Council to Move on Chain Store Legislation Tonight

After almost a year of discussion, debate and compromise, the Sonoma City Council is scheduled to draft legislation which would significantly limit the abilities of chain stores – also known as 'formula businesses' – within downtown Sonoma.

The issue has been a point of contention since the fall of 2011, when office-supply realtor moved into a unit on West Napa Street. Regardless of whether you enjoy shopping there – according to a Patch poll, – the council moved that further regulation was needed to protect the historic small town feel of Sonoma, especially the Plaza area.

The City Council has already augmented recommendations made by an ad hoc committee, consisting of local business leaders and residents, choosing to "scale back the scope of the regulation," according to council documents.

In a 3-2 vote, the council opted to focus the bulk of the legislation on the Plaza and Historic Overlay zone (see map, at right, for reference), with the exception of formula businesses proposed with an area of 10,000 or more square-feet.

Here are the rules as they currently stand:

• Within a downtown district called the 'Plaza Retail Overlay District,' formula restaurants would be prohibited.
• A Conditional Use Permit would be required for any Formula Business to open in the 'Historic Overlay zone,' which includes the Plaza area, except for tenant spaces in shopping centers. 
• Any formula business of more than 10,000-square-feet would be subject to a permit review.

The Planning Commission discussed tightening these regulations – lowering the 10,000-square-feet rule to a smaller square footage and increasing the definition of 'formula business' to include hotels and other businesses – but ultimately chose to encourage the Council to adopt stronger guidelines.

The city predicts that implementing these rules will come at a cost, since the city would be subject to an increased number of permit reviews. However, increasing the number of permit reviews will also create a "minor increase" in fee income for the city.  

Currently five businesses in the Plaza area would be considered 'formula businesses' under the proposed regulation:  , , , , and .

What do you think of the new legislation? Do you think it needs to be stricter, to preserve the character of down town, or do you think it will prove a deterrent to businesses which will help the economic vitality of downtown Sonoma?

The Sonoma City Council meets in the Community Meeting Room at the tonight, June 4. The open session starts at 6 p.m.