Small Business

Complicated zoning, confusing and contradictory rules, and lack of help for aspiring business owners has resulted in record-high commercial vacancy rates, even before the COVID-19 crisis. The reality is that our small businesses have endured a slow-motion disaster for years now, and we need to act fast now to keep our city vibrant and vital.

Here’s what I’ll do as Supervisor:

• Assign small business advisors. Every small business in San Francisco should have a dedicated small business advisor assigned to them. Read more on our plan. The City needs to treat small business owners as customers, and give them the level of service that they deserve. This means shifting the responsibility from the business owner to the City when it comes to understanding complex programs or notifications of upcoming construction on nearby streets. 

• End restrictions that keep small businesses out. Restrictions to keep big chain stores out of neighbors work well, but we have too many byzantine rules that hurt our small, independent shops the most. For example, if a cafe wants to open up in North Beach, it’s required to get a Conditional Use, a process that delays its opening by a year (when the tenant typically has to pay rent), adds tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees, and is subject to political favoritism. We need a clear, fair process for small businesses to open.

• Allow flexible use retail and pop-ups. The type of retail experiences that are actually thriving in 2020 are illegal to open in District 3. We need to make it legal to open Flexible Use retail, which combines two uses under one roof, like a bookstore and cafe together. Plus, we need to make pop-ups legal in our neighborhoods to provide a good way for small businesses to test out new concepts and activate vacant spaces. 

• Provide clean, safe commercial corridors. Our small business owners should not have to also act as up crews. The City needs to provide clean sidewalks and streets so that shops can thrive in walkable, beautiful corridors. 

• Remove hurdles for parklets and outdoor seating. We live in one of the world’s most beautiful cities, with bustling cafes, restaurants and bars. But outdoor seating is usually confined to narrow sidewalks, leaving less room for pedestrians while traffic blares nearby. Let’s re-open the streets for the people, let them linger and bask outside, and help shops and restaurants keep safe distancing for customers and drive much needed revenue.  In a city where it takes 11 permits to open a food truck, we need to make it easy and fair for businesses to make use of precious outdoor space in the city.