Public shows support for Sonora eateries
A torrent of downtown Sonora restaurant owners and their supporters flooded the virtual Sonora City Council meeting Tuesday night to express their opposition to COVID-19 regulations that they said stifled business activity and imposed overly-punitive fines.
Though the council was not agendized to make decisions modifying an emergency regulatory ordinance they passed in April 2020 at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, they committed to revisiting the issue and possibly removing a tiered fine schedule from their approved responses to violations of public health restrictions.
The appeal to the council was in large part initiated by a cease-and-desist letter sent to Emberz, a flagship South Washington Street restaurant which has continued to serve outside despite a regional stay-home order that prohibits both indoor and outdoor dining.
Emberz owner Cindy Zelinsky told the council at the meeting that she decided to reopen for outside dining to support her employees and was disappointed that only two council members had contacted her recently regarding her business.
Zelinsky also said she believes that Emberz was targeted following the council’s discussion of a potential $250 fine against The Sportsman bar and gun shop in December and expressed her support of Mary Rose Rutikanga as city administrator despite her issues with the COVID-19 restrictions.
Like many others at the meeting, Zelinsky called on the city to eliminate the fine schedule, even if it meant opening up businesses to punitive measures from the state.
“Our employees deserve to be open. We deserve to be open. We are asking that the city not make it harder on us,” Zelinsky said. “We’re willing to deal with whatever consequences come our way. At this point it is survival.”
Zelinsky told The Union Democrat she received documentation that showed 24 total complaints about her business since March, mostly related to outside
dining service.
Rutikanga said two cease-and-desist letters were sent on Dec. 22 to Emberz and in January to Barrow’s.
The complaints were processed through the county Public Health Department, which sent referrals to the city about non-compliance to follow up. In both cases, the city used employees to educate about the violations before the cease-anddesist letters were issued. Though no fines were levied at this time, she noted the approvals for their outside service may also be in jeopardy.
“This is not a fine when we issue a cease and desist, it is another attempt to work with the business to get them into compliance,” Rutikanga said. “We understand this is having a lot of impact on our businesses… it is not a win-win situation for the city.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom issued the current regional stay-at-home order in early December for the San Joaquin Valley region, which includes Tuolumne County and the City of Sonora, because its collective available ICU capacity dropped below 15%.
The region still had 0% ICU beds available within a four-week projection as of Tuesday and was not eligible to exit the stay at home order. Regions can exit the order when the metric rises above 15% ICU availability. After, it will return to the color-coded and tiered reopening guidelines, which allows outdoor dining in most cases.
Rutikanga said the city had an obligation to show they were enforcing state guidelines to preserve their eligibility for funding through the state, though at this time they had not received additional revenue for an expanded enforcement mechanism. At this time, she said the city has received $58,000 for Covid-19-related activity, while the county received $5.5 million.
Part of the ongoing concern about potentially lifting the fines was that state officials may enforce their own punitive measures on businesses and leave city administration without any recourse to protect them. In the last week, Rutikanga said she had spent 27 hours of her 40-hour work week on COVID-19 related activities.
“I think we need to get out of this if we can without hurting the entire town,” said Councilman Mark Plummer, who bemoaned a “snitch society” and said the ordinance was “punishing businesses that are thriving.”
Other council members, such as Ann Segerstrom and Colette Such, proposed a grant program for businesses that were in compliance and not deliberately ignoring the restrictions.
“I think the population that comes downtown to Sonora is dropping,” Such said. “We all really need to work to stop the spread of the virus while also helping our small businesses.”
Out of 19 comments, only one person spoke out explicitly of keeping the fine schedule.
“It’s kind of insane to me whether these things are going to be enforced or not,” said a man who identified himself as Pablo Lopez. “Just enforce the laws, we’ll get out of this quicker.”
Many of the comments supporting the local businesses discussed the ongoing hardships closures had on the ability of downtown restaurants to support their employees or remain open after the pandemic. Some discussed the domino-effect of economic impact to other small businesses and to city tax revenues, while others questioned the science indicating COVID-19 could be spread outside and among family members who might be eating together.
Dan and Sophia Rowe, owners of the recently opened Revive Coffee in downtown Sonora, noted they had tried their best to maintain safety precautions while offering takeout services. They said their business plan was predicated on building community and their advocacy for downtown businesses expanded into following regulations as best as possible without closing.
