Long Beach passes long-awaited MEHKO, no landlord approval required

After much deliberation and a nearly split city council vote, Long Beach followed in the steps of many other cities Tuesday night and passed an ordinance allowing MEHKOs to operate. Most importantly, residents will not have to notify their landlord or get their permission in order to have a MEHKO. 

A MEHKO is a Micro-Enterprise Home Kitchen Operation — plainly stated, it’s a business built out of someone’s kitchen at home. Much like Long Beach’s Cottage Food License, which allows residents to make and sell baked goods and non-perishables out of their home, the MEHKO broadens what food can be sold and how. 

MEHKO operators can make meals or drinks in their home and sell them outside, at a farmers market, with a cart, or have someone pick up their order. Others create a mini restaurant within their home, usually on a backyard patio. 

Long Beach started considering a MEHKO program in 2024, though local food advocates have been pushing for them since 2019. Advocates also include immigrant rights groups ORALE and Centro CHA, unsurprisingly since 79% of MEHKO operators are people of color, and 70% of MEHKO operators are women, according to the COOK Alliance. 

The point of contention at Tuesday’s city council meeting: whether a Long Beach tenant should have to notify and/or get the approval of their landlord or Homeowner’s Association (HOA) in order to operate a MEHKO. Councilmembers Kristina Duggan, Daryl Supernaw and Joni Ricks-Oddie were pushing for a landlord notification requirement, which would happen after a resident pays the roughly $1,300 in administrative costs. 

This requirement is not mandated by state law, but California also doesn’t have a law prohibiting a city from adding additional requirements. City staff pointed out that the city of Berkley as well as Sonoma, Santa Cruz, San Mateo and Blake counties all have similar requirements. 

This specific caveat was brought to the table on March 10, and litigated at Tuesday’s meeting. Ultimately, the city council decided that a resident only has to sign a document attesting they will follow all regulations in their lease or HOA agreement, but no formal notification is required. 

Following the March meeting, Long Beach entered a “community engagement” period, where they met with representatives from the COOK Alliance, the Apartment Association of California Southern Cities and the California Apartment Association. The apartment associations were in favor of requiring their approval/knowledge, citing early awareness, clarity on what an operation looks like, planning and risk management. 

Apartment association representatives were also concerned about the possibility of one of their tenants violating their lease, which would create legal fees if they take that tenant to court. 

The COOK Alliance claimed this written requirement may be a barrier for someone wanting to start a MEHKO, and recommended the city move forward without it. COOK Alliance also cited their five-year study showing strong operator compliance with local regulations, and said only 3% of MEHKO operators in California have received complaints from their city. 

“MEHKOs represent a life-changing opportunity to start a small, home-based food business,” said COOK Alliance Program Manager Jaredd Franco. “By lowering the cost of entry, the program creates a pathway for people who are often shut out of traditional food businesses. Especially caregivers, immigrants, low-income residents, who may not have access to commercial kitchen space or startup capital.”

Franco added that these operations are very small-scale, requiring no commercial equipment or modifications of a home. She compared the amount of food typically produced by a MEHKO as enough food for a large family or small gathering. 

“While we appreciate the landlord’s authorization is not required, we remain concerned about the recommendation to notify landlords. Even this step can create fear and uncertainty,” said Jessica Coronado, Economic Justice Coordinator with ORALE. “Many renters face language barriers, limited communication with landlords or fear of retaliation, and/or rent increases. This is enough to discourage many community members from applying for this great opportunity that is really meant for them.”

Both women pointed out that Long Beach’s cottage food program doesn’t require landlord notification. 

Duggan said she had “significant concerns” about removing the landlord authorization requirement. She said doing so is a protection for the tenant, since they might begin an operation and then have the landlord find out afterwards, something she said “directly sets the stage for a potential at-fault lease termination.” 

Councilmember Tunua Thrash-Ntuk said she was worried that the self-attestation and landlord notification is “over-regulating” a specific part of the market, since there are many types of ways people can make money at home. “I wonder why it is we feel the need to place additional pressures on this particular kind of use in someone’s home,” she said. 

Supernaw said without a written requirement, he’s concerned that a tenant will pay all the administrative costs of starting a MEHKO only for their landlord to be notified afterwards and say it’s not allowed. 

Los Angeles County’s MEHKO program requires a statement from a resident saying that they have spoken to their landlord and received approval, but doesn’t require an attestation. 

Judeth Luong, environmental health manager with the Department of Health, said residents should get permission from their landlord before starting the rest of the process so there’s no such conflicts. 

“What we don’t want is someone already doing what they’re going to do, take on a side job or begin to bake or whatever it is, we don’t want that to trigger an eviction,” said Mayor Rex Richardson. “What we don’t want is someone who is already precariously housed to be in a situation where a landlord says, ‘You broke your lease and now our only option is to serve you a three-day notice.’ I would feel terrible if that was because [of] something we did.” 

Thrash-Ntuk made a motion to remove the notification to the landlord. Councilmember Mary Zendejas accepted the motion. Ricks-Oddie, the seconder of the motion, said she didn’t feel comfortable with removing that requirement.

The motion ultimately went forward without the landlord notification requirement. Councilmembers Zendejas, Suely Saro, Thrash-Ntuk, Megan Kerr and Roberto Uranga were in favor of the motion without the landlord notification requirement, while Councilmembers Supernaw, Duggan and Ricks-Oddie objected to the motion. 

Thrash-Ntuk, echoed by several residents throughout the evening, asked City staff to explore if Long Beach residents are eligible for LA County’s fee waiver program to further reduce the barrier of entry to start a MEHKO. 

A MEHKO will cost roughly $1,300 to start up, including the costs of a business license, health permit, application and other administrative costs. Insurance is not required. 

Do you know something about this story we should look into? Please let us know by emailing Newspaper@SignalTribune.com.

Samantha Diaz

Managing Editor

---

Samantha is an award-winning journalist, sports fanatic and mother. She’s worked for the Signal Tribune for over three years and is passionate about covering environmental news, small businesses, mutual aid efforts and resources.

---