Willow Glen Resident

News

Business owners want the permit process streamlined

By Eli Segall

When Dan Doherty of San Jose decided to open Smokes Tiki Lounge and Barbecue, he assumed the process of filing permits and ensuring code compliance with the city of San Jose would be a piece of cake.

Doherty had no reason to believe otherwise; he purchased and refurbished Mission Ale House on E. Santa Clara Street 11 years ago, and that process took a few months and cost less than $10,000. His second business, however, proved to be the exact opposite: Doherty spent 1 1/2 years and nearly $100,000 on permits and fees before opening the Post Street establishment.

"There is a head-to-toe problem in the city," said Doherty, who opened Smokes in December 2005. "The culture is not about helping small businesses or businesses in general. If it was, it would have been a totally different experience."

Business owners and community leaders across San Jose echo Doherty's sentiments. For entrepreneurs, knowing how to properly navigate city bureaucracy, and learning which divisions issue permits, filing deadlines and fees and code specifications often proves a frustrating, time-consuming process.

"A lot of times, city staff doesn't tell you what the next step is," said Steve Tedesco, former president and CEO of the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce and current runoff candidate for San Jose City Council District 6. "We can't expect a bakery owner to understand every fee and permit; let the bureaucrats do what they do and the businesspeople do what they do."

The permit process has not put the skids on every business. Alex Byer, a Willow Glen real estate developer, purchased the former Blaine's Lighting on Lincoln Avenue and replaced it with two separate retail stores last fall. He described the transition as smooth and painless.

"It was a pretty simple thing," said Byer, owner of San Francisco-based Paja Investments, "but this was a retail transition."

With restaurants and bars, there are health codes, parking regulations and more components involved.

To improve permit processing and assistance, the city council on Jan. 9 is expected to approve a new job classification, principal permit specialist. The person in this supervisor-level post will help oversee construction reviews, permit issuance and customer service, according to a recent report from the city's human resources department.

Opening a business, however, requires more than paperwork. The business owner must comply with a host of city and county health and safety codes requirements.

Chris Esparza, a longtime San Jose small business owner, said meeting these requirements often leads him in circles. Stories of complying with one division of the San Jose Planning Department by tearing out a pipe and moving it 2 inches to the left, then moving it back after an inspector from another division said the change violated city regulations are all too common.

"It's a brain-hemorrhaging experience for me," said Paulo Hernandez, a land use consultant and owner of San Jose-based JPH Consulting. "On paper the city has all the right systems in place, but for some reason communication between and within departments becomes an issue."

John Ruch, a supervising building inspector with the city's planning department, acknowledged the problem of inspectors contradicting each other and said it is something the department aims to improve.

"No two businesses are the same, and the planning code was written intentionally vague to give latitude in interpretation," Ruch said. "There is a human factor to this."

One planning official, on condition of anonymity, said interdepartmental communication is inhibited because it is located on two separate floors in the new City Hall, and squabbling among separate divisions often produces a hostile and competitive environment. Staff turnover and unfilled vacancies, the official said, have also resulted in delays and unmet services.

"No one goes through opening a place without some nightmares," Esparza said, "but no one barks too much about the city. Inspectors can always come back and find some violation, and then you get shown the door."