Cities to Consider Restaurant Ratings

Councilman Dan Del Campo said he can’t wait to see what Ventura County’s other cities think of his plan to establish a letter grading system for restaurants.

With a 3-2 vote Tuesday, the Thousand Oaks City Council gave Del Campo the go-ahead to solicit comments from other cities about placing letter grades in the windows of local eateries. The matter will be discussed next month at the Ventura Council of Governments meeting.

Los Angeles County began a rating system several years ago after a television station broadcast on expose of unsanitary conditions at some restaurants, such as rat infestation and cooks smoking cigarettes while preparing food.

“It’s not a question of whether or not [local] inspections are more rigorous than Los Angeles County,” Del Campo said. “I’m looking for a vehicle for the public to know what the inspections are all about.”

But Ventura County health department officials say a restaurant ratings ordinance will not strengthen inspections.

The county Board of Supervisors rejected a restaurant ratings ordinance about two years ago, because the county’s three-times-a-year restaurant inspections were considered sufficient, said Debra Borsos, supervisor of the health department’s environmental health division.

Councilman Mike Markey, who along with Mayor Dennis Gillette voted against taking the rating issue to the government council, said he had never heard a complaint about local restaurants or requests for grades. Markey said the system could end up costing taxpayers more money.

“We’re really getting involved in something that’s a county issue. If the county wants to go forward with it, it’s something it could implement on its own,” Markey said.