We'll get a table near the street...

Small business owners have always had an uphill battle. Every decision they make has to be geared to their bottom line. An unexpected illness, power outage or even bad weather can mean the difference between meeting their obligations or closing their doors for good. Government policy, especially on the local level should help small business, not hinder with ill-conceived rules and policies. What may be sound and fair policy for a large business may not be that reasonable for a tiny sole proprietor. I see attempts at universal policies throughout city government and they rarely if ever succeed. I believe in flexibility for any situation and involving those closest to the issue is the only way to find the best solution. An example of a poorly conceived blanket policy is the current ordinance (Sec 64-164) pertaining to sidewalk chairs and tables in front of businesses. As the law reads right now a merchant must pay a $50 application fee and then $250 every year for a sidewalk café permit. $250 may seem like nothing to a large restaurant with revenues in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, but to a little café where the owner struggles to pay the rent every month a $250 license fee is unaffordable. By the letter of the law you're not even allowed to set a single chair on the sidewalk outside your business without that $250 permit. I understand that some vendors get carried away with tables and chairs and merchandise tables, and sandwich signs and whatever else they care to put in the right-of-way. I am by no means advocating a free-for-all that would make the sidewalks in any given business district impassible. What I am advocating is the need to use a little common sense and good judgement when we create policy. We need to take a step back and realize we're talking about a couple of tables and chairs. Government should be an engine for economic development, not an inhibitor. The solution? In this case, a graduated scale for the permit based on linear feet of your store frontage. If you want to get real socialist I can throw annual revenues into the equation. The long and short of it is when it comes to policy, one size rarely fits all.