“We want to be kind, we want to be respectful, but we also want to be able to run our business,” Dan Rowe said.
Others, such as Kendra Wivell and Derek Nunes, questioned the vetting process for complaints and said those submitting them should not be offered anonymity.
“It’s time to knock this bullying off and let people go back to work and make income,” said a man who identified himself as Jeff Stowe.
Thomas Silva, owner of Sonora Brewing Co. on South Washington Street, was critical of the council for stifling business practice due to undue restrictions and refusal to approve a street closure on Bradford Street so he could expand his outdoor dining capabilities.
“We’ve been doing everything we can to be legitimate safety-wise and make the best experience to our customers,” he said. “My back, I literally feel like it’s against the wall.”
There was inclement weather in the forecast, Silva said, and he planned to serve indoors even if it meant he was fined by the city council.
“I cannot stay closed anymore,” he said. “Let’s just think about what’s going on here. It’s a very emotional situation. I just really want us to come together as a community. Everybody just wants everybody to just survive and be safe. It’s not just our restaurants making COVID spread... I appreciate all of you, but it’s time for you to listen to your constituents immediately.”
The fine schedule is $250 for the first violation, $500 for the second violation and $1,000 for subsequent violations. The city has not levied any fines, though the closest they came to one was in December following a private celebration of life gathering at The Sportsman.
Deputy City Attorney Nubia Goldstein told the council the executive orders on regional stay-at-home orders and safety measures prescribed through county and state public health offices have the effect of law, though some commenters questioned their legitimacy.
Goldstein also noted the conflicts of regulation and business maintenance were not unique to Sonora.
“It’s unclear what the state would do at the local level to enforce this,” she said, if the fine schedule were eliminated.
Council members noted the fine schedule was instituted as a show of good faith with the state to show they were compliant with state orders. As the pandemic has gone on though, Goldstein noted, the city has not received enough funds to match their regulatory obligations.
“The enforcement of it … really comes down to availability of staff to enforce and cite,” she said. “I will say that for the most part the cities that we’re working with have something on the books.”
Goldstein cautioned against a knee-jerk removal of the city’s regulatory powers. The council tabled the discussion and said they would put an item on the agenda for a meeting in March to review the fine schedule and their enforcement abilities.
“We need to do something because this ain’t working any longer,” Mayor Matt Hawkins said.
The meeting reached 117 total attendees on the Zoom call at its peak.
Earlier in the meeting, County Supervisor David Goldemberg referenced the challenges of local business owners to remain open during the pandemic, but cautioned for patience and the ongoing effort to disseminate the vaccine.
“There’s a lot of people with a lot of emotions out there,” he said. “Unfortunately, we’re dealing with a situation with the state when we got placed into the San Joaquin region, it’s driven by the ICU bed availability.”
Additionally during the meeting, Sonora Police Chief Turu Vanderwiel presented a grant opportunity through the United States Department of Agriculture for two new Ford utility vehicles which would function as patrol cars. He said the state would cover about 75% of the cost, while the city would pay about $17,000 each.
The council also lingered on the city’s social equity committee and continued to debate the efficacy of the group to eventually draft a resolution which the council will consider approving. The council representatives on the committee asked to modify the directed outcomes of the group in order to organize a community workshop aimed at furthering their goal of promoting racial and social equity within the city.
“I don’t think I’ve ever come back from one and thought that was a waste of time,” said Councilman Jim Garaventa, who serves on the committee. “I think having such a workshop will have people be able to relate to everyone else, where they are coming from. For that reason alone, I think that’s worth it.”
Such said a woman from the East Coast who would facilitate the workshop for free, though there would still be a cost to the city for staff participation.
The proposition instantly received dissent from members of the public and Plummer, who has repeatedly called on the committee to complete its work to minimize the “division in the community.” On Tuesday, he said the trust would be developed if they sent the resolution sooner, though he commended all the members for their sincerity in the effort.
“The constant pick at this scab of racism I think does more damage than just trying to treat each other decently,” he said.
Garventa and Segerstrom repeated their support for the committee as eye-opening and promotional of an important conversation. Though Hawkins agreed there was racism in the community, he also urged expediency for the committee.
“My number one priority is unification. We are so divided in our community in this moment for so many reasons,” said committee member Nikki Coleman, who also noted their progress was often stymied by the limits of a one-hour meeting every two weeks.
The council voted 4-1 to approve the workshop, with Plummer dissenting.