The Richmond Will Not Be Evicted

This month, the SF Board of Supervisors returns from summer recess and the District 1 office has a packed legislative agenda for the fall.

We have legislation to establish further protections for small businesses as well as empowering workers to engage with their employer when a business is up for sale. In the Richmond, we are lucky to have the most amazing neighborhood commercial corridors, filled with legacy businesses, outstanding restaurants, unique shops and vital services. The Richmond is defined by shops like Green Apple Books, Toy Boat, Tantrum, New May Wah Supermarket, New World Market, Cinderella, Schubert’s, the Balboa Theatre and too many more independent businesses to name.

Our small businesses are neighborhood anchors that bring together communities, creating vibrant and unique pockets throughout our City. The City is currently in discussions about upzoning plans to increase density and raise the height limit, leading to potential displacement of our small businesses – as well as tenants and aging home owners.

To protect these legacy businesses in the context of the upcoming upzoning process, we introduced Local Business Protection legislation to make permanent interim protections, requiring Conditional Use authorization before replacing any legacy business in San Francisco. The legislation will ensure that these mom-and-pop shops and community-serving businesses can continue to thrive, despite rezoning efforts and speculative real estate interests. If we cannot protect our longest standing legacy businesses, then there is no guarantee the City can provide a stable economic environment for new businesses to thrive.

We also introduced the Worker’s Opportunity to Purchase Act (WOPA), which will create a pathway for existing workers to form a cooperative to purchase a business should the owner decide to sell. WOPA includes a requirement for the owner to provide existing employees a notice of intent to sell, key financial disclosures to employees who may be interested in continuing the business and consideration to honor existing collective bargaining agreements. When a business closes, the neighborhood loses a treasured institution and workers suffer too. WOPA will support longtime business owners, empower workers to become entrepreneurs and stabilize our beloved neighborhood commercial corridors.

On Sept. 11, the SF Planning Department will hear the mayor’s proposed upzoning plan for the City. This plan is in response to the state’s housing mandate, blanket upzoning our district and offers no protection for neighborhood corridors. I am very worried that this plan will create a speculative real estate market on the west side, displacing tenants, aging homeowners and our small businesses. I encourage you to learn more about this plan.

The Planning Association for the Richmond (PAR) is hosting a Town Hall on Wednesday, Sept. 10, from 7-9 p.m. at the Richmond Recreation Center (251 18th Ave.). I will be there to discuss the legislative process of this upzoning plan and what we can do to make sure the Richmond, the west side and San Francisco can protect our tenants, small businesses, but also grow and thrive for the future. We have learned PAR has invited Mayor Daniel Lurie and we hope to see him there. We encourage everyone to come, support small businesses and aging homeowners across the City, bring your insight, be respectful and have a productive conversation about the future of our City.

Connie Chan represents District 1 on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. She can be reached at 415-554-7410 or chanstaff@sfgov.org.