How San Francisco is Simplifying Its Planning Code to Help Small Businesses Thrive
Restaurants, bars, and shops are the lifeblood of any city, but in San Francisco, confusing rules and regulations have meant that small businesses often struggle to navigate complicated planning codes. Mayor London Breed, along with a handful of supervisors, recently introduced legislation that aims to simplify the process and help new businesses open their doors. The proposed legislation, introduced in early August, will make over 100 changes to San Francisco’s complex planning code, including shorter approval processes for entertainment venues, flexible uses for vacant space, and a host of other alterations.
Flexible Retail
One of the key changes the new legislation proposes is “flexible retail” that allows businesses in the city to sell a variety of goods with minimal hassle. Currently, such businesses are only allowed in a minority of San Francisco city’s 11 wards, but the new rule changes would allow them to operate throughout the city, providing significant relief to startups and small businesses. The proposal also aims to allow new non-commercial uses for ground-floor spaces, such as accounting firms and co-working spaces, in an effort to reduce vacancies. According to Katy Tang, the executive director of the Office of Small Business, “Flexible retail is crucial because customers don’t want static retail; we want to motivate them to go to a store by addressing that flexibility and enabling new business models.”
Shorter Approval Process
The new legislation aims to reduce the time that new businesses have to wait to obtain the necessary permits and authorizations from the city. One of the main goals of the changes is to reduce the number of businesses that require additional approvals from the planning commission. Conditional use authorization requires additional review by city agencies and neighbors and can cause months of additional work and costs for business owners, thereby preventing many startups from ever opening. However, the new legislation aims to streamline the process and make it easier for businesses to obtain approval.
Taraval and Geary Corridors and Haight Street
The legislation also incorporates several changes aimed at specific San Francisco neighborhoods. For example, retail formula businesses are now allowed to open through the conditional use process along the Taraval and Geary business corridors, even though previous rules prohibited such businesses. In addition, the new legislation would remove limits on Haight Street restaurants, bars on Sacramento Street can be reauthorized and new restaurants can open in Chinatown without the need for conditional use authorization. These changes aim to provide more flexibility to San Francisco businesses and encourage investment and expansion.
Alcoholic Beverage Permits
The proposed legislation will also create a new liquor license for music venues to sell alcohol and allow minors on the premises, which will provide entertainment options for young adults and incentivize more nightlife options for San Francisco residents and visitors. Furthermore, the legislation will allow businesses to legalize non-permitted patios that have been around for at least 10 years.
The Impact
Earl Shaddix, the executive director of the nonprofit Economic Development on Third, believes the new rules would save business owners at least three months of additional work in obtaining permits. Shaddix advised other entrepreneurs in the Third street corridor to wait for the new system before trying to make changes to their businesses. Businesses that require conditional use authorization can now participate in a program that allows for an expedited review. Laurie Thomas, the Executive Director of Golden Gate Restaurant Association, said: “We support anything that can logically streamline the complicated permitting process and make things easier for businesses because, ultimately, time is money.”
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, San Francisco’s Proposal to simplify its planning code is a significant step in the right direction. The legislation aims to reduce the time and effort that small businesses have to spend navigating the city’s complex planning code. By allowing more flexible retail options, reducing the need for conditional use authorization, and providing for an expedited review process, this new legislation aims to encourage businesses to invest in San Francisco. These changes have been widely welcomed by the business community, who believe that simplifying the process will be a boon for the city’s economy. Moreover, the new rules will increase the appeal of San Francisco to entrepreneurs across the country who are looking for an environment in which to start and grow their businesses.
Summary
San Francisco’s mayor and a handful of supervisors have proposed legislation to simplify the city’s planning codes to help small businesses. The proposed legislation would make over 100 changes to the city’s planning code, including allowing flexible uses for vacant spaces, reducing the conditional use requirements, creating a new liquor license for music venues, legalizing non-permitted patios, and more. The changes aim to reduce the time and expense of navigating the city’s complex planning code. The proposed changes have been widely welcomed by the small business community, who believe they will increase investment and growth in San Francisco.
Additional Piece
One of the key challenges facing small businesses across the country is navigating regulations and securing permits. Many startups spend months or even years navigating labyrinthine local regulations before they can begin operating. Consequently, easing these regulations can provide a major boost to the small business community.
San Francisco’s proposed legislation to simplify its planning code is a textbook example of how governments can ease the regulatory burden on startups and incentivize new businesses to move to the city. By streamlining the permitting process and allowing more flexibility in the city’s retail sector, San Francisco is positioning itself as an attractive destination for entrepreneurs and small business owners alike.
However, while the proposed legislation is a big step, there is still much more that local and state governments can do to help small businesses. For example, local governments could offer tax incentives to attract small businesses to their jurisdictions, remove zoning laws that prohibit certain types of businesses, and provide training and support services to entrepreneurs.
