Permitting processes are notorious bureaucratic and lengthy in every major city. The article didnt specifically cite any evidence calling out SF for being particularly egregious.
Part of me suspects some of the negative comments on here are from people seeing what they want cause SF is a popular target to hate on
We know that after 22 months, Yu still didn't have permission to open a business. We know that his rent was $7k/month. And common sense tells us he needed to rent the place before starting the permitting process.
Therefore SF's system placed a $200k+ burden on Yu. And it's obvious that a 22-month permitting process is unnecessary in almost any circumstance.
So the article establishes that SF placed an unnecessary burden, in the realm of $200k, on Yu.
If it didn't take 2 years to sort out the filings nearby shops did to stop his shop from opening he wouldn't need to pay 2 years of rent with no possibility of earning any money.
I don't think so. It makes sense that people in an area should have some say in the businesses that open nearby. You probably wouldn't want a nightclub opening up down the road from you. Or if you ran a call center, you might not want an Harley Davidson Custom Exhaust shop to open next door.
Even thought the article buried in the article, the objections to opening were not upheld. But giving people a chance to voice their opinions on new businesses does seem reasonable (and is probably very common).
Part of me suspects some of the negative comments on here are from people seeing what they want cause SF is a popular target to hate on