Two San Francisco progressives are pushing a bill that would allow residents of the crime-ridden city to sue grocery stores that close without six months’ notice.
A proposal by San Francisco Board of Supervisors members Dean Preston and Aaron Peskin would require businesses to find replacement grocery stores or make plans with nearby residents to ensure supermarket options. be.
The Food Protection Act is based on a proposal approved by the Board of Regents in 1984 but vetoed by then-San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein, but the retail food protection law fueled the city’s drug and homelessness problems. The law comes amid a spike in store thefts, leading to multiple store closures. .
According to the New York Times, Whole Foods last year received 568 emergency calls over a 13-month period due to incidents of vagrants throwing food, screaming, fighting, or attempting to defecate on the floor. The company reportedly closed its Market Street store. At least 14 people were arrested at this location.
Preston, who introduced the bill last week, floated the proposal in January after the Fillmore District Safeway supermarket announced it would close in March.
Safeway, which operates 15 stores in San Francisco, has sold 3.68 acres of land to a real estate developer who plans to build a mixed-use project that includes both residential and commercial retail.
The day before its board of directors was scheduled to vote on the resolution, the supermarket chain announced it would keep its stores open until January next year.
The new ordinance exempts supermarkets and grocery stores that close due to natural disasters or business conditions that are “unreasonably foreseeable.”
In these cases, companies do not need to provide six months’ notice.
According to the text of the proposed ordinance, if a store closes without notifying the Board of Supervisors or the Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD), those affected by the closure have the right to sue for damages. It is said that there is.
The bill would also require grocery stores to “consult and collaborate in good faith with their neighbors” and for OEWD to find workable solutions to make food available at their locations. .
“It was a good idea in 1984, and it’s an even better idea today,” Preston said in a press release.
“When a major neighborhood grocery store plans to close, our community needs notice, an opportunity to be heard, and a transition plan. , cannot be left to unilateral backroom decisions by large corporations.”
Feinstein, who served in the U.S. Senate from 1992 until her death last year at age 90, said at the time that the policy was an “unnecessary intrusion into government regulatory authority.”
Last year, Mr. Preston proposed limiting the use of weapons by private security personnel, angering Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Mr. Musk said he would contribute to Mr. Preston’s opponent’s campaign in last November’s election, which Mr. Preston ultimately won.
Mr. Peskin, the progressive Board of Supervisors chairman, is well to the left of Mayor London Breed.
He opposed Breed’s proposal to arrest people for public drug use. Peskin also opposed Breed’s proposal to require most adult welfare recipients to undergo drug testing to continue receiving benefits.
