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Committee advances bill to allow up to 20 temporary liquor licenses in San Francisco hospitality zone
Summary
SB 395 would allow San Francisco to create a designated hospitality zone authorizing up to 20 nontransferable on-sale liquor licenses for bona fide eateries over three years to spur downtown recovery; the committee voted to send the bill to Appropriations.
Sen. Wiener presented SB 395 to allow the city and county of San Francisco to designate a hospitality zone where up to 20 additional nontransferable on-sale liquor licenses could be issued to bona fide restaurants over three years at the State Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control's application fee.
"This cap has pushed the price of a full license to over $200,000, making it nearly impossible for our new restaurants to get started," Selena Sun, a representative of the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development, told the committee. She said the new licenses would be usable only within the designated zone, nontransferable, and issued only if local policymakers authorize the program.
Marissa Rodriguez, CEO of the Union Square Alliance, said the licenses would help activate vacant storefronts in Union Square and Yerba Buena, support new restauranteurs and nightlife, and help downtown recover.
An amendment adopted after consultation with the Golden Gate Restaurant Association added a seven-year sunset provision to provide certainty and to limit long-term disruption to the secondary market for licenses, the author said.
The committee voted to pass SB 395 as amended to the Appropriations Committee; the chair reported 16 supporting votes at the roll call and left the roll open for additional members.
