Inyo County debates allowing home-based meal businesses after mixed survey and strong utility concerns

Inyo County environmental health officials presented countywide outreach and research on Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations, or MECOs, and the Board of Supervisors provided direction to staff to study a pilot program and return with recommendations.

Environmental Health Director Jerry Oser told the board the 2019 state law that created MECOs allows by-right operation from a residential kitchen if a county opts in, and summarized key state caps and local-permit requirements: “It’s 30 meals per day and 90 meals per week,” he said, and gross sales “can’t exceed $100,000 per year.” Oser said MECOs must follow a locally approved standard operating procedure covering menu, sourcing, storage, fats/oil/grease handling and waste, and that annual on-site inspections would be the basic enforcement frequency.

The presentation described a 2024, grant-funded outreach effort that collected 183 public survey responses and 66 responses from existing restaurant owners. Oser said that public responses were “split” with “quite a bit of support” but also substantial opposition; restaurant respondents, he said, generally reported concerns that MECOs would affect their business…