After a billionaire bought up several Upper Fillmore buildings and legacy businesses there were given their walking papers, Supervisor Aaron Peskin just passed his bill adding protections to keep those businesses in place.
There were understandably questions when a mystery buyer bought up the shuttered Clay Theatre and five other buildings in a three-block span earlier this year, and the Chronicle identified the buyer as billionaire tech investor Neil Mehta (Actually, a web of vaguely named LLCs which Mehta is financing). In short order, the lease for 46-year-old sushi restaurant Ten-Ich was not renewed, and the LLCs are reportedly refusing to renew the lease for La Mediterranee across the street.
Adding insult to injury, the day that Mehta got an op-ed in the SF Standard saying he just wanted “committed entrepreneurs who will reinvigorate Fillmore Street,” the Examiner reports that the op-ed in question was “published the same day that Steve Amano, owner of the 46-year old family-owned legacy business Sushi Ten-Ichi, was forced to turn in his keys into his new landlord.” (After publication of this post, SFist heard from Singer Associates Public Relations with a statement saying "No once forced the restaurant owner to turn his keys in; he signed an agreement to terminate his lease and get money.")
Supervisor Aaron Peskin hoped to put a halt to these Legacy Business losses with new legislation that would require SF Planning Department authorization for removing a Legacy Business tenant, or demolishing a building with a legacy business tenant. Legacy Businesses are described as being 30 years old or older, and “contribute to the neighborhood's history and/or the identity of a particular neighborhood or community.”
Peskin’s legislation passed the SF Board of Supervisors Tuesday afternoon with a unanimous vote and no discussion. But there was discussion of the bill at Monday’s Land Use and Transportation Committee meeting.
“After seeing Legacy Businesses under threat on Upper Fillmore, where a billionaire bought many properties on two blocks of Upper Fillmore, Legacy Businesses from across the city have reached out asking for more teeth, more protections, from the Legacy Business Program,” Peskin said Monday.
The legislation is not permanent. It’s an 18-month arrangement, and would expire around June 2026. But it provides a buffer as the city prepares to upzone commercial corridors to build more housing, and aspires to avoid the unintended consequence of evicting local businesses in the pursuit of state-mandated housing goals.
La Mediterranee owner Vanick Der Bedrossian hopes the 18-month buffer is enough.
“This legislation, we feel, is essential to level the playing field for small businesses to remain in the city,” Der Bedrossian said Monday. “Landlords, many have good intentions, and work with tenants. This is a situation we’re facing with billionaire landlords who’ve purchased so many blocks of our beloved street, and who are refusing to engage in any discussion whatsoever.”
Peskin is of course running for mayor, and employed his signature parliamentary maneuvers to get this legislation approved before Election Day. But the legislation is not yet law. Per Peskin's office, it will not require a second reading because it's a resolution and not an ordinance. But it could still face a veto from Mayor London Breed. If it is not vetoed, the interim 18-month rule requiring city approval to kick out a Legacy Business could become law before Election Day.
Update: After publication of this post, SFist received a statement from Singer Associates Public Relations. "The restaurant Ten-Ichi was not evicted. In fact, the restaurant owner declined an offer to stay. The owner signed a termination agreement which gave him roughly $100,000 in debt forgiveness and cash payments," the statement said. "No once forced the restaurant owner to turn his keys in; he signed an agreement to terminate his lease and get money."
Note: This post has been updated with comments from Supervisor Peskin's office and Singer Associates Public Relations.
Image: Matthew S. via Yelp
