Watsonville, CA Public Health Rules: Calorie Labeling (2026)
Key Facts
- Ordinance
- Healthy Eating Options, Chapter 14-29 (Ord. 1266-10)
- Calorie item
- Item 13, worth 2 points
- Building permit threshold
- 6 points, new restaurants and remodels only
- Award Certificate
- 9 points
- Golden Carrot Award
- 13 points
- Exempt
- Additions and remodels under 100 square feet
- Administered by
- Community Development Department and Building Official
Summary
In the City of Watsonville, California, calorie information is not a free-standing menu-labeling mandate. It is item 13 on the Healthy Eating Options checklist in § 14-29.050: provide calorie information visible at the point of purchase, or healthier option stickers on the menu, for 2 points. New restaurants, additions and substantial remodels must reach the building permit threshold printed in Table 1.
Applicants for a new restaurant in the City shall participate in the Healthy Eating Options Program. In order to obtain a building permit for any new restaurant, addition or substantial remodel in excess of those exempted in Section 14-29.060, each project must include elements in program from the healthy food plan option checklist (Table 2 of this section) equal to or exceeding the following: Table 1 New and Existing Restaurant Point Requirements to Meet Healthy Eating Criteria Total Points Available 19 Action Points required to receive action Receipt of Building Permit (New restaurants and remodels only) 6 Award Certificate (New and existing restaurants) 9 Golden Carrot Award (New and existing restaurants) 13 ... 13. Provide calorie information visible at the point of purchase or provide healthier option stickers on the menu. 2
Full Breakdown
Chapter 14-29 of the Watsonville Municipal Code, the healthy eating options ordinance adopted by Ordinance 1266-10 effective November 25, 2010, is the place where the City of Watsonville addresses calorie information for restaurants. Section 14-29.050 sets up two tables. Table 2 is a 15-item Healthy Eating Options Program checklist with a total of 19 points. Item 13 reads "Provide calorie information visible at the point of purchase or provide healthier option stickers on the menu" and is worth 2 points, so a restaurant can satisfy it with menu stickers instead of posting calories. Item 9 separately credits one low-fat vegetarian dish not exceeding 500 calories for 1 point.
Table 1 turns points into outcomes. Receipt of a building permit, for new restaurants and remodels only, requires 6 points. An Award Certificate requires 9 points and the Golden Carrot Award requires 13. The section says applicants for a new restaurant in the City shall participate, and the requirement attaches to any new restaurant, addition or substantial remodel beyond what Section 14-29.060 exempts. Existing restaurants are only encouraged to submit an application and their menus to the Community Development Department to qualify for recognition. The Award Certificate is a City Council resolution, and the business is featured on the City's Channel 70 programming for a month.
Section 14-29.060 exempts existing restaurants that do not want to participate, additions and remodels of less than one hundred (100) square feet, equipment and non-structural modifications of any restaurant, and modifications to historical restaurant structures. Under Section 14-29.080 the Building Official and/or the principal planner maintain the application and the healthy eating checklist for the public, every non-exempt building permit applicant submits the checklist with the standard application documents, and all compliance measures must be clearly delineated on the proposed menu.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 14-29 prints no fine of its own. The enforcement lever is the building permit: a new restaurant, addition or substantial remodel in the City of Watsonville must include checklist elements equal to or exceeding the Table 1 threshold to obtain it. The Code's general penalty section, § 1-2.01, makes a Code violation an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than $500, and each day of a violation is a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Watsonville require restaurants to post calories on menus?
Do existing restaurants in Watsonville have to comply?
What remodels are exempt from the healthy eating checklist?
Where do calorie details have to appear?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Watsonville
California rules heatmap·Compare Watsonville to another location·View the California public health rules overview
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