Here is the biggest reason why I am so angry with Aaron Peskin
and his cronies at the Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Association (which used to be headed by him and is now headed by his wife)
Sound Off: North Beach Booze Ban
Supervisor Aaron Peskin's move to ban new liquor licenses in North Beach may end up loosening considerably after today's San Francisco Planning Commission hearing, but at least one critic says the suggested concessions aren't enough.
The ordinance up for review today would ban all new on and off-sales of alcohol in the North Beach Commercial District. That means that no new bars, liquor stores or restaurants that sell alcohol would be able to open for at least five years. It would also prohibit the transfer of licenses within the neighborhood and would automatically revoke the license of any business that closed for more than 30 days.
However, Peskin's office indicated today that the supervisor would accept recommendations by the San Francisco Planning Department to loosen the restrictions. In a report, the department made three major recommendations to change the ordinance:
Instead of an outright ban, planners recommended a cap on the number of licenses. That means no additional alcohol-selling establishments could be opened, but that if one closed, another could open. The planning department also recommended that licenses be transferable within the neighborhood, and that the 30-day clause on considering a business abandoned be lengthened to 18 months.
A source within Peskin's office indicated the supervisor was open to those suggestions. The concern, according to Peskin's office, is not necessarily controlling drunken behavior in the neighborhood, but controlling the types of businesses that open there, affecting the character of the neighborhood. The supervisor is seeking a way to make the neighborhood more friendly to service-oriented businesses like hardware stores and other retail.
But North Beach Chamber of Commerce head Marsha Garland said that even if the proposed changes to the ordinance go into effect, she would still oppose it.
"With the impact of online shopping, retail’s never going to be the same again. You cannot force a shoe store into a shop when the landlords are charging restaurant prices. It doesn’t work that way," Garland said today. "They’re not paying any attention to the reality. You’ve got to let the market determine what goes into the space."
Full text of ordinance (PDF)
The only retail that I patronize in my neighborhood is the grocery store and the liquor store - I can't afford the cakes or the cards or the clothes that are sold (I can't even fit in to the clothes - stupid boutiques). I would love it if more affordable retail went in - but the hardware store got forced out because it couldn't pay its lease any more. How are you going to take care of that, Peskin? Are there tax breaks for small businesses? Are there serious tax breaks for necessary businesses like a hardware store or a pharmacy? No.
I seriously think that Peskin & co.'s dream vision of North Beach is something out of 1950. Ain't gonna happen, folks. We've got Chinatown encroaching again, young families leaving the neighborhood because they can't afford it, the old folks who remember how it was dropping like flies, and empty storefronts all over the place. Simply, North Beach is dying, and it's being replaced with people who don't remember and don't care. Banning liquor, beer, and wine will not solve the problem, and will only exacerbate it by stemming tax revenue that could be used for the benefit of the neighborhood.
(Oh, and using the fact that we got voted one of the best neighborhoods to live in the States? Doesn't work, because the frontage has changed radically from the two years ago that the survey was taken. So shut up already.)
(Seriously, I'm about ready to move to Polk Gulch just to get away from these people.)
Sound Off: North Beach Booze Ban
Supervisor Aaron Peskin's move to ban new liquor licenses in North Beach may end up loosening considerably after today's San Francisco Planning Commission hearing, but at least one critic says the suggested concessions aren't enough.
The ordinance up for review today would ban all new on and off-sales of alcohol in the North Beach Commercial District. That means that no new bars, liquor stores or restaurants that sell alcohol would be able to open for at least five years. It would also prohibit the transfer of licenses within the neighborhood and would automatically revoke the license of any business that closed for more than 30 days.
However, Peskin's office indicated today that the supervisor would accept recommendations by the San Francisco Planning Department to loosen the restrictions. In a report, the department made three major recommendations to change the ordinance:
Instead of an outright ban, planners recommended a cap on the number of licenses. That means no additional alcohol-selling establishments could be opened, but that if one closed, another could open. The planning department also recommended that licenses be transferable within the neighborhood, and that the 30-day clause on considering a business abandoned be lengthened to 18 months.
A source within Peskin's office indicated the supervisor was open to those suggestions. The concern, according to Peskin's office, is not necessarily controlling drunken behavior in the neighborhood, but controlling the types of businesses that open there, affecting the character of the neighborhood. The supervisor is seeking a way to make the neighborhood more friendly to service-oriented businesses like hardware stores and other retail.
But North Beach Chamber of Commerce head Marsha Garland said that even if the proposed changes to the ordinance go into effect, she would still oppose it.
"With the impact of online shopping, retail’s never going to be the same again. You cannot force a shoe store into a shop when the landlords are charging restaurant prices. It doesn’t work that way," Garland said today. "They’re not paying any attention to the reality. You’ve got to let the market determine what goes into the space."
Full text of ordinance (PDF)
The only retail that I patronize in my neighborhood is the grocery store and the liquor store - I can't afford the cakes or the cards or the clothes that are sold (I can't even fit in to the clothes - stupid boutiques). I would love it if more affordable retail went in - but the hardware store got forced out because it couldn't pay its lease any more. How are you going to take care of that, Peskin? Are there tax breaks for small businesses? Are there serious tax breaks for necessary businesses like a hardware store or a pharmacy? No.
I seriously think that Peskin & co.'s dream vision of North Beach is something out of 1950. Ain't gonna happen, folks. We've got Chinatown encroaching again, young families leaving the neighborhood because they can't afford it, the old folks who remember how it was dropping like flies, and empty storefronts all over the place. Simply, North Beach is dying, and it's being replaced with people who don't remember and don't care. Banning liquor, beer, and wine will not solve the problem, and will only exacerbate it by stemming tax revenue that could be used for the benefit of the neighborhood.
(Oh, and using the fact that we got voted one of the best neighborhoods to live in the States? Doesn't work, because the frontage has changed radically from the two years ago that the survey was taken. So shut up already.)
(Seriously, I'm about ready to move to Polk Gulch just to get away from these people.)