predominantly of plastic derived from either petroleum or a biologically based polymer, such as corn or other plant sources. "Plastic stirrer" includes compostable and biodegradable petroleum or biologically based polymer stirrers, but does not include stirrers that are made from non-plastic materials, such as paper, sugar cane, bamboo, etc.
"Polystyrene foam"
means and includes blown polystyrene and expanded and extruded forms (sometimes called Styrofoam, a Dow Chemical Co. trademarked form of polystyrene foam insulation), which are thermoplastic petrochemical materials utilizing a styrene monomer and processed by any number of techniques, including, without limitation, fusion of polymer spheres (expandable bead polystyrene), injection molding, foam molding and extrusion-blown molding (extruded foam polystyrene). Polystyrene foam is generally used to make cups, bowls, plates, trays, clamshell containers, meat trays, egg cartons, and ice chests.
"Prepared food"
means food or beverages served, packaged, cooked, chopped, sliced, mixed, brewed, frozen, squeezed or otherwise prepared on the food vendor's premises or within the city. Prepared food may be eaten either on or near the premises, also known as "takeout food."
"Recyclable food packaging"
means any food packaging including glass, cans, cardboard, paper, or other items which can be recycled, salvaged, composted, processed, or marketed by means other than land filling or burning, whether as fuel or otherwise so that they can be returned to use by society.
"Restaurant"
means any establishment located within the city that sells prepared food for consumption on, near or off its premises by customers. Restaurants for purposes of this chapter includes itinerant restaurants, pushcarts and vehicular food vendors as those terms are defined in Chapter 7.04.
"Retail food vendor"
means any store, shop, sales outlet or other establishment, including a grocery store or a delicatessen, other than a restaurant, located within the city that sells prepared food.
(Ord. 1480 § 1, 2007; Ord. 1634 § 2, 2018; Ord. 1660 § 1; 2021)
(a) 
Retail food vendors are prohibited from dispensing prepared food or beverages to customers in disposable food service ware made from expanded polystyrene foam or nonrecyclable plastic.
(b) 
Retail food vendors are prohibited from retail sales of expanded polystyrene foam or nonrecyclable plastic products used as disposable food service ware.
(c) 
All city facilities, city-managed concessions, city-sponsored events, city-permitted events and all franchisees, contractors and vendors doing business with the city are prohibited from using disposable food service ware made from expanded polystyrene or non-recyclable plastic within the city.
(d) 
The prohibitions set forth in this section shall not apply to containers, plates or trays for raw, butchered meats, fish and/or poultry sold from a butcher case or similar retail appliance.
(Ord. 1480 § 1, 2007; Ord. 1660 § 1; 2021)
(a) 
No restaurant, including fast food restaurants, beverage provider, or vendor shall use, provide, distribute, or sell plastic or polystyrene beverage straws, plastic or polystyrene stirrers, plastic or polystyrene cutlery, plastic or polystyrene disposable food service ware, or plastic takeout bags, including sleeves.
(b) 
Nothing in this section precludes restaurants, including fast food restaurants, beverage providers, or vendors from using or making non-plastic alternatives, such as those made from paper, sugar cane, or bamboo, available to customers. Non-plastic alternative straws, stirrers, or cutlery shall only be provided upon request by the customer.
(c) 
No person shall distribute plastic beverage straws, plastic stirrers, plastic cutlery, or plastic bags at any city facility or any city-sponsored event.
(Ord. 1660 § 1; 2021)
(a) 
The city manager or designee may exempt a food vendor or retail food vendor from the requirements of this chapter for a one-year period, upon a showing by the applicant that the conditions of this chapter would cause undue hardship. An "undue hardship" may consist of:
(1) 
Situations unique to the food provider where there are no reasonable alternatives to compliance with this chapter would cause a severe economic hardship to that food provider; or
(2) 
Situations where no reasonably feasible available alternative exists to a specific and necessary expanded polystyrene or nonrecyclable plastic.
(b) 
A food provider granted an exemption must reapply prior to the end of the one-year exemption period and demonstrate continued undue hardship, if it wishes to have the exemption extended. Extensions may only be granted for intervals not to exceed one year.
(c) 
An exemption application shall include all information necessary for the making of a decision on the application, including, not limited to documentation showing the factual support for the claimed exemption. The applicant may be required to provide additional information to permit the determination of facts regarding the exemption application.
(d) 
An exemption application may be approved in whole or in part, with or without conditions.
(e) 
The city manager or designee may also determine to exempt from the requirements of this chapter the procurement of supplies or services in the event of a proclaimed emergency or when otherwise deemed necessary by the city manager for the immediate preservation of the public health, safety or general welfare.
(Ord. 1480 § 1, 2007; Ord. 1660 § 1; 2021)
(a) 
The city manager or designee shall have primary responsibly for enforcement of this chapter and shall have authority to issue citations for violation of this chapter. The city manager or designee is authorized to establish regulations or administrative procedures and to take any and all actions reasonable and necessary to further the purposes of this chapter or to obtain compliance with this chapter, including, without limitation, inspection of any vendor's premises to verify compliance in accordance with applicable law.
(b) 
Anyone violating or failing to comply with any of the requirements of this chapter or of any regulation or administrative procedure authorized by it shall be guilty of an infraction.
(c) 
The city attorney may seek legal, injunctive, or any other relief to enforce this chapter and any regulation or administrative procedure authorized hereby.
(d) 
The remedies and penalties provided in this chapter are cumulative and not exclusive of one another.
(e) 
Administrative Remedies.
(1) 
For the first violation, the city manager or designee, upon determination that a violation of this chapter has occurred, shall issue a written warning notice in the form of a courtesy citation to the food provider that will specify the violations and the appropriate penalties in the event of future violation.
(2) 
A fine not exceeding one hundred dollars for the first violation following the issuance of a warning notice.
(3) 
A fine not exceeding two hundred dollars for the second violation following the issuance of a warning notice.
(4) 
A fine not exceeding five hundred dollars for the third and any subsequent violation that occurs following the issuance of a warning notice.
(5) 
Fines are cumulative and each day that a violation occurs shall constitute a separate violation.
(Ord. 1480 § 1, 2007; Ord. 1660 § 1; 2021)