City Pushes Additional Reforms to Relieve Small Businesses

More than half of the 60 suggested reforms to ease the regulatory burden on small businesses in San Diego are already in place or in the process of being implemented, members of the City Council announced Wednesday.

The panel has had several meetings on how to help small businesses in San Diego grow.

The reforms include the hiring of a small business liaison to help owners navigate the permitting process, streamlining the budget process and improving transparency for Business Improvement Districts, improving the city's website so more forms and bills can be filled out and submitted online, and creation of the council's Economic Development and Strategies Committee.

“We didn't just stuff all those suggestions in a drawer, we took them seriously and are working hard to put them into action,” said Councilwoman Sherri Lightner, who heads the committee.

She told reporters that city officials still want to hear from local business owners about how the municipal government can help them so they can make investments and create jobs.

The City Council held a regulatory relief workshop last fall to take suggestions from business owners. Council President Tony Young promised to hold another one.   

San Diego is home to around 90,000 small businesses, making up 90 percent of companies and employing 64 percent of the workforce, according to the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.

“Small businesses are the backbone of our local economy and we want to continue looking for ways to knock down many of the barriers that they face when trying to get established, grow and add more jobs,” Young said. “We're looking forward to hearing from the business community about even more ways to make it easier to do business right here in San Diego.”

–City News Service

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