UKIAH >> Arguing that Mendocino County could use all the help it can get to attract new housing projects and skilled job applicants, a report released this month by the Mendocino County grand jury recommends that restrictions on chain businesses be abandoned.
“We question if the restriction on formula businesses is appropriate in a county that suffers from an inability to fill professional employment positions, a lack of available housing, and too few jobs with benefits, not to mention a general dearth of retail shopping opportunity that is desirable to a youthful demographic,” the GJ notes in its report called “Formula Business Restriction: NIMBY Overreaction?”
“It is not as if these businesses are breaking down doors to open chains here,” the report continues, adding that “the Grand Jury believes that the best practice is to encourage business development generally and to maintain standards by reviewing all business applications for community continuity equally.”
The grand jury notes that while both the county of Mendocino and the city of Ukiah have ordinances that restrict formula business development, two formula businesses have been built in the last two years that have proven to be popular with both residents and visitors: the Chipotle Mexican Grill on East Perkins Street in the city, and the In-N-Out Burger on North State Street just inside the county’s jurisdiction.
The Chipotle was built despite the city passing an ordinance banning formula fast food in its downtown zone, and the grand jury notes that the business was allowed to build because “it was expressly deemed not a formula fast food business by a unanimous Ukiah City Council vote.”
The grand jury finds that “the City of Ukiah has applied its zoning ordinance inconsistently,” and that “the downtown Ukiah formula business prohibition (reflects) an anti-business attitude that stymies economic growth.
“It is a well-established economic principle that the larger the business capitalization the more likely the business will survive beyond three to five years,” the report continues. “Formula businesses are usually well capitalized. They plan for and can manage the development fees additional to the construction necessary to build from the ground up, which is becoming increasingly more difficult for individuals.”
Another chain restaurant that opened recently and was met with unbridled enthusiasm from thousands of people in the county and beyond was the In-N-Out Burger location, which was built at the site of the former Fjords restaurant, at 1351 N. State St., just north of the city limits.
Though the county also has a formula business moratorium, the grand jury notes that the restaurant was “located in a specifically exempted county area, (and) it was considered simply a replacement restaurant. As a result, the permit was issued very quickly ‘by right.’”
Instead of having ordinances that may discourage businesses and job growth, the grand jury recommends that both the city of Ukiah and the county of Mendocino allow “the ‘wisdom of the market place’ to determine the success or failure of business and recommends that:
• The county zoning ordinance include community character design review for all business development.
• The County and Ukiah eliminate “by right” business permits and formula business restrictions, and consistently review all business development under discretionary use permits for community character.
• Ukiah modify the Ukiah city code to eliminate the prohibition on formula business in the downtown zone and treat all business development equally.
