For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply.
"City"
means the city of Palm Springs.
"Core delivery service"
means a service that lists a Retail Food Establishment and makes the Retail Food Establishment discoverable on all modalities or platforms offered by a third-party meal delivery platform, including any website, mobile application, or other internet service where a third-party meal delivery platform lists Retail Food Establishments and facilitates or performs the delivery through employees or independent contractors of the third-party meal delivery platform of food or beverages from Retail Food Establishments to customers. The term "core delivery service" does not include any other service that may be provided by a third-party meal delivery platform to a Retail Food Establishment, including advertising or other promotional services, search engine optimization, business consulting, or credit card processing.
"Delivery fee"
means a fee charged by a Third-party Food Delivery Service for providing a Retail Food Establishment with a service that delivers food and beverages from such establishment to customers. The term does not include any other fee or cost that may be charged by a Third-party Food Delivery Service to a Retail Food Establishment, such as fees for listing or advertising the Retail Food Establishment on the Third-party Food Delivery Service platform or fees related to processing the online order, including, but not limited to, service fees, fees for facilitating online orders for pick-up, and credit card processing fees.
"Online order"
means an order placed by a customer through or with the assistance of a platform provided by a Third-Party Food Delivery Service, including a telephone order, for delivery or pick-up within the city.
"Purchase price"
means the price, as listed on the menu, for the items contained in an online order, minus any applicable coupon or promotional discount provided to the customer by the Retail Food Establishment through the Third-Party Food Delivery Service. This definition does not include taxes, gratuities, and any other fees or costs that may make up the total amount charged to the customer of an online order.
"Retail food establishment"
means a restaurant, delicatessen bakery, coffee shop, or other eat-in or carry-out service of processed or prepared and ready-to-eat food or beverages.
"Third-party food delivery service"
means any website, mobile application, or other internet service that offers or arranges for the sale of food and beverages prepared by, and the delivery or pick-up of food and beverages from, no fewer than 20 retail food establishments located in the city that are each owned and operated by different persons.
(Ord. 2084, 10/12/2023)
(a) 
It shall be unlawful for a Third-party Food Delivery Service to charge a Retail Food Establishment a delivery fee that totals more than 15 percent of the purchase price of each online order. The fee limits in this subsection (a) and subsection (c) shall not apply to a third-party meal delivery platform that:
(1) 
Offers all Retail Food Establishments the option to obtain core delivery service for a total fee, commission, or charge that is no more than 15 percent of the purchase price of the online order, without requiring the purchase of additional services; and
(2) 
Within 30 days following the effective date of this chapter, notifies all Retail Food Establishments that have an existing agreement with the third-party meal delivery platform of the option described in paragraph (1) of this subsection.
(b) 
It shall be unlawful for a Third-party Food Delivery Service to charge a Retail Food Establishment any amount designated as a delivery fee for an online order that does not involve the delivery of food or beverages, or both.
(c) 
It shall be unlawful for a Third-party Food Delivery Service to charge a Retail Food Establishment any combination of fees, commissions, or costs for the Retail Food Establishment's use of the Third-party Food Delivery Service that is greater than five percent of the purchase price of each online order. Fees, commissions, or costs do not include delivery fee.
(d) 
It shall be unlawful for a Third-party Food Delivery Service to charge a Retail Food Establishment any fee, commission, or cost that is to be paid to the Third-party Food Delivery Service, other than as permitted in subsections (a) through (c) above.
(e) 
It shall be unlawful for a Third-party Food Delivery Service to charge a customer any purchase price for a food or beverage item that is higher than the price set by the Retail Food Establishment on the Third-Party Food Delivery Service or, if no price is set by the Retail Food Establishment on the Third-Party Food Delivery Service, the price listed on the Retail Food Establishment's own menu.
(f) 
It shall be unlawful for a Third-party Food Delivery service to retain any portion of amounts designated as a tip or gratuity. Any tip or gratuity shall be paid by the Third-party Delivery Service, in its entirety, to the person delivering the food or beverages.
(g) 
As an example, except as provided for in subsection (a) of this Section 5.91.020, if a customer orders a meal that is advertised for $10.00 on the Third-party Food Delivery Service's app., the Third-party Food Delivery Service cannot charge the customer more than $10.00 for the meal. Nor can the Third-party Food Delivery Service charge the restaurant more than $1.50 as a delivery fee. Nor can the Third-party Food Delivery Service charge the restaurant more than $0.50 as a fee or commission for the restaurant's placement on the Third-party Food Delivery Service's app. Finally, if the customer agrees to provide the delivery person a $2.00 tip, that tip must go to the delivery person; not the Third-party Food Delivery Service company.
(Ord. 2084, 10/12/2023)
The Third-party Food Delivery Service shall disclose to the customer an accurate, clearly identified, and itemized cost breakdown of each transaction, including, but not limited to the following:
(a) 
The purchase price of the food and beverages at the cost listed on the Retail Food Establishment's menu;
(b) 
The delivery fee charged to the Retail Food Establishment;
(c) 
Each fee, commission, or cost, other than a delivery fee, charged to the Retail Food Establishment;
(d) 
Each fee, commission, or cost, other than the delivery fee or the purchase price of the food, charged to the customer by the Third-party Food Delivery Service; and
(e) 
Any tip or gratuity that will be paid to the person delivering the food or beverages.
(Ord. 2084, 10/12/2023)
A violation of this chapter shall subject the violator to the following:
(a) 
A civil action in the Superior Court of the state of California to recover all actual damages resulting from a violation of this chapter.
(b) 
Reasonable attorneys' fees and costs awarded by a court to a plaintiff that prevails in an action against a Third-party Food Delivery Service. If plaintiff fails to prevail against a Third-party Food Delivery Service, a court may award reasonable attorneys' fees and costs to the Third-party Food Delivery Service upon a determination by the court that the plaintiff's action was frivolous.
(c) 
A civil action alleging a violation of any provision of this chapter shall commence only after the following requirements have been met:
(1) 
Written notice is provided to the Third-party Food Delivery Service of the provisions of this chapter alleged to have been violated and the facts to support the alleged violation; and
(2) 
The Third-party Food Delivery Service is provided 15 days from the date of the written notice to cure any alleged violation.
(d) 
Notwithstanding any provision of this code, or any other ordinance to the contrary, no criminal penalties shall attach for violation of this chapter, nor shall it be enforced as a violation of a city ordinance. Enforcement of this chapter shall be solely through a private cause of action. Neither the city nor its staff is responsible for enforcement of this chapter.
(Ord. 2084, 10/12/2023)