SF Empty Storefront Tax: Oops

Last year we noted different views on San Francisco's empty storefront problem.

(Chronicle diagram)

Businesses asserted that one main factor was the lengthy permitting process that required small business owners to survive at least 12 months before opening. (Click to enlarge diagram, right.) Other reasons were

high construction costs, as well as the need for seismic retrofits, which account for a quarter of the neighborhood’s current vacancies. San Francisco’s high rents and labor costs have also hurt.

Progressives had a different take:

Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who represents North Beach, blame[d] landlords who have “unrealistic expectations of value” and “greedy brokers” who inflate those expectations.

The progressive view prevailed, and an empty-storefront-tax initiative passed in March. It will charge vacant properties $250 per foot of linear frontage.

The timing couldn't have been worse, because in two weeks the coronavirus shuttered even more San Francisco storefronts. (Some closings appear permanent, according to friends who walk by them every day). Even Aaron Peskin can't ignore the new reality:

The tax was slated to go into effect Jan. 1, 2021. On Tuesday, Peskin introduced legislation that would postpone the start date by nearly a year.

But the supervisor is undaunted:

Peskin said he still expects “the best behavior of property owners relative to helping stabilize small businesses.”

We expect you to behave....or else, comrade.