There is a major shake in the current Guelph restaurant delivery fee cap ordinance that bans app companies from charging more than 15 percent of the cost of a grocery order for delivery fees. Under the current structure, delivery caps expire on August 31, which means tech giants like Uber Eats and Postmates (now the same company) can revert to their chosen model – including the 30 to 40 percent fees charged earlier this year.
Sharon M. Tso, chief analyst for the city of Guelph, said in a report filed a few days ago that without further legislative action from the city council and mayor, the fee cap will of course expire later this month. Originally, the ordinance, passed unanimously on May 20, was supposed to “go under 90 days after the on-site eating ban was lifted,” but there is some confusion about what constitutes on-site eating and when such a ban occurred first Line in force.
Per Tso’s report:
On May 29, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom and subsequently the Guelph County’s Board of Supervisors lifted the on-site eating ban, triggering the expiration of the ordinance, which was due to take place on August 31, 2020. In 2020, these restrictions were reintroduced to combat the rapid spread of COVID-19.
In fact, Newsom allowed restaurants to reopen for sitting on May 29, before closing indoor dining rooms on July 1. However, as the outdoor dining continues, the clock continues to tick, Tso says. The original ordinance could be construed to end on August 31st without further intervention from the city council and ultimately the mayor, although it did not come into effect for businesses until early June, after being legally established and then formally established by the city’s lawyer signed by the mayor.
To compensate for the rollback, Tso recommends that the city council ask the city’s attorney to “prepare and submit an amendment to the Regulation on Limiting Fees for Delivery of Food to Third Parties to expire August 31, 2020” The city of Guelph is no longer in a locally declared state of emergency in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. “
Such a change would result in the 15 percent fee cap remaining essentially in place with no set timetable for its lifting, as there is not yet a deadline for the city’s state of emergency to expire.
In addition, Tso’s report recommends that the Council reach agreement on several amendments to the original regulation, “which will provide a means of enforcing the regulation, including a structure for fines and a reporting mechanism for restaurants that are overwhelmed”. Several restaurants have reported that despite the regulation in place, app companies are constantly overwhelmed.
The city council has not yet committed to Tso’s recommendations, but as the pandemic continues and there are no signs of a return to indoor dining anytime soon, councilors are likely to act before the expiration date to request the ordinance on an or one way to adapt Another.
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