Committee hears business opposition to vacant-storefront registry, item closed

The Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee on March 26 discussed a proposed vacant-storefront registry intended to track and encourage reuse of empty commercial spaces. The administration told the committee the program would require ongoing staff time and a registration fee to fund its operations.

Heather Schon, the city’s IT director for economic development, summarized prior outreach and cross-city research and said eight other cities’ experiences pointed to administrative burden and unintended consequences. “Holistically, they essentially were not in favor of this and had a rather negative experience,” Schon said.

Business improvement district leaders urged the committee not to proceed. Annabelle Yopis, Lincoln Road Business Improvement District director, told the committee a registry would harm landlord–tenant partnerships and questioned the registry’s purpose: “What is the point of having a registry when...when are you gonna deal with it?” Amy Mayhew of the 40 First Street BID echoed the request to prioritize permitting and other tools that staff time could support instead of the registry.

After public and BID comment, a committee member who had researched the proposal said the program “just doesn’t work” in practice and moved to close the item with an unfavorable recommendation. The committee recorded the item as heard and closed; staff will not advance the registry at this time.

The discussion included consideration of alternative incentives and permitting improvements that business groups identified as higher priority. The committee did not adopt an ordinance or fee and took no binding regulatory action beyond closing the discussion.