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Committee backs two‑year fee waiver for sidewalk cafes and parklets to aid small businesses
Summary
Supervisors moved and the committee forwarded an ordinance waiving certain permit and renewal fees for sidewalk cafes, parklets and retail displays (retroactive to April) to support small businesses; the Budget and Legislative Analyst estimated initial permit and renewal fees at about $665,000 (FY18–19), though a precise annual revenue loss for the waiver was not provided.
The Budget and Finance Committee voted to forward an ordinance to waive certain Public Works permit and renewal fees for sidewalk cafes, tables and chairs, parklets and merchandise displays for a two‑year period, backdated to April 15, 2020 and set to expire April 15, 2022 unless extended.
Supervisor Rafael Mandelmann, a sponsor, said the proposal grew from a citywide review of fees that impose relatively high barriers on small businesses. Lee Hepner (sponsor’s office) explained that the ordinance aims to reduce the front‑end staff burden for low‑revenue permits and rely more on post‑issuance compliance and enforcement.
The Budget and Legislative Analyst told the committee that the initial permit and renewal fees in fiscal year 2018–19 totaled approximately $665,000 and noted that waiving only renewal fees would produce a smaller reduction; committee members asked for clearer fiscal estimates but the BLA said the precise per‑year revenue impact was not available in the report version before the committee.
Jeremy Spitz from Public Works said permitting activity appears to be operating at a subsidy rather than full cost recovery and that the department will work with supervisors to reduce staff time per application. Supervisor Aaron Peskin’s office and others have discussed longer‑term extensions beyond the ordinance’s two‑year window.
The committee accepted minor technical amendments (including the revised expiration date), approved the BLA‑recommended adjustments, and forwarded the ordinance to the full Board with a positive recommendation (roll call recorded three ayes). Public comment produced no callers on the item.
