"While Japantown has a large number of buildings steeped in historical significance, it's also become representative of the ambiguous, lengthy and costly bureaucracy involving these structures. It's a cumbersome system, business owners say, that creates the opposite of the desired effect: neglect or abandonment instead of investment and preservation. Japantown Business Association President Tamiko Rast, along with her family, has spent decades navigating the complex regulations and has experienced the frustrations firsthand."
"We've heard a lot from residents and business owners in Japantown in particular recently around some of the business closures and some of the ways that the current historic preservation ordinance may be adding more friction to the process than may be necessary, District 3 Councilmember Anthony Tordillos told The Mercury News before presenting the proposal at Wednesday's Rules Committee meeting."
Burdensome and complex historic preservation regulations have pushed a prominent Japantown business owner and family toward near financial ruin and produced widespread unintended consequences. Japantown contains many historically significant buildings, but ambiguous, lengthy, and costly bureaucracy has made repairs difficult and discouraged investment. Business owners report a cumbersome system that fosters neglect and abandonment rather than preservation. Japantown Business Association President Tamiko Rast and her family have repeatedly navigated these rules, encountering condemned properties, arson, trespassing, and assaults while finding repairs nearly impossible due to city processes. Elected officials are proposing reevaluation to make designations and procedures faster, clearer, and more cost-effective.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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