Oakland deli says it is being fined for others dumping illegally near its property
OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON)– An Oakland business owner has been in a years-long tug-of-war with the city over constant illegal dumping outside the establishment. Over time, instead of helping the business fix the problem, the city is now holding the business responsible and levied a fine totaling nearly $10,000.
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Jason Herbers has owned Stay Gold Deli on San Pablo Avenue in West Oakland for seven years. He says for most of that time, on a monthly and sometimes weekly basis, he and his staff have filed 3-1-1 reports to the city about the mass amounts of trash being illegally dumped outside the business.
“Trucks pulling up, discarding everything from looking like evictions to construction debris, restaurant debris — everything under the sun,” said Herbers.
Rather than working with him to mitigate the problem, Herbers says the city is holding him responsible for the trash and began fining him for negligence back in 2021. At this point, the total amount due has reached $9,658.53.
“This city’s trash and waste is being illegally dumped on us and we get no help. But they feel comfortable fining us thousands and thousands of dollars for what? For just operating our business? It’s ridiculous,” Herbers said.
Herbers has appealed the fine. The city replied by agreeing to reduce this year’s excess litter fee by more than $800 because the business has an onsite litter removal program and customers dining onsite, but a letter from the deputy director of economic and workforce development says:
“The appeal is not granted in full due to serving food and beverages in or on disposable plates, containers and napkins that can blow away or be littered by customers after they leave the business area.”
“We mostly make sandwiches and BBQ. This stuff gets wrapped in disposable biodegradable containers. You know, we compost. We recycle. We have a huge dumpster. We aren’t the problem,” Herbers said in reply to the statement.
Herbers is refusing to pay the fine and is exploring legal action against the city, “We’re not taking it anymore. It’s done,” said Herbers.
The City of Oakland sent the following statement in response to Stay Gold’s claims:
“The City requires every gas station, liquor store, convenience market, fast food restaurant, and all restaurants that are predominantly take-out, to pay an Excess Litter Fee. This is known as theExcess Litter Fee (ELF) program, and it was adopted by the City Council in 2006. The City uses the fee to fund a contractor who sends workers out along commercial corridors to pick up litter that these categories of establishment are known to generate – the cleanup crews are known as the ELF Team. They pick up more than 400,000 pounds of litter each year.
Businesses can appeal to reduce or eliminate their fee based on their business being improperly classified or having a litter reduction program. Stay Gold Deli filed an appeal for the 2024 charges. The City approved this appeal and reduced those charges by 90%, reflected in the $910 amount charged in 2023 lowered to $91 charged in 2024. This was based on Stay Gold Deli’s onsite litter removal program and onsite dining.
Most of the amount indicated in the invoice document that was posted to social media comes from prior year fees and late penalties.
City staff are reaching out to the business owner to discuss the past year amounts and to determine if any other adjustments to the invoice are appropriate.
Additionally, City staff are reaching out to the business owner to learn more about waste issues at and around his property, and will provide technical assistance and recommendations for securing containers. City staff will also review whether there are issues at neighboring properties. Concerns about abuse of private trash service containers can be reported to the City via OAK311 for investigative follow-up by the Oakland Public Works Environmental Enforcement Unit.“
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