Two proposals by Supervisor Connie Chan would let small businesses with the same landlord negotiate rents collectively while giving employees the first opportunity to buy the business if an owner decides to sell.

Chan's first proposal, the Workers Opportunity to Purchase Act, would allow commercial tenants with the same landlord to form tenant unions and negotiate lease terms collectively, while also making legal assistance and other public resources available to those groups, as KQED reports. The measure would formalize a practice that's already been used in some commercial corridors, including Japantown, by requiring landlords to recognize tenant unions during lease negotiations.

Unlike residential tenants, commercial tenants in San Francisco currently have no rent control protections. Chan said the legislation is intended to help businesses weather steep rent hikes that have become more common as the city's commercial real estate market tightens.

"Our city and our communities thrive when our small businesses and workers thrive," Supervisor Chan said, per KPIX. "The Workers Opportunity to Purchase Act and the creation of Small Business Tenant Unions will empower our workers, stabilize our commercial corridors, and protect our small businesses, helping to create more vibrant and successful neighborhoods and a more stable workforce."

Supporters pointed to Japantown, where several businesses negotiated lower rents with property owners during the pandemic through collective bargaining. Jon Osaki of the Japanese Community Youth Council told KQED the effort helped keep longtime neighborhood businesses from being forced out when many couldn't operate normally.

Haight-Ashbury bookstore and cocktail bar owner Christin Evans said she's increasingly seeing landlords shift businesses onto month-to-month leases or demand sharp rent increases, while commercial leases have also grown far more complex and expensive to negotiate.

“What used to be like a simple lease agreement between a mom-and-pop landlord and mom-and-pop small business owner that was maybe 4 or 5 pages has now become 45+ pages for legal fees,” Evans said, speaking to KPIX. “A lot of risk is being placed on the small business tenant. It's really not sustainable.”

According to KQED, the second proposal, the Workers Opportunity to Purchase Act, would give employees the first opportunity to buy the business if an owner decides to sell. Workers would receive advance notice of a planned sale, the chance to organize a purchase or cooperative, and the right to match outside offers before a deal is finalized — the goal of employees at Green Apple Books.

Benjy Caplan, a Green Apple worker and union member, said the store’s workers hope when it’s time for the owner to sell the business, the succession plan includes them, noting that Chan’s two proposals will help the city feel “more hopeful for workers and small business owners.”

Both measures are expected to be introduced to the Board of Supervisors in September.

Related: SF Launches $6.3 Million in New Small Business Grants to Fill Vacant Storefronts

Image: Connie Chan/Facebook