July16,
2014
W
EMAIL
ccwu.planning@grnaiL
corn>
Cindy
Wu,
President
and
Members
San
Francisco
PlanningCommission
City
and
County
of
San
Francisco1650Mission
Street
Suite
400
San
Francisco,
C
94103
RE
Proposed
Changes
To
Formula
Retail
Ordinance
Dear
President
Wu
and
Members
of
the
PlanningCommission:
In
2004,
after
several
years
of
research
andextensivecommunity
outreach
the
Board
of
Supervisors
passed
legislationwhich
introduced
to
define
and
regulate
Formula
Retail
establishments
In
SanFrancisco.
By
all
measures,
including
the
studies
that
the
Planning
Department
hascommissioned
at
someexpense,
this
legislation
has
been
successful
by
all
objective
accounts.
It
has
strengthened
the
city’s
economy
by
keeping
money
in
the
City,
has
helped
small
businesses,
preserved
local
jobs
andmaintained
the
unique
fabric
of
the
City’s
diverse,archipelagoof
uniqueneighborhood
commercialdistricts.
Albeit
SanFrancisco’s
Formula
Retail
legislation
continues
to
be
attacked
by
Corporate
America.
On
behalf
of
myselfand
the
undersigned
amwriting
to
strongly
urge
you
to
rejectyour
staff’s
recommendations
to
weaken
SanFrancisco’s
formularetail
controls
and
retain
the
existing
numerical
definition
offormula
retail
use
as
a
type
of
retail
sales
activity
or
establishment
having
eleven
ormore
other
retailsales
establishments
We
are
deeply
troubled
by
the
Department’s
proposal
to
raise
the
numerical
threshold
for
what
defines
formula
retail
from
11
to
20
establIshments
as
it
is
without
anyrationaljustification.Moreover,
the
Department’s
proposal
to
change
the
definition
of
“formularetail”from
11
to
20
and
to
otherwise
relax
the
controls
is
flatly
contrary
to
Proposition
G,
andshouldbe
subject
to
voter
approval.Proposition
G,
known
as
the
“Small
Business
Protection
Act,”
was
approved
by
SanFrancisco
voters
n
November
2006
by
an
overwhelming
58
to
42 )
vote,required
all
“formularetail”
uses
defined
as
11
or
more
outlets
wanting
to
open
anotherstore
In
anyNeighborhood
Commercial
District
to
go
through
the
Conditional
Use
process,
thus
allowing
each
neighborhood
to
weigh
in
on
whether
ornottheywanted
to
have
that
particular
chain
store
in
Its
neighborhood.
Proposition
G
alsoprovided
that
the
Conditional
Use
process
could
be
strengthened
by
additional
controls
not
weakened
When
voters
approved
Proposition
6
theyunderstood
implicitly
that
formula
retail
was
definedas
a
type
of
retail
sales
activity
or
establishment
having
eleven
or
more
other
retail
Planning
Commission
July16
2014
Page
2
est blishments
We
contend
that
any
contr ry
Interpretation
presented
solely
to
deny
voters
the
opportunity
to
be
he rd
on
the
proposed
amendments
before
you
now.Jake
McGoldrlck
Sophie
MaxwellTony
Hall
ChrisDaly
cc:
City
Attorney
Dennis
Herrera<cityattomey@sfgov.org>Commissioner
MichaelAntonini
<wordweaver21@aol.com>Commissioner
Rodney
Fong
<plannlng@rodneyfong.com>Comissioner
Richard
Hillis
<richhillissf@yahoo.com>
Commissioner
Kathrin
Moore<Mooreurban@aol.com>Commissioner
Hisashi
Sugaya
<hs.commish@yahoo.com>Commissioner
Christine
Johnson
do
ChristineLamorena
John
Rahaim
Director
of
Planning<John.Rahalm@sfgov.org>
Jonas
lonin
Commission
Secretary
cJonas lonlnsfgov org>
ChristineLamorena
Acting
Commission
Secretary
<chrlstlne.lamorena@sfgov.org>
lcanishkaBurns
Planner
ckanishka burnssfgov org>
AnMarie
Rogers
Planner
cAnMarie.Rodgers@sfgov.org>
Man
Gonzalez
AaronPeskin