Moreover, as small businesses continue to struggle with the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a growing consensus that governments must do more to help them. This support could include temporary tax relief, additional funding for grants and loans, and more streamlined permitting processes.
In conclusion, while San Francisco’s proposed legislation is a step in the right direction, there remains a long way to go to help small businesses across the country. Governments at all levels must continue to listen to the needs of the small business community and take the necessary actions to support and incentivize entrepreneurship. By doing so, they can help to build a brighter future for communities across the country.
—————————————————-
| Article | Link |
|---|---|
| UK Artful Impressions | Premiere Etsy Store |
| Sponsored Content | View |
| 90’s Rock Band Review | View |
| Ted Lasso’s MacBook Guide | View |
| Nature’s Secret to More Energy | View |
| Ancient Recipe for Weight Loss | View |
| MacBook Air i3 vs i5 | View |
| You Need a VPN in 2023 – Liberty Shield | View |
Restaurants, bars and shops are the soul of any city. But San Francisco’s confusing tangle of rules and regulations means that small businesses often stumble in their efforts to fill in the gaps.
In an attempt to spur San Francisco’s recovery and energize the city’s commercial corridors, Mayor London Breed and a handful of supervisors introduced legislation that would unravel the city’s complicated planning code with the goal of paving the way for new businesses open their doors. .
The legislation, introduced Tuesday by Breed along with Supervisors Matt Dorsey, Joel Engardio and Myrna Melgar, would make more than 100 changes to the city’s complex planning code to allow for flexible uses on vacant space, a shorter approval process for bars and entertainment venues and a bunch of other changes.
‘Flexible Retail’
One of the main aspects of the rule changes is to allow for “flexible retail” across the city, which means that a business that, say, wanted to sell wine and housewares could open without additional hassle. Currently, flexible retail businesses are only allowed in a minority of the city’s 11 wards.
The proposal would also allow new non-commercial uses for ground-floor spaces such as accounting firms and co-working spaces in an attempt to fill vacancies.
“Customers don’t want static retail,” said Katy Tang, executive director of the Office of Small Business. “We want to motivate them to go to a store by addressing that flexibility and enabling new business models.”
Tang described the overall goal of the legislation as “making it one step more permissive” around zoning and approvals.
It may not sound particularly exciting, but it has a real impact for small businesses looking to set up shop. One of the main goals of the changes is to reduce the number of businesses that require conditional use authorization from the planning commission. Conditional use authorization, a process that involves additional review by city agencies and neighbors, often means months of additional work, and untold dollars, on behalf of the business owner prior to opening .
Earl Shaddix, executive director of the nonprofit Economic Development on Third, said the new rules would shave at least three months off his effort to turn underutilized space on Third Street into affordable space for underrepresented food entrepreneurs.
Shaddix said he is advising others in the Third Street corridor to wait for the new system before trying to make changes to their businesses.
“We support anything that can logically streamline the complicated permitting process and make things easier for businesses because, ultimately, time is money,” said Laurie Thomas, executive director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association.
Yards, Alcoholic Beverage Permits and More
The planning code changes also incorporate a new liquor license for music venues to sell alcohol and allow minors on the premises. Allows businesses to legalize non-permitted patios that have been around for at least 10 years.
Tang, a former supervisor, spearheaded legislation around flexible retail in 2018 and has spent much of her career in local politics diving into the intricacies of the planning code.
But the complicated nature of the city’s rules surprised even her. For example, Tang discovered on a merchant walkthrough that the planning commission had previously approved a limit on Haight Street restaurants, a policy that had little support among business owners in the corridor.
The new legislation would remove that limit, reauthorize bars on Sacramento Street and allow new restaurants in Chinatown without a conditional use authorization.
In the Taraval and Geary business corridors, retail formula businesses are now allowed to open through the conditional use process after previously being prohibited. Rules on the retail sale of formula were enacted to protect against chain stores and restaurants, but They have been criticized for paralyzing the homegrown players San Francisco businesses that were successful enough to open more than 10 locations.
“Classically, conditional use has been to block or impede business; now, you’re using it to open up an option that didn’t exist before,” Thomas said. “We need flexibility because even though we’re not sure what’s going to get us out of this, we should be able to try a number of different things.”
For businesses that require a conditional use authorization, the legislation now allows nightlife venues, bars and restaurants with full liquor licenses participate in a program which allows for an expedited review.
Tang said the planning code changes are in line with other city small business efforts, including laws aimed at speeding up permit reviews. As part of his budget proposal last week, Breed is also launching an extension to the First Year Free program, which waives registration and permit fees for new businesses.
“People who have benefited from the new rules don’t realize how difficult it was before,” Tang said.
https://sfstandard.com/business/breaking-the-doom-loop-san-francisco-lawmakers-back-sweeping-changes-for-small-business/
—————————————